2019-20 Blaze King Performance Thread Part 1 (Everything BK)

[kenmal]

Well it seems I may have a Plugged cat for second time in a week. Woke up this morning to a cat that was inactive and a little cooler in the house. When I cleaned the cat a week ago it was the back of the cat that was plugged up, So vacuumed it out and blew a little air thru it from a can.
I have checked the pipe for leaks did not find any, the door passes dollar bill test and the glass does not move.
Before any one says it’s the wood I am burning Oak and tested on fresh split at room temp was 15-18% , left over wood I was burning last year.
I would assume I need to check the bypass with a dollar bill? Is there anything else I should be looking for?

10pm Last night , reloaded at 7:30pm , thermostat set at 2pm

5am this morning...

 

[Diabel]

Well it seems I may have a Plugged cat for second time in a week. Woke up this morning to a cat that was inactive and a little cooler in the house. When I cleaned the cat a week ago it was the back of the cat that was plugged up, So vacuumed it out and blew a little air thru it from a can.
I have checked the pipe for leaks did not find any, the door passes dollar bill test and the glass does not move.
Before any one says it’s the wood I am burning Oak and tested on fresh split at room temp was 15-18% , left over wood I was burning last year.
I would assume I need to check the bypass with a dollar bill? Is there anything else I should be looking for?

10pm Last night , reloaded at 7:30pm , thermostat set at 2pm
View attachment 252888 View attachment 252890

5am this morning...
View attachment 252889

What was left in the fire box (wood wise) at 5:00?

 

[Highbeam]

Is this that dang normal fly ash accumulation we’re supposed to expect?

Are you running the stove on high settings and how tall is your chimney? Can’t blame wood since this issue is occurring on lots of stoves.

Well it seems I may have a Plugged cat for second time in a week. Woke up this morning to a cat that was inactive and a little cooler in the house. When I cleaned the cat a week ago it was the back of the cat that was plugged up, So vacuumed it out and blew a little air thru it from a can.
I have checked the pipe for leaks did not find any, the door passes dollar bill test and the glass does not move.
Before any one says it’s the wood I am burning Oak and tested on fresh split at room temp was 15-18% , left over wood I was burning last year.
I would assume I need to check the bypass with a dollar bill? Is there anything else I should be looking for?

10pm Last night , reloaded at 7:30pm , thermostat set at 2pm
View attachment 252888 View attachment 252890

5am this morning...
View attachment 252889

 

[Diabel]

Is this that dang normal fly ash accumulation we’re supposed to expect?

Are you running the stove on high settings and how tall is your chimney? Can’t blame wood since this issue is occurring on lots of stoves.

I believe steel cats only

 

[kenmal]

What was left in the fire box (wood wise) at 5:00?

It was just a little over half yet.

Are you running the stove on high settings and how tall is your chimney? Can’t blame wood since this issue is occurring on lots of stoves.

I have it run high for about 15-30 minutes after a reload depends on how it takes off, after that usually set it around 2pm.
Chimney is 16' tall.

 

[Diabel]

It was just a little over half yet.




I have it run high for about 15-30 minutes after a reload depends on how it takes off, after that usually set it around 2pm.
Chimney is 16' tall.

Then it sounds like a plugged or stalled cat. I would do another reload and same occurs then let it cool and inspect the cat.

 

[showrguy]

Well it seems I may have a Plugged cat for second time in a week. Woke up this morning to a cat that was inactive and a little cooler in the house. When I cleaned the cat a week ago it was the back of the cat that was plugged up, So vacuumed it out and blew a little air thru it from a can.
I have checked the pipe for leaks did not find any, the door passes dollar bill test and the glass does not move.
Before any one says it’s the wood I am burning Oak and tested on fresh split at room temp was 15-18% , left over wood I was burning last year.
I would assume I need to check the bypass with a dollar bill? Is there anything else I should be looking for?

10pm Last night , reloaded at 7:30pm , thermostat set at 2pm
View attachment 252888 View attachment 252890

5am this morning...
View attachment 252889

The lowest setting I can set my King at is right about 3:15, any lower and I’ll lose the CAT after a few hours..
Ya might try that..

 

[Holiday]

I have it run high for about 15-30 minutes after a reload depends on how it takes off, after that usually set it around 2pm.
Chimney is 16' tall.

