2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Tar12]

On my princess ultra, the convection deck sits too close to the cat probe too. I just spin the dial 180 degrees so that it's upside down but the needle clears. This is a design mistake by bk.

Has BK corrected this?

 

[scum]

Cracked open a few splits and rounds. Happy to report the highest measurement was 13% moisture.

My previous stove setup was a tube burner with single wall pipe. I got used to driving the stove based on my flue temp. I will likely do a probe temp gauge as I like to watch it.

 

[jetsam]

@scum I don't burn pine but everything I've read seems creosote isn't an issue with pine as long as it's seasoned properly.

Quite the opposite- pine burns hot and fast. It's also very quick to dry out. Lowest creosote risk of any wood that I've burned (we don't have balsa trees here .

I imagine that pine might be a creosote hazard in a fireplace or low burning tube stove though- the same organic compounds that make it burn hot in a cat stove probably waft right up the flue when they're not being burned off. Then again, pretty much all wood is a creosote hazard under those conditions.

 

[Highbeam]

Has BK corrected this?

I don't know. it still works, just upside down. Kind of embarrassing is all.

 

[Tar12]

I don't know. it still works, just upside down. Kind of embarrassing is all.

Other than running it upside down is there anyway to correct this? Can anything be machined to get the correct clearance or is that out of the question? The reason I ask is I have a BK Princess Ultra to be delivered Tuesday. May just refuse it.

 

[Highbeam]

Other than running it upside down is there anyway to correct this? Can anything be machined to get the correct clearance or is that out of the question? The reason I ask is I have a BK Princess Ultra to be delivered Tuesday. May just refuse it.

Really? it's a minor cosmetic mistake. The meter you are reading has no numbers anyway. It can be placed right side up but the needle that runs around the rim can't clear the convection deck. There will also be some places that didn't get paint, a little weld spatter, but I sure wouldn't send it back for these things.

 

[Tar12]

Really? it's a minor cosmetic mistake. The meter you are reading has no numbers anyway. It can be placed right side up but the needle that runs around the rim can't clear the convection deck. There will also be some places that didn't get paint, a little weld spatter, but I sure wouldn't send it back for these things.

I fully understand manufacturing processes and residual cosmetic issues. I don't consider this a cosmetic mistake but rather a engineering mistake that should be corrected and unacceptable on a $3500 stove. I am not opposed to machining the convection deck if that is possible. You have a picture to share of the problem? I am assuming it is the bottom of the inside perimeter of the hole that you look through to read the meter?

 

[Marshy]

Mine has plenty of room regardless of orientation.

 

[shoot-straight]

May just refuse it.

Then what?

 

[Highbeam]

I fully understand manufacturing processes and residual cosmetic issues. I don't consider this a cosmetic mistake but rather a engineering mistake that should be corrected and unacceptable on a $3500 stove. I am not opposed to machining the convection deck if that is possible. You have a picture to share of the problem? I am assuming it is the bottom of the inside perimeter of the hole that you look through to read the meter?

The king model is different. Yes, this mistake has an easy solution that would involve clearancing the convection deck if you felt so inclined.

Here's some photos. The fire was started in a cold stove 22 hours ago with outside temps in the upper 20s, house is still 74!

 

[Ashful]

Figure on losing 1 cord out of every 3 burned regardless of the stove. The best investment is going to be insulating and sealing. That will make an instant improvement.

My own experience was otherwise, begreen. I have proven there is a very substantial difference between a purely radiant stove and a highly-convective stove in situations where the stove is surrounded by exterior-sunk masonry. The radiant stove will lose an enormous fraction of it's total energy, radiated into that exterior masonry, when compared to the more convective stove.

 

[jetsam]

The king model is different. Yes, this mistake has an easy solution that would involve clearancing the convection deck if you felt so inclined.

Here's some photos. The fire was started in a cold stove 22 hours ago with outside temps in the upper 20s, house is still 74!

With that performance, I wouldn't kick her out of bed if the cat probe was engineered to be underneath the stove towards the rear, with a black dial and a black needle.

