Princess Condar cat probe P/N

[DonTee]

I want to get a Condar cat probe for my Princess PE32. Is the correct P/N 3CX-2? I think those have actual temps on the dial instead of the factory cat probe with just the active/inactive range.

I was going to post this in the common BK thread but didn’t see one. It would be like BK 2023/2024 or something like that.

Thanks

 

[Pinesmoke]

Can you just pull yours out and measure it for length? That's what I did and they had the same 6 1/2" one that came from Hearthstone.

 

[NHWS]

The Condar web site claims that the 3CX-2 is "for some Blaze King models". Not sure what models it works for, but it isn't for the current freestanding PE32. You need one with a 4" probe. To confirm that, measure the BK branded one that came with the stove. One of the first things I did with my stove was to replace the stock BK cat gauge with a Condar 3-12-1. Ignore the "generic & Vermont Castings Intrepid I and II models" line on the Condar website.

I've also used an Auber AT100/AT200 with their TC-K-BR probe. Faster, more accurate reading, but not designed for mounting on a stove top, so it takes some improvising. Also, that probe is only rated for 1650 dF. I haven't seen the cat temp exceed that, but in my Copious Free Time(tm) I'm going to experiment with mounting one of their probes with a higher max temp.

 

[DonTee]

I have an AT200 for the flue. It would probably be too ugly for the stove top. My wife would not be accepting of that. Haha.

I could pull my probe out and measure it once the stove cools down. But if you say the 3-12-1 fits, that’s good enough for me. I remember it being about 4” long.

The info on the Condar site says 1 7/8” for the 3CX-2. That seems way too short for my Princess.

 

[Highbeam]

I have an AT200 for the flue. It would probably be too ugly for the stove top. My wife would not be accepting of that. Haha.

I could pull my probe out and measure it once the stove cools down. But if you say the 3-12-1 fits, that’s good enough for me. I remember it being about 4” long.

The info on the Condar site says 1 7/8” for the 3CX-2. That seems way too short for my Princess.

My older princess from 2012 uses a shorter 2” approximately probe. Dont know why the newest P32 model needs a 4” probe but matching oem is best. Also, you could cut the new probe to match.

I really really like having numbers on my cat meter. The condar replacement has held up very well.

 

[DonTee]

Yeah I’m thinking I’ll get the 4” version. I asked Condar and they said to measure the probe and order one that will fit. Or they said I can cut it to length like you mentioned Highbeam.

The Condar 1 7/8” probe they sell for BK stoves sounds like the right size for the older Princess for sure. If mine is longer I wonder what they changed in the stove and why.
When I google for a factory replacement probe I see both 2” and 4” probes being sold for the Princess. So it got changed at some point. My stove is a 2022 model.

I forgot to pull the probe and measure the length just a little bit ago when I reloaded. The wife was getting cold and I had to get the stove going again fast. The house was down to 75 degrees. Lol

 

[NHWS]

I really really like having numbers on my cat meter. The condar replacement has held up very well.

Having the numbers is helpful, particularly on the high end. The BK OEM probe used to just read essentially "off the scale" (6:00) after a hot reload on a good coal bed. Never knew if that was too high for the stove, so I'd turn the air down sooner, which led to more chimney smoke. The Condar probe reads around 1400 under the same circumstance - inside it's marked active range.

Having the quicker response time of the digital probe is also useful. The analog cat probes are very slow.

Since I haven't yet mounted a digital cat probe, I'm mostly running the stove based on the Auber flue probe.

 

[DonTee]

I’m always concerned when the BK probe goes off the scale. I’m looking forward to having real temps to go off of.

I go off of flue temps now because that’s all I have. After a reload I usually run the stove to 600-700 flue temp with the bypass open and then run it with the bypass closed until it hits 600-700 again. Then I turn down the air to my desired setting.

I have my Auber alarm set at 700 to remind me to close the bypass. I notice after 700 it really shoots up quickly.

 

[NHWS]

I’m always concerned when the BK probe goes off the scale. I’m looking forward to having real temps to go off of.

I go off of flue temps now because that’s all I have. After a reload I usually run the stove to 600-700 flue temp with the bypass open and then run it with the bypass closed until it hits 600-700 again. Then I turn down the air to my desired setting.

I have my Auber alarm set at 700 to remind me to close the bypass. I notice after 700 it really shoots up quickly.

I'm doing pretty much the same thing. Reload; wait until the flue temp is around 600 dF then close the bypass. I usually wait 15 minutes after that to bake more of the water out of the wood, then turn down the air to around 1/2. Wait another 5 minutes and turn it down to cruising temp.

