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

[MissMac]

Also, the tech kinda agreed to that the door gasket is not really gas-tight, it does not need to be as there is draft.

Honestly, even when the firebox is full of black smoke - I would expect it does not leak. Not with a stove in this price range and overall good reputation.

Oskar

So that is worth noting. In my most recent round of troubleshooting, I wondered if the smell could somehow be coming out of the cat probe hole, but the physics of how this could be possible at the same time as having good draft was tough for me to comprehend. As @Highbeam pointed out, if you sniff a dog’s butthole, it will probably smell like butthole - problem is though, that i trace the smell that’s everywhere in my house back to the stove, which is why i’ve been all up close and personal with it trying to get to the bottom. When your partner shakes you awake at night cause they think the house smells like smoke, you know it’s just not you imagining things.

Even with a replaced door gasket that is nicely centred, with an awesom knife edge, and with a pass on the dollar bill door test, I have come to the conclusion that the door gasket HAS GOT to be where the smell is coming from. I’m thinking it’s got to boil down the permeability of the gasket material and all that heat - even though the draft is evacuating the smoke, the heat of the fire and all the burning wood is making the smell wick through the stove rope. It’s tough to get my face that close to the stove when it’s rip-roaring hot, but iv’e tried really hard, cause i’m just about at my wits end trying to fix this problem, and i’m getting good whiffs up close to the door on the latch side now. Man, i don’t know what else it could be. And i know i’m not alone in this issue either.

 

[MissMac]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think aaronk has already outlined this for us. Under high draft, it is likely the airwash is creating a localized positive pressure on the back of that door which may cause a leak at the upper corners, even while the firebox is under net negative pressure. It’s only a theory, but it’s the most plausible one I’ve heard so far, with at least a little evidence supporting it.

This airwash system is unique to the 30 boxes, the airwash in the older King and Princess models being somewhat less aggressive (or surmised to be so, as they’re less effective than the 30’s).

You’re right, that fella has made a great case - it would be nice if BK could confirm this though - i know they’re trying to figure it out too, but still - frustrating

 

[Tegbert]

Anyways I'm going to go beyond questions and go into theory a bit. My understanding after reading the manuals is you can have a fan kit turn on above a certain stove temp. what if instead I used this thermostatically controlled power to turn on a programmable house thermostat? One capable of PWM output for the fans.

Not sure if the fans are thermostatically controlled on blaze kings. I know on my ashford the fan works at all times. The manual just says that after 30 min of being on high after the bypass has been shut that is when to turn on the fans and to adjust the fan speed to match that of the thermostat of the stove itself. So high run fans on high, medium thermostat run the fans on medium and so forth.



Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[Highbeam]

Not sure if the fans are thermostatically controlled on blaze kings. I know on my ashford the fan works at all times. The manual just says that after 30 min of being on high after the bypass has been shut that is when to turn on the fans and to adjust the fan speed to match that of the thermostat of the stove itself. So high run fans on high, medium thermostat run the fans on medium and so forth.



Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

Old bk models like my princess use a snap disc to energize the fans, if the switch is on, only when the stove is hot. Newer stoves of all model do not have the thermal switch.

 

[webby3650]

his airwash system is unique to the 30 boxes, the airwash in the older King and Princess models being somewhat less aggressive (or surmis

Going off what I’ve been told by the engineers at BK, it’s the depth of the firebox that makes the difference. The depth below the door alters the air flow, limiting the effectiveness of the airwash, leaving that famous hourglass pattern on the door and overall dirtier glass.

 

[lsucet]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think aaronk has already outlined this for us. Under high draft, it is likely the airwash is creating a localized positive pressure on the back of that door which may cause a leak at the upper corners, even while the firebox is under net negative pressure. It’s only a theory, but it’s the most plausible one I’ve heard so far, with at least a little evidence supporting it.

This airwash system is unique to the 30 boxes, the airwash in the older King and Princess models being somewhat less aggressive (or surmised to be so, as they’re less effective than the 30’s).

When is possible that he is up to a good finding and it is the best data provided to this issue as you mentioned, the question that i have is: Why the glass/window doesn't get dirty/black at the upper corners?

 

[jetsam]

the airwash in the older King and Princess models being somewhat less aggressive (or surmised to be so, as they’re less effective than the 30’s).

Yeah, but the firewash system works great!

 

[kf6hap]

Mount this on an electrical box and wire it in:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRJLX5K/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Search "line voltage thermostat" if you don't care for this style.

 

[lsucet]

I have one of those. replaced the switch that controls the outlet where the stove fans connects. It works really good, i keep the fans on low when i use it.

 

[Tegbert]

Old bk models like my princess use a snap disc to energize the fans, if the switch is on, only when the stove is hot. Newer stoves of all model do not have the thermal switch.

