2017-18 Blaze King Performance Thread PART 3 (Everything BK)

[MissMac]

Flame shield should sit on tabs, not dropped down behind.

So my flame shield is installed in the identical manner as illustrated in my owners manual (attached pic). In this picture, the flame shield rests up against these 2 tabs (i.e. is sitting behind them)?

 

[SuperJ]

Wow, I haven't checked in a for a couple weeks (been to busy and had the flu).
It's impossible to keep up with this thread.

Was curious what the coles notes are on draft pressures now that a couple guys have started measuring them and have installed dampers.
Any notable improvements in burn characteristics?

 

[Highbeam]

So my flame shield is installed in the identical manner as illustrated in my owners manual (attached pic). In this picture, the flame shield rests up against these 2 tabs (i.e. is sitting behind them)?

I think @BKVP misspoke. The flame shield should sit behind the tabs and not up on the tippy top of them. Just like your picture. The point is that all the smoke goes through the holes.

 

[lsucet]

Wow, I haven't checked in a for a couple weeks (been to busy and had the flu).
It's impossible to keep up with this thread.

Was curious what the coles notes are on draft pressures now that a couple guys have started measuring them and have installed dampers.
Any notable improvements in burn characteristics?

I feel your pain. We all have been sick with the flu since the week of Christmas and it's not over yet. Many different symptoms every week. Crazy.
About the damper i don't know what to say. Some reported improvement . I am having some strong draft with my 2nd installed that has 23-24' from stove top to termination cap. the way i learn to controlled it is by the dial, not letting the fire get all crazy. I still burning about 15-20 minutes on reloads, sometimes less but not with the dial wide open. Just keeping the flames under control with the built in tstat damper. Based on, BK has a single intake and has that damper i don't see how a flue damper will help me. I can be wrong. I know every situation is different and in my case i am able to controlled it like I mentioned before. Actually I am using the same burning practice with both stove and the results are less smoke on reload and it clears real quick, i will say half of the time that used to be. Also notice that the flue temp stays around 450-500 df compare to before that used to be 800 easy during the high burn time after reloads. Like I said, Just my experience.

 

[MissMac]

I think @BKVP misspoke. The flame shield should sit behind the tabs and not up on the tippy top of them. Just like your picture. The point is that all the smoke goes through the holes.

ya i don't even know how you could put the thing in any other way than the right way? thanks @Highbeam

 

[Highbeam]

ya i don't even know how you could put the thing in any other way than the right way? thanks @Highbeam

It’s just word choice I think. The shield is sitting “on” the tabs when installed properly but just not on the tippy top.

 

[kennyp2339]

I feel like I got one of the set it and forget it rotisseries, except in a woodstove

 

[black smoke signals]

. Hold flame shield in the firebox with the triangular wings
facing away. Lift it between the loading door and the catalyst resting the bottom of the plate on the two holders that
protrude below the catalyst. Fresh from the manual

 

[black smoke signals]

I feel your pain. We all have been sick with the flu since the week of Christmas and it's not over yet. Many different symptoms every week. Crazy.
About the damper i don't know what to say. Some reported improvement . I am having some strong draft with my 2nd installed that has 23-24' from stove top to termination cap. the way i learn to controlled it is by the dial, not letting the fire get all crazy. I still burning about 15-20 minutes on reloads, sometimes less but not with the dial wide open. Just keeping the flames under control with the built in tstat damper. Based on, BK has a single intake and has that damper i don't see how a flue damper will help me. I can be wrong. I know every situation is different and in my case i am able to controlled it like I mentioned before. Actually I am using the same burning practice with both stove and the results are less smoke on reload and it clears real quick, i will say half of the time that used to be. Also notice that the flue temp stays around 450-500 df compare to before that used to be 800 easy during the high burn time after reloads. Like I said, Just my experience.

I don’t feel alone now your experience with adjusting t/stat for high draft is the only way I can control run away flames at startup or reload. If you remember I have a insert Bk a cold stove my t/stat won’t fully shut till it warms up but I can control flames like you have learned to. Same goes for reloads now I have to ask does your new stove have a steel cat? Because after I switched out my steel to ceramic my 800 degree temp went down to 450-500 I always thought it was my ponderosa maybe maybe not keep me posted what you find.

 

[lsucet]

I don’t feel alone now your experience with adjusting t/stat for high draft is the only way I can control run away flames at startup or reload. If you remember I have a insert Bk a cold stove my t/stat won’t fully shut till it warms up but I can control flames like you have learned to. Same goes for reloads now I have to ask does your new stove have a steel cat? Because after I switched out my steel to ceramic my 800 degree temp went down to 450-500 I always thought it was my ponderosa maybe maybe not keep me posted what you find.

I have the Princess and they are ceramic. If i let it wide open, yes, i can get 800 and way more than that. But controlling it it stays way lower and higher firebox temp.

 

[Woody Stover]

The glass gasket should last along time but to replace it you must replace the door gasket

Hmmm.

I feel your pain. We all have been sick with the flu since the week of Christmas and it's not over yet. Many different symptoms every week. Crazy.

