Moved to house with BK Princess and have a few questions

[Doc C]

First time ever owning a BK and so far I’m impressed. I do have a few questions though. I have searched and read a lot and still need some clarification.

1. Does it hurt the cat if I run the stove in bypass mode? Like if I’m doing stuff and forget to engage the cat for awhile.

2. Does it hurt the cat if the temp drops out of active zone and it’s not in bypass mode. Say in the middle of the night.

I think the answer to both of these above is no but I would like to be sure.

3. The stove seems to not burn the wood completely. I can set the damper at about 50% and get up in the morning to the temp being down at nothing and the wood barely smoldering. Good run of double wall pipe that is clean. Good dry wood I brought from the house we just sold that I cut and stored myself. And plenty of air flow into house.

I think that’s it for now but I’m sure I’ll come up with more.

Thanks folks

 

[kennyp2339]

1. Does it hurt the cat if I run the stove in bypass mode? Like if I’m doing stuff and forget to engage the cat for awhile.

I will not hurt the cat, but under certain conditions you can melt you by-pass retaining clips and then warp your bypass, it is not advised to run the stove with the by-pass opened once the cat probe indicated that the cat is active, but we all have had our opps moments, I know I prob did at least 4 full loads since owning the stove with the by-pass open, I was lucky and didn't have an issue, but if you door gaskets are weak and the t-stat is set at full air you could potentially have an issue, remember nothing in the world is full proof.

2. Does it hurt the cat if the temp drops out of active zone and it’s not in bypass mode. Say in the middle of the night.

No, the cat wont get hurt as long as the full load of wood has been charred (running the t-stat on high) for at least 15 min after loading the stove and the cat was active before it went in active, if you have an active cat that stalls a lot first you will want to test you wood supply and make sure its below 18% moisture content, BK manual advises that 16% moisture content is ideal.
Adjust your t-stat to a higher setting because you may have a weaker draft which can stall a load, or replace the cat, its life might be exhausted.

3. The stove seems to not burn the wood completely. I can set the damper at about 50% and get up in the morning to the temp being down at nothing and the wood barely smoldering. Good run of double wall pipe that is clean. Good dry wood I brought from the house we just sold that I cut and stored myself. And plenty of air flow into house.

You cat might be in need of replacement, or you have a weak draft which is stalling it out, a good indicator is a dying cat is excessive fly ash around the inside top of the stove and flame shield, this ash also tends to have a yellow / orange shade to it. Since its a "new to you" stove you may want to replace the cat for next season so you can learn how the stove operates at top notch, its tough to diagnose issues like burn times with a stove that has unknown wear and tear, look at the door gasket and perhaps replace that, use a anti-seize and clean up the t-stat, and give the system a good cleaning so you can start fresh.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I will not hurt the cat, but under certain conditions you can melt you by-pass retaining clips and then warp your bypass, it is not advised to run the stove with the by-pass opened once the cat probe indicated that the cat is active, but we all have had our opps moments, I know I prob did at least 4 full loads since owning the stove with the by-pass open, I was lucky and didn't have an issue, but if you door gaskets are weak and the t-stat is set at full air you could potentially have an issue, remember nothing in the world is full proof.

No, the cat wont get hurt as long as the full load of wood has been charred (running the t-stat on high) for at least 15 min after loading the stove and the cat was active before it went in active, if you have an active cat that stalls a lot first you will want to test you wood supply and make sure its below 18% moisture content, BK manual advises that 16% moisture content is ideal.
Adjust your t-stat to a higher setting because you may have a weaker draft which can stall a load, or replace the cat, its life might be exhausted.

You cat might be in need of replacement, or you have a weak draft which is stalling it out, a good indicator is a dying cat is excessive fly ash around the inside top of the stove and flame shield, this ash also tends to have a yellow / orange shade to it. Since its a "new to you" stove you may want to replace the cat for next season so you can learn how the stove operates at top notch, its tough to diagnose issues like burn times with a stove that has unknown wear and tear, look at the door gasket and perhaps replace that, use a anti-seize and clean up the t-stat, and give the system a good cleaning so you can start fresh.

Kenny, I just checked the Blaze King manual for the Princess on BKs website, and they call for wood dried for two years with a moisture content of under 20%. Are you sure it’s the manual you have that makes 16% the standard, or is it your “sweet spot” as @Poindexter would say? I’m sure sixteen percent wood is lovely, but if the stove is designed for higher, it still ought to work.

