2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[Diabel]

Our Blaze King Ashford 25 finally arrived!
Outside is 71 degrees and around the same temperature for the next seven days so no near day of starting our first fire.
Thanks for everyone for their inputs.
We really like how it looks in our movie/reading room.
I have one question regarding the installation. Since above the fireplace is not evenly installed stone, there is a small gap at the top of the insert. It is not visible from across but only when you get to the unit and look from above.
Should I be concerned about it? Would it affect efficiency of the unit?
PS: I’m reposting it since this is more BK related.
View attachment 230213View attachment 230214

Unless I am totally spaced out.....what am I missing here in terms of clearances i.e. from the picture

 

[SuperJ]

View attachment 230220 Just saw this..which is correct?

I would say, both and neither... They put numbers because everyone wants some sort of comparison. But every house has unique factors that play into stove selection.

 

[claybe]

First fire tonight! The Princess is purring along like it has had a fire going all summer. Love it!

 

[RustyShackleford]

So, I saw this on last year's thread:

I do the same with my stove (lube the thermostat shaft). After cleaning and lube it is silky smooth.
I wouldn’t pull the thermostat out ...

So really the only thing you can lube is the spring washers where the shaft goes into the enclosed space where the coil & gears are, right ? And any other place the shaft passes through something (nowhere, on my freestanding stove without side panels).

I wouldn’t pull the combustor either, just vacuum it out and be gentil. All the heat cycles make them fragile and crack.

This isn't an issue with the steel-substrate combustor, right ?

... and snug up the bypass plate inside

Is there any way to adjust the bypass without having the stovepipe removed ?

 

[RustyShackleford]

In other old thread, @BKVP says:

More current production in the past few years has a third screw. This screw was placed there for a high limit. So someone takes the cover off, the blade is wide open, they put the lid back on and in doing so the blade is now "block fully open!"

My stove is too old to have this "stop screw". Should I think about retrofitting it ? Simple enough to do, if someone makes me a little drawing showing the exact position. I've survived almost 10 years without it, but it'd be cool to be "fully updated".

 

[drhiii]

First fire in the Princess. New install. Very pleased thus far. Brought the wood stack up easily to temp. Engaged the cat.

Initial experience.. amazed at how quickly the Princess warmed up as compared to 15 years with a Napoleon 1400 pedestal. Like, much much faster. Tho this is my first personal experience with a cat stove, it all just flowed. Also amazed at how quickly responsive the stove is to adjusting to the cat, and the air intake flow. Again, infinitely faster responses than prior experience with non-cat stoves.

And the heat. Wonderfully even heat. It is not that cold out, high humidity and upper 30s. But I can tell how this is going to go. The house came up to comfy even temps. Again, much different than the Napoleon. I can definitely see how managing this will go.

So far, terrific. Will work through the various types of wood characteristics which have a very good sense for anyway. But I already see, am gonna like this...

 

[Highbeam]

So, I saw this on last year's thread:


So really the only thing you can lube is the spring washers where the shaft goes into the enclosed space where the coil & gears are, right ? And any other place the shaft passes through something (nowhere, on my freestanding stove without side panels).

This isn't an issue with the steel-substrate combustor, right ?


Is there any way to adjust the bypass without having the stovepipe removed ?

You can only lube the little spring friction washer which is the sole source of friction to hold the stat setting and the only thing that needs lube.

Unless you remove the cat, you must remove the flue to access the bypass tension adjustment.

 

[Highbeam]

First fire in the Princess. New install. Very pleased thus far. Brought the wood stack up easily to temp. Engaged the cat.

Initial experience.. amazed at how quickly the Princess warmed up as compared to 15 years with a Napoleon 1400 pedestal. Like, much much faster. Tho this is my first personal experience with a cat stove, it all just flowed. Also amazed at how quickly responsive the stove is to adjusting to the cat, and the air intake flow. Again, infinitely faster responses than prior experience with non-cat stoves.

And the heat. Wonderfully even heat. It is not that cold out, high humidity and upper 30s. But I can tell how this is going to go. The house came up to comfy even temps. Again, much different than the Napoleon. I can definitely see how managing this will go.

So far, terrific. Will work through the various types of wood characteristics which have a very good sense for anyway. But I already see, am gonna like this...

It’s 56 degrees outside and I’m burning my princess now. These stoves do very well at low outputs too. The initial warm up sequence can really heat the place up but once you drop down to a low cruise you will see the magic.

If I were you I would start searching for that minimum stat setting that keeps the cat active and the emissions clear. It might take a few weeks of experimentation. That low low setting is the magical setting for maximum burn time and lowest output.

Anybody can burn hot but only a few can burn as cool.

 

[jetsam]

First fire in the Princess. New install. Very pleased thus far. Brought the wood stack up easily to temp. Engaged the cat.

Initial experience.. amazed at how quickly the Princess warmed up as compared to 15 years with a Napoleon 1400 pedestal. Like, much much faster. Tho this is my first personal experience with a cat stove, it all just flowed. Also amazed at how quickly responsive the stove is to adjusting to the cat, and the air intake flow. Again, infinitely faster responses than prior experience with non-cat stoves.

