2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 2 (Everything BK)

[moresnow]

I don’t think that’s my issue. Even if I run my reload on high for hours before dialing it down it still starts to smell when I do. I’ve done lots of experimenting

Agreed. Hopefully the think tank here will come up with something!

 

[MissMac]

Wow. That's four of you guys having to turn down in tiny steps to avoid the smell.

I don't have this problem, at all. But I might have located a variable in the soup. I run my stove like a rented mule, a LOT.

How about tomorrow you four load up the driest, sappiest pine you can find, leave the Tsat on high and open some windows while you go to church. Leave the convection deck fans at the highest possible setting. Should burn down to coals in about four hours. Maybe take your wife out to lunch after church as preacher's are likely to be short winded tomorrow.

Do a hot reload with more dry sappy pine while you are home changing clothes, leave the windows open, leave the tstat on high and take your wife to a movie.

Then tomorrow night, after Poindextering your door gaskets twice, load the fool thing up again, run that on high for 30 minutes. Not 20. Thirty minutes, and then turn the tsat down to medium low in one step and go to bed.

If you don't have any dry softwood but are willing to give it a try, PM me a shipping addy. I can fit enough sapsicles of spruce into a USPS flat rate box to give Chris heartburn.

I’m already running jack pine, and am pretty much doing exactly what you’re describing. It’s minus 35*C here, so lettin er rip

 

[Highbeam]

Wow. 35 below. Even in that weird Celsius land, you must be getting down to “dang cold” territory.

 

[webby3650]

26 hours since I’ve touched the stove. A couple gallons of coals and enough wood left to produce some smoke. Been running between 2-3 o’clock the whole time.

 

[Poindexter]

I’m already running jack pine, and am pretty much doing exactly what you’re describing. It’s minus 35*C here, so lettin er rip

And I had a hypothesis all ready to go.

I was wondering if folks, as @moresnow was suggesting last night were maybe turning down too soon.

I could see maybe turning down too soon has the last of the MC in the wood coming out of the load as steam into a cooling stove with lots of turbulence at the glass and maybe condensing on the gasket, and then liquid water wicking through the gasket material and carrying some smoke smell though on the water.

Can anyone think of a non-corrosive ionic salt? Salts that dissolve dissociate, so a covalently bonded salt won't work because the ones I can think of aren't water soluble and I can't think of an ionically bonded salt that wouldn't be corrosive to steel.

If we can come up with this salt, we could sprinkle a few grains on the top of the knife egde at the hinge side of the door, close the door, run the stove and then after the burn look to see if the salt grains got exposed to water. Maybe sprinkle a few in a defined area on the hearth nearby as a control.

Actually, common table sugar is a candidate, water soluble, non corrosive, commonly available and inexpensive. But it is likely to melt from the heat of the stove without water present. Ill keep stewing.

 

[Poindexter]

Wow. 35 below. Even in that weird Celsius land, you must be getting down to “dang cold” territory.

The crossover point is -42. -42dF is the same as -42C.

-43C is colder than -43dF.

-41dF is colder than -41C.

Temps lower than -30 on either scale qualify as pretty darn cold.

 

[webby3650]

The crossover point is -42. -42dF is the same as -42C.

-43C is colder than -43dF.

-41dF is colder than -41C.

Temps lower than -30 on either scale qualify as pretty darn cold.

You truly must have nothing else to do up there! Good lord dude!

 

[Poindexter]

You truly must have nothing else to do up there! Good lord dude!

It is important to me for my stove to run correctly and dependably.

 

[jetsam]

Well, in view of the unusually cold week we have forecast, and the increasingly poor performance of the original ceramic cat in my Princess Insert, I finally pulled the plug on it after 2.5 seasons, and probably 12000-15000 hours. It got a vinegar bath over the summer and did well for a while, but it's at the end of its service life. It still eats some smoke, but nowhere near what it should be eating, and its heat output is nowhere near what it used to be.

I swapped it out (this is an interesting operation in a hot stove), and the new steel cat is going to town.



Oh yeah! Bring on the coldness!

(P.S. Alaska people, go ahead and mock me..
the coldest temp in the forecast is 8°F. I live on an island! =) )

 

[Highbeam]

Well, in view of the unusually cold week we have forecast, and the increasingly poor performance of the original ceramic cat in my Princess Insert, I finally pulled the plug on it after 2.5 seasons, and probably 12000-15000 hours. It got a vinegar bath over the summer and did well for a while, but it's at the end of its service life. It still eats some smoke, but nowhere near what it should be eating, and its heat output is nowhere near what it used to be.

I swapped it out (this is an interesting operation in a hot stove), and the new steel cat is going to town.