Has the 2pm setting always been a reliable lower burn setting where it's performed well? I can't go much below 3 but I'm new to these stoves and obviously different install and I have the swoosh dial.

 

[Ashful]

I have it run high for about 15-30 minutes after a reload depends on how it takes off, after that usually set it around 2pm.
Chimney is 16' tall.

One of my two BK Ashfords is on a 16’ chimney, is run on high with cat engaged for 20 minutes on every fresh load, is run almost entirely on red oak, and I have never had issues with the cat plugging on that stove. Also, you mention its on the back side, not the front side. This is NOT the fly ash plugging that the few of us with very tall chimneys have experienced, it is something completely different.

I would guess that for one reason or another, your cat is falling out of active, and that’s causing the build-up you’re seeing on the back face. As to why that is happening, I don’t know... maybe it was cooked, or maybe it wasn’t properly treated during it’s manufacture. Lots of possibilities, but I do not believe it is the classic ash plugging problem I experienced two years ago with my 30 foot pipe running extended periods on high.

 

[Highbeam]

The particular lowest stat setting that results in an active cat all the way through the burn is very installation, stove, and even weather dependent. We can't compare this setting between different installs but we can find the specific low-low setting for our stove and make a mark on the dial to remember it. Mine, FYI is near the 2 o'clock area.

Two things appear to be happening to @kenmal that may or may not be related. One is a clogged cat and the other is a stalling cat. Which came first? Either way, step one is to really clear the cat element which is apparently now supposed to be done with compressed air but at low pressure like what comes from those cans of air.

 

[Alpine1]

How old is the cat? I noticed I had to increase my minimum setting from a hair above 3 o’clock to a hair below 3 since year 1. If you’ve reached the 10.000 hours mark on your cat, it’s almost sure it’s approaching the end of its life.

 

[zvholk]

10,000 hours? So if you run 24-7 for 5-6 months a year. You’d be luck to get 3 years? How come they have a 10 year warranty?

 

[Highbeam]

10,000 hours? So if you run 24-7 for 5-6 months a year. You’d be luck to get 3 years? How come they have a 10 year warranty?

Because most people don't burn 24/7 5-6 months per year. We are wood heat enthusiasts and very rare in the wood heating world. It is a business decision to attract a large group of customers with a 10 year warranty even while knowing that a smaller group of folks will easily need a new catalyst in less than 3 years.

I'm on my 3rd cat in a 2012 model year stove. I really appreciate a cat that is doing its job well which only happens for 2-3 years of full time burning before a noticeable drop in performance (increase in smoke, etc. )occurs. A new cat is so nice!

 

[Alpine1]

Very well said Highbeam! I think most people run their stoves 2 or 3 months per year, and not 24/7 even for those 3 months.

 

[kenmal]

Has the 2pm setting always been a reliable lower burn setting where it's performed well? I can't go much below 3 but I'm new to these stoves and obviously different install and I have the swoosh dial.

40F and above usually ran it 1:30 , below 40 down to about 20f would run it around 2:00-2:30..

How old is the cat? I noticed I had to increase my minimum setting from a hair above 3 o’clock to a hair below 3 since year 1. If you’ve reached the 10.000 hours mark on your cat, it’s almost sure it’s approaching the end of its life.

Cat is not that old, Stove was put in Last year in December. Burn 24x7 From Mid Oct. to usually March sometime.. So not at 10,000 hours.

Either way, step one is to really clear the cat element which is apparently now supposed to be done with compressed air but at low pressure like what comes from those cans of air.

I would have never used it if I did not read if I did not see this.

cans of compressed air are fine to use SO LONG AS THE CAT IS ROOM TEMP

 

[zvholk]

Because most people don't burn 24/7 5-6 months per year. We are wood heat enthusiasts and very rare in the wood heating world. It is a business decision to attract a large group of customers with a 10 year warranty even while knowing that a smaller group of folks will easily need a new catalyst in less than 3 years.

I'm on my 3rd cat in a 2012 model year stove. I really appreciate a cat that is doing its job well which only happens for 2-3 years of full time burning before a noticeable drop in performance (increase in smoke, etc. )occurs. A new cat is so nice!

