2012-2013 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

[HotCoals]

My dealer had one all taken apart on display and another installed on a stove but with the cover off just so customers could grasp what the lever was doing. It is a butterfly valve and in this navy town full of welders and mechanics it is very easy to compare to a carburetor.

Yep.
But also you will see that the t-sat is very lazy.
Though it does work.
Would love to see it more sensitive to temp changes.
But I don't know if it could be.
I check with the ir right above the shaft over the cover that still covers up the actual t-stat when the big cover is off.
I see it being room temp when cold to as high as 250 degrees f.
I think 250 was the highest I have seen it..I should check again.

 

[HotCoals]

Another tip that I like to do
I like to reload at 7 or so at night if I'm going to load her up full.
That way the hotter part of the burn is during the colder dark hours.
Takes way less heat output in the daylight hours to heat a house.
So the last half of the burn is during daylight when the output is less.
Make sense?

 

[HotCoals]

Well after adjusting the by-pass lats weekend it now just came unhooked .
Trying to burn up the woof that is left so I can pull the pipe and check it out.

 

[Todd]

Since I already had to adjust my door to get a tight seal on my new stove I've been wondering about that bypass gasket as well. It still makes that clunk sound when I throw the lever and the stove is burning clean so I guess I won't mess with it for now.

 

[HotCoals]

Since I already had to adjust my door to get a tight seal on my new stove I've been wondering about that bypass gasket as well. It still makes that clunk sound when I throw the lever and the stove is burning clean so I guess I won't mess with it for now.

Well i just slid my pipe up and looked in.
The bracket that the arm catches to open the by pass broke off at the weld.
It had nothing to do with me adjusting it I don't think because that bracket just catches the arm then lifts the cover.
It still will hold the by pass shut tightly even with it not there.
I still have some heat in the stove so I slid the pipe back down and will let t die out then bring my mig in tomorrow night to weld that catch back on.
I'm not happy about it at all.
I'll take pics then to better explain what happened.

 

[rdust]

Well i just slid my pipe up and looked in.
The bracket that the arm catches to open the by pass broke off at the weld.
It had nothing to do with me adjusting it I don't think because that bracket just catches the arm then lifts the cover.
It still will hold the by pass shut tightly even with it not there.
I still have some heat in the stove so I slid the pipe back down and will let t die out then bring my mig in tomorrow night to weld that catch back on.
I'm not happy about it at all.
I'll take pics then to better explain what happened.

That sucks! It should be easy enough to fix but something you obviously shouldn't be dealing with. I'm sure BK would take care of it but easier/faster to just fix it yourself since you're capable of handing it.

 

[rdust]

Just loaded my daily load and realized I still haven't had to take any ash out of the stove yet. I'm not even half way up the bricks yet so I have a little while before I have to take any out. I'll let it get near the top of the bricks unless we get a cold snap were I need every inch of space in the stove. I sure love how deep the firebox is in this stove, you BKK guys are really spoiled!

 

[HotCoals]

That sucks! It should be easy enough to fix but something you obviously shouldn't be dealing with. I'm sure BK would take care of it but easier/faster to just fix it yourself since you're capable of handing it.

Yeah..I doubt they would do anything about it being that is a little over 2 years old now.
I think I can get it ok but some would have to pay out some bigger money to get it fixed..for sure would be a pain if you had to take it somewhere.
Hopefully it is just a freak thing...just a sloppy weld it seems.

 

[HotCoals]

I pulled the catch out when i had the pipe pulled up earlier.
Penetration don't look good and you can see one side was doing all the work lifting the by pass up.

Also a load of almost 2 year old Walnut I picked up today..guy has at least 5 or 6 more face cords.

 

[Highbeam]

That weld shouldn't see much load should it? Only when lifting the bypass plate? We do love pictures and it is better to know of a weakness just in case.

 

[HotCoals]

That weld shouldn't see much load should it? Only when lifting the bypass plate? We do love pictures and it is better to know of a weakness just in case.

Nope..just when opening the by pass.
Closing the by pass it sees none.
It's hard to get a good pic.

 

[nate379]

I usually burn around 1/2-3/4 of a cord before I need to empty the stove. It'll fill my ash pail, which holds 5 gallons.

Just loaded my daily load and realized I still haven't had to take any ash out of the stove yet. I'm not even half way up the bricks yet so I have a little while before I have to take any out. I'll let it get near the top of the bricks unless we get a cold snap were I need every inch of space in the stove. I sure love how deep the firebox is in this stove, you BKK guys are really spoiled!