View attachment 218684 View attachment 218685

Oh yeah! Bring on the coldness!

(P.S. Alaska people, go ahead and mock me..
the coldest temp in the forecast is 8°F. I live on an island! =) )

A fresh cat after a long decline in performance from the old one is fantastic. Every time I’m thrilled to rediscover what I’d been missing.

 

[rdust]

Tonight's load

40 minutes later burning on "2" or 3 o'clock for those without numbers with the fans on medium.

Stove is so repeatable and easy it's silly!

 

[Poindexter]

Can all y'all with smoke smell issues look carefully at your knife edges next time you have the door open please.

There are literally dozens of small aldehydes and ketones that are water soluble, have a reasonably low evaporation temperature and smell like "smoke" once they are airborne.

As families they are functionally corrosion inhibitors on steel.

My question is does the steel of the knife egde in the suspected leak zone look different or the same as 180 degrees away around the door frame.

I am confident i will find a low molecular weight VOC that is corrosive among the many possible products of incomplete wood combustion. If the X factor is in high enough concentration it will react with all the aldehyde / ketone and you guys will be seeing corrosion.

That you're smelling smoke, might mean not all the aldehydes are taken up by X, leaving your install spare aldehydes to waft into the room. And no corrosion to see.

Please look and post up. I am satisfied this isnt a draft issue- mine is running fine on precious little draft.

I dont think it is a sealing issue. If you had a bad air seal the stove would keep running hard when you turn it down and maybe melt if you leave it on high.

I am serving dinner for 10 in 16 hours. I look forward to some hi res pics tomorrow evening.

 

[Poindexter]

@jetsam , no mocking here. It is impossible to have cold weather gear that is overkill.

 

[Poindexter]

On my last chimney I drilled through all four layers of the telescopic double wall pipe for the flue probe meter. No big deal. The specified hole sizes allow for some slop. The holes had no effect on slipping the pipe together for future removal but you must remember to remove the meter first!

Good to know for the future. I wasn't sure drilling all four would give a future pain in the neck, but it was an avoidable potential pain in the neck.

Also, the flue gas probe has to come out first when telescoping the pipe when only drilled through two layers also.

 

[estepracing]

How do I know when I need to adjust the bypass damper on my Blaze King King model is there any tell tale signs while the stove is running

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Tar12]

How do I know when I need to adjust the bypass damper on my Blaze King King model is there any tell tale signs while the stove is running

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Have you done the dollar bill test prior to running your stove? If not you will have to wait till your dollar won't ignite! lol Thats going to suck if you have to let it go cold this week... ..we here in Indiana are in for a pretty good cold snap for us. You shouldn't have to let it go completely cold...push everything back and be quick about it and have some spares on hand in case....lol

 

[kennyp2339]

Can all y'all with smoke smell issues look carefully at your knife edges next time you have the door open please.

There are literally dozens of small aldehydes and ketones that are water soluble, have a reasonably low evaporation temperature and smell like "smoke" once they are airborne.

As families they are functionally corrosion inhibitors on steel.

My question is does the steel of the knife egde in the suspected leak zone look different or the same as 180 degrees away around the door frame.

I am confident i will find a low molecular weight VOC that is corrosive among the many possible products of incomplete wood combustion. If the X factor is in high enough concentration it will react with all the aldehyde / ketone and you guys will be seeing corrosion.

That you're smelling smoke, might mean not all the aldehydes are taken up by X, leaving your install spare aldehydes to waft into the room. And no corrosion to see.

Please look and post up. I am satisfied this isnt a draft issue- mine is running fine on precious little draft.

I dont think it is a sealing issue. If you had a bad air seal the stove would keep running hard when you turn it down and maybe melt if you leave it on high.

I am serving dinner for 10 in 16 hours. I look forward to some hi res pics tomorrow evening.

good hypothesis, but wouldn't that subject all bk stoves? I have a princess and never had an issue and I don't think I have heard of issues from kings and princess owners.

 

[estepracing]

Have you done the dollar bill test prior to running your stove? If not you will have to wait till your dollar won't ignite! lol Thats going to suck if you have to let it go cold this week... ..we here in Indiana are in for a pretty good cold snap for us. You shouldn't have to let it go completely cold...push everything back and be quick about it and have some spares on hand in case....lol

Lol I did do the dollar bill test before running the stove I've adjusted the door a little bit but I didn't know about the damper bypass if anyone's had to adjust it within a month of running

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Tar12]

Lol I did do the dollar bill test before running the stove I've adjusted the door a little bit but I didn't know about the damper bypass if anyone's had to adjust it within a month of running

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

You should not have to...I did not on mine the first season but I did adjust the feed door and I waited to just prior of this season to check the bypass door and tweaked it just a little...have some copper anti-seize on hand as the adjustment bolt/nut was hard to get loose already. Don't be afraid to use it either...I put plenty on the bolt and nut threads and ran it back and forth....also coat the underside where the bypass rod rides...put some anti-seize on your finger and coat it...it is self explanatory once you see it.

