2015-2016 Blaze King Performance thread (Everything BK)

[Highbeam]

Had a first time experience with the BK. For whatever reason, this year the glass has gotten and stayed almost completely black from top to bottom. It's not a thick coating, you can see flames through it but during the regular burns you can't see anything. I'm "flying by my instruments" as they say and it still works fine. Smoke free, long burns, but no visual. Three year old doug fir and cypress (cedary, junipery, thing) mixture

I got busy screwing in underlayment and just forgot to reload the stove before bedtime. It was warm enough and the last reload was like 30 hours ago. I had reloaded the non-cat in the shop five times since breakfast and it was out. This morning it was 63 in the house. Girls were not amused.

Seems the BK is so boring that you can forget about it at least until the fuel runs out the next day.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like you need another instrument, a cold stove alarm.

 

[Highbeam]

Sounds like you need another instrument, a cold stove alarm.

She was the one squawking this morning!

 

[Ashful]

Seems the BK is so boring that you can forget about it at least until the fuel runs out the next day.

I've already done this twice this year. Two stoves = easy to lose track on 30 hour reload cycles.

 

[jetsam]

Thanks for all the feedback on my many questions! I did some further digging, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the "right" way to sweep the chimney with a princess insert... found a few threads on the subject here and here and here. Several people said they did it with the bypass open and pulled the cat every time, which I understand requires you to go buy a new gasket. One guy said that only stupid people would sweep with the bypass open; the rest seemed to do it with the bypass open.

I would really like to have a look at the bypass door mechanism to resolve this dispute, but it's a bit late for that now since I had it professionally installed :|.

I did find this picture in the owner's manual. I assume the photo depicts the bypass in "closed" position, but I'm not sure. It looks to me like sweeping the flue with the bypass in either position is going to result in a lot of crud getting where it shouldn't? Maybe that's not an issue if you buy a new gasket and pull the cat every time, since possibly you can reach all the crud with a shopvac.

 

[Usernamemustbeunique]

Thanks for all the feedback on my many questions! I did some further digging, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the "right" way to sweep the chimney with a princess insert... found a few threads on the subject here and here and here. Several people said they did it with the bypass open and pulled the cat every time, which I understand requires you to go buy a new gasket. One guy said that only stupid people would sweep with the bypass open; the rest seemed to do it with the bypass open.

I would really like to have a look at the bypass door mechanism to resolve this dispute, but it's a bit late for that now since I had it professionally installed :|.

I did find this picture in the owner's manual. I assume the photo depicts the bypass in "closed" position, but I'm not sure. It looks to me like sweeping the flue with the bypass in either position is going to result in a lot of crud getting where it shouldn't? Maybe that's not an issue if you buy a new gasket and pull the cat every time, since possibly you can reach all the crud with a shopvac.

View attachment 169432

Here is a thought for you. Figure out how to get some tin bashed in a shape that you can fit it up though the bypass opening and into the chimney. Then use a vacuum with alot of suction and in theory, where everything works, the falling debris will get sucked into the vacuum. I think some chimney sweeps use a similar technique doing bottom up sweeps. I have been thinking about getting something bashed to go around my pipe when I lift it and hook up my shop vac. Then again I could just use a stainless mixxing bowl. Anyway, that idea won't work in your case unless you can access your chimney though the back of your chase, assuming you have a chase.

Just thoughts.

 

[webby3650]

Thanks for all the feedback on my many questions! I did some further digging, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the "right" way to sweep the chimney with a princess insert... found a few threads on the subject here and here and here. Several people said they did it with the bypass open and pulled the cat every time, which I understand requires you to go buy a new gasket. One guy said that only stupid people would sweep with the bypass open; the rest seemed to do it with the bypass open.

I would really like to have a look at the bypass door mechanism to resolve this dispute, but it's a bit late for that now since I had it professionally installed :|.

I did find this picture in the owner's manual. I assume the photo depicts the bypass in "closed" position, but I'm not sure. It looks to me like sweeping the flue with the bypass in either position is going to result in a lot of crud getting where it shouldn't? Maybe that's not an issue if you buy a new gasket and pull the cat every time, since possibly you can reach all the crud with a shopvac.

View attachment 169432

The bypass on the princess insert should most definitely be open while sweeping. There is absolutely no reason to pull the cat afterward. The PI is designed in such a way to allow easy sweeping. The flue collar is positioned at 30 degrees, not vertical like your picture shows. The bypass opens toward the cat, preventing debris from sweeping from making it to the cat. It's also designed this way to prevent flames from hitting the cat, but that's a while other thread!
Open the bypass, sweep it and all is well!

