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

[kf6hap]

If you're inquiring because of my issues last year - i still have the char smell issue, but have decided to ignore it. i'm fairly certain the smell bleeds through the door gasket rope when dialed down.

The "smoke smell" issue was resolved last year. Call the factory and have them send the oversized gasket to your dealer and they will install it. My stove is smoke free now.

 

[MissMac]

The "smoke smell" issue was resolved last year. Call the factory and have them send the oversized gasket to your dealer and they will install it. My stove is smoke free now.

Ya i've got one, just haven't had it installed. There are no dealers within a 2 hour drive from me who know anything at all about BK stoves. The down-side of living in a small town in northern Ontario.

 

[BURNard]

Some people mix them in with regular cord wood with good results. They are extremely BTU dense and convenient. Like Highbeam said 100% wood. No paraffin or chemicals the make them sparkle or light easily as they might "poison" the cat.

Ok thx . I always like to have some alternative heat source. It's nice to know that I could use this processed wood product. They store and stack well and they're fairly inexpensive. I will certainly purchase some and give it a try thank you.

 

[BURNard]

Yup load her up, let the bricks catch and turn the stove down, I love burning those, I normally keep about 15 packs as an emergency supply in my garage every season, never had an issue.

Awesome, thank you much.

 

[black smoke signals]

The "smoke smell" issue was resolved last year. Call the factory and have them send the oversized gasket to your dealer and they will install it. My stove is smoke free now.

Is there an oversized door gasket available for the BK pi1010a insert?

 

[AaronMColeman]

The "smoke smell" issue was resolved last year. Call the factory and have them send the oversized gasket to your dealer and they will install it. My stove is smoke free now.

What size and type is that gasket? I can't seem to find a straight answer about what gasket to install on my princess insert. I ordered a 7/8" that they said was ordered directly from BK and the description said replacement for Princess but it looks pretty much exactly like the Rutland I mis-ordered

 

[MissMac]

The "smoke smell" issue was resolved last year. Call the factory and have them send the oversized gasket to your dealer and they will install it. My stove is smoke free now.

i'm pretty sure i know a fellow who put in this thicker gasket, and it didn't resolve his issue. but, i'm hoping it will alleviate mine somewhat.

 

[kf6hap]

Ya i've got one, just haven't had it installed. There are no dealers within a 2 hour drive from me who know anything at all about BK stoves. The down-side of living in a small town in northern Ontario.

Not hard to do. Just use hi temp RTV. A nylon wire wheel gets all the old RTV out pronto. Use lots of RTV, place paper in-between the door and the stove so it does not glue shut and let it cure for 24 Hours. Cut to length, don't stretch it much to keep the bulk. Hold the gasket in place with masking tape.

 

[kf6hap]

i'm pretty sure i know a fellow who put in this thicker gasket, and it didn't resolve his issue. but, i'm hoping it will alleviate mine somewhat.

It resolved mine. If it does not resolve yours, you just might get a replacement stove. No kidding. BK makes good. If you still have smoke smell, get with BKVP or the factory.

 

[Ashful]

i'm pretty sure i know a fellow who put in this thicker gasket, and it didn't resolve his issue. but, i'm hoping it will alleviate mine somewhat.

There were roughly a dozen reports of this issue here, over the last two years, and not all of them were attributed to the gasket. BKVP gave the exact break-down of the numbers at some point last year. I do believe the gasket was the prevailing cause/remedy, but there were definitely several other unrelated, including a few that were resolved with chimney height.

IIRC, all but one or two were resolved, which is where the replacement stove came in. That (those?) case(s) were exceptional.

 

[allan5oh]

Man I don't know what I'm doing to cause this, but it appears I'm able to keep the cat lit up to 36 hours on a Princess Ultra. We burn Elm and stuff it pretty full. But this is only when nobody is home. Heat comes on at 14c and I can keep it at 18c quite easily. The stove is fairly new so it will have a ceramic cat. T stat around 2 oclock with fan off. Not really needed at these temps. I'm not even sure how dry the wood is, but I'm guessing around 20%. I wouldn't be surprised however if the cat is dropping out at times, the load of wood shifts, and it fires off again. In fact I would put money on it.

