You do not adjust door gasket tension (princess and king) by messing with the handle and door. You adjust the latch that is attached to the stove. A nice big wrench or two from the toolbox is needed.
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2018-19 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 2 (Everything BK)
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You do not adjust door gasket tension (princess and king) by messing with the handle and door. You adjust the latch that is attached to the stove. A nice big wrench or two from the toolbox is needed.
How tight should the door handle be (surly hard to quantify)? Mine is definitely looser now (with very part time usage) than it was when new. However, it might be the gasket compressing a bit. Before the next season I will adjust the latch.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
It should be hard to pull a dollar bill out after you close it in the door, all the way around the door.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
Door doesn't need to be hard to latch it. Just a little tension. You can see the marking on the gasket. Mine are real easy to latch.
As long it pass the bill test and it has a good marking on the gasket from the knife, it is okay. Too much tension at the latch can cause leak at the hinges.
There is definitely still tension when I close the door. I am sure it is all good. For sure I get more activity in the fire box due to the cold weather. I just compensate with the thermostat.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Glowing is not required, that just means it's over 1000F. A good cat only requires 500F to remain active. However, if it's not glowing at times when it previously did, it is a sign that things are changing, and that is probably an indicator that you need a new cat. Like begreen already said, 3 years is about average for a full-time burner.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
Unless your fuel has changed, load differently in terms of volume, draft has changed, added users etc.
I believe it is self sustaining too, meaning as long as you got it up to 500 once and it went "active" it will produce enough heat inside the cat to maintain active even if your fire cools so long as the fire is producing enough smoke for cat food.
Colder weather can make the flue suction a lot stronger. This in turn will suck more combustion air through the "EPA" hole prolonging the turn down time. In colder temps, the stove will run a little hotter with increased flue suction because the thermostatic control is a proportional controller and the "offset" or "error" will increase with stronger draft. If they could only implement some integral function the thermostat would be near perfect but that would take some sort of active (electronic or pneumatic) devices to eliminate the error. Do check the door gasket for leakage and verify the ash plug is seated.
I believe this to be true..I am well into my 3 rd year of burning 24/7 and have noticed subtle differences in the cat performance...come early fall next year I will be putting in the new spare that has been setting on the shelf...
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Not so fast there... the behavior you describe will affect the minimum boundary, how low the stove can burn, but why would it affect any behavior above that minimum boundary? Bottom line, that spring is coiling and un-coiling itself proportional to temperature, independently of draft. If stronger draft, due to colder weather or any other factor is causing the stove to run hotter, the spring will run hotter for a given setting, and reduce inlet air farther, accordingly. I believe the only time draft comes into play is when it runs out of range, and you’re running “on the hole”.
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shoot-straight
Minister of Fire
Ashford combustor replacement- looks like they are available by condar (300$) or firecat (260$). Any reason to pick one over the other?
Ashful- you switched from metal to ceramic due to ash plugging. worth the switch?
Ashful- you switched from metal to ceramic due to ash plugging. worth the switch?
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I’d stick with metal, unless you’re specifically having an ash plugging issue. The metal has several advantages, IMO.
BTW, I’ve been able to get enough fly ash stuck to the ceramic one to affect it’s performance, as well. But at least it’s not totally plugged solid like I had with the steel one, probably thanks to larger passages.
I went with Firecat for my last Ashford SteelCat replacement, because several others here recommended them, and I had bad experience with Condar SteelCats (diesel foil) in my past stoves. I suspect my past experience may not bear at all on what Condar is shipping today, but I am happy with the Firecat steelcat. I still run steel in one of my two Ashford 30’s.
shoot-straight
Minister of Fire
i too have had some ash plugging issues due to excess draft.
it does not look like firecat makes a ceramic cat either
it does not look like firecat makes a ceramic cat either
The ashford is only supposed to use the steel cat so even though the princess cat is supposed to fit, it would be a violation of federal law to say sell a ceramic cat for the ashford or to use a ceramic cat because the ashord was never emissions tested with ceramic. Somebody will surely correct me if this last sentence is not accurate.
I prefer the ceramic due to cost savings and larger hole size. I did try the steelcat and I did not get any additional performance or benefit vs. the ceramic to justify the cost.
chazcarr
Minister of Fire
Would a steelcat reduce the amount of smoky smell coming from the chimney compared to the ceramic?
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I think it’s only illegal for the OEM to sell a cat that was not tested and approved in the stove. They are allowed to do the testing/approval process on a primary and one backup cat, so that limits them to two options.
However I don’t think there’s anything illegal about third parties or end users making substitutions.
snojetter
Member
I'm on season 6 burning 24/7 with my original cat and I'm afraid I probably abused it. I doubt I will get 10 years on it, but due to my negligence I won't try to make a warranty claim if it suddenly fails. That being said, I was positive I would need to install a new cat due to decreased performance I noticed last season. During the off season, I reviewed my burn practices and looked at the wood piles I had been using and discovered I was probably dealing more with wet wood than a fading cat (old wood piles clogged with leaves that prevented the wood from getting dry even though it was 6 or 7 years old). I gave the old cat a good in-stove cleaning and decided to stay with the original rather than just replace it. This season has been a night and day difference. Yes, the cat isn't as vibrant as it was when new but it's performing very well.
All that to make the point that it you may just need to give the cat a good cleaning and not replace it for a while yet.
Greetings, Fire People! We need your help.
