2012-2013 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

[jeff_t]

I usually just cram whatever will fit in there, without worrying about filling all the voids. Shooting for a 24 hour schedule right now. I have had the front door open a couple of times, but haven't been uncomfortable. It's just easier that way. Otherwise, I would have to watch the weather forecast and plan ahead.

I'll be leaving town Friday morning, until Saturday evening. I heard mid 30s for the Saturday high, so I have a handpicked load of four year old oak ready, nice square blocks so I can really pack it. I might even weigh it...

 

[HotCoals]

I usually just cram whatever will fit in there, without worrying about filling all the voids. Shooting for a 24 hour schedule right now. I have had the front door open a couple of times, but haven't been uncomfortable. It's just easier that way. Otherwise, I would have to watch the weather forecast and plan ahead.

I'll be leaving town Friday morning, until Saturday evening. I heard mid 30s for the Saturday high, so I have a handpicked load of four year old oak ready, nice square blocks so I can really pack it. I might even weigh it...

Yeah..weigh it up..we need details and pics!
I have a slider real close to the stove,,comes in hand once in awhile!

 

[Monosperma]

What a great tip this has been for me!

.... My greatest insight has been that my control knob was slipping some on the thermostat control rod. It's hard to describe, since it did catch with regularity at certain points, and slipped with regularity at others. ... But I discovered that the knob is threaded and I was able to screw it down a full turn more, so no more slipping. ...

Correction! My thermostat control knob is not threaded, but rather held in place by a set-screw (allen head). Or not quite held in place, as the case may be. So I get to set it where I want, and crank that set-screw down. This is going to take a little trial and error but it will be worth it.

The other thing I did today was to tackle the job of addressing the flame shield that had fallen out of place and was interfering with the shutting of the by-pass door. The flame shield seems to have been modified by a previous owner... I say this because a second flame shield was bolted to it, making it a bit longer and heavier. There were 4 bolts, which were not even or symmetrical, 3 square nuts and one hex nut - thus my conclusion that this was a modification and not a factory piece. Unfortunately, the added length was putting the shield in a position to have some contact with the by-pass door. Eventually, having been exposed to some high heat during start-up and re-load, the too-long flame shield warped just enough to get scraped by the bypass door, and knocked off the little tabs that are supposed to hold it in place. So, I took apart the bolts and saw that the original piece seemed to fit nicely - as if it had been designed for just that space. I did my best to un-warp it (using physical pressure), to make it flat once again. I hung it on its tabs and the by-pass door worked like a champ. Now, only time will tell if more heat makes it warp and the problem recurs.

 

[Todd]

60 degrees this afternoon. Cold front moved through about 6pm, lit a fire and loaded her up. Temps dropped down to lower 30's now with a big west wind, I have the BK at 1.5 and there is a dancing flame above the logs. Never had a flame burning this low but it has to be the weather, might have to turn her down further after football. I can hear the t-stat working more than ever before, it makes a click noise when it closes down about every 15 minutes.

 

[HotCoals]

60 degrees this afternoon. Cold front moved through about 6pm, lit a fire and loaded her up. Temps dropped down to lower 30's now with a big west wind, I have the BK at 1.5 and there is a dancing flame above the logs. Never had a flame burning this low but it has to be the weather, might have to turn her down further after football. I can hear the t-stat working more than ever before, it makes a click noise when it closes down about every 15 minutes.

Not to be a party pooper but I doubt that is your t stat making that noise.
It's prolly just your stove heating up.
It would be cool if you took the cover off and checked it out .
Because if yours is opening and closing like that it would mean mine is way defective.
I know mine works but no way will it close and open every 15 mins or so..it takes hours on mine.

 

[Todd]

Not to be a party pooper but I doubt that is your t stat making that noise.
It's prolly just your stove heating up.
It would be cool if you took the cover off and checked it out .
Because if yours is opening and closing like that it would mean mine is way defective.
I know mine works but no way will it close and open every 15 mins or so..it takes hours on mine.