OAK isn't even installed. Needs one due to some spillage and if that doesn't solve it a flue extension might be needed. Right around 15 feet now at 800 elevation. Should be ok. I bet after OAK install it might be able to be turned down more!

 

[kf6hap]

I bet after OAK install it might be able to be turned down more!

I don't think an OAK will permit a greater turn-down but more flue should.

 

[allan5oh]

One other thing I have to add, the main floor only has 8' high walls and the stove is in the corner of the house. I think the lack of natural convection in the house extends the burn time. Also we get a lot of solar heat (window placement plus sun angle) during the afternoon. So much so we can turn off the heat at -15c or colder!

 

[begreen]

I think the lack of natural convection in the house extends the burn time.

xplain that

 

[kf6hap]

I think the lack of natural convection in the house extends the burn time.

Do you want the heat to spread more or, is that a "feature"/good thing?

 

[bholler]

Do you want the heat to spread more or, is that a "feature"/good thing?

Yes i am curious what good a long burn time does if heat is not distributed

 

[Chip Wood]

i've been pricing a King stove. should there be a difference in price between a Classic and Parlor? i got a quote the other day on a Parlor of $3475 (not including fans or delivery). seemed just a bit high so i called up for a price on the Classic and got the same price.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Any of you have any experience with cheap digital manometers from Ebay/Amazon, preferably one with min/max reading/recording? I've used lots of analog Magnehelic products in construction.

 

[kf6hap]

A .05" Magnahelic works. So does this chart. It is all about height, average temperature within the flue, outside air temp and altitude but, if you have the minimum height or higher all should be well.

 

[Ashful]

A .05" Magnahelic works. So does this chart. It is all about height, average temperature within the flue, outside air temp and altitude but, if you have the minimum height or higher all should be well.

This whole manometer thing came about because several of us are in the "or higher" club, and all was not well. I had so much draw I could clog a cat with fly ash in one burn cycle. The magnehelic showed it was more than 3x BK's maximum recommended draft.

Going by the temperature chart is tricky, as you need to have an average of the temperatures throughout the stack to make the calculation. I only measure my flue temperature 18" above the stove, I don't have duplicate thermometers at 15 feet and 30 feet.

I agree with you on the magnehelic, but since you're trying to measure around .05 - .06" WC, I'd go with the 0.10" or 0.25" models. I use the .25"WC model on my 30 foot flue, since it typically measures around 0.18" with the key damper open.

 

[kf6hap]

Hmmm. Just had an idea. If stack height and draw are known, the average stack temperature can be derived from the chart.

 

[sadpanda]

This whole manometer thing came about because several of us are in the "or higher" club, and all was not well. I had so much draw I could clog a cat with fly ash in one burn cycle. The magnehelic showed it was more than 3x BK's maximum recommended draft.

Going by the temperature chart is tricky, as you need to have an average of the temperatures throughout the stack to make the calculation. I only measure my flue temperature 18" above the stove, I don't have duplicate thermometers at 15 feet and 30 feet.

I agree with you on the magnehelic, but since you're trying to measure around .05 - .06" WC, I'd go with the 0.10" or 0.25" models. I use the .25"WC model on my 30 foot flue, since it typically measures around 0.18" with the key damper open.

I too am in the too much draft camp but didn't realize it was being talked about in this thread so I started anew.

so you are using something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NI4JUMY/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Any of you have any experience with cheap digital manometers from Ebay/Amazon, preferably one with min/max reading/recording? I've used lots of analog Magnehelic products in construction.

I'm using this guy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072F5WD2L/?tag=hearthamazon-20

I have to zero it every time I turn it on but its seems ok. I think having better resolution with a narrower scale would be better for this application. +/-55 in H2O is a bit much. I've not found any cheap digitals with any lower range.

 

[Highbeam]

A .05" Magnahelic works. So does this chart. It is all about height, average temperature within the flue, outside air temp and altitude but, if you have the minimum height or higher all should be well.

The chart shows an extraordinary jump in draft pressure at the 400 temperature level. What units is the pressure shown? Hundredths of an inch wc? As in spec for our stoves is around 6-10?

 

[jetsam]

You'd need temperature sensors at the top and bottom of your stack to use that chart. You can't compute average stack gas temperature using just a probe at the bottom.

 

[kf6hap]

Pascals, .004 X Pascals =WC". Approximately.