2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2

[kennyp2339]

Good thing you got to pay extra for such great dealer service! That cat could have emailed to you in like two days. Good idea taking care of this in the off season.

It is what it is, I wish you could directly to the manufacturer but its just not setup that way.. look at it from the other angle, Woodstock exclusively sells directly to the consumer, there product is limited to the northeast because there are no show rooms anywhere else. So you just have to go with the flow.

 

[Highbeam]

It is what it is, I wish you could directly to the manufacturer but its just not setup that way.. look at it from the other angle, Woodstock exclusively sells directly to the consumer, there product is limited to the northeast because there are no show rooms anywhere else. So you just have to go with the flow.

Woodstock used to have dealers and showrooms. I agree it's nice to see one before buying. They still ship them all over though.

Yes, go with the flow. If you want a bk you must get the bk "experience".

 

[begreen]

Woodstock's product is not limited to the NE region. They are sold nationwide. I almost bought a used Fireview for sale locally several years back. There are less Woodstock stoves in the west due to the higher shipping costs. The opposite was true for Blaze King stoves, they were uncommon in the east due to high individual unit shipping costs until Blaze King started warehousing a supply for east coast sales.

Woodstock usually sell out their year's production run so there is less incentive for them to solve the west coast shipping cost problem. But with their latest experimental stove, maybe that will change?

 

[jetsam]

It is what it is, I wish you could directly to the manufacturer but its just not setup that way.. look at it from the other angle, Woodstock exclusively sells directly to the consumer, there product is limited to the northeast because there are no show rooms anywhere else. So you just have to go with the flow.

I bought my stove sight unseen, and had to pay a dealer markup for the privelege (and also pay the dealer to deliver it after the manufacturer had already paid to ship it a few miles away from my house).

Who benefits from that? Not me, and not the manufacturer. (Especially not the manufacturer, as fhe dealer tried to talk me out of the stove I wanted.)

If I have an issue, am I going to reach out to the local guys who have never seen my stove before, or the manufacturer who makes them? Come on.

Maybe some people get value added out of dealers, but I've never been one of them. (Cars especially vex me, but I've had poor luck with all kinds of stuff.)

 

[Dieselhead]

My cats dead after 3 years. Gave it a vinegar bath last year and it limped along all season but died again at the end. Probably have 15 cord through it. I get blue smoke with the cat meter well into the active zone, shorter burn times with less heat and cat going inactive a lot sooner. Wood is all less then 15% moisture 3 year split and top covered.

To start process it sounds like I have to remove cat and bring it to the dealer so they can send it to BK and have it inspected?

 

[kennyp2339]

My cats dead after 3 years. Gave it a vinegar bath last year and it limped along all season but died again at the end. Probably have 15 cord through it. I get blue smoke with the cat meter well into the active zone, shorter burn times with less heat and cat going inactive a lot sooner. Wood is all less then 15% moisture 3 year split and top covered.

To start process it sounds like I have to remove cat and bring it to the dealer so they can send it to BK and have it inspected?

1st things first is make sure your stove is registered with BK, there's a certificate that comes with the stove and also the serial # on the back of the actual unit.
If the stove is not registered call them and register it.
Call your dealer, notify them that you need to replace your cat under warranty. They should take all your info and if they don't have the stove serial # on file, they should take that to.
BK may call you to confirm the cat needs to be replaced, they may ask you questions about it over the phone. They should mail your dealer the part, make sure you ask your dealer to include the gasket also. (now is the time to check and order any gaskets to)
I waited until my dealer had the actual part before I pulled my cat, (just in case) It should be take the old cat out, go to dealer, pick up new cat, drop off old cat.
FYI, all the conditions you describe as shorter burn times, more blue smoke coming out of the chimney under an active cat and lower heat output is exactly what I was seeing also, plus I had a ton more fly ash build up on the flame screen.

 

[Dieselhead]

1st things first is make sure your stove is registered with BK, there's a certificate that comes with the stove and also the serial # on the back of the actual unit.
If the stove is not registered call them and register it.
Call your dealer, notify them that you need to replace your cat under warranty. They should take all your info and if they don't have the stove serial # on file, they should take that to.
BK may call you to confirm the cat needs to be replaced, they may ask you questions about it over the phone. They should mail your dealer the part, make sure you ask your dealer to include the gasket also. (now is the time to check and order any gaskets to)
I waited until my dealer had the actual part before I pulled my cat, (just in case) It should be take the old cat out, go to dealer, pick up new cat, drop off old cat.
FYI, all the conditions you describe as shorter burn times, more blue smoke coming out of the chimney under an active cat and lower heat output is exactly what I was seeing also, plus I had a ton more fly ash build up on the flame screen.