I seem to recall that once upon a time someone posted a manual spec for %13 when the Ashford was brand new, and that got deemed an error. Any more details are pretty well lost in the mists of my memory.

OP, you might want to visit the Blaze King performance thread and post further questions there. It’s where the enthusiasts hang out, and they love to tackle getting optimum performance out of their stoves.

 

[Highbeam]

How much leftover wood are we talking about? And what stat setting are you leaving it st fir these overnight burns?

With Doug fir (no ash) I’ll get some remnants. About the thickness of a dog leg when the splits burn apart from each other and the wood just goes out. Maybe 2-3 of them. The ash of other woods seems to maintain the smolder needed to consume the stand alone logs fully.

You might just be cutting the thermostat too low and stalling the cat. Everybody’s lowest possible cruise setting is different and it can change with warmer outdoor temperatures, different fuel, and catalyst condition. You know your setting is too low when the cat drops out of the active range when there’s still fuel. As the cat gets worn out you really need a high setting to keep the meter in the active range.

As soon as the cat probe says active, engage! You won’t hurt your cat by missing it but you can (and I have) melted the internal welded in bits if too much heat passes through the bypass.

 

[jetsam]

1) and 2) are covered nicely above (though it won't actually hurt the cat if you burn below the active zone, but it is a waste of wood). Also, pull the cat thermometer out and clan the end of it with a wire brush next time the stove's cool.

As for 3), I do not think that sounds normal... 50% thermostat is a hot setting on my princess, and I have marginal draft. You'd need to pour a bucket of water down the flue to put the fire out at 50% at my house, anyway.

It's always normal for there to be no flames as long as the stove is hot enough for the thermostat setting, but it's not normal for the stove to go cold with the thermostat half open.

 

[BKVP]

H

First time ever owning a BK and so far I’m impressed. I do have a few questions though. I have searched and read a lot and still need some clarification.

1. Does it hurt the cat if I run the stove in bypass mode? Like if I’m doing stuff and forget to engage the cat for awhile.

2. Does it hurt the cat if the temp drops out of active zone and it’s not in bypass mode. Say in the middle of the night.

I think the answer to both of these above is no but I would like to be sure.

3. The stove seems to not burn the wood completely. I can set the damper at about 50% and get up in the morning to the temp being down at nothing and the wood barely smoldering. Good run of double wall pipe that is clean. Good dry wood I brought from the house we just sold that I cut and stored myself. And plenty of air flow into house.

I think that’s it for now but I’m sure I’ll come up with more.

Thanks folks

How long is chimney from stove top to cap? How old is the stove/combustor?

 

[Doc C]

H

How long is chimney from stove top to cap? How old is the stove/combustor?

Thanks for the response everyone. We have 18’ ceilings. I would say without measuring the pipe is roughly 25’. Stove was built in 2011. The ladies we bought the house from, it’s probably safe to assume, were not the most handy folks. I am guessing the cat has been very abused.

 

[Doc C]

1) and 2) are covered nicely above (though it won't actually hurt the cat if you burn below the active zone, but it is a waste of wood). Also, pull the cat thermometer out and clan the end of it with a wire brush next time the stove's cool.

As for 3), I do not think that sounds normal... 50% thermostat is a hot setting on my princess, and I have marginal draft. You'd need to pour a bucket of water down the flue to put the fire out at 50% at my house, anyway.

It's always normal for there to be no flames as long as the stove is hot enough for the thermostat setting, but it's not normal for the stove to go cold with the thermostat half open.

I can set the damper between 40-60% or so and the stove will stall out. I will be left with probably half or maybe a little less the half of the wood left. It will still be smoldering but it will just about be out.

When I tested my wood during the winter the MC was considerably less the 20%. Tested the proper way.

 

[Doc C]

How much leftover wood are we talking about? And what stat setting are you leaving it st fir these overnight burns?

With Doug fir (no ash) I’ll get some remnants. About the thickness of a dog leg when the splits burn apart from each other and the wood just goes out. Maybe 2-3 of them. The ash of other woods seems to maintain the smolder needed to consume the stand alone logs fully.

You might just be cutting the thermostat too low and stalling the cat. Everybody’s lowest possible cruise setting is different and it can change with warmer outdoor temperatures, different fuel, and catalyst condition. You know your setting is too low when the cat drops out of the active range when there’s still fuel. As the cat gets worn out you really need a high setting to keep the meter in the active range.

As soon as the cat probe says active, engage! You won’t hurt your cat by missing it but you can (and I have) melted the internal welded in bits if too much heat passes through the bypass.