We are having the very first spot of trouble with our Blaze King Princess, installed in Spring, 2014. This year, 2018/2019, is our fifth season with the Princess. We burned part time (weekends only) for the first two seasons, then full time for the next two seasons. This is our third season burning full time. We burn dry hardwood and use plain newspaper and Super Cedar fire starters when necessary. Husband cleans the chimney and stovepipe every year with a Soot Eater. We remove the stove pipe and vacuum out the CAT from above/behind every year as well.
I noticed during our last challenging cold snap (Wednesday/Thursday of this week) that the stove was burning slowly even with the t-stat wide open. The CAT would not budge over the halfway point. We had about 4" of embers and ash in the bottom of the stove. I figured we had too much "coaling up" to get a really hot fire going.
I let it burn down overnight. This afternoon I cleaned it out. I left about an inch or so of live embers in the bottom, added a Super Cedar Burger broken into bits, and put a new load of wood on top, opened the bypass and the t-stat all the way.
Wood fired right up with the bypass open. Engaged the CAT at the appropriate temperature and shut the stove right down. Opened the bypass, wood lit right up. Closed the bypass, stove shut down again like I threw a wet blanket on the wood.
Tried leaving the bypass open a bit longer with an eye on that gauge, to keep from melting the stove innards. Fire took right off, burned bright and hot, but the needle just would not budge above the minimum CAT active zone point.
Finally just closed the bypass, put the CAT back online, and it's just sort of sitting over there, dark and sad, even with the throttle wide open. She's a sad Princess. I hate seeing her like this! =(
It seems a bit early in this stove's lifetime/use history to have to replace a CAT. Aren't the CATs warrantied for 10 years? BKVP? We do have a spare CAT and some gasket on hand, should it come to that.
We've never pulled the CAT and done the vinegar soak... is now the time?
WHY IS MY STOVE SAD?
P.S. It's a cold and snowy day here on the river. I WANT MY WOOD STOVE! *pout*
We are having the very first spot of trouble with our Blaze King Princess, installed in Spring, 2014. This year, 2018/2019, is our fifth season with the Princess. We burned part time (weekends only) for the first two seasons, then full time for the next two seasons. This is our third season burning full time. We burn dry hardwood and use plain newspaper and Super Cedar fire starters when necessary. Husband cleans the chimney and stovepipe every year with a Soot Eater. We remove the stove pipe and vacuum out the CAT from above/behind every year as well.
I noticed during our last challenging cold snap (Wednesday/Thursday of this week) that the stove was burning slowly even with the t-stat wide open. The CAT would not budge over the halfway point. We had about 4" of embers and ash in the bottom of the stove. I figured we had too much "coaling up" to get a really hot fire going.
I let it burn down overnight. This afternoon I cleaned it out. I left about an inch or so of live embers in the bottom, added a Super Cedar Burger broken into bits, and put a new load of wood on top, opened the bypass and the t-stat all the way.
Wood fired right up with the bypass open. Engaged the CAT at the appropriate temperature and shut the stove right down. Opened the bypass, wood lit right up. Closed the bypass, stove shut down again like I threw a wet blanket on the wood.
Tried leaving the bypass open a bit longer with an eye on that gauge, to keep from melting the stove innards. Fire took right off, burned bright and hot, but the needle just would not budge above the minimum CAT active zone point.
Finally just closed the bypass, put the CAT back online, and it's just sort of sitting over there, dark and sad, even with the throttle wide open. She's a sad Princess. I hate seeing her like this! =(
It seems a bit early in this stove's lifetime/use history to have to replace a CAT. Aren't the CATs warrantied for 10 years? BKVP? We do have a spare CAT and some gasket on hand, should it come to that.
We've never pulled the CAT and done the vinegar soak... is now the time?
WHY IS MY STOVE SAD?
P.S. It's a cold and snowy day here on the river. I WANT MY WOOD STOVE! *pout*
jetsam
Minister of Fire
If you close the bypass and the fire goes out, the cat is plugged.
Take the flame guard off (no tools needed, just grab it), brush the whole face of the cat with a soft brush, and hit it with a shopvac. If the stove is cool enough, reach around behind the cat and make sure there's not a mountain of ash/crud there. If there is, it may be best to disconnect the flue pipe and shopvac it from the top.
Use a flashlight to peer through the cat and make sure it is open all the way through.
Good news, it's a $0 repair!
It may actually be time for you to get a new cat, but this is not related to the problem you are having now.
Yeah, we pulled the stove pipe and vacuumed it out before we started burning this year. It looked fine. I vacuumed the front of it just recently- at least I vacuumed the guard.
I've got the stove shut down now and the*&^^*^*%&% propane furnace running
. As soon as it cools down enough I'll open it up, pull the guard off of the cat and take a look at it.
It's sure acting clogged. Kinda weird, really, but I guess wood isn't really consistent year to year. Never had the CAT clog before. We did pull the stove pipe and vacuum the back of the CAT from the stove top before we started burning this year. Willing to do it again but that's a pain in the arse. I'd like for that to be a once a year chore. =/ But, you do what you gotta do! (It's like a Three Stooges routine when we do it, with that telescoping stove pipe...)
Stove's shut down. The fire was burning so low I thought there was a possibility that I could get in there with welding gloves and get it done. Opening up the bypass and the stove added oxygen and fire lit up again. So ok, we'll go cold (or cold enough) and get it done, probably tomorrow.
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