It only did that for about 2 hours, now it hasn't been as agressive, probably just the weather?

 

[HotCoals]

It only did that for about 2 hours, now it hasn't been as agressive, probably just the weather?

Like I said..I tend to think it was your stove heating up..mine does that..sounds a lot like the flap closing.
But who knows!
It's a square drive to take the screws out...lol.

 

[jeff_t]

If my bathroom scale is correct, this is almost 100 lbs of oak splits, plus a couple of smaller apple rounds, and a few small splits to fill in. Between 100-105 lbs of fuel.

 

[HotCoals]

Going away for a week Jeff?

lol

Keep us updated on the burn..we love pics!

 

[hotprinter]

I am in my second season of our blaze king ultra and absolutely love it! It burns nonstop. I only light it once per year. Last year it burned solid from October 22 - the end of April. I only cleaned the ashes 4 times and burned about 6 cords. To clean it I simply moved the hot coals to one side and put the ashes in a metal bucket then set the hot bucket in the snow away from the house. I am in the heart of Alaska so it gets a workout. My morning and evening routine when I load it is to first open the thermostat fully, then open the bypass. Then I open the door slightly to make sure it is drafting well as to not get smoke in the house. Then I gently clean the glass with a sharp razor knife, works great. Then I put on my welder gloves and grab my long handle fireplace shovel (custom made in Alaska) and break down the coals in stove. I then use the shovel to rake the coals toward me so the angle down toward the back. This lets me put more wood in as the stove has protrusions on the top back which the logs can hit on. Then I carefully load it. Shut the door, close the bypass to engage the cat and let it burn with the thermostat wide open until the thermometer is maxed. Then I turn the thermostat to about 2 depending on the outside temps. If you want to heat the cat faster turn off the blower. I usually have the blower on low full time. Never leave your stove unattended with the door open or bypass on. Never use a vacuum for the coals. Never use a non metal container for the coals. Be ever vigilant and STAY WARM AND SAFE!

 

[C&B]

What's the lifespan of the cat burning 3 cords each winter ? I checked Condar and they want $326 for the Princesss cat ! OUCH! I was thinking of getting one but now I may go Isle Royale.

 

[Highbeam]

What's the lifespan of the cat burning 3 cords each winter ? I checked Condar and they want $326 for the Princesss cat ! OUCH! I was thinking of getting one but now I may go Isle Royale.

Right now the warranty is 10 years on the cat. Looks to be non-prorated for all 10. I just sent in my warranty card for this as it is a special deal since earlier this summer. Normally the warranty is a 6 year deal with some sort of pro-rated system like a tire.

You guys do awesome full loads. It's pretty awesome to fill it right to the top like that without cutting special splits to fit like puzzle pieces. Is it just me or do your fuel loads burn from center to the sides and leave a tall double or triple stack against the sidewalls? When this happens, the cat really cools off since those sidewall stacks don't seem to burn very well. They burn eventually but the same 4 splits stacked in the center make a much more effiecient fire.

 

[rdust]

What's the lifespan of the cat burning 3 cords each winter ? I checked Condar and they want $326 for the Princesss cat ! OUCH! I was thinking of getting one but now I may go Isle Royale.

Try http://www.firecatcombustors.com their prices are better, right now a cat for my princess is on sale for 220.

 

[Highbeam]

I was filling out my 10 year cat warranty card and they gave directions for getting the serial#. Turns out the real serial is the short one on the back of the stove printed on the EPA label. Well, I have a large german/swiss head and it ain't fitting back there where my clearance is only 6" so I called blazeking. A lady actually answered, a real live one, and told me that either serial# is fine. The one on the EPA label or the one stamped into the side of the top plate that is much longer. With my regular warranty registration I had assumed that the top plate serial number was the correct one so I wanted to be sure that neither warranty was void.

