2014-2015 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[tarzan]

One last time.

Right now I'm at the end of a 24 hour burn. There are just a few small pieces of wood left..mostly all coal.
But yet my cat probe is at 10:00. Now that is just from heat not from gas's being burnt by the cat.
All I'm saying is just because the gauge is in the active zone that alone dose not mean it is truly active.
I don't expect everyone to understand that but I thought you would.
But it makes no deference..burn away! Cheers!
.All is fine in the world!

Hot Coals, most of us here understand more than you give us credit for.

We realize that you have ran your stove for years with the cover off the t-stat. We also realize the t-stat don't move much and that there's just not enough smoke left to keep the cat active at the end of a burn.

I think most of the new BK burners here and many old hands are just happy to own such a great stove and would just like to keep the operation of it as simple as it was meant to be and not get get bogged down by nit picking every little technicality.

 

[HotCoals]

Hot Coals, most of us here understand more than you give us credit for.

We realize that you have ran your stove for years with the cover off the t-stat. We also realize the t-stat don't move much and that there's just not enough smoke left to keep the cat active at the end of a burn.

I think most of the new BK burners here and many old hands are just happy to own such a great stove and would just like to keep the operation of it as simple as it was meant to be and not get get bogged down by nit picking every little technicality.

Well taken.
I'm a nit picker the wife says..lol. but the details are important to me.
But notice I did say more then once I would buy the stove over again and I have said don't worry about it just run it!
Cheers!

 

[BKVP]

Lest ye believe all I do is fish! Our freezer is officially full.

 

[Rossco]

Loaded her up yesterday @ 15:00. Just in from Nightshift. Loaded up again and fired right off. CAT still well active but I don't think it is really active like Hotcoals suggested, only a hand full of coals left.

Anyhow, got the outside of the DWP to 80C at the first 45. Engage, turn down to 1.5. CAT lit right off. Just lovely.

 

[webby3650]

One last time.

Right now I'm at the end of a 24 hour burn. There are just a few small pieces of wood left..mostly all coal.
But yet my cat probe is at 10:00. Now that is just from heat not from gas's being burnt by the cat.
All I'm saying is just because the gauge is in the active zone that alone dose not mean it is truly active.
I don't expect everyone to understand that but I thought you would.
But it makes no deference..burn away! Cheers!
.All is fine in the world!

I understand that to be the case at the end of a burn cycle, but not at the beginning. I think that's what was being referred to when I got involved with this conversation.

 

[HotCoals]

I understand that to be the case at the end of a burn cycle, but not at the beginning. I think that's what was being referred to when I got involved with this conversation.

It can happen at the beginning also if the by pass is left open too long as the stove is heating up then closed and then the air shut down to soon.
My wife would do that at times and if you went outside and looked smoke would be pouring out the chimney.
Sometimes the cat would fire off anyways and sometimes not.
Just something to watch for if your new at this stove.
We mostly close the by-pass maybe 10 mins into a new burn so that the cat is getting heated up good then adjust the air to what we need after the cat gauge is around 11:00.
Like I said kinda hard to mess up the operation of this stove but it can be done.

 

[tarzan]

Lest ye believe all I do is fish! Our freezer is officially full.

Wow! I'm jealous. I envy you guys that live out west this time of year!

Congrats!

 

[RustyShackleford]

Out of town friend visiting. I built a little fire last night - kinda chilly. Tonite she came in, felt the stove, and wondered if I'd built a new fire (it was hot enough to not be able to hold your hand on it for long). "Nope, haven't touched the thing since last night [about 24 hrs ago, when I put two small splits in]". She could not believe it. Kinda hard for me to believe as well.

 

[Woody Stover]

Do any of you cook on top of your BK?

Lest ye believe all I do is fish! Our freezer is officially full.

Yeah, can you cook salmon on a BK?

Right now I'm at the end of a 24 hour burn. There are just a few small pieces of wood left..mostly all coal.
But yet my cat probe is at 10:00. Now that is just from heat not from gas's being burnt by the cat.
All I'm saying is just because the gauge is in the active zone that alone dose not mean it is truly active.

If you still have wood gassing, the cat may well still be active. Even though the BK probe isn't marked with temps, I'm assuming that "active" starts at 500 degrees like the rest of the Condar probes. So if your probe was a bit over that, let's say 600. What did your stove top meter say? (Granted, the actual temp in the box may be a bit higher.) Did you have the air wide open, burning down the coals? At any rate, I don't think that in most cases you are going to push the cat probe to 600 or more when the cat is inactive. I've got the Dutchwest in now but haven't yet had a chance to burn full loads, but when I do (toward the weekend) I'll check it out. It's also possible that different stoves with different routing, probe position etc. may read differently. I don't remember the Keystone probe rising back over 500 when burning down coals, even though the stove top meter might rise 50-100 degrees.

It can happen at the beginning also if the by pass is left open too long as the stove is heating up then closed and then the air shut down to soon.
My wife would do that at times and if you went outside and looked smoke would be pouring out the chimney.

That sounds like it may be a case of cutting the air too much, not too soon. I mean, if you left the bypass open longer than usual (and I'm assuming the air was open more at start-up than in cruise) the stove and cat should be pretty hot. In my cat stoves, that means an instant light-off, cat glowing in ten seconds or so. It's possible that the cat may have been burning, just not eating all the smoke.

 

[Rossco]

Same again. Loaded it up before Nightshift.

Just got home. 21F out. 74F in. Still some wood left.

No apparent emissions from the stack.