And the heat. Wonderfully even heat. It is not that cold out, high humidity and upper 30s. But I can tell how this is going to go. The house came up to comfy even temps. Again, much different than the Napoleon. I can definitely see how managing this will go.

So far, terrific. Will work through the various types of wood characteristics which have a very good sense for anyway. But I already see, am gonna like this...

You can burn any half decent stove when it's 30 out and get the house up to 70.

A BK Princess though- you can burn that thing when it's 50 or 60 out and get the house up to 70. Load it on whatever your schedule is, not the stove's schedule, no matches required after you get the hang of it.

It's magic!

Speaking of this outside of the BK thread may cause people to call you a fanboy, but that's OK because you will BE a fanboy after a year with the princess.


And speaking of this year's new crop of fanboys, has anyone heard how bholler is making out with his princess?

 

[drhiii]

It’s 56 degrees outside and I’m burning my princess now. These stoves do very well at low outputs too. The initial warm up sequence can really heat the place up but once you drop down to a low cruise you will see the magic.

If I were you I would start searching for that minimum stat setting that keeps the cat active and the emissions clear. It might take a few weeks of experimentation. That low low setting is the magical setting for maximum burn time and lowest output.

Anybody can burn hot but only a few can burn as cool.

Yessir. Was on my mind after I engaged the cat for the first time. Feeling through the setting, observing everything... yes. Well on my mind.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Unless you remove the cat, you must remove the flue to access the bypass tension adjustment.

Yeah, I was confused by whoever it was says he doesn't recommend removing the cat, but he adjusted his bypass damper. I'm gonna pull the cat - seems like it deserves spending a cat gasket to give it a good cleaning once a year (especially since you can't really get a vacuum cleaner nozzle on the entire face of the thing). I know not to go hog wild with an air compressor or something, but a little gentle vacuuming is ok I think.

 

[lsucet]

I think is too low and slow for him

 

[Highbeam]

Yeah, I was confused by whoever it was says he doesn't recommend removing the cat, but he adjusted his bypass damper. I'm gonna pull the cat - seems like it deserves spending a cat gasket to give it a good cleaning once a year (especially since you can't really get a vacuum cleaner nozzle on the entire face of the thing). I know not to go hog wild with an air compressor or something, but a little gentle vacuuming is ok I think.

I pull the rigid part of my shop vac hose off so all I have is the soft rubber hose and that thing can actually be pressed onto the entire face of the cat all the way to the top. It’s the smaller 1.25” hose. I do not recommend removing the cat until you’re ready to replace it. You can stick your phone up there and take a photo into the cells to verify that they’re clear.

Really, the bypass tension isn’t the most critical thing. If the bypass lever still engages with a decent click as it cams over then I don’t mess with it. The gasket is small and hard and doesn’t compress much.

 

[moresnow]

You can stick your phone up there and take a photo into the cells to verify that they’re clear.

Another "o duh" moment That's a good idea!

 

[Ashful]

Initial experience.. amazed at how quickly the Princess warmed up as compared to 15 years with a Napoleon 1400 pedestal. Like, much much faster. Tho this is my first personal experience with a cat stove, it all just flowed. Also amazed at how quickly responsive the stove is to adjusting to the cat, and the air intake flow. Again, infinitely faster responses than prior experience with non-cat stoves.

And the heat. Wonderfully even heat. It is not that cold out, high humidity and upper 30s. But I can tell how this is going to go. The house came up to comfy even temps. Again, much different than the Napoleon. I can definitely see how managing this will go.

There are many here, including our most prolific moderator, who will justify recommending non-cats because “cat stoves are more complicated”. Of course, the people making that claim have never run a BK.

 

[lsucet]

First fire of the year last night after cleaning the chimneys with the soot eater. not much came out of there. happy to see i am burning clean and efficient. just run one of the stoves with a small load cause the house dropping into high 60s. feels good get to play with fire again. lol. also finish the new wood shed. 30x15 and i will build another the same side on coming weeks.

 

[lsucet]

Here some pictures of the shed

 

[Ashful]

Here some pictures of the shed

Wood sheds don’t jive with that landscape!

 

[lsucet]

Wood sheds don’t jive with that landscape!

Everything in time my friend. I have my plans. Is more important right now have where to put all that wood that i need to split. like mention before i have to build another cause that one is not enough.

 

[chemie]

Here some pictures of the shed

I envy the space and the amount of wood!

 

[Ashful]

Everything in time my friend. I have my plans. Is more important right now have where to put all that wood that i need to split. like mention before i have to build another cause that one is not enough.

It wasn’t a criticism. I just mean we’re not used to seeing stacks of fire wood and wood sheds in the southwest.