Thanks Ken I registered my stove when I bought it that should be all set. I don't notice much fly ash on my flame screen but my chimney pipe is another story!

 

[Highbeam]

FYI, all the conditions you describe as shorter burn times, more blue smoke coming out of the chimney under an active cat and lower heat output is exactly what I was seeing also, plus I had a ton more fly ash build up on the flame screen.

Same here. I was getting lots of white smoke too. Goopy, nasty, chimney cap accumulations. I did the vinegar bath and it is like new for now. I am hoping for a long life from the freshly exposed catalyst.

As I understand it, you only get one free replacement cat from the warranty. The new cat has no warranty and judging by our shared experiences, you'll need a new one in a few years.

The new cat will have a manufacturer's warranty from the cat maker so you'll want to at least have that.

10 years eh?

 

[jetsam]

I am hoping to get a third year out of mine with a vinegar bath. I've already exceeded its projected lifespan in terms of hours burned, I think.

Three years per cat means I'm paying about $66 a year in expendables for the stove; that's a pretty small price to pay for the convenience of the magic thermostatic box of warmth. I know this is held up as some kind of horror story by the catophobic, but I don't get it.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Now that the heating season in the Northern Hemisphere is winding down, I think Blaze King needs to ship a few hundred stoves to the Southern Hemisphere and recruit the buyers to join hearth.com so we will have an endless supply of owners sharing their heating season joy, how long their big load of hardwood coaled for, etc.

How else are we going to make it through a long summer with no new burning stories?

 

[Highbeam]

Now that the heating season in the Northern Hemisphere is winding down, I think Blaze King needs to ship a few hundred stoves to the Southern Hemisphere and recruit the buyers to join hearth.com so we will have an endless supply of owners sharing their heating season joy, how long their big load of hardwood coaled for, etc.

How else are we going to make it through a long summer with no new burning stories?

We're still burning once a week or so, the house naturally drops to mid to upper 60s this time of year but I always like to have at least one fire in the official summer. Since that thread earlier this year I am now really careful to remember to leave the bypass open just in case a bird falls down the pipe.

The cats are really easy to change out and not very expensive for the princess model. That vinegar bath worked great for me but it was not free, so you would have to make a value judgement to include the cost of your time.

 

[jetsam]

The cats are really easy to change out and not very expensive for the princess model. That vinegar bath worked great for me but it was not free, so you would have to make a value judgement to include the cost of your time.

Mine will be fun. I plan to make a cinder block rocket stove and a wooden rocket stove in my backyard Ring O' Rocks, just so I can see how both work for cooking. I have done quite a bit of cooking using sticks and rocks; I guess I'm getting fancy in my old age.

(The wooden rocket stove is like the old swedish campfire you may be familiar with, but instead of plunge cutting the round a few times, you drill a flue down into it and then drill a burn chamber horizontally into the flue, then burn it like a normal rocket stove, with the exception that the stove itself is also on fire the whole time. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like the flat surface on top would stay flat for longer. )

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

(The wooden rocket stove is like the old swedish campfire you may be familiar with, but instead of plunge cutting the round a few times, you drill a flue down into it and then drill a burn chamber horizontally into the flue, then burn it like a normal rocket stove, with the exception that the stove itself is also on fire the whole time. I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like the flat surface on top would stay flat for longer. )

I would like to suggest the best way to build a wooden rocket stove is to start with green unseasoned wood and allow for some seasoning time before firing it up. Wrap the wood in plastic wrap leaving just the air hole and flue to season until you are ready to fire it up. This way the stove will burn hot in the center but maintain it's integrity longer. Also, a taller flue will create a more dramatic "rocket" effect.

What I don't understand is how a drilled flue and air inlet is different from ones using plunge cuts. Smaller diameter?

 

[Ignerence]

So I'm new to this. What is the actual expected/realised life span of the catalytic combustors? Here I've been thinking I would actually get 10 years... I should have known better. Lets assume a sirocco 30, burning 4 cords soft wood a year?

What are the best sources for quality replacements or is it a blaze king dealer only item.

