2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Highbeam]

It seems to me that I read here where you can determine what your absolute lowest t-stat setting will be with out stalling the cat. And that you can determine this on a cold stove...has my memory failed me? lol

My princess thermostat flapper also slams shut when the dial is near "1" on my labeled thermostat with a cold stove. That little fact means nothing to me except that my stat is working properly and that if I set the knob to "1" then the intake control is defeated and remain closed. No value to me.

We all spend a lot of time thinking about and theorizing about why and how the bk burns like it does. A new bk owner might be overwhelmed by all of this. You'll see, it's very easy to run.

 

[tarzan]

I learned a lot about my thermostat and how it operates from removing the thermostat cover that has "do not remove" written on it.

 

[showrguy]

Me too...My lowest setting on a warm stove is about the 3;15 position.
Cold stove the flapper slams shut at 2;30.

 

[Tar12]

My princess thermostat flapper also slams shut when the dial is near "1" on my labeled thermostat with a cold stove. That little fact means nothing to me except that my stat is working properly and that if I set the knob to "1" then the intake control is defeated and remain closed. No value to me.

We all spend a lot of time thinking about and theorizing about why and how the bk burns like it does. A new bk owner might be overwhelmed by all of this. You'll see, it's very easy to run.

I was totally overwhelmed at first but kept right on asking questions and reading and gleaning info and taking notes and you guys have so graciously been patient and answered all of my questions and I now feel that I have a good grasp on this...thats not to say there will not be more questions....lol

 

[Highbeam]

I learned a lot about my thermostat and how it operates from removing the thermostat cover that has "do not remove" written on it.

All of those stickers seem to have fallen off of my princess. Opening the thermostat cover is required for the annual lube job of the friction springs that hold the dial from moving around.

 

[ohiojoe13]

On my Ashford 30.0 the cam over action pushes the bypass door towards the front of the stove, maybe a quarter inch. I know I drank most of one beer while I did it over and over with the pipe off the collar. I am convinced the door plate moving towards the front of the stove is part of locking the door tighter against the bypass door gasket.

I am sure an engineer could watch it once or twice and explain in ten words or less why it is so. I am a biologist. I had to repeat it over and over. I am confident the door moving as part of the cam over action is a good thing.

When i had mine apart I used the copper anti-seize from Napa ($12 for about a 4oz jar). Permatex I think. I wondered if the nickel based product with the higher anti-seize temp would be better. My local BK manager says the copper Permatex anti-seize is much better than "that gray stuff."

Funny you say that. I did the same thing, operating the bypass over and over.

 

[rdust]

My stove will consume a full load with an active cat when I fully close the tstat to less than "1".(fully closed stat for the full burn) That won't heat my place except on the warmest of days so I usually burn between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 on my labeled dial. The fans are used to regulate output more than the stat for me.

 

[tarzan]

My stove will consume a full load with an active cat when I fully close the tstat to less than "1".(fully closed stat for the full burn) That won't heat my place except on the warmest of days so I usually burn between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 on my labeled dial. The fans are used to regulate output more than the stat for me.

+1 on everything you said!

This season I decided to try keeping the fans off and instead turn the thermostat up when more heat was required. Long story short, I'm back to running the fans.

 

[Ashful]

We all spend a lot of time thinking about and theorizing about why and how the bk burns like it does. A new bk owner might be overwhelmed by all of this. You'll see, it's very easy to run.

Exactly. New burners, start with a t'stat set around 3 o'clock, middle of the normal range. Let a burn fully complete at that setting, and see how many hours it lasts. Then adjust up/down on subsequent burns, until you dial in on your desired burn time. Other than slight adjustments for outside weather, it really is that simple.

 

[kf6hap]

You wil find the lowest setting in a week or two. Mine is 3:00 O'Clock so, I just set it at 3:30 and it always works. Loading in 12 hour cycles negates this issue as a lot of coals and unburnt wood are always left. The next load lights up straight away without any fiddling too. If the house is too hot, I open doors to other parts of the house. Trying to keep the cat active down to the last bit of coals is a game that is not worth playing because of all the variables.

 

[w00zy]

I had this show up today, pretty excited!

 

[Tar12]

I had this show up today, pretty excited!

Nice! When are you firing it up?