 

[jetsam]

A fresh cat after a long decline in performance from the old one is fantastic. Every time I’m thrilled to rediscover what I’d been missing.

I keep thinking, "Oh yeah, this stove is SUPPOSED to make loads of heat with no flame... this is going to save me a ton of wood!"

It pains me that I will need a $300 part every 2 years, but it is still much cheaper than the alternative. If I had a tube stove, I'd probably be going to 24 hour heating a month or two later, and since nobody's home for 12-14 hours at a go, that would make for a serious oil bill. (Nothing like Ashful's, but enough to make $300 seem cheap.)

 

[showrguy]

I keep thinking, "Oh yeah, this stove is SUPPOSED to make loads of heat with no flame... this is going to save me a ton of wood!"

It pains me that I will need a $300 part every 2 years, but it is still much cheaper than the alternative. If I had a tube stove, I'd probably be going to 24 hour heating a month or two later, and since nobody's home for 12-14 hours at a go, that would make for a serious oil bill. (Nothing like Ashful's, but enough to make $300 seem cheap.)

After reading your post I was gonna change mine today also..
It's windy today, so it'll wait a few days...
Mine is 2 1/2 years old as well, still working, but not as good as the 1st. two seasons..

 

[rdust]

It pains me that I will need a $300 part every 2 years, but it is still much cheaper than the alternative.

I wouldn't start to expect that yet. My first one lasted 5 seasons(sluggish after 4 but made it 5). Second is on season 2 and seems as good as new. I burn full time usually starting solid from October-April and start as early September and into May when necessary.

Hopefully your new one gets you at least 3 seasons.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Can all y'all with smoke smell issues look carefully at your knife edges next time you have the door open please.

There are literally dozens of small aldehydes and ketones that are water soluble, have a reasonably low evaporation temperature and smell like "smoke" once they are airborne.

As families they are functionally corrosion inhibitors on steel.

My question is does the steel of the knife egde in the suspected leak zone look different or the same as 180 degrees away around the door frame.

I am confident i will find a low molecular weight VOC that is corrosive among the many possible products of incomplete wood combustion. If the X factor is in high enough concentration it will react with all the aldehyde / ketone and you guys will be seeing corrosion.

That you're smelling smoke, might mean not all the aldehydes are taken up by X, leaving your install spare aldehydes to waft into the room. And no corrosion to see.

Please look and post up. I am satisfied this isnt a draft issue- mine is running fine on precious little draft.

I dont think it is a sealing issue. If you had a bad air seal the stove would keep running hard when you turn it down and maybe melt if you leave it on high.

I am serving dinner for 10 in 16 hours. I look forward to some hi res pics tomorrow evening.

I have the smoke smell. And the knife edge is not centered on the top of the door nor the hinge side.

 

[Poindexter]

My kid with the fresh materials science degree in non destructive testing gets on an airplane in 36 hours.

She and I are done looking at gasket pictures. We want to see good photos of the metal edge that makes the groove in the gasket.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have the smoke smell. And the knife edge is not centered on the top of the door nor the hinge side.

Oh, yeah, joe...was that last year or the year before that you were chasing this problem? Can't remember what have you tried so far..
I guess I'm overdue to give you guys some more chit. Merry Crapmas!

I keep thinking, "Oh yeah, this stove is SUPPOSED to make loads of heat with no flame... this is going to save me a ton of wood!"

It will..until you start running the stove wide open for a half hour with each new load, with a blazing inferno in the box. Kiss your wood goodbye.

It pains me that I will need a $300 part every 2 years

Well, you could call in the standard EPA warrranty that all cats have, three years free, next three pro-rated, but when I've replaced one after two or three years I haven't yet claimed on the warranty...figured I got what I bought, 12000 hrs. Now, BK says "It is not uncommon to get up to 10 years or more service from a catalyst." I don't know 'bout all that. Maybe if you live in Florida, ten years is not uncommon.

but it is still much cheaper than the alternative.

Another alternative might be to search other stove makers' cat prices...you might be able to find something cheaper, I don't know, like maybe $150 for some of their durafoil steel cats and $175 for the priciest ones. If you find a better deal, let us know. Check stove prices while you're there and report back..