2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[tarzan]

Bkvp said condar makes the thermometer for them and they had a batch with the paint issue.

BTW, nice rack in your Avi. Is that from Jersey?

 

[Woody harrelson]

BTW, nice rack in your Avi. Is that from Jersey?

Yes jersey. Fall bow

 

[Mr. Jones]

Just bought a new cat meter. $32 here. Any idea where one can find the two side pieces to the shroud? The previous owner cut them to fit his fireplace. I asked my local dealer, but they can only order the whole thing at $350. For that price, I think I'll just go without and let the extra heat out trapped back there in the firebox.

 

[webby3650]

Just bought a new cat meter. $32 here. Any idea where one can find the two side pieces to the shroud? The previous owner cut them to fit his fireplace. I asked my local dealer, but they can only order the whole thing at $350. For that price, I think I'll just go without and let the extra heat out trapped back there in the firebox.

Take one to a local metal fab shop, have them replicate it.

 

[webby3650]

View attachment 184172 1season

There was an issue. I've seen it several times. You're dealer should be able to replace it for you under warranty. If not, send @BKVP a PM. He will help you out.

 

[BKVP]

Woody, that's amount of soot is great from 3 1/3 cords, keep doing what your doing!

The thermometer is a new one one me. Did you clean it with some blue wolf. lol!

I reach in behind the side plates and get what I can but everything back there is crunchy peely stuff so probably harmless to the stove.

Try a flexible shaft welders brush. Looks like a baby bottle brush.

 

[kf6hap]

Light-off temp. The light-off temp for a steel cat is about 100F lower than for the ceramic units. Did the Ashford/Chinook/Sirocco originally come with ceramic cat? If they did, light-off might be earlier than indicated on the thermometer. Do they use the same thermometer? I usually get mine to take off when the cat thermometer is pointing at the "n" in the word inactive. The cat turns red, no smoke and the loading door is shut tight with no leakage. Sometimes I can be underway (on cat) within 12 minutes of lighting. Perhaps this is because the car is still quite new. Dang easy start-up. What are other peoples BK start-up experiances? The thrill of this stove never ends.

 

[tarzan]

Try a flexible shaft welders brush. Looks like a baby bottle brush.

If you suggest it's a good idea to get that stuff out I will. Otherwise, it doesn't burn out easily and I didn't think it was hurting anything. From what I can see the walls are clean, it's just a bunch of crunchy stuff piled up between them.

 

[Mr. Jones]

If you suggest it's a good idea to get that stuff out I will. Otherwise, it doesn't burn out easily and I didn't think it was hurting anything. From what I can see the walls are clean, it's just a bunch of crunchy stuff piled up between them.

Mine was caked with ash. Not sure if it's supposed to have air moving through them or not.

I found a ceramic cat for $229 plus $17 shipping from Hechlers. I didn't search for hours, more like 10 min, so is this about as cheap as it's going to get? Do you guys keep an new one on hand in winter for a backup just in case?

 

[kf6hap]

I used to feel a standby cat was necessary but things have changed. The BK stoves have the cat very well protected in all the critical areas: 1. Flame impingement-the thick perforated plate whose critical hole size and spacing from the cat is proven effective. 2. Overfiring. The BK stoves ended the overfiring problem with the thermostat. Can a BK be overfired? Any stove can be overfired and all stoves can be placed in an easy, not so easy or difficult to overtire category. The BKs fall in the difficult to very difficult to overfire category. Every time I start up my stove it is run with the thermostat fully cw to char the load for 20-30 minutes. In effect, every time my stove is reloaded it is tested for overtire! 3. The cat thermal shock problem is not a problem with steel cats and I guess the flame impingement plate's thermal mass does the trick with units using the ceramic type cats. Thus the 10 year warranty on the cat. Every operational aspect of these stoves has been highly refined.

New burners that start out with a BK don't know what they have missed out on and that is a very good thing indeed. Ever have a neighbor call asking if you know where the fire is?

 

[Highbeam]

Light-off temp. The light-off temp for a steel cat is about 100F lower than for the ceramic units. Did the Ashford/Chinook/Sirocco originally come with ceramic cat? If they did, light-off might be earlier than indicated on the thermometer. Do they use the same thermometer? I usually get mine to take off when the cat thermometer is pointing at the "n" in the word inactive. The cat turns red, no smoke and the loading door is shut tight with no leakage. Sometimes I can be underway (on cat) within 12 minutes of lighting. Perhaps this is because the car is still quite new. Dang easy start-up. What are other peoples BK start-up experiances? The thrill of this stove never ends.

I believe that the ash/sci/chi never came with ceramic and ceramic is not available for them. Same with the modern models from Woodstock, all metal and all of these newest stoves were designed for max efficiency with minimum emmisions. I have a steel in my princess and still like to let the cat probe well above the active line to be sure that I'm taking care of the cat and as soon as I flop the bypass lever the cat glows orange.