A buddy came down with the flu, don't know if it's the one you have but he said it was bad and hung on a long time.

I am having some strong draft with my 2nd installed that has 23-24' from stove top to termination cap. the way i learn to controlled it is by the dial, not letting the fire get all crazy. I still burning about 15-20 minutes on reloads, sometimes less but not with the dial wide open. Just keeping the flames under control with the built in tstat damper. Based on, BK has a single intake and has that damper i don't see how a flue damper will help me.

Yeah, even though the thermo auto-adjusts the air, you are still somewhat in control if you turn the thermo down. If I couldn't get as low a burn as I wanted on a new load, I guess I would loosen a nut or whatever you have to do, and adjust it so that the thermo would cut the air more when I turned it all the way down..

The baffles are above the brick, left and right sides. They have 3-4 stitch welds. When it warms up, look inside to see if baffles are flat or loaded under pressure....

Oooo, I like that theory. Seems like not everyone is describing a real loud bang, but maybe something more muted..

 

[webby3650]

The glass gasket should last along time but to replace it you must replace the door gasket so check it when replacing the door gasket. Lots of us have changed the door gasket as it is the most important, most prone to wear, and most easily improperly installed by the factory. The bypass gasket is a bugger to replace and I’ve only rarely seen anybody do it. It’s just not that critical.

Get blaze king gaskets! The density is “special”.

I know a lot of folks on here are put off by the fact that the door gasket must be removed to get at the glass gasket. I’m here to tell ya, it makes changing both gaskets a breeze!
Other stoves typically use furnace cement to adhere the gasket, which is hell to remove! Also, the glass retainer nuts, or worse, screws are exposed to the fire at all times. This almost always requires grinding/drilling/tapping just to change the glass gasket... it sucks ass!
I can change a set of BK gaskets in less than 10 minutes, not bad!

 

[lsucet]

A buddy came down with the flu, don't know if it's the one you have but he said it was bad and hung on a long time.

Yeah it is really bad. I thought I have been getting better four times when something else shows up and bring me back again So is other family members. I heard that there is 96 cases of death already with this crap.

Yeah, even though the thermo auto-adjusts the air, you are still somewhat in control if you turn the thermo down. If I couldn't get as low a burn as I wanted on a new load, I guess I would loosen a nut or whatever you have to do, and adjust it so that the thermo would cut the air more when I turned it all the way down..

I don't have experience with the insert models, but my stoves are freestanding and i can shut them at any time. the only thing that changes is the position of the dial cause shutting point depends on stove temp. What I am controlling is the speed and the volume of intake air coming into the firebox, avoiding the disruption of the flame and the unwanted smoke outside that looks like a train.

 

[Ashful]

Was curious what the coles notes are on draft pressures now that a couple guys have started measuring them and have installed dampers.
Any notable improvements in burn characteristics?

I was probably one of those couple guys. I was having problems with clogging the SteelCat combustor in one of my Ashford 30’s, which is on a fairly tall (29 feet, if I recall correctly) insulated 6 inch flue, any time I did extended burning on higher settings. I was also having problems with getting the wood load charred and cat up to temp in bypass mode, before I had a fire raging so hard I was afraid of having a chimney fire. The stove is so controllable, that despite this very high draft, I never had control issues with the bypass closed.

I installed a Magnehelic manometer, and measured my draft on high, 30 minutes after closing bypass. I found it to be 0.16” to 0.18” in a few days of testing in relatively mild weather, which is about 3x higher than BK’s recommended or maximum values. I installed a flue damper, which initially got me down around 0.08”, but with a few days ash fluff deposits on it, I’m now able to dial down to 0.05”.

A week in, I now have another clogged cat, but I’m not ready to all this experiment a failure. I’m not sure I was successful in getting it clean when I installed the damper, as it’s just about impossible to vacuum it clean in the stove. I try compressed air on it, which is not recommended, but I can’t find any other way to get them un-clogged in-situ. I have new interam gasket on the way, so I can remove it and give it a proper cleaning, before re-testing.

I have noticed a dramatic improvement in how the stove comes up to temperature on a reload. No more furious raging fire in bypass mode. It just comes up to temperature nice and gentle, like my other stove on the 15 foot chimney. That is a nice improvement.

More data to follow, once I get this cat cleaned. I’m not sure it will be totally conclusive until I try it with a new cat, this one is 3 years and 15 cords old and has been blown and vacuumed clean many times, but I’ll post what I find either way.

 

[jetsam]

A week in, I now have another clogged cat, but I’m not ready to all this experiment a failure. I’m not sure I was successful in getting it clean when I installed the damper, as it’s just about impossible to vacuum it clean in the stove. I try compressed air on it, which is not recommended, but I can’t find any other way to get them un-clogged in-situ. I have new interam gasket on the way, so I can remove it and give it a proper cleaning, before re-testing.

Try putting the hose on the other hole of the shop vac maybe? That makes a dusty but non-oily blower of user-configurable air volume.