That’s good to know. I know my lopi uses a snap disc and I like it and wish the bk did too but it’s not a deal breaker.

Do you know why they don’t have them anymore?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[kennyp2339]

I got home today and discovered nothing but ash in my firebox, I figured I would do a clean out and since the outside temps were warm (34deg) I would take advantage of it and install the dvl since I had all my pieces. I carefully took the old single wall out and started opening boxes of adapters (stove top & ceiling support box) it as then I discovered my stove top adapter with damper was damaged beyond use, the insides were crushed and ovaled out.. I was very disappointed because I waited almost 10 days for this part to come in from plumberstock, I called them and they had me email pics of the damage so I did and hopefully the send one out tomorrow, so I will have to wait prob another 10 days or so before I can swap this smoke pipe out... frustrating at the least.

 

[Highbeam]

That’s good to know. I know my lopi uses a snap disc and I like it and wish the bk did too but it’s not a deal breaker.

Do you know why they don’t have them anymore?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

Probably similar to the swoosh labels. Bk got tired of explaining that the fans weren’t supposed to come on until the stove got hot. Customers expected fans to come on when they flipped the switch. Just a guess.

 

[Highbeam]

I got home today and discovered nothing but ash in my firebox, I figured I would do a clean out and since the outside temps were warm (34deg) I would take advantage of it and install the dvl since I had all my pieces. I carefully took the old single wall out and started opening boxes of adapters (stove top & ceiling support box) it as then I discovered my stove top adapter with damper was damaged beyond use, the insides were crushed and ovaled out.. I was very disappointed because I waited almost 10 days for this part to come in from plumberstock, I called them and they had me email pics of the damage so I did and hopefully the send one out tomorrow, so I will have to wait prob another 10 days or so before I can swap this smoke pipe out... frustrating at the least.

Was it easy to unsnap the starter chunk of single wall from the Simpson ceiling support box? The old boxes had little cutouts to let the tabs out. Newer ceiling support boxes don’t so when you snap in the pipe it’s really in there good.

 

[shoot-straight]

Hello heat pump! After weeks of cold it's gonna be in the high 50's and maybe 60 for a few days. Great time to flip the switch, run the sooteater to make sure all is well, vaccuum the cat and regroup for cold that is supposed to come back next week.

That cold last week was something for us Marylanders. Just not used to it. Cold wasn't terrible, but cold w 40kt winds made it unbearable to be outside. I'm still amazed that all the wood I burned, my ash load is not bad and I never had a coaling problem.

 

[webby3650]

That’s good to know. I know my lopi uses a snap disc and I like it and wish the bk did too but it’s not a deal breaker.

Do you know why they don’t have them anymore?


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

Primarily because it didn’t really work with a BK, the big belly holds coals for days! My King blowers would still run for a long time after the fire was out. Eliminating it shaved a little of the cost off of production, also greatly reduced issues with blowers. Most often the snap stat is what goes bad, problem eliminated...

 

[allan5oh]

So what do they use instead of a snap stat?

 

[webby3650]

So what do they use instead of a snap stat?

It has an infinite rheostat, on/off and anything in between.

 

[allan5oh]

For that fans?

 

[Oskaratk]

Was it Charlie by chance?

Sorry, IDK - I was too concentrated on the tech part and also have a horrible memory for names

 

[webby3650]

For that fans?

Yes

 

[Oskaratk]

It could be you need more chimney height to compensate for altitude. What is the altitude of your location? What is the total height of the flue system from stove to chimney cap? Double-wall pipe is recommended and will aid draft.

This chart is for a VC cat stove but it will give you an idea of how altitude affects draft.
View attachment 220250

I am in 6000" elevation.

Bought Duravent double wall pipe today. Total flue length is 19'.
Will see - had not asked for more work :-(

However, the place I bought the pipes, not a BK dealer, mentioned "all wood stoves have smoke issues - more or less"

 

[allan5oh]

Yes

Is there a controller that varies fan speed or do you select it?

 

[begreen]

I am in 6000" elevation.

Bought Duravent double wall pipe today. Total flue length is 19'.
Will see - had not asked for more work :-(

However, the place I bought the pipes, not a BK dealer, mentioned "all wood stoves have smoke issues - more or less"

Prolly trying to make you feel better but that's BS.

 

[webby3650]

Is there a controller that varies fan speed or do you select it?

That’s what a rheostat does. It’s like an accelerator, you pick the desired speed. It’s just like every other stove blower, but without a heat sensor to activate it.

 

[Oskaratk]

Prolly trying to make you feel better but that's BS.

Glad we agree

I was just thinking what about to sacrifice an cheap smoke detector - an ionization camber type to figure where the smoke is really coming from. Instead of burning my nose