 

[rideau]

Yeah..I doubt they would do anything about it being that is a little over 2 years old now.
I think I can get it ok but some would have to pay out some bigger money to get it fixed..for sure would be a pain if you had to take it somewhere.
Hopefully it is just a freak thing...just a sloppy weld it seems.

Didn't someone somewhere say there is a ten year warranty on the Blaze Kings? You could certainly contact them, and it is probably a good thing to alert them to the problem, in case others have it or they need to modify any welding procedure....

 

[jeff_t]

Ten years on the cat. I think stuff like that is five.

That bypass damper is a PITA to get out. You have to pull the cat and figure out which way to turn it and then wiggle it just right. Weld it in the stove if you can.

This is the bottom side of the door, where the frame is welded to the body of the stove. No penetration into the frame for almost the whole width of the door.

 

[Todd]

Just loaded my daily load and realized I still haven't had to take any ash out of the stove yet. I'm not even half way up the bricks yet so I have a little while before I have to take any out. I'll let it get near the top of the bricks unless we get a cold snap were I need every inch of space in the stove. I sure love how deep the firebox is in this stove, you BKK guys are really spoiled!

I empty my ash once per week, guess I could go longer. So far I haven't noticed any difference in burn times between no ash and 3" of ash.
I might get the ash pan option for my stove, I just can't shovel it out without making a mess with flying ash. Every time I shovel I get a light layer of fly ash on top of the stove and also on my desk 5' away. It takes forever for the coals to burn out and I forsee a problem when it gets colder and I want to shovel ashes out of a hot stove.

 

[Todd]

You guys got me scared about these poor welds. The welds around my door all look good as far as I can tell.

 

[jeff_t]

You guys got me scared about these poor welds. The welds around my door all look good as far as I can tell.

After I found that one, I went and took a really good look at my stove.

That stove was built in 2005, so maybe that guy doesn't work there anymore.

 

[Todd]

Are these things welded my man or machine?

 

[Hiram Maxim]

I empty my ash once per week, guess I could go longer. So far I haven't noticed any difference in burn times between no ash and 3" of ash.
I might get the ash pan option for my stove, I just can't shovel it out without making a mess with flying ash. Every time I shovel I get a light layer of fly ash on top of the stove and also on my desk 5' away. It takes forever for the coals to burn out and I forsee a problem when it gets colder and I want to shovel ashes out of a hot stove.

IMHO the ash pan for these stoves rock!

 

[Highbeam]

Are these things welded my man or machine?

Judging by the length of weld and lack of a reposition along that weld I am guessing machine.

 

[Todd]

Checked out all my welds and found this on the left rear side. Looks like some creosote leaked through a weld. Not a major leak but still not good. I cleaned it up and smeared some furnace cement in there.

 

[rdust]

Checked out all my welds and found this on the left rear side. Looks like some creosote leaked through a weld. Not a major leak but still not good. I cleaned it up and smeared some furnace cement in there.

I'd hit up your dealer and see what they can do for you.(I'm curious more than anything else) Maybe it'll be the typical we'll give you xxxx amount for a welder to fix it but you never know.

I'm not even going to look mine over! It works as advertised and I'm figuring I'll have the urge to buy another stove before this one causes me trouble. I paid around a 1/3 of local retail for mine so if I have issue I won't be too bothered.(I have plenty of friends that are good welders) If I paid full price and had issues I wouldn't be too happy about it.

 

[phatline]

Since this is a catch all thread.... When you folks engage your cats by locking down the bypass plate do you get a significant pop, clunk, or clank when you lock in the bypass? Sometimes I get a nice over-center smooth lock type feel and other times it is a pretty loud pop. The plate is adjustable but I have no desire to adjust it unless it really needs it. Do the you guys still get a thunk after a few years? Has the noise changed?

Still getting 24 hour burns out of 50% red alder and 50% half punky swamp willow with 40 degree outside temps. This thing is amazing. 40% of the glass is blackened but it is more of a tint, I can still watch the "fire" through most of the window.

I get a clunk when the bypass first drops shut, then a snap/clink sound (and feeling) when it locks in on my new Princess.

An update: last night I ran a test with a full load of cedar. I used just the cedar because I'm sure that stuff is dry--you can practically light it with a match and no kindling. I started her up at 3pm and lowered down to #1.25 on the thermostat, in increments, by 4:40. Then I let it run. Now this is below the lowest level I'd been successful at before (#1.5). As I expected, the fire "went out", by which I mean there was no visible glow in the firebox and the flue and cat temps started dropping. But something surprising happened a full hour later--the coals started glowing again, and some small wisps of blue flame appeared. The Princess followed this cycle, about an hour "off" and an hour "on", all the while maintaining roughly 300F on the stovetop. There was very little wood left when I went to bed at midnight, so I'd call that a 9 hour burn cycle on #1.25 with very dry, low-BTU wood.