 

[BKVP]

Yeah, can you cook salmon on a BK?
If you still have wood gassing, the cat may well still be active. Even though the BK probe isn't marked with temps, I'm assuming that "active" starts at 500 degrees like the rest of the Condar probes. So if your probe was a bit over that, let's say 600. What did your stove top meter say? (Granted, the actual temp in the box may be a bit higher.) Did you have the air wide open, burning down the coals? At any rate, I don't think that in most cases you are going to push the cat probe to 600 or more when the cat is inactive. I've got the Dutchwest in now but haven't yet had a chance to burn full loads, but when I do (toward the weekend) I'll check it out. It's also possible that different stoves with different routing, probe position etc. may read differently. I don't remember the Keystone probe rising back over 500 when burning down coals, even though the stove top meter might rise 50-100 degrees.
That sounds like it may be a case of cutting the air too much, not too soon. I mean, if you left the bypass open longer than usual (and I'm assuming the air was open more at start-up than in cruise) the stove and cat should be pretty hot. In my cat stoves, that means an instant light-off, cat glowing in ten seconds or so. It's possible that the cat may have been burning, just not eating all the smoke.

No I cannot cook salmon on the King. I did not catch any this past year! However, I do have 200 lbs of Halibut and yes I can cook that on top of my King. (Also caught a 50 Pacific Octopus and need to figure out how to cook that!)

 

[Woody Stover]

(Also caught a 50 Pacific Octopus and need to figure out how to cook that!)

Well, at least you don't have to worry about bones.

 

[BKVP]

OK let's talk turkey...Actually, since this is a performance thread, 3 years ago I cleaned my chimney and found this little guy insdie the top of my King!

 

[HotCoals]

He looks calmer then you about the deal..lol.

 

[RustyShackleford]

OK let's talk turkey...Actually, since this is a performance thread, 3 years ago I cleaned my chimney and found this little guy insdie the top of my King!

Birds freak me out. Occasionally, in summertime, one will fall down my chimney into the stove; I typically wake up to hear this weird thrashing sound, before I realize what it is. For awhile I had a piece of 1/2"-grid hardware cloth wrapped around the chimney cap, and it didn't seem to hurt my draft any, but I just cleaned my chimney and it was pretty cruddy so I removed it. Since I only clean my chimney every 2-3 years, I may not put it back. I may experiment with putting some "bird ribbon" on top of the cap. It's foil ribbon, red on one side and silver on the other, purchased at a "wild bird" store; supposedly it looks like fire to them. Seems to work pretty well against ravens when backpacking.

 

[BKVP]

OK let's talk turkey...Actually, since this is a performance thread, 3 years ago I cleaned my chimney and found this little guy insdie the top of my King!

He has cuter eyes for sure....

 

[Woody Stover]

3 years ago I cleaned my chimney and found this little guy insdie the top of my King!

Oh, that's a hoot!

 

[Niko]

Blaze king has a video on youtube they just put out a lil bit ago.

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I just installed mine last week and I am so loving this thing. Obviosuly this is a very beginning review for me but the video is 100 accurate for a rookie like me. Im messig around with fans and pressure zones so i can figure out how to move the heat around. Patients with trial and error my friends.

I filled up my king all the way got her going at 10am its now 11:34pm and the wood is more then halfway full still, the setting is around 2. Glass is black with a lil peekaboo up top but i could care less. Still learning the stove but man o man I can FINALLY SLEEP AT NIGHT!

 

[shoot-straight]

wow, the bk thread was all the way at the bottom of page 2! we cant have that!

burning some pine chunks now, around 16-18% in the evenings to take the chill out in the am. mostly on low. MAN! is there some creosote inside my firebox. no worries? my loads have been small, i havent been filling the box up, so it doesnt burn off even when im pre-heating. i installed my ashford last jan. i am getting it swept soon. it was swept during install. i am very curious what will come out. i only had to have my hearthstone done every 2 years and even then it was maybe a cup of creosote just near the top.

 

[Dieselhead]

Creosote you say?

 

[Dieselhead]

That's after about a dozen fires

 

[BKVP]

Creosote you say?


View attachment 142928 View attachment 142928

If I were you I would get a real hot fire and have it burn out those deposits. We recommend at least one real hot fire for an hour each week. Doing so will keep that acidic creosote from eating away at your stove parts.

 

[shoot-straight]

If I were you I would get a real hot fire and have it burn out those deposits. We recommend at least one real hot fire for an hour each week. Doing so will keep that acidic creosote from eating away at your stove parts.

thanks chris i certainly will do that. gonna bake me out of the house though!

reagarding "hot fires" how much flame is too much and too long to hurt the combustor? when i open her up, there are lots of flames. i dont want to hurt the combustor.

 

[craigbaill]

I get some creosote in mine too but every night I light that puppy up GOOD and it all seems to bake off. I loaded her up the day before(??) Wednesday at 9:30pm. Last night, Thursday, at 10:15 I still had one log left and the room was at 76. I could easily have gone 2-3 hours more but I wanted to refill the box. I had the fire going good and cleaned the glass almost completely before knocking down the air. I can get it between 1 and 1.5 keeping the cat active.

Happiness is sitting on the couch drinking coffee first thing in the morning., remembering how I froze a week before sitting in the same exact spot. Now, its 77 degrees, I'm in the same exact spot, same time of morning and its 32 degrees outside. The best part is I haven't spend a cent on oil to heat the house. If I was trying to heat my house with oil and make it 77 degrees, I would refill every 2 weeks, not 4. That's 4 weeks keeping the house at 66 degrees while we are home...

 

[Gareth96]

First fire... I'm looking at the initial firing process page that came with the Princess, and it says 400 for 45 mins and then 600 for an hour. Is that stove top, flue, other?