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

[MissMac]

Your wood was wetter than usual, or you started with less coal than usual, or you didn't get the cat as warm as usual during startup... sounds pretty normal to me.

Thanks @jetsam, i’m glad to hear you think it’s not outside the realm of what’s possible. I certainly don’t probe each piece on a fresh face for MC when i put it in the stove, but as mentioned, i do test a few splits from each batch i bring inside.

Do you think that this is a signal that it could be the beginning of the end of my cat? I’m unsure of the best way to proceed - i mean the cat is glowing like a happy camper now, and all seems usual now.


I was thinking that perhaps i should let the stove go cold, take a peak inside, and maybe put my big-girl pants on and shimmy up onto the roof and take a peak down my pipe to see if anything looks out of the ordinary up top for accumulation.

 

[Diabel]

Then it sounds like a classic stall. I only had it happen with the BK when I was trying to find the “sweet spot” and cranked it to 12:00. The cat probe went from 2:00pm to 9:00am within 15min.
I am still a bit perplexed by your thermostat pic...your usual run is what?

 

[MissMac]

Then it sounds like a classic stall. I only had it happen with the BK when I was trying to find the “sweet spot” and cranked it to 12:00. The cat probe went from 2:00pm to 9:00am within 15min.
I am still a bit perplexed by your thermostat pic...your usual run is what?

My usual dial-down spot is at 3.5 o’clock - the pencil line in between the green painter’s tape that i put on in year one. Just never took the tape off. So i wsn’t trying to find a new low or anything. Put it at it’s usual cruise on a low, black-box burn.

 

[Diabel]

My usual dial-down spot is at 3.5 o’clock - the pencil line in between the green painter’s tape that i put on in year one. Just never took the tape off. So i wsn’t trying to find a new low or anything. Put it at it’s usual cruise on a low, black-box burn.

Either a wet wood load or...it has been unusually warmer in Ontario than last two weeks. I would just burn on!

 

[MissMac]

Either a wet wood load or...it has been unusually warmer in Ontario than last two weeks. I would just burn on!

Ya not warm in my neck of the woods. I’m really trying to think what was different. I did load a big stumpy piece of jack pine in the middle of the load at the bottom that was about 3 inches shorter than the other pieces, so perhaps this affected the way the load charred? I do recall that the needle point didn’t get as high as it usually does before i dial down, but it was still past 12 o.c. On the probe. Maybe just a bizarre load.

 

[Diabel]

Ya not warm in my neck of the woods. I’m really trying to think what was different. I did load a big stumpy piece of jack pine in the middle of the load at the bottom that was about 3 inches shorter than the other pieces, so perhaps this affected the way the load charred? I do recall that the needle point didn’t get as high as it usually does before i dial down, but it was still past 12 o.c. On the probe. Maybe just a bizarre load.

Burn on and very Merry Christmas!

 

[SpaceBus]

Maybe order a spare cat and gasket material. Then clean the current cat and keep it on standby in the event of an emergency.

 

[MissMac]

A few more observations to share with you all for feedback, as i’ve been watching this load like a hawk and will likely continue to do so until we get to coals. My needle is now at it’s upper point that it usually gets to, with t-stat set on my med-high setting (as in picture further back in this thread). A few things are striking me odd at this point in the burn. My flames have cut out and the wood is now glowing/smouldering. On this particular setting that i’m running now, i’ve never seen the flames cut out. This setting always provides a nice steady flaming in the box until coaling stage. So this is odd to me. However, the cat is glowing like a banshee. Do all of these things suggest one particular root cause? Intuitively i want to say wet wood, but i really don’t think that could be it. I think if i were reading my posts today, i would suspect the wood is the culprit.

Could there be another reason?

At the very least, i think i’m going to start splitting all my fat pieces of jack pine and testing them all, just to be extra diligent.

 

[Diabel]

The three pics you just showed, look like my typical burn. I would fall asleep watching it.

 

[MissMac]

The three pics you just showed, look like my typical burn. I would fall asleep watching it.

Hahahah, indeed! My eyes are getting heavy. Only thing is that those pics look like my normal burn when i have the stove dialed down to my low setting. Not my stove on med-high.



I’ve decided to turn this load up on full throttle to get rid of it. The sooner the better. It has behaved unlike any load of wood i have put through my stove. And to my logical brain, it really does look like how i think a sub-par load of wood would burn.

I would really like to hear if anyone has any other ideas that could explain all of this.

 

[kennyp2339]

@MissMac you may want to run the chimney brush through the pipe, usually when I start seeing a lag in flames while running a previous know t-stat setting it start thinking reduced draft from a tighter chimney.

