2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[Woody harrelson]

Cardboard. A new contender in the cast iron vs soapstone vs steel contention?

you know it!

 

[Woody harrelson]

I just got done bringing up a face cord from the wood shed. 18 percent on the moisture meter in the middle after a fresh split and 13 percent towards the ends for an average of 14.67 percent. Should burn good in my new princess. still waiting for it to cool down so I could burn off some of the stink with the windows open

 

[jkk]

After much research and hanging out in these forums, I purchased a BK princess insert to replace my old VC Winterwarm Large (see earlier posts). With a build date of July 2015, the paint is barely dry!!

Installed yesterday and connected to my existing 8" duravent duraliner (21LF in length in an external masonry chimney) utilizing an 8X6 reducer as recomended by many during earlier posts.

I had a small fire yesterday to burn off some of the newness, good draw, good burn but only used kindling and two compressed wood bricks as have read different things on break in fires. Was pretty excited!!

Question: I am assuming that I can clean the liner WITH the insert still connected? Do I just leave the bypass door open and let the material fall in the firebox?? This is really not addressed in the BK literature.

 

[jkk]

Another Question: Should I leave the bypass open or closed during extended no-use times such as the summer months? I probably will not start another fire for a couple of weeks and it is in the open position (the bypass lever is horizontal and not pushed down).

 

[Highbeam]

Another Question: Should I leave the bypass open or closed during extended no-use times such as the summer months? I probably will not start another fire for a couple of weeks and it is in the open position (the bypass lever is horizontal and not pushed down).

I leave the bypass open all summer to avoid compressing the gasket. Same with the loading door.

 

[Highbeam]

I was reinstalling my flue this weekend and thought I would perform some bypass maintenance. I cleaned the inside of the dome really well and sucked on the bypass gasket too. It's in there but pretty flat. The manual tells you to lube the contact surface between the operating rod and the bypass plate bracket with high temp antisieze. I have a bottle of that stuff so put it on and it really makes a big difference in smoothness of throwing that bypass lever. Not sure what will happen when the heat cooks that antisieze down to powder but it sure feels good right now.

While I was there I thought I would adjust the bypass plate tension. The manual is pretty clear about how to do this and the "click" or "cam-over" feel that I would get when engaging the cat has gotten less apparent over the years so I decided to tighten it up. It took more than muscle to get the 7/16" lock nut loose, I tapped the box end wrench with a small hammer to break it loose and then tightened the bolt a full quarter turn. Reset the locknut and the cam over feel was a little better. I loosened the locknut and tried for more but the bolt got tight and I didn't want to force it. I went ahead and locked down the locknut again and I think I'll leave it alone. The antiseize probably masked some of the click feel anyway.

I also switched to the new style duravent ceiling box adapter which actually screws into the ceiling box so there is a positive connection at the top now. It's a much better system than the old adapter ring that sort of snapped in place loosely up top.

 

[drz1050]

Is that hearth bluestone? I like your setup!

 

[Highbeam]

Is that hearth bluestone? I like your setup!

Thanks. We don't have bluestone here in the PNW. That is a cultured (concrete) hearthstone product. Charcoal grey (bluish in the right light), 2" thick, 20x20, and irregular enough that it drove me nuts to set and grout but we like the rough texture compared to ceramic tile that is very "perfect".

 

[Calentarse]

Couple questions for you BK long duration burners:

1. When doing a low and slow burn (e.g. 24 hours), is the box black the whole time or does it periodically show flames?
2. If you set your thermostat to a setting that is high enough to show flames, what kind of burn times do you get?
3. If you pack your BK to the gills and set the thermostat on the lowest setting, is there ever a problem with stalling the cat or getting too high cat temps?

Thanks.

Only heated for one season with mine but I'll try to answer your questions.

I normally always burn at the lowest temperature and yes, the box is predominantly black inside. You can sometimes see the cat glow up under the roof of the stove and sometimes there's a little orange coal in the bottom but that's about it. No flames on a low setting.

I would imagine that if you burnt the stove on a high setting (the setting needed to get flames) you'd burn around 8-10-12 hours provided you have quality wood and an average draft. That would totally run me out of our house even on the coldest of winter night's here, but my house is only 1200sq. Ft.

My stove has never stalled. I normally always pack it to the gills because it's so easily controlled. No point in doing otherwise.

 

[jkk]

After much research and hanging out in these forums, I purchased a BK princess insert to replace my old VC Winterwarm Large (see earlier posts). With a build date of July 2015, the paint is barely dry!!

Installed yesterday and connected to my existing 8" duravent duraliner (21LF in length in an external masonry chimney) utilizing an 8X6 reducer as recomended by many during earlier posts.

I had a small fire yesterday to burn off some of the newness, good draw, good burn but only used kindling and two compressed wood bricks as have read different things on break in fires. Was pretty excited!!