This makes it sound like I need to replace the cat before next winter. Which makes since, sense I’m pretty sure the cat was abused by not being run properly.

 

[jetsam]

My gut reaction is that the cat being bad or even missing is not going to cause a half a tank of unburned fuel at 60% throttle. That seems way out of line.

I not saying that you shouldn't replace a 7 year old cat that has had who knows what run through it - you should - but your symptoms make me think something else is also going on. Very wet wood, messed up thermostat, hung up flapper that can't open properly?

How does it burn on full throttle? (The "happy stove" answer is "Raging inferno in a box, ~700° stovetop"). Does the cat glow when it's running like that?

BKVP is (as you might guess from his screen name) the VP at the company that made your BK, so we should have you sorted out in short order here.

 

[Highbeam]

I’m on my third cat and my stove is a 2012! I do use the stove for 100% of my heat though.

Thermostat knob at 50% and the fire goes out with a half load of fuel remaining is very likely wet wood. 50% setting provides a lot of air. Any sizzling? Normal size 6” splits?

 

[tarzan]

Sounds like the cat may be clogged.

 

[Doc C]

I’m on my third cat and my stove is a 2012! I do use the stove for 100% of my heat though.

Thermostat knob at 50% and the fire goes out with a half load of fuel remaining is very likely wet wood. 50% setting provides a lot of air. Any sizzling? Normal size 6” splits?

Wood is good and dry. Most of what I’m burning right now are very large splits. I loaded my truck up from the old house and it was easier to grab big splits. Mostly what I have right now if pine that is 2-3 years old and I processed it myself. A small amount of birch and maple mixed in.

The fire doesn’t go out at 50%. But it gets real close to going out.

Right now I have about a 10” across white birch and a 8” across white pine. Stove is open all the way. Decent flame. Probably about what my Englander stove would put out at about 50% open. Definitely not going crazy. Cat seems to have a pretty good glow to it. Temp gauge is in the middle of active.

 

[lsucet]

Wood is good and dry. Most of what I’m burning right now are very large splits. I loaded my truck up from the old house and it was easier to grab big splits. Mostly what I have right now if pine that is 2-3 years old and I processed it myself. A small amount of birch and maple mixed in.

The fire doesn’t go out at 50%. But it gets real close to going out.

Right now I have about a 10” across white birch and a 8” across white pine. Stove is open all the way. Decent flame. Probably about what my Englander stove would put out at about 50% open. Definitely not going crazy. Cat seems to have a pretty good glow to it. Temp gauge is in the middle of active.

Did you check the calibration of the tstat knob? Anyway something is not right. With a tall chimney like that one should run on the hole just fine.

 

[Doc C]

Did you check the calibration of the tstat knob? Anyway something is not right. With a tall chimney like that one should run on the hole just fine.

Not sure how to do this. Any help would be appreciated

 

[lsucet]

Not sure how to do this. Any help would be appreciated

Just be sure that at wide open the knob is pointing to the floor at 6 o'clock. If the stopping point goes too much over 6 o'clock need to be adjusted.

 

[Doc C]

Just be sure that at wide open the knob is pointing to the floor at 6 o'clock. If the stopping point goes too much over 6 o'clock need to be adjusted.

The stopping point when turning clockwise is closer to 12 o’clock. I can rotate the knob close to 360 degrees

 

[lsucet]

The stopping point when turning clockwise is closer to 12 o’clock. I can rotate the knob close to 360 degrees

Is it a freestanding or insert?

 

[Doc C]

Is it a freestanding or insert?

Freestanding

 

[lsucet]

Freestanding

Well something is not right possibly needs calibration.

 

[lsucet]

It should stop at or around 6 o'clock going clockwise. It has a little Allen wrench screw that you need to loosen and turn the shaft clockwise till it stops. At that point place the knob facing to the floor at 6 o'clock and tight the screw. That is your wide open and now it is calibrated

 

[Doc C]

I just checked. 1 o’clock is closed. It will rotate all the way around to 12 o’clock before it stops at wide open.

 

[lsucet]

I just checked. 1 o’clock is closed. It will rotate all the way around to 12 o’clock before it stops at wide open.

At what stove temp? Dead cold or warm/hot?

 

[lsucet]

Either way it should stop at 6 o'clock regardless temperature. Possibly the knob is moving free on the shaft or the tstat is defective/broken.

 

[Doc C]

At what stove temp? Dead cold or warm/hot?

Not sure the relevance to stove temp but the temp gauge was on the low side of active.

The dial turns the same amount no matter what the temp is on my stove.