Is this normal for you guys, when burning at a low setting (cycling between on and off)? Or does it indicate I'm having a draft problem?

To diagnose the potential draft problem, I got a Dwyer Mark II manometer. Given my flue gas cools rapidly in the single-wall pipe, any ideas where would be the best place to probe the flue for draft? Obviously I can't get too close to the stovetop without melting the probe tube.

BTW I'm running the same test today with a load of oak. At least a couple of the pieces I put on were damp--didn't measure a fresh split but they were hissing as they started to burn--so I think y'all are right that moisture content could play a role in some of my issues. I think the guy sold me a mixed lot of variously seasoned pieces, because some measure drier than others.

 

[jtb51b]

I get a clunk when the bypass first drops shut, then a snap/clink sound (and feeling) when it locks in on my new Princess.

An update: last night I ran a test with a full load of cedar. I used just the cedar because I'm sure that stuff is dry--you can practically light it with a match and no kindling. I started her up at 3pm and lowered down to #1.25 on the thermostat, in increments, by 4:40. Then I let it run. Now this is below the lowest level I'd been successful at before (#1.5). As I expected, the fire "went out", by which I mean there was no visible glow in the firebox and the flue and cat temps started dropping. But something surprising happened a full hour later--the coals started glowing again, and some small wisps of blue flame appeared. The Princess followed this cycle, about an hour "off" and an hour "on", all the while maintaining roughly 300F on the stovetop. There was very little wood left when I went to bed at midnight, so I'd call that a 9 hour burn cycle on #1.25 with very dry, low-BTU wood.

Is this normal for you guys, when burning at a low setting (cycling between on and off)? Or does it indicate I'm having a draft problem?

To diagnose the potential draft problem, I got a Dwyer Mark II manometer. Given my flue gas cools rapidly in the single-wall pipe, any ideas where would be the best place to probe the flue for draft? Obviously I can't get too close to the stovetop without melting the probe tube.

BTW I'm running the same test today with a load of oak. At least a couple of the pieces I put on were damp--didn't measure a fresh split but they were hissing as they started to burn--so I think y'all are right that moisture content could play a role in some of my issues. I think the guy sold me a mixed lot of variously seasoned pieces, because some measure drier than others.

Sounds normal to me. 300 degrees even sounds right for 1.25.. Try it on 1.5 you should see around 375 or so. It will probably run a little less time but the heat output will be greater..

Jason

 

[Todd]

I get a clunk when the bypass first drops shut, then a snap/clink sound (and feeling) when it locks in on my new Princess.

An update: last night I ran a test with a full load of cedar. I used just the cedar because I'm sure that stuff is dry--you can practically light it with a match and no kindling. I started her up at 3pm and lowered down to #1.25 on the thermostat, in increments, by 4:40. Then I let it run. Now this is below the lowest level I'd been successful at before (#1.5). As I expected, the fire "went out", by which I mean there was no visible glow in the firebox and the flue and cat temps started dropping. But something surprising happened a full hour later--the coals started glowing again, and some small wisps of blue flame appeared. The Princess followed this cycle, about an hour "off" and an hour "on", all the while maintaining roughly 300F on the stovetop. There was very little wood left when I went to bed at midnight, so I'd call that a 9 hour burn cycle on #1.25 with very dry, low-BTU wood.

Is this normal for you guys, when burning at a low setting (cycling between on and off)? Or does it indicate I'm having a draft problem?

To diagnose the potential draft problem, I got a Dwyer Mark II manometer. Given my flue gas cools rapidly in the single-wall pipe, any ideas where would be the best place to probe the flue for draft? Obviously I can't get too close to the stovetop without melting the probe tube.

BTW I'm running the same test today with a load of oak. At least a couple of the pieces I put on were damp--didn't measure a fresh split but they were hissing as they started to burn--so I think y'all are right that moisture content could play a role in some of my issues. I think the guy sold me a mixed lot of variously seasoned pieces, because some measure drier than others.

This has happened to me as well, just when you think it's headed for a stall she perks back up. Sometimes you just have to trust the t-stat and let her go. I can really see when the t-stat is doing it's thing because my Teltru probe in my stack will go up as much as 100 degrees then fall back after a while.