 

[Dave_o]

Thanks for all the feedback on my many questions! I did some further digging, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the "right" way to sweep the chimney with a princess insert... found a few threads on the subject here and here and here. Several people said they did it with the bypass open and pulled the cat every time, which I understand requires you to go buy a new gasket. One guy said that only stupid people would sweep with the bypass open; the rest seemed to do it with the bypass open.

I would really like to have a look at the bypass door mechanism to resolve this dispute, but it's a bit late for that now since I had it professionally installed :|.

I did find this picture in the owner's manual. I assume the photo depicts the bypass in "closed" position, but I'm not sure. It looks to me like sweeping the flue with the bypass in either position is going to result in a lot of crud getting where it shouldn't? Maybe that's not an issue if you buy a new gasket and pull the cat every time, since possibly you can reach all the crud with a shopvac.

View attachment 169432

I have a PI and when I swept my chimmney last month I did it with the bypass open. Most of the crud fell on the shelf and in the firebox. If any went behind the bypass it wasn't much, maybe some dust. I will say if you close the bypass and sweep you will throw everything that falls on the back of the bypass, the stuff that fell into my firebox, at the cat when you eventually open the bypass. Leave the bypass open when you sweep, thats my advice.

 

[ohiojoe13]

I came home yesterday to a completely dirty glass on my ashford. This is a first. It usually it just in the 2 lower corners. I was at about 25 hours into the burn. Is there anything I should be worried about? Most of it cleaned up when I reloaded and burned on his for 30 min. Thanks

 

[Highbeam]

I came home yesterday to a completely dirty glass on my ashford. This is a first. It usually it just in the 2 lower corners. I was at about 25 hours into the burn. Is there anything I should be worried about? Most of it cleaned up when I reloaded and burned on his for 30 min. Thanks

It is possible that the cat stalled during the burn. Did your ashford's cat meter still say active when you got home? If so then you just joined the club of BK burners with black glass. Usually the Ashford stays cleaner than the older stoves but on low low burns they can muck up. Especially if your cat stalled or if your wood is wet. The other symptom of too low of a burn setting is left over unburned chunks. If your cat stalled with fuel still burning the chimney was also smoking.

 

[ohiojoe13]

It is possible that the cat stalled during the burn. Did your ashford's cat meter still say active when you got home? If so then you just joined the club of BK burners with black glass. Usually the Ashford stays cleaner than the older stoves but on low low burns they can muck up. Especially if your cat stalled or if your wood is wet. The other symptom of too low of a burn setting is left over unburned chunks. If your cat stalled with fuel still burning the chimney was also smoking.

The cat was still active and coals still burning. I usually always burn on the lowest setting. I did clean my chimney Sunday. I also had to tightening up my door latch a couple of weeks ago. Maybe with the warmer temps yesterday and a tighter door seal caused it to get so dirty.

 

[Highbeam]

The cat was still active and coals still burning. I usually always burn on the lowest setting. I did clean my chimney Sunday. I also had to tightening up my door latch a couple of weeks ago. Maybe with the warmer temps yesterday and a tighter door seal caused it to get so dirty.

Oh good, so your cat didn't stall just a low temp firebox gunked up the glass. Wet wood can contribute to this, I suspect evergreens/conifers also contribute, as can lower draft caused by the warmer outside temperatures. You're lucky that yours burned off. My princess requires the razor blade treatment for cleaning so it often goes many weeks dirty.

 

[Ashful]

Warmer temps require a higher t'stat setting to maintain, due to reduced draft. But you say cat stayed active, which reduces the likelihood of this being the cause.

If you stack wood close to the glass, it interferes with the air wash system, and will result in dirty glass every time.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Warmer temps require a higher t'stat setting to maintain, due to reduced draft. But you say cat stayed active, which reduces the likelihood of this being the cause.

If you stack wood close to the glass, it interferes with the air wash system, and will result in dirty glass every time.

How does the air wash system work? Could too much ash interfere with the air wash?

 

[Ashful]

Air is introduced to the firebox above the front door, and is drawn down across the glass to reach the low-pressure target at the base of the fire, keeping fresh air moving across the glass and thus displacing the smoke that fouls up your glass. It works pretty well at normal burn rates, but air velocity falls off so much at the lowest burn rates that the system fails to perform its duty, and your glass fouls up.

You can usually see it working when you're starting a new load, if your glass is clean enough. You'll see the smoke rolling downward right behind the glass, due to the down-draft of fresh air in that area. Ash should not interfere.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Air is introduced to the firebox above the front door, and is drawn down across the glass to reach the low-pressure target at the base of the fire, keeping fresh air moving across the glass and thus displacing the smoke that fouls up your glass. It works pretty well at normal burn rates, but air velocity falls off so much at the lowest burn rates that the system fails to perform its duty, and your glass fouls up.