 

[Woody Stover]

What I am controlling is the speed and the volume of intake air coming into the firebox, avoiding the disruption of the flame and the unwanted smoke outside that looks like a train.

Yeah, I think a bit less flame builds up heat in the box quicker and saves some wood. But at some point, you gotta burn that crap outta the box, right?

I was also having problems with getting the wood load charred and cat up to temp in bypass mode, before I had a fire raging so hard I was afraid of having a chimney fire. The stove is so controllable, that despite this very high draft, I never had control issues with the bypass closed.

Yeah, forcing the exhaust through the cat will slow it down a bit. That's why I thought that if it was happening to me on a BK, I might adjust the thermo to close further when turned all the way down. Maybe you missed that..

I try compressed air on it, which is not recommended, but I can’t find any other way to get them un-clogged in-situ.

I think you can use compressed air if you feather back the control a bit and don't hit the cat full force..

 

[lsucet]

Yeah, I think a bit less flame builds up heat in the box quicker and saves some wood. But at some point, you gotta burn that crap outta the box, right?

Don't get me wrong, I do burn hot, just not at 6 o'clock on the dial. Around 4 o'clock +/- depending. I do clean my glass almost every reload and keep everything in order. It is amazing how 4-5' taller stack plus 70% of it indoor thru the two story part of the house makes a hell of stronger draft compare to the other. at this point i know the magic position of the dial to make both burn almost equal making possible reload both at same time every time if needed.

 

[black smoke signals]

Hope you get feeling better Isucet! Do you feel at this time with your new stove that it’s safe to heat it up shut bypass and set it and walk away?

 

[lsucet]

Hope you get feeling better Isucet! Do you feel at this time with your new stove that it’s safe to heat it up shut bypass and set it and walk away?

Yes and no doubt about that is what I do anyway. My comments possibly make it sound like I am there playing with the dial constantly but it is not like that at all. Just turn the air wide open, open bypass, like to wait a few minutes, open the door, load, shut the door, bypass, turn the dial to about 4 o'clock or so and let there 10, 15, 20 minutes or whatever and dial to my setting on a couple of more steps and comeback again tomorrow.lol

 

[ratsrepus]

Knocked my flame shield off yesterday afternoon loading the stove, me bad. Fished it out this morning, way to hot to re install so ILL wait till the normal lading time around 5 toady. hopefully the stove will be cooled down enough to reinstall by then. I looked at the cat this morning and all seems well. I knew I knocked it off, so I immediately dialed her down for no visible flames. Think its OK. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this

 

[MissMac]

Listening to you fellas talking about controlling your draft using dampers and dialing down your t-stats makes me wonder how many BK owners out there are just letting their above spec. drafts roar without issues. I think that you guys are the exception to the rule when it comes to stove tinkering and observations - I think the vast majority of stove owners who have invested in a BK are likely just using the stove with the assumption that if it's a position on the dial, they can use it. Since you don't hear of a lot of issues as a result of this, I wonder how much the tinkering is really worth it in the end, or if it's more of a hobby and passion for the folks on here to tinker with their technology?

 

[lsucet]

or if it's more of a hobby and passion for the folks on here to tinker with their technology

That is what it is for me plus learn to use the equipment correctly. If I want to run my stoves hard all what i need is to open the dial maybe to 3:30 to 4 o'clock. i don't see any benefit going wide open throttle sending all that heat up the stack. Other person with different setup and location etc, possibly get benefit on run then wide open. yeah i think we all need at some point, find what works better for us and go from there.

 

[Highbeam]

Listening to you fellas talking about controlling your draft using dampers and dialing down your t-stats makes me wonder how many BK owners out there are just letting their above spec. drafts roar without issues. I think that you guys are the exception to the rule when it comes to stove tinkering and observations - I think the vast majority of stove owners who have invested in a BK are likely just using the stove with the assumption that if it's a position on the dial, they can use it. Since you don't hear of a lot of issues as a result of this, I wonder how much the tinkering is really worth it in the end, or if it's more of a hobby and passion for the folks on here to tinker with their technology?

“Most people” don’t come to stove forums, the huge majority just turn up the thermostat. We are the few! Our research/results in these areas benefit the majority of stove owners in ways that the manufacturers can’t or won’t.

 

[tarzan]

Knocked my flame shield off yesterday afternoon loading the stove, me bad. Fished it out this morning, way to hot to re install so ILL wait till the normal lading time around 5 toady. hopefully the stove will be cooled down enough to reinstall by then. I looked at the cat this morning and all seems well. I knew I knocked it off, so I immediately dialed her down for no visible flames. Think its OK. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this

I've used adjustable pliers and a screwdriver to hold and guide the flame shield in and out of its retainer while the stove was hot.

 

[Highbeam]

I've used adjustable pliers and a screwdriver to hold and guide the flame shield in and out of its retainer while the stove was hot.

Are you guys chucking wood in from across the room? You would have to miss the hole pretty badly to not only hit the flameshield but also knock it clear up out of the mounts. On my princess the flame shield is above the door opening, way out of harm’s way.