It's raining, 45 degrees out, and stove humming along on low keeping the house in the mid 70s with no effort required until tomorrow morning. Still on the 24 hour schedule.

 

[rdust]

You guys do awesome full loads. It's pretty awesome to fill it right to the top like that without cutting special splits to fit like puzzle pieces. Is it just me or do your fuel loads burn from center to the sides and leave a tall double or triple stack against the sidewalls? When this happens, the cat really cools off since those sidewall stacks don't seem to burn very well. They burn eventually but the same 4 splits stacked in the center make a much more effiecient fire.

Mine also burns from the center out,(I'm sure they all do) if I need more heat when the fire reaches that point and I'm around I open the bypass, open the door a touch, slide the poker in and pull the wood from the left into the center, close the door and bypass.

 

[Todd]

Mine also burns through the center first then the right side goes then the left.

Burning two stoves today. The BK can't keep up in this weather with a low 1.5 setting and 24 hour burns. I suppose I could turn her up but I gotta burn the Keystone once in awhile. Lol

 

[rdust]

Mine also burns through the center first then the right side goes then the left.

Burning two stoves today. The BK can't keep up in this weather with a low 1.5 setting and 24 hour burns. I suppose I could turn her up but I gotta burn the Keystone once in awhile. Lol

The BK seems to be working out as you had hoped up to this point! You get spoiled with the burn times for sure this time of year. I can wake up in the morning after 10 hours on a load of wood and chuckle since it looks like it's nearly untouched.

 

[Todd]

The BK seems to be working out as you had hoped up to this point! You get spoiled with the burn times for sure this time of year. I can wake up in the morning after 10 hours on a load of wood and chuckle since it looks like it's nearly untouched.

Yeah, still playing around with it but it looks like I have two options, either burn the BK low and slow for a 24 hour burn and use the WS as needed or I can just burn the BK hotter and cut down the burn times. It's nice to have the flexibility.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Try http://www.firecatcombustors.com their prices are better, right now a cat for my princess is on sale for 220.

I replaced mine mid last season after about 20 cord. In retrospect, I could have gotten away without it but I wasn't willing to pull the cat mid season without having the new one on hand as the King is our sole source of heat. The original is now cleaned up stored away in the box the new one came in for use in 5 or so years. I think the new one was ~$250 delivered from firecat. Small price to pay for what the King does.

 

[Todd]

I replaced mine mid last season after about 20 cord. In retrospect, I could have gotten away without it but I wasn't willing to pull the cat mid season without having the new one on hand as the King is our sole source of heat. The original is now cleaned up stored away in the box the new one came in for use in 5 or so years. I think the new one was ~$250 delivered from firecat. Small price to pay for what the King does.

How many years did that 20 cords last you? Did the new cat come wrapped in the gasket or did you do it yourself?

 

[SolarAndWood]

Almost 3. I was dealing with high heat loss until I got the shell tightened up last year. The good news is I haven't felt the need to cut a stick of firewood this year as I cut consumption by a third last year.

The new cat was wrapped...couldn't have been easier job to do.

 

[Todd]

Almost 3. I was dealing with high heat loss until I got the shell tightened up last year. The good news is I haven't felt the need to cut a stick of firewood this year as I cut consumption by a third last year.

The new cat was wrapped...couldn't have been easier job to do.

Hmm, when I bought a cat for my Keystone last year it came in two pieces and the gasket was separate.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Between the BK cat housing design and the way Firecat prepares the cat, it was literally a slide out slide in job. A little different than my last cat stove...

 

[Todd]

Between the BK cat housing design and the way Firecat prepares the cat, it was literally a slide out slide in job. A little different than my last cat stove...

Nice! Did the old one come out pretty easily? I've heard a few stories of people having to pry them out and the new one being a tight fit.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Small flat blade screwdriver working each side a little until I got it going. Wasn't a big deal at all. New cat was a perfect snug fit. Firecat does a real nice job with the package.