You can usually see it working when you're starting a new load, if your glass is clean enough. You'll see the smoke rolling downward right behind the glass, due to the down-draft of fresh air in that area. Ash should not interfere.

OK thanks for clearing that up for me. Well today I come home from work and the glass looks how it normally does, just the lower corners dirty. Outside temp were about 10 degrees lower.

 

[Ashful]

Next time it gets that warm, try running just 1 "hour" higher on the clock. Bet you'll find it runs just a bit better, doesn't stall, and keeps the glass clean.

 

[claybe]

For the princess insert owners, what is the average your princess runs in the active zone? What about everyone else?

 

[Heftiger]

I'm ready to join the thread. Ashford 30.1 installed, burning through the first burn cycle right now!

 

[jetsam]

For the princess insert owners, what is the average your princess runs in the active zone?

It's my first year with a princess insert, and I'm in a new house, so when I installed the insert I had no wood laid in. I've been out getting wood every day that I have some time off of work, and now I have about three cords of deadfall oak and pine put up for this year and next year, and another 5-10 cords of fresh red oak waiting to be cut, split, and stacked for 2 years out.)

With deadfall pine, I have been running around 8-12 hours on low. The stuff I have been burning so far has been wet enough to give some folks on this forums the jimmies, but my flue has stayed clean even if my window has been solid black. The deadfall oak does quite a bit better- I got 20 hours out of a mostly-full load on almost the lowest setting- but the oak's also a quite a bit drier (20-25%).

Those long-burn days are about over though- nighttime temps have been below freezing 2 days in a row now, so I am learning how it does with crappy wood on higher settings. (Right now it's 36 and dropping outside, 72 and rising in my living room... the princess is set at 50% with the fan running on medium, which is the highest I've run it for heating purposes so far- not sure what kind of burn time I'll get but it sure is heating up the room.)

Coming from non-secondary heat straight to a cat stove, I am still amazed that I can load this thing up with half rotten damp wood and come back 8 hours later and find it putting out loads of heat. From what I read here, it will do a lot better in years to come when I start feeding it good wood.

 

[Dave_o]

For the princess insert owners, what is the average your princess runs in the active zone? What about everyone else?

For cool season fires it's anywhere from 12-20 hours, depending on how much I fill the stove. When its cold out it never becomes inactive, I always fill it before. If I didn't fill it up I would guess at about 12-14 hours.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Should I be seeing flames when running my ashford at about the 4 o'clock position? I'm not seeing any. If I turn it all the way to 6 o'clock I get flames. Also can someone explain how the thermostat works. When it was warmer out in would hear the flap close around 3 o'clock now that it's colder out I hear it close around 5. Is that normal? If the flap closes at say 4 o'clock and I set thermostat at 3 o'clock will the thermostat open back up when needed?

 

[Heftiger]

Should I be seeing flames when running my ashford at about the 4 o'clock position? I'm not seeing any. If I turn it all the way to 6 o'clock I get flames. Also can someone explain how the thermostat works. When it was warmer out in would hear the flap close around 3 o'clock now that it's colder out I hear it close around 5. Is that normal? If the flap closes at say 4 o'clock and I set thermostat at 3 o'clock will the thermostat open back up when needed?

You do not need to see flames as long as the cat is active. You can go look at your chimney to verify there is no smoke coming out.

I'm having an issue where I have little or no flame when it's on high. I'm trying to decide if it's a draft problem, or some wood that's not ideal.

 

[claybe]

For cool season fires it's anywhere from 12-20 hours, depending on how much I fill the stove. When its cold out it never becomes inactive, I always fill it before. If I didn't fill it up I would guess at about 12-14 hours.

I am only getting 8-9 hours in the active zone. I insulated the pipe this year in hopes that it would improve. Wood is a mix of pine and mixed hard woods at 12%. I guess I need to add an extension. What kind of extension do I need? BKVP mentioned 3 foot? Should it also be double walled and insulated?

 

[Dave_o]

I am only getting 8-9 hours in the active zone. I insulated the pipe this year in hopes that it would improve. Wood is a mix of pine and mixed hard woods at 12%. I guess I need to add an extension. What kind of extension do I need? BKVP mentioned 3 foot? Should it also be double walled and insulated?

8-9 hours seems kind of low unless your running the stove wide open. I burned a bunch of pine last march-april and could easily go 15-20 hours, in the dead of winter it would be different. To be honest the cat being active has never been a problem, it'll stay active until there are only tiny coals left. Where are you located? Outside temps play a big role in how much you burn. As for the extension, can't really help there. I have an interior chimmney with about 15' of insulated pipe in it and it works fine.