Maybe a good idea to get one ordered to have on standby. Where would be the best place to order one from? Cat and gasket

 

[Woody Stover]

Also, you mention its on the back side, not the front side. This is NOT the fly ash plugging that the few of us with very tall chimneys have experienced, it is something completely different....I would guess that for one reason or another, your cat is falling out of active, and that’s causing the build-up you’re seeing on the back face. As to why that is happening, I don’t know

Yes, that accumulation on the back is curious. Hmmm..

 

[BKVP]

Maybe a good idea to get one ordered to have on standby. Where would be the best place to order one from? Cat and gasket

Have you tried the distilled water/vinegar cleaning? Check out #Webby3660 comments.

We get a few cats back each year. There are of course some that experience thermal degradation. The remainder are "I noticed a decrease in performance ".

We take those, clean them and they perform exceptionally well. From time to time, we run them through emissions dilution tunnel tests and they average .5-1.0 gr/h over baseline. These results are in keeping with a now nearly decade old study performed by OMNI Test of aged combustors.

Try it...save some money....for now.

 

[webby3650]

Have you tried the distilled water/vinegar cleaning? Check out #Webby3660 comments.

We get a few cats back each year. There are of course some that experience thermal degradation. The remainder are "I noticed a decrease in performance ".

We take those, clean them and they perform exceptionally well. From time to time, we run them through emissions dilution tunnel tests and they average .5-1.0 gr/h over baseline. These results are in keeping with a now nearly decade old study performed by OMNI Test of aged combustors.

Try it...save some money....for now.

I just took this pic. This is a steel cat out of my old Ashford that “needed” replaced. It is out of one of the first Ashfords that were in use, 6-7 years of 24/7 use. I did the wash and put it in my Princess. It’s been doing great!

 

[Highbeam]

We take those, clean them and they perform exceptionally well.

If I may ask, how do you "clean" them to restore performance? Is there a constantly boiling vat of vinegar in the back of BK headquarters? It must smell better than the onions!

 

[zvholk]

Have you tried the distilled water/vinegar cleaning? Check out #Webby3660 comments.

We get a few cats back each year. There are of course some that experience thermal degradation. The remainder are "I noticed a decrease in performance ".

We take those, clean them and they perform exceptionally well. From time to time, we run them through emissions dilution tunnel tests and they average .5-1.0 gr/h over baseline. These results are in keeping with a now nearly decade old study performed by OMNI Test of aged combustors.

Try it...save some money....for now.

I’m not having any problems as of now, but don’t want to be sitting with a cold stove waiting for a new cat to arrive when it happens. Just thinking I may want to have a spare just in case. How many of you guys have an extra cat?

 

[Woody Stover]

We get a few cats back each year. There are of course some that experience thermal degradation. The remainder are "I noticed a decrease in performance ". We take those, clean them and they perform exceptionally well.

Damn slip-shod amateurs. Luckily, you charge enough for the stoves to more than cover that.

This is a steel cat out of my old Ashford that “needed” replaced. It is out of one of the first Ashfords that we’re in use, 6-7 years of 24/7 use. I did the wash and put it in my Princess. It’s been doing great!

Yeah, I hit my cat with 50/50 spray every fifteen minutes for a couple hours, then thoroughly rinsed with distilled water. It's working great..170 on the stove top, and I'm ready to slam 'er shut and get an instantly-glowing cat.

#Webby3660

Ashfords that we’re in use, 6-7 years

Gee, you BK guys are kind of haphazard, aren't you?

 

[ratsrepus]

I’m not having any problems as of now, but don’t want to be sitting with a cold stove waiting for a new cat to arrive when it happens. Just thinking I may want to have a spare just in case. How many of you guys have an extra cat?

I have one of each, ceramic and steel and gasket material just in case. I fried my brand new ceramic job in the princess, so another new one and a spare steel in the parts bin. Im going to put the new steel one in the princess as soon as I can shut it down for comparison

 

[weatherguy]

I always had a spare cat for my Princess and have a new one still in the box for my PH, just in case.

 

[webby3650]

With the exception of people like highbeam and Poindexter, I just don’t see much need to keep a spare, considering they last many years. I can see buying a new one once the original has some age on it and holding onto it until it seems necessary to change it out though.