 

[jetsam]

My own experience was otherwise, begreen. I have proven there is a very substantial difference between a purely radiant stove and a highly-convective stove in situations where the stove is surrounded by exterior-sunk masonry. The radiant stove will lose an enormous fraction of it's total energy, radiated into that exterior masonry, when compared to the more convective stove.

I bet a piece of 2" kerdiboard with Verneerstone thinsetted to it would look the same and turn that heatsink problem right around.

 

[Tar12]

I am assuming that your Ultra has the deck and fans? It was SCUM that posted his dial was hitting the fan fins? Does he have a different model?

 

[Highbeam]

With that performance, I wouldn't kick her out of bed if the cat probe was engineered to be underneath the stove towards the rear, with a black dial and a black needle.

We are fortunate to even have such a convenient cat meter. Some brands require you look in weird places or don't even have cat meters. I have no excuse for bk. They just goofed.

This load was all Doug fir too. Pretty low btu per cubic foot.

 

[Highbeam]

I am assuming that your Ultra has the deck and fans? It was SCUM that posted his dial was hitting the fan fins? Does he have a different model?

Yes, ultra with deck and fans. The deck has little louvers that contact the needle. Snip the louver, rotate the dial, your choice.

 

[Tar12]

Yes, ultra with deck and fans. The deck has little louvers that contact the needle. Snip the louver, rotate the dial, your choice.

Thank you once AGAIN for clarification...having not ever seen a BK Princess Ultra other than in pictures....I wrongly assumed that the dial was hitting the fan assembly its self also not realizing the deck had fins...hence the confusion...I will go sit in the corner now...lol

 

[rdust]

Yes, ultra with deck and fans. The deck has little louvers that contact the needle. Snip the louver, rotate the dial, your choice.

Could also easily bend the louver up a touch and clear it or touch it with a grinding wheel. I simply spin it around like everyone else.

Refusing the stove is simply ridiculous!

 

[Highbeam]

Thank you once AGAIN for clarification...having not ever seen a BK Princess Ultra other than in pictures....I wrongly assumed that the dial was hitting the fan assembly its self also not realizing the deck had fins...hence the confusion...I will go sit in the corner now...lol

The actual fans are way in the back on the bottom. The only moving part at this conflict point is the cat meter needle.

I will not bend and dork up the louvers, that would be goofy looking since the rest are parallel.

 

[Tar12]

Could also easily bend the louver up a touch and clear it or touch it with a grinding wheel. I simply spin it around like everyone else.

Refusing the stove is simply ridiculous!

I can live with it but I find it ridiculous that they can charge $3500 for a stove with a clearance problem! How hard can it be to correct this known problem?When I pay a premium price for a product I expect premium quality in return! Excuse me for expecting this..As I said I mistakenly thought the dial was hitting the FAN shroud because of the fin reference.I had no idea how they are built as I have not seen one in person.

 

[Tar12]

The actual fans are way in the back on the bottom. The only moving part at this conflict point is the cat meter needle.

I will not bend and dork up the louvers, that would be goofy looking since the rest are parallel.

Ok Thanks I will check it out after it gets here and I get it put together.

 

[Ashful]

I bet a piece of 2" kerdiboard with Verneerstone thinsetted to it would look the same and turn that heatsink problem right around.

To the general public, I believe you are correct. But we are just stewards of these old houses, so there's no way I'm covering up the expert handiwork of an 18th century Scottish mason with any veneer, no matter what the cost.

 

[Squisher]

Don't kid yourself. I'm of Scottish descent and if that craftsman knew you were throwing money out by not updating his work he's probably spinning in his grave.

 

[Marshy]

I'll weigh in some on the radiant heat and the heat sink from the basement walls... I've found once everything in the basement has been brought up to temperature it act as a heat sink and helps to temper the house temperatures when the stove cools off some. Of course there is a loss there, I'm not denying that but it does give back too by acting like a heat sink.

 

[begreen]

Heat loss through uninsulated basement walls is pretty much continuous. Depending on the depth of the basement the loss may vary, as do the regional climate effects. In New England, the loss is significant.
http://www.ecohome.net/guide/much-insulation-basement-need