SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
If anything this example speaks to the high quality of BK stoves to have lasted so long being used so inappropriately.
Melted BlazeKing 40
- Thread starter sacountry
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10 seasons on my Princess. I keep gaskets tight and replace cats when needed. Let the crap build up how ever it wants. Has ash from last season filling the belly. No issues here, when my lack of maintenance bites me in the butt I’ll replace the stove. Best stoves ever for the 24/7 burners from fall through spring, no one will change my opinion of that. 
I had to get up on the roof to do some patching. It have me the chance to get a look at the stack up close. The previous home owner he had it cleaned once a year. Im not that gullible but why lie? One thing I was a little surprised not to see since it appears the original owner either knew what he was doing or had it done by a pro, was a spark arrestor. This doesn't look good. Question for this group, how did you know when you should replace the stove pipe?
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Hardly any caps have actual spark arrestors. They are much finer that regular cap screen and clog quickly. That looks like a pretty standard style cap. Just a bit bent. And that could easily be a year's worth of buildup I see there.
As far as telling if it needs replaced look up and down the pipe for any distortion or separated seams. The safest approach would be a full inspection by a pro
Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
I think I'd replace the pipe too. Its simple to drop a new one down if you buy the same brand.
Why take a chance with fire?
Why take a chance with fire?
I have no screens on mine for sparks or birds. Those are optional unless you have a specific unique local requirement for it.
Also, the color is normal but that accumulation of carbon fluff should not be there if the chimney had been swept.
Also, the color is normal but that accumulation of carbon fluff should not be there if the chimney had been swept.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
8” is expensive. Id keep it if it’s ok but switch to 6” if it needs replaced unless you really need a 4 cu ft stove.
There's visible creosote build up in the stove and on the chimney. The stove shows signs of insane overfiring. What are the odds that the chimney cleaning wasn't done at reeeeeaaaaallllllllly high temperatures. I suppose it's possible that it was taken care of... It'd be real easy to swap out to a smaller chimney too. All the hard work of cutting holes is already done. Maybe 2 hours of work?
Dieselhead
Minister of Fire
Ok mine is a mess by the end of the burning season, I usually burn end of sept straight through til end of March. Low and slow is the tempo as my house is well insulated.
That is more buildup than I typically see but not much more.
Agree.
As a full time burner of a BK cat stove on low for most of my 9 month burn season, my cap is black but not dripping tar unless the cat has failed. I get some crunchy stuff on the bottom of the lid too. The sooteater flings little chunks onto the roof.
8” pipe is archaic and mostly obsolete but the BK king is a great stove and the pipe is already installed. To downsize to 6” would require ceiling work and the roof hole is too big.
First step is to clean the 8” chimney and see if it’s any good. We know the stove is probably garbage.
The 6” chimneyed princess is a much more common stove even in Alaska!
If the t-stat is set properly and and working properly then it should hold the temp of the stove regardless of what was placed inside. Some have said a t-stat can be overwhelmed. Could be, but only by user error somehow, and not with the correct fuel. Temperature is temperature and that is what the stat recognizes. A faulty stat would rarely...super rarely fail in the open position. This is the beauty of the t-stats...they are designed so any failure “should” shut the stove to its lowest running temp. That leads me to believe there was another cause of failure. Someone mentioned bad gaskets and that most certainly could cause the issue, as could some other operator error.
I agree this was done over time and should not have been allowed to get that far if someone had been caring to look inside the stove. If a stoves sides start to split anyone with any sense at all would stop burning in the stove and that should have been the case here as well. That said, the operator allowed this to happen somehow...even over time, and is therefore still user error in my opinion.
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I wasn’t going to say anything. Wanted to see how many posts I could read before someone caught it and it took the BKVP. LOL!!
Forgive some of my posts asI was replying while reading each page of the thread as I read it. Some of these have already been addressed.
I would clean this stove out and send as many good photos as I could to BKVP. If he says it can be fixed, then save your money and fix it. A stove with a stat you will love.
I am assuming this model of stove requires an 8” stove pipe and chimney. If so, I am a little surprised that some would suggest reducing to 6”, especially from some and from a safety standpoint
If (IF) it is a model that can be used with a 6” pipe and now has an 8”, AND the owner is in a situation where money could be an issue, I don’t see why an uninsulated 6” liner couldn’t be installed in the existing 8” insulated metal pipe. It’s not ideal, not perfect, but I also wouldn’t think it would be against code either and the existing insulated 8” pipe should serve well for the insulation requirements.
Fairly certain reducing an 8” outlet stove by 2” is against code. I think a reduction of 1” or an increase of 1” is allowed, but BHoller and others can confirm or deny that. Matching pipe to stove outlet will optimize performance.
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stoveliker
Minister of Fire
I had half a quart of dry powder in the (under ground level) elbow that connects the thimble to the
My cap was surely discolored (brown/blackish), but whatever is on there is less than 0.5 mm thick (about 1/40 of an inch) thick. No stuff hanging off, crumbly or fluffy or otherwise.
I know it’s not supposed to matter but in Montana and here in WA we burn mostly evergreens. At least during startups you would think that more black type stuff would be produced from the heavy tar/pitch/sap.
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
Yes, possibly. Every set up is different, and every load of wood is different. I did burn maple, oak, cherry, and some softwood - but that was sassafras, probably the most unpitchy wood there is...
We are burning doug fir almost exclusively and there has never been any tar buildup in the stove or flue from it.
Yes, the higher temp in the firebox keeps the tar condensation from happening there. Point being, it's not the wood, as long as it is fully seasoned, but how it is burned.