Occasionally I'll still have a bit of visible smoke from the chimney 10 minutes after that. I burn mostly PNW softwoods with occasional fruit wood splits. I haven't seen a split at over 15% MC yet, but there might be a few. Best guess is that the smoke is caused by higher MC wood. Bring the air back up, wait 10 or 15 more minutes, then reduce it again. Usually works. Once in a while I might have to repeat the process again.

The analog cat gauge is too slow. On a warm reload with a decent coal bed I've seen it still not register active with a flue temp around 800 dF. That's past time to engage the cat regardless of what the cat gauge says.

I'll check the cat gauge occasionally while cruising to make sure that the cat is still active. Not uncommon to see it at around 700 to 900 dF with a flue probe temp around 350 to 400. Flue temp is not a great proxy for cat temp, but it's what's available (for now).

 

[Highbeam]

I’m always concerned when the BK probe goes off the scale. I’m looking forward to having real temps to go off of.

I go off of flue temps now because that’s all I have. After a reload I usually run the stove to 600-700 flue temp with the bypass open and then run it with the bypass closed until it hits 600-700 again. Then I turn down the air to my desired setting.

I have my Auber alarm set at 700 to remind me to close the bypass. I notice after 700 it really shoots up quickly.

Even with a new cat, my condar gauge doesn’t go up past the normal active range that ends at 1500. I’m pretty sure the BK gauge has a smaller temperature range meaning it moves more for less temperature increase.

Still, the most important information is that active line so you know when the bypass should be closed.

 

[DonTee]

Ok I finally remembered to measure the probe length before reloading the stove today. It’s 4”. So I ordered a Condar 3-12-1 probe.

 

[NHWS]

Even with a new cat, my condar gauge doesn’t go up past the normal active range that ends at 1500. I’m pretty sure the BK gauge has a smaller temperature range meaning it moves more for less temperature increase.

Same here. The Condar gauge rarely reads over 1400, but the BK gauge frequently gets pinned at 6:00.

Still, the most important information is that active line so you know when the bypass should be closed.

Agreed, but it's helpful to know the conditions now instead of 5 to 10 minutes ago, and also good to know that the stove isn't being over-fired. That's not a complaint - chances are that most of BK's customers don't want as much information about the state of the stove as people here do.

 

[DonTee]

I think the old school way to have no temp gauge at all. Just go by feel. My dad and uncle have been burning wood for 70 years and neither one was using a temp gauge until recently.

When I upgraded from my stove top gauge to an Auber AT200 I gave my dad the stove top gauge. I noticed he looks at it a lot. Haha.

My Condar gauge is on the way!

 

[DonTee]

For those of you that have a Condar probe, what do you consider the cat active zone start to be? I noticed when I swapped mine out the active zone starts at a higher temp than the factory gauge. I swapped them when the factory gauge was slightly in the active zone, and the Condar reads 400 degrees. Its active zone starts at 500.

 

[Highbeam]

For those of you that have a Condar probe, what do you consider the cat active zone start to be? I noticed when I swapped mine out the active zone starts at a higher temp than the factory gauge. I swapped them when the factory gauge was slightly in the active zone, and the Condar reads 400 degrees. Its active zone starts at 500.

The condar gauge has an active zone. Use it. The old bk gauge had no temperature marks but if calibrated correctly should have crossed the active line at the same temperature as the condar.

You’re going to need to trust your instruments.

The good news is that as long as the fire is growing and you’re in the ballpark on temperature, the cat will eventually light off.

 

[DonTee]

What I’m saying is when I swapped the gauges earlier the BK gauge was still in the active zone. About a 1/4” past the active start mark. When the Condar came up to temp ( i gave it 15 min to be sure) it was at 400 degrees. Which is below the start of the active zone by 100 degrees.

With that being said, I usually don’t close the bypass as soon as the needle crosses the line into active. I’ll let it get a little higher. Especially if the flue temp isn’t up past 600 yet.

My second observation is now that the fire is nearing the end of the cycle. My cat usually crosses the line back to inactive around 200 degrees flue temp. I’m at 330 degrees flue temp right now and it’s just barely hovering above the active line.

In the manual for the Condar probe they mention if you’re using a Condar steel cat (which I’m not), then the cat is considered active at 400 degrees. I’m thinking maybe my BK cat is similar in behavior to the Condar steel cat.

 

[DonTee]

As far as the accuracy of the Condar gauge, I think the temp is accurate. The gauge says just over 400 degrees and my IR thermometer says 420.

 

[Highbeam]

Maybe your old bk meter needed calibration.

I would be more confident in the accuracy and precision of the condar unit than your old bk meter.