2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 2 (Everything BK)

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and the next round begins. i really wish i had some of those nice hardwoods that you fellas a little further south have to feed my sirocco. the birch is alright, but not as earth-shattering as i'd hoped it would be.
 
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and the next round begins. i really wish i had some of those nice hardwoods that you fellas a little further south have to feed my sirocco. the birch is alright, but not as earth-shattering as i'd hoped it would be.
Oh boy you are in trouble. lol. Maybe is a good thing not to burn much hardwood unless that's all you have cause you will get a lot of coaling. When temp s dropped bellow 0 df i did use some oak and ash i have here for years and didnt like the coaling. I started mixing them with pine and got better results and end up just doing pine. Pine get me back to temp quick and back to the sweet spot in no time. ;)
 
View attachment 239025

and the next round begins. i really wish i had some of those nice hardwoods that you fellas a little further south have to feed my sirocco. the birch is alright, but not as earth-shattering as i'd hoped it would be.

Piece of cake!! Before you know the black flies and mosquitos will be out!!
 
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Oh boy you are in trouble. lol. Maybe is a good thing not to burn much hardwood unless that's all you have cause you will get a lot of coaling. When temp s dropped bellow 0 df i did use some oak and ash i have here for years and didnt like the coaling. I started mixing them with pine and got better results and end up just doing pine. Pine get me back to temp quick and back to the sweet spot in no time. ;)
yes i agree with you for sure, i had coaling issues between all the manitoba maple and birch. made it difficult to maximize the wood i could stuff in there, and tricky/less-than-ideal trying to scoop some ash out while the stove was still hot. definitely don't have the same issue with the pine. in fact i brought all pine in to warm up for the weekend, since i'm home to feed the stove a bit more. the jack pine is definitely my favourite wood to burn.
 
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Sorry to hear that. ;)
Even way down here, it's going to 5* tonight. That's -15 Canadian. Wind 17mph, gusting to 28. !!!
ya i don't actually mind the cold - winter is my favourite, and i quite enjoy spending my time outdoors even when it gets -30 out. however, it makes the house trickier and more expensive to keep warm, which i do not appreciate :)
 
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I let the BK cool down to clean the chimney and install the new cat,
I guess the cat was dead judging from the 4 cups of shiny black creo flakes
that I got after 3 months of 24/7.
All my wood is sub 20% so I know it's not that plus the cat was starting to get
plugged up, even tho I could get it to glow Ashful did mention it possible for
it to glow without actually being active.
The new cat is in and it has made a world of difference, I'm able to cruise with no flames in the box
while getting more heat from it.IMG_0184.jpg IMG_0185.jpg IMG_0186.jpg
 
That cat looks fine to me. Just covered with very fine ash.

But I have very little experience with steel cats!
 
Well my new car finally arrived for the princess, I figure what the hell and popped it in, installed an additional damper (this time above my test hole) stove is purring away, new steel cat
New steel cat glowing at 1 o’clock, T stat air setting at 2 o’clock, no flames in fire box.
Going to be an awkward send off come this weekend
 
Not getting it? Is this bye bye to the Princess and welcome home NC30?
Unfortunately yes, it’s a real good stove and sips wood, but I don’t like the whole cat (or car) situation, I rather chop another cord of wood plus have the ability of getting an additional 15k Btu’s when it gets frigid out
 
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Unfortunately yes, it’s a real good stove and sips wood, but I don’t like the whole cat (or car) situation, I rather chop another cord of wood plus have the ability of getting an additional 15k Btu’s when it gets frigid out

It is what it is! I am sure you will (as always) positively contribute to this thread.

NC is a beast apparently, what I hear from this forum.

Btw you just added some fuel to beholler’s rant (the 15k btu thing).......
 
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plus have the ability of getting an additional 15k Btu’s when it gets frigid out
Is the 15K BTU based on what they said on the mfgr. web pages? I'm not sure the NC 30 will out-heat the Princess. Let us know how they do, head-to-head. I want to add to my database of real-world experiences vs. the EPA numbers.. o_O
you just added some fuel to beholler’s rant (the 15k btu thing).......
The Regency 3100 will kick serious arse, it appears to me..
 
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Keep the Princess, return the NC-30 and do some serious non-cat shopping. Might as well compare quality to quality. What about Regency/Harman, PE, Jotul, Lopi etc? Then you have two stoves to play with, and a backup. >>
 
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That cat looks fine to me. Just covered with very fine ash
It's covered in a brown deposit that has clogged some of the cells in the top third,
the cat wasn't getting hot enough to burn it off, so far the new cat has made a big difference to the heat output.
 
You gonna try the distilled vinegar/distilled water wash on the cat..maybe keep it as a backup?
I've done the wash once in fall '17 but I will do it again because I got good results the first time,
I may try to just let it soak without boiling it this time as was mentioned before on the forum somewhere.
 
It's covered in a brown deposit that has clogged some of the cells in the top third,
the cat wasn't getting hot enough to burn it off, so far the new cat has made a big difference to the heat output.

How tall/long is your stack? I know these cats are not cheap, but it would not be a bad idea to experiment with a ceramic cat. Over my cat burning experience I have had good luck with them.
 
It is what it is! I am sure you will (as always) positively contribute to this thread.

NC is a beast apparently, what I hear from this forum.d

Btw you just added some fuel to beholler’s rant (the 15k btu thing).......
Not a rant at all. Just posting my experiences. It's not my fault guys here get all worked up just because I don't love the stove.
 
I predict Kenny p will be back.

It's like Facebook users who cancel their accounts- 90% come back in a year.
 
How tall/long is your stack? I know these cats are not cheap, but it would not be a bad idea to experiment with a ceramic cat
it's 20ft and I'm at 1000ft elevation, never had a problem with the draft,
the ceramic cat from the princess has the same dimensions of the ashfords
so I was planning to order one next week to try when we get another warm spell.
 
I predict Kenny p will be back.
It's like Facebook users who cancel their accounts- 90% come back in a year.
With my approach, detailed above, he'd be a 'world citizen,' not bound by an allegiance to any nation. :)
 
Not a rant at all. Just posting my experiences. It's not my fault guys here get all worked up just because I don't love the stove.

I totally respect your contribution here. I just like poking at you regarding VC and now BK.

Btw I am still on the fence, in terms of which one I like better....!!
 
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