Question: I am assuming that I can clean the liner WITH the insert still connected? Do I just leave the bypass door open and let the material fall in the firebox?? This is really not addressed in the BK literature.

???? This should be an easy question?? What technique should i follow when cleaning the 8" liner?? Keep stove in plance and let it fall into the stove or do I need to vacuum from around the bypass plate?? I did not clean the existing liner before the install and want to get the liner cleaned out before starting to burn for real.

thanks for the help.

 

[webby3650]

???? This should be an easy question?? What technique should i follow when cleaning the 8" liner?? Keep stove in plance and let it fall into the stove or do I need to vacuum from around the bypass plate?? I did not clean the existing liner before the install and want to get the liner cleaned out before starting to burn for real.

thanks for the help.

Broom it down with a poly brush. Assuming you have a 90, take the stove pipe off and broom it outside. While the pipe is off, vacuum out the area behind the cat. Also adjust the bypass tension while its apart if needed.

 

[claybe]

???? This should be an easy question?? What technique should i follow when cleaning the 8" liner?? Keep stove in plance and let it fall into the stove or do I need to vacuum from around the bypass plate?? I did not clean the existing liner before the install and want to get the liner cleaned out before starting to burn for real.

thanks for the help.

I have never disconnected the stove to clean it, but I might start. In the past I simply cleaned from the top down on the roof with a sooteater. I think highbeam cleans from the bottom up. This year I had to remove the stove to insulate the liner and found that the sooteater tore up the bypass gasket a little. This probably would not happen if I cleaned from the bottom up or if I left the bypass closed. So in the future I am probably going to clean with the bypass closed. And then I will use the leaf blower sucker to suck out all the soot. I think there is a YouTube video that shows this. Also I have a tube attachment for my shop vac that I use to get in the nooks and crannies of the bypass from the bottom.

 

[pdx_burn]

As asked for...here is my BK P-C install...that is the Blaze King Princess - Cardboard variation... I hear the warranty goes all the way through the first burn.

 

[begreen]

Good to do a mockup. It's a good visualization tool.

Is that an active furnace return grille? Mechanical code requires it to be >10ft away from the stove.

 

[pdx_burn]

Good to do a mockup. It's a good visualization tool.
Is that an active furnace return grille? Mechanical code requires it to be >10ft away from the stove.

Yes, we are going to remove that, since the pad will cover that spot.

 

[begreen]

Good deal. It probably should be relocated to keep system balance.

I particularly like the insulating, transparent legs on your mockup. Very classy. Gives new meaning to a floating firebox.

 

[pdx_burn]

A few questions...

1. Given all the comments about dry wood, I'm thinking a moisture meter might be a worthwhile investment for my new Blaze King Princess. Any recommendations?
2. We are selecting a pad for the BKP (freestanding). It's a corner install. Shop is recommending a 61 corner unit. I did some measurements and it looks like a 54 Corner will meet all requirements. Any recommendations?

Thanks for all the help...really looking forward to the new stove.

 

[begreen]

8" behind the stove and 16" in front of the stove + the 25" stove depth = 59". I'd go with the shop's recommended 61"

 

[pdx_burn]

8" behind the stove and 16" in front of the stove + the 25" stove depth = 59". I'd go with the shop's recommended 61"

Thanks

 

[Highbeam]

I really appreciate the little bit of extra hearth out in front of the princess (three inches more than the minimum) that I built into my new hearth when loading. The princess is pretty tall and when you set a load of 16" splits on the hearth it is nice to be able to lift them up and in without bonking the ash lip because your hearth is so shallow.

 

[kennyp2339]

I really appreciate the little bit of extra hearth out in front of the princess (three inches more than the minimum) that I built into my new hearth when loading. The princess is pretty tall and when you set a load of 16" splits on the hearth it is nice to be able to lift them up and in without bonking the ash lip because your hearth is so shallow.

Its hard to get into a loading routine with these stoves, my old stove use to burn so much wood that by the end of the first season I could load the thing with my eyes closed, these on the other hand not so much due to the long burn times.

 

[Rossco]

So then, I imagine this question has popped up in the past but.

I have an Ultra with fancy side shields that are not shielding anything. If I take them off, will I get better radiant heat output?

 

[begreen]

That would depend on the installation. If there is at least 16" clearance to combustibles on each side of the stove then yes there would be more radiant heat. That doesn't mean the room would get any warmer though.

 

[kennyp2339]

It will help a little, I found that my BK works best with the blower on low just sending air across the top, I have a princess ultra, no side shields, just a blower, I may depending on money add the convection deck later on.

 

[webby3650]

It will help a little, I found that my BK works best with the blower on low just sending air across the top, I have a princess ultra, no side shields, just a blower, I may depending on money add the convection deck later on.

If you have the ultra then you have side shields built in don't you?