 

[w00zy]

oh, it's fired up now.

 

[Tar12]

oh, it's fired up now.

Good deal!

 

[Poindexter]

Exactly. New burners, start with a t'stat set around 3 o'clock, middle of the normal range. Let a burn fully complete at that setting, and see how many hours it lasts. Then adjust up/down on subsequent burns, until you dial in on your desired burn time. Other than slight adjustments for outside weather, it really is that simple.

Or set the tsat where you want it for how warm you want the house and see how often you need to reload.

Either way, spend some time not twiddling the thermostat dial to see what the stove can do.

I do agree that getting the cat active, run on high 30 minutes and then turn the tsat down to medium and see how long it lasts is a great idea for the first 3-5 burns.

 

[jetsam]

oh, it's fired up now.

I like this guy.

 

[Gforcefd]

Before:



After:

So I reworked my stove position to the left of where it was in hopes of improving the draft and getting rid of the sweet bbq smell when it is burning. However now I only have about 3 inches on the left and maybe 12 in the front of the stove. I was thinking of getting one of those fireproof rugs for when I am loading and unloading the stove. The other option is trying to find like a 6" DVL pipe but I don't think they make them. That would make the vertical pipe telescope shorter but I would be able to move the stove to the right and back farther a few inches. Thoughts on this new setup? I haven't even burned yet. On a side note I cleaned out the chimney after about a month of burning off and on and got about a cup of flakes but overall it looked good. I also found that where the pipe connects to the chimney triple wall connector the screws never went through the flange and had just bent it in in three spots. I never smelled "smoke" though so I think the chimney was still venting the actual smoke outside completely but that sickly sweet bbq ham smell was making me sick.

Also when I tool my stove pipe off and put a garbage bag over the chimney hole it was trying to suck it up (gusting outside) so I think I have a pretty good drafting chimney.

EDIT: Just found this 2-5" adjustable piece I am ordering. This should push the stove pipe back a bit without sacrificing too much vertical height.

https://www.northlineexpress.com/6-...justable-black-stove-pipe-6dvl-6adj-6734.html

 

[tarzan]

I had this show up today, pretty excited!

You won't have any use for that key damper now unless you're just into primitive decor

 

[mellow]

I am getting a Sirocco 25 installed soon. I was looking at the manual and saw that the clearance requirement from the top of the insert to the bottom of the mantle is 38 inches. That seems crazy to me. It's also the only stove I've seen have a requirement that extreme. Any ideas why?

Not sure why, but you can reduce it to 24" with a shield. I know mine radiates the heat out to the front and down, not as much up.

 

[Woody Stover]

If someone turns the ceiling fan on in the stove room at my house (either direction) the stove room will heat up while the rest of the house cools. Admittedly, it sounds crazy and I can't figure out why it does but it does.

If you have a flat ceiling, hot air will stratify to the ceiling, and be drawn by convection out the top of the doorway (or be assisted out by a fan blowing cool air along the floor to the stove room.) If you turn on a ceiling fan in such a room, you will mix the air, making the room hotter down where you are sitting, and killing the convection loop of hot air out of the room. I wouldn't run a ceiling fan unless I absolutely had to, i.e. with a high vaulted ceiling.

The only thing I notice is that the the bypass plate shifts when it cams over.

On my Ashford 30.0 the cam over action pushes the bypass door towards the front of the stove, maybe a quarter inch...I am convinced the door plate moving towards the front of the stove is part of locking the door tighter against the bypass door gasket. I am sure an engineer could watch it once or twice and explain in ten words or less why it is so...I am confident the door moving as part of the cam over action is a good thing.

Yep, I also think an engineer could explain it.

I came up with the theory that the bypass door movement was an ingenious plan to grind, push or otherwise displace anything that fell from above to assure a proper seal.

"Yeah...that's the ticket!"

Or maybe the bypass plate is simply pushed forward as the rod engages the ramp? It doesn't really have a choice here considering it's just laying there. I think you are reading way too far into a very simple design.

