Ashful
Minister of Fire
Do you want each of us to reply with a "no, not me?"
2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2
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My stack often emits "stuff" for hours, last night for over 12 hours, when the cat is well into the active range. Warm weather, cold weather, nomatter. My cat is just over one year old which is something like 5000 hours of operation, vacuumed and clean on the face. The "stuff" is white, stinky, present at flue temps over 400, and the visible stuff starts right at the cap.
How do I know if this white stuff is smoke? People driving by certainly think it is smoke.
What is this cleaning you speak of? Is that vinegar bath a BK thing?
I can. Why on earth would I want to convert to an electronic cat probe meter when the existing one works so well? Is this just a solution looking for a problem?
The digital meter tells you what's happening "right now" with the cat..
Not what was happening several minutes ago..
Think, wife loading the stove, here !!
So here is why I don't consider that important for operation. Following the directions and engaging the cat when the cat meter (even delayed) says "active" is conservative and means that the cat really really is ready. That's a good thing. Wife can load as soon as the meter says active just like the owner's manual dictates. Some cat manufacturers even suggest that you should maintain active temperatures for 20-30 minutes before engaging the cat.
I suspect that you like gadgets and that's okay.
WoodyIsGoody
Minister of Fire
As has been pointed out by various people here, the performance of a cat is variable over it's lifetime and it's useful life is subject to the quality of fuel and how that fuel is burned. My guess is that by burning wood for a year that was only half seasoned and running on the low end of temperatures, you accelerated the natural degradation of the cat to the point it is only functioning at a fraction of it's original potential. It may be that a thorough cleaning could bring it most of the way back, otherwise you need a new cat.
The recommendation to burn fully seasoned wood should not be taken too lightly. I've never owned a cat but the recommendation to always burn fully seasoned wood is a good one and avoids many problems, cat or no cat. In fact, woodburning with less than fully seasoned wood takes all the fun out of it and makes the economic case for wood burning fall flat on it's face.
Welp, my stove has a convection deck, so the meter is not real easy to see, I gotta get out my lighter or turn on a bunch-a-lights to see it...
And no, I'm not a gadget nut either, lol...
Many years ago I bought a log splitter..
I know, I know, the wedge and sledge from my teenage years worked just fine..
But, the splitter just seemed to work better for me !!
Cat info and how to clean it. It worked for me and is safe for the cat.
(broken link removed to https://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf)
(broken link removed to https://www.condar.com/combustorcleaningmanual.pdf)
I used a digital cat thermometer on my last stove, for several reasons, because I had to. It mounted via the rear. Inconvenient for viewing. Having a very reliable mechanical thermometer is great. On a BK stove the (lack of) numbers can be ignored! They are meaningless! As long as you are active, all is well. After break-in the cat can not over fire because the combustion air is limited by the thermostat.
Thank you. When I go to look for the smoke is that while burning on high after the reload? If I do need to clean it what's the best way to clean it?
Not a fair comparison. Log splitters are about as much of a gadget as a car.
I have no idea what stove you are using (maybe update your signature so that we can tell) but the BK cat meters are right on top and easily viewable from the front when you are close enough to engage the cat. Yes, you might not know from your couch if the bypass is ready to flip. Maybe that's the only good reason for the digital meter, so you can tell from your couch if the cat is ready to engage?
I like gadgets too. I replaced my original cat meter with a numbered one for the sake of knowing actual temperatures.
Oh, I do use thermocouples and digital display for my meat thermometers in the BBQ. Don't want to open the door until it's ready!
Ashful
Minister of Fire
E'splain to me how the digital meter is "instant". Does the thermocouple probe have zero mass? What is the actual time constant or slew rate?
The digital readout can be seen from across the room and that is nice. A digital unit can have a faster response and that is nice to have too. These things were important for my past stove but not so much for a BK. See my post #83. My Condar digital unit turned itself off every 2 minutes. What a pain. It was E recycled when I got rid of the stove.
A little off subject but I did not know these things existed:
http://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/pages/videos
Burns wood shims, if cut in half. BK look out competition has arrived!
http://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/pages/videos
Burns wood shims, if cut in half. BK look out competition has arrived!
BKVP says keep the cat active and check your flue in 30 days. The top of the flue might not get hot enough to keep the creosote at bay. Each install is different but I run mine at those low temps too. Fully char each load (~20 minutes) and turn the thermostat down in a few small steps. Charred dried wood (red hot wood has a real low moisture content) is very important.
My wood is around 10-15% moisture content and yes I ran it on high about 25-30 mins I noticed it went to 276 then back to 400 and its dropping slowly again so I'm guessing all is well house is nice at 74 love this stove
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