 

[lsucet]

It wasn’t a criticism. I just mean we’re not used to seeing stacks of fire wood and wood sheds in the southwest.

sorry if i sound like that but i didn't take it wrong. all that used to be nice and green but years ago i stopped the irrigation from coming all the way up cause i built in the back the stables and still building more. all that will be access road when i finish to get with the trailers and all that back there

 

[drhiii]

There are many here, including our most prolific moderator, who will justify recommending non-cats because “cat stoves are more complicated”. Of course, the people making that claim have never run a BK.

Well... 16 hours later. Still heating. Dang. This drafty 110 year old house snug as a bug. Was amazed. Kept thinking I am going to need to get up after a few hours and do something because I did not fill the firebox, thinking I need to ease into this. So I get up out of habit hours later and.... stare at it. Doing just fine. Back to zzzsssss.

First fire and what ease in? I am amazed. And where are all the damn ashes? In the prior wood stove, I would be shoveling every 3-5 days. The missus hates that.

So like many hours later I finally see I could add some splits to the coals, open it up, and....

Let's see now. Outside temps a balmy low to mid 30s. Nippy to me where may pull out a sweater is when things get to say, 0. Scant ashes after my first burn where I made no attempt at wood selection. Just random stuff where I am usually meticulous about types. Then E/W v. N/S loads, blah blah blah. I see I could have easily gone a couple more hours past 16 on mebbe a 60% load in the firebox. So get the idea that I may use a little less wood. Gee, no kidding. It took an effort to get this place to a consistent 67-68 no matter the temp outside with other stove. House stayed 71-72 all nite, into the wee hours, into the morning, into the late morning. With the thing dialed way back. Like to waaaaaay back.

And where'd the ashes go?

Just reloaded, mebbe to 1/3rd of the firebox, dialed it waaaay back again, and I guess I will look at it, ummm, in a few+ hours??

My only issue I need to work out is puffing into the house when I opened it up to add some splits. Ya, opened the cat bypass and and air intake (whatever that is termed), and already had windows opened... was a master at this with prior stove setup. So will figger this technique out. And I know what that is. Get the flue temp up to re-establish a draft. Got that covered. Which was another thing I noticed... I always keep a thermometer on the stove piping. It is registering less than 1/2 of the prior stove.

I have factory fans that I suppose I will install. When I need to bake cookies in the other room. Oh, 1850 sq ft old Victorian house, Colorado.

I know, not news to ya'll's. And this is on not impressive wood. I easily see I will need to mix distro of primo wood which I did not come close to this first burn. I am guessing if I load up with well seasoned Colorado pinon which is one of my goto's when things get below 0, I might end up with a nuclear reactor.

All in all... damn.. someone said fanboy one day? Erm, there now. Knew I would. But knowing and experiencing... two diff things. What am I going to do with all this potential leisure time now? Naw, more than enough to do.

 

[showrguy]

Well... 16 hours later. Still heating. Dang. This drafty 110 year old house snug as a bug. Was amazed. Kept thinking I am going to need to get up after a few hours and do something because I did not fill the firebox, thinking I need to ease into this. So I get up out of habit hours later and.... stare at it. Doing just fine. Back to zzzsssss.

First fire and what ease in? I am amazed. And where are all the damn ashes? In the prior wood stove, I would be shoveling every 3-5 days. The missus hates that.

So like many hours later I finally see I could add some splits to the coals, open it up, and....

Let's see now. Outside temps a balmy low to mid 30s. Nippy to me where may pull out a sweater is when things get to say, 0. Scant ashes after my first burn where I made no attempt at wood selection. Just random stuff where I am usually meticulous about types. Then E/W v. N/S loads, blah blah blah. I see I could have easily gone a couple more hours past 16 on mebbe a 60% load in the firebox. So get the idea that I may use a little less wood. Gee, no kidding. It took an effort to get this place to a consistent 67-68 no matter the temp outside with other stove. House stayed 71-72 all nite, into the wee hours, into the morning, into the late morning. With the thing dialed way back. Like to waaaaaay back.

And where'd the ashes go?

Just reloaded, mebbe to 1/3rd of the firebox, dialed it waaaay back again, and I guess I will look at it, ummm, in a few+ hours??

My only issue I need to work out is puffing into the house when I opened it up to add some splits. Ya, opened the cat bypass and and air intake (whatever that is termed), and already had windows opened... was a master at this with prior stove setup. So will figger this technique out.

All in all... damn.. someone said fanboy one day? Erm, got there. Knew I would. But knowing and experiencing... two diff things. What am I going to do with all this potential leisure time now? Naw, more than enough to do.

Congrats to you and your new stove, now you'll know what we mean when we say " blaze kings are boring "...
You also are gonna need to change you sig line !!

 

[Ashful]

My only issue I need to work out is puffing into the house when I opened it up to add some splits. Ya, opened the cat bypass and and air intake (whatever that is termed), and already had windows opened... was a master at this with prior stove setup. So will figger this technique out.

I suspect that much of the issue with smoke spillage has to do with the very low flue temperatures (very high efficiency) these stoves run. I suspect that if you flip over to bypass before going out to fetch your wood, and let the flue warm up for five minutes while you do that chore, that all smoke spillage will be averted when you come back and open the front door.