Maybe the design was a bit too "simple" in this case? Here is a picture of the type of bypass I'm used to seeing. Cast iron parts, guides that hold the door in the proper position in relation to the opening, and it's adjustable, front and rear at the hinge and u-bolt, for the amount of pressure on the different areas of the gasket. The bypass door ain't goin' anywhere but straight down on top of the gasket, when you cam it. This is my SIL's Fireview. Same on the Keystone, but even my Dutchwest, a 'budget stove,' has a very similar bypass setup. Granted, a steel stove may not have as many cast parts. I just wanted to show the amount of engineering on this particular setup, and the money they spent executing it. The AS also look a bit more sophisticated, but I can't tell a lot from a drawing.

I've never seen a BK in person, and can't quite tell in the following pics (in the first pic, door is clearly out of position)...maybe you can explain what is supposed to hold the bypass door in position, or is it "just laying there?" Looks a little iffy from here.

We all know there is no better stove than BK.

Depends who the "we" is.

I pointed out how the bk was better.

I obviously remain unconvinced. That bypass appears to be a bent plate-steel lift, welded on, and a couple welded-on pieces of round stock. YMMV but with everything I've read about here, and comparing them to the alternatives, I don't think I would be shelling out 3K+ for one of their stoves. Maybe half that but even then, my philosophy has always been 'Why spend money on something questionable, when you can spend a little more and get a product that appears to be relatively trouble-free and better-built?' In good conscience, you guys should author a BK sticky thread for the benefit of the newbs, spelling out all the good and bad...but I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[kennyp2339]

Lol my high school english teacher said it best "ignorance is bliss"

 

[mellow]

Here is my theory, I bought my Appalachian new for $1500 all said and done, owned it for 4 years and sold it for $900.00. So it cost me $600 or $150 a year. This BK was $3000 and I hope it will be my last insert, the way it has been performing so far after the tstat fixes I am not looking to replace it anytime soon. So if I own it for say 5 years, then resell it for say $2000 (way higher resale value than the Appalachian) then I am in the same ownership costs ballpark ($200 yr) but have a much easier to manage stove and it looks good.

 

[mellow]

Btw, the setup of the SC25 is way simplified and easy to change out parts, that is one of the reasons I jumped on getting one.

 

[Woody Stover]

"ignorance is bliss"

I shoulda kept quiet, then...sorry about that.

 

[tarzan]

If you have a flat ceiling, hot air will stratify to the ceiling, and be drawn by convection out the top of the doorway (or be assisted out by a fan blowing cool air along the floor to the stove room.) If you turn on a ceiling fan in such a room, you will mix the air, making the room hotter down where you are sitting, and killing the convection loop of hot air out of the room. I wouldn't run a ceiling fan unless I absolutely had to, i.e. with a high vaulted ceiling.

Yep, I also think an engineer could explain it.
"Yeah...that's the ticket!"
Maybe the design was a bit too "simple" in this case? Here is a picture of the type of bypass I'm used to seeing. Cast iron parts, guides that hold the door in the proper position in relation to the opening, and it's adjustable, front and rear at the hinge and u-bolt, for the amount of pressure on the different areas of the gasket. The bypass door ain't goin' anywhere but straight down on top of the gasket, when you cam it. This is my SIL's Fireview. Same on the Keystone, but even my Dutchwest, a 'budget stove,' has a very similar bypass setup. Granted, a steel stove may not have as many cast parts. I just wanted to show the amount of engineering on this particular setup, and the money they spent executing it. The AS also look a bit more sophisticated, but I can't tell a lot from a drawing.
View attachment 191349 View attachment 191350


I've never seen a BK in person, and can't quite tell in the following pics (in the first pic, door is clearly out of position)...maybe you can explain what is supposed to hold the bypass door in position, or is it "just laying there?" Looks a little iffy from here.
View attachment 191351View attachment 191353View attachment 191354


Depends who the "we" is.
I obviously remain unconvinced. That bypass appears to be a bent plate-steel lift, welded on, and a couple welded-on pieces of round stock. YMMV but with everything I've read about here, and comparing them to the alternatives, I don't think I would be shelling out 3K+ for one of their stoves. Maybe half that but even then, my philosophy has always been 'Why spend money on something questionable, when you can spend a little more and get a product that appears to be relatively trouble-free and better-built?' In good conscience, you guys should author a BK sticky thread for the benefit of the newbs, spelling out all the good and bad...but I don't see that happening any time soon.

I guess you never made you're annual pilgrimage down to Whoville this year!