 

[Highbeam]

I found a ceramic cat for $229 plus $17 shipping from Hechlers. I didn't search for hours, more like 10 min, so is this about as cheap as it's going to get? Do you guys keep an new one on hand in winter for a backup just in case?

Seems like a decent price but are all ceramic cats created equal? I know all steel cats aren't.

 

[mellow]

Did anyone use compressed bricks last year? They worked great in my Appalachian, they should do even better in a BK.

 

[tarzan]

Mine was caked with ash. Not sure if it's supposed to have air moving through them or not.

I found a ceramic cat for $229 plus $17 shipping from Hechlers. I didn't search for hours, more like 10 min, so is this about as cheap as it's going to get? Do you guys keep an new one on hand in winter for a backup just in case?

I'm keeping my old one. I don't foresee much of a chance that I will need it but it's not taking up much space so I think I'll just order a gasket and hang onto it just in case. Been thinking about doing the vinegar bath on it just out of curiosity.

 

[Mr. Jones]

I don't want to take it out if I don't have to, so I was thinking about either spraying both sides liberally with a spray bottle, or using a soft paint brush and dab it gently, like Bob Ross making happy little trees.

 

[kf6hap]

The Condar web site has a very good procedure for "washing" a cat. I would not wash it in place as the vinegar might cause problems. The gasket will absorb it with no way to wash it out. Do use distilled water as other waters have destructive contaminents. Go for a steel cat. The price difference is not too much but the operation is sweet. Heckler's or Condar will sell it over the web. I have used both and they are good. Don't forget to order a gasket. The old one is destroyed upon removal. Washing might help in the cases where it is "coated" or has a lot of hours of use time racked up as the cleaning (vinegar boil) can expose a new and active layer. If your cat is ceramic it must be dead dry before firing or bits will crack off or worse.

 

[Jeff in Maine]

I was inside my new princess last week and vacuumed out all the ash and whatnot. I am wondering where is the air inlet to the fire box? Is it in the front at the bottom or some other place? I know to move the coals along I rake them to the front , I assume the air inlet is there someplace I just did not see it?
Poindexter, you said it is 90* inside the main house and I don't dare to turn the thermostat down, or something close to that. I must have missed something why did you not dare turn the stove down I am kind of lost I guess. But then I am lost quite often,.. it's fun being lost but I cannot show anyone what it's like cause I don't know where I am.

 

[matt1@]

I believe all the air comes in through the thermostat box in the rear of the stove and runs through 2 pipes you can see in the top of the firebox and out the slot at the top of the door opening

 

[Highbeam]

I believe all the air comes in through the thermostat box in the rear of the stove and runs through 2 pipes you can see in the top of the firebox and out the slot at the top of the door opening

That's correct. 100% of air entering the stove is via the airwash.

 

[Woody harrelson]

I believe all the air comes in through the thermostat box in the rear of the stove and runs through 2 pipes you can see in the top of the firebox and out the slot at the top of the door opening

So that's what those pipes are for!

 

[claybe]

I was inside my new princess last week and vacuumed out all the ash and whatnot. I am wondering where is the air inlet to the fire box? Is it in the front at the bottom or some other place? I know to move the coals along I rake them to the front , I assume the air inlet is there someplace I just did not see it?
Poindexter, you said it is 90* inside the main house and I don't dare to turn the thermostat down, or something close to that. I must have missed something why did you not dare turn the stove down I am kind of lost I guess. But then I am lost quite often,.. it's fun being lost but I cannot show anyone what it's like cause I don't know where I am.

I think Jeff has a princess insert. If so, the air intake is on the bottom right side of the stove when you are looking at it. You can carefully remove the side panel and the knob to see how it operates but make sure you put the knob back on correctly or it will mess everything up. And what ever you do DONT take the thermostat off or apart

 

[Jeff in Maine]

I think Jeff has a princess insert. If so, the air intake is on the bottom right side of the stove when you are looking at it. You can carefully remove the side panel and the knob to see how it operates but make sure you put the knob back on correctly or it will mess everything up. And what ever you do DONT take the thermostat off or apart

Thanks for the reply's everyone, Mine is the free standing stove model

 

[Mr. Jones]

I don't see any tubes inside the princess. Does it come in through the front right side, and just enter behind the firebricks? I went through the online manual, and couldn't find any info or drawings on it.

 

[Woody harrelson]

The tubes are in the freestanding princess

 

[tarzan]

I don't see any tubes inside the princess. Does it come in through the front right side, and just enter behind the firebricks? I went through the online manual, and couldn't find any info or drawings on it.

Claybe did a good job answering this in post #171