 

[begreen]

So I'm new to this. What is the actual expected/realised life span of the catalytic combustors? Here I've been thinking I would actually get 10 years... I should have known better. Lets assume a sirocco 30, burning 4 cords soft wood a year?

What are the best sources for quality replacements or is it a blaze king dealer only item.

Ten would be a maximum and not with 24/7 burning in Alberta. Figure 3-5 yrs based on most real world reporting here.

 

[Highbeam]

So I'm new to this. What is the actual expected/realised life span of the catalytic combustors? Here I've been thinking I would actually get 10 years... I should have known better. Lets assume a sirocco 30, burning 4 cords soft wood a year?

What are the best sources for quality replacements or is it a blaze king dealer only item.

A little searching with the cat manufacturers leads to cat life expectancy from 10,000 to 12,000 hours. Now that is independent of burn rate or cords. Just time doing the catalyst thing. If you burn full time which is a great way to live with a cat stove then that 12000 hours is 17 months. 6 months of burning per year means 3 years.

If you burn full time then to get 10 years of cat life you would have to burn just 1.7 months per year!

 

[Ashful]

A little searching with the cat manufacturers leads to cat life expectancy from 10,000 to 12,000 hours. Now that is independent of burn rate or cords. Just time doing the catalyst thing. If you burn full time which is a great way to live with a cat stove then that 12000 hours is 17 months. 6 months of burning per year means 3 years.

If you burn full time then to get 10 years of cat life you would have to burn just 1.7 months per year!

Yes. The 10 years warranty is based on the fact that very few wood stove customers burn full-time. We are the anomaly, and they know they'll be losing a little money on nuts like us, but likely not so much as to negate the value of advertising a 10-year warranty.

I would still own BK if I had to replace the catalyst EVERY year, I don't consider having to replace a cheap combust or every 10,000 hours as a very big deal, and it's not as if any others are better.

 

[tarzan]

Yes. The 10 years warranty is based on the fact that very few wood stove customers burn full-time. We are the anomaly, and they know they'll be losing a little money on nuts like us, but likely not so much as to negate the value of advertising a 10-year warranty.

I would still own BK if I had to replace the catalyst EVERY year, I don't consider having to replace a cheap combust or every 10,000 hours as a very big deal, and it's not as if any others are better.

I'm sure those facts you mentioned are already baked into the cake when they set the price on there stoves. The only ones actually "losing" money on the ten year cat warranty are the folks who purchase a BK and never take advantage of the ten year cat warranty.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

If you burn full time then to get 10 years of cat life you would have to burn just 1.7 months per year!

If you don't burn non-stop, say 3 fires/week during the heating season, each lasting 10 hours, and your heating season is 8 months, then that is another way to get over 10 years of catalyst life.

 

[jetsam]

10k hours is about 2 years of burning for me, and that's where I am with te BK now. The cat is noticeably less good than it was new, but it still works. Based on that, I'm expecting to get 3 years, or 15k hours, per cat, with a vinegar bath after the second year.

I may buy a second cat this summer in case the vinegar thing doesn't pan out.

 

[Ignerence]

Great info guys, very much appreciated. I assume I will be in the ~4 year range then to get to 10k-12k hrs use. We'll see.

So is it looked at as cheating Blaze King to take advantage of the 10yr warranty at this point when you know you've houred it out fairly?

 

[tarzan]

So is it looked at as cheating Blaze King to take advantage of the 10yr warranty at this point when you know you've houred it out fairly?

Hell no!

 

[Highbeam]

may buy a second cat this summer in case the vinegar thing doesn't pan out.

Pan out! pun! Since you boil in a pan!

I was amazed at the rejuvenation provided by the vinegar bath. I posted a whole thread somewhere. The dang cat works like a champ now and yes, I was burning over the weekend. Will it last another 10,000 hours? I don't know.

Just ordered another sooteater rod to replace the one that I kinked and broke while getting too greedy trying to sweep the princess through the door. Turns out you really need to keep one hand on the rod to hold it near the bottom of the loading door and prevent too tight of a rod radius.

 

[Ignerence]

Hell no!

Excellent . Looking forward to curing the paint on this sucker!

 

[kennyp2339]

After seeing the math on these cat's practical life span, I would still buy a BK, there excellent stoves and get the job done, i'll just order my next cat on-line and have it shipped directly to me