 

[kennyp2339]

Last night I decided to do a whole BK cleaning since temps were in the 40's here, obviously I cleaned the chimney, and the cap (got about a cup of fine soot ash) but I also tried something new, I boiled my cat in distilled white vinegar for 2 hours, after making sure everything was dry and with a new gasket I popped the cleaned cat back into the stove and fired it up, so far so good, cat stayed above active with the blower set to low and few coals in the fire box this morning, I think regardless off cat life I will be doing a midseason cat cleaning every year. I re-loaded the stove this morning and the cat pretty much fired off within 5 min of loading on hot coals, today is going to be warm so I'm going to set the stove to my known minimum setting and see if the needle holds in one position all day,

 

[jetsam]

Hahahah, indeed! My eyes are getting heavy. Only thing is that those pics look like my normal burn when i have the stove dialed down to my low setting. Not my stove on med-high.

I’ve decided to turn this load up on full throttle to get rid of it. The sooner the better. It has behaved unlike any load of wood i have put through my stove. And to my logical brain, it really does look like how i think a sub-par load of wood would burn.

I would really like to hear if anyone has any other ideas that could explain all of this.

You look at your cat probe thermometer a lot. They are repainted Condars and have been known to drift by hundreds of degrees per year. You should pull it and calibrate it every year (just let it cool to room temp, loosen the nut on the back a little, set the needle to around 70 using a photo of a condar probe for reference, and tighten the nut again).


Above is a photo of a new one; if your needle points somewhere else when the thermometer is cool, you need to adjust it. It can be off by a bit; they're not precision instruments to start with.

If you see a difference in the flames when you close the bypass, that is a plugged cat symptom. Let the stove go cold, Shopvac the cat from the front, and inspect it with a flashlight. If the cells aren't all clear, you'll need to order a cat gasket and pull the cat to vac it out. I vac mine out several times a year (which is every time the stove gets cool enough to sweep the chimney).

 

[MissMac]

You look at your cat probe thermometer a lot. They are repainted Condars and have been known to drift by hundreds of degrees per year. You should pull it and calibrate it every year (just let it cool to room temp, loosen the nut on the back a little, set the needle to around 70 using a photo of a condar probe for reference, and tighten the nut again).

View attachment 254060

Above is a photo of a new one; if your needle points somewhere else when the thermometer is cool, you need to adjust it. It can be off by a bit; they're not precision instruments to start with.



If you see a difference in the flames when you close the bypass, that is a plugged cat symptom. Let the stove go cold, Shopvac the cat from the front, and inspect it with a flashlight. If the cells aren't all clear, you'll need to order a cat gasket and pull the cat to vac it out. I vac mine out several times a year (which is every time the stove gets cool enough to sweep the chimney).

I thank you for your comments. I was watching that probe like an eagle last night. I got a bit paranoid from stalling the cat, as that’s not happened since i first got the stove 3 years ago. Plus didn’t want to leave it unattended overnight - peace of mind - so i sat up with it until it got to coaling.


Bang on with your suggestions, both of which i have experienced previously and do keep an eye on.Someone on here last year was talking about cat probe calibrations which made me check mine - discovered that mine was a bit off and so i did calibrate it last year. It is still good.

And to your second suggestion - my cat does get plugged with fly ash pretty consistently, right from year 1. I have to shut it down and shop vac the face approx. once per month. And as you say, i can always tell when it’s time because of how the fire becomes sluggish once the cat is engaged. I actually just shop vacd it last week, but reinspected this morning. Has some accumulation, but is not nearly as bad as iv’e seen it, and certainly I’ve never stalled a load like i did last night because of this particular issue. I’ve attached a few pics of what the cat looks like now, as well as the flame shield. My cat doesn’t look any different than usual, however today i did notice that my cat flame shield has a bit of a bow in it. I’m not sure if this is new or not, because today i am really scrutinizing the system.

After shovelling out the stove, I jammed half my body into the fire box to stare up the flue to my first offset - everything looks par for the course in the lower half of the system as compared to last 2 winters. This afternoon i will be up on the roof looking down to check things out. Then i’m re-splitting every piece of wood i have inside that’s greater than about 3” to check MC. Just brought another 3 large toats of wood in to bring to wood temp, then gonna hack into those too. Also got a few bags of my best, driest wood that i will be firing up as a test run.


Thank you to everyone for your helpful suggestions. Your knowledge and expertise are truly appreciated, and i’ve Learned so much from all of you. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

 

[Kwehme09]

Stove didn't seem quite right theist few days, so I decided to check outer cat. It was pretty well closed with fly ash, see photos, so I gave it a quick vac. Any need to go all chemist and give it a vinegar cleaning anyone think?

Also, the tube that ones from front to back in the firebox (upper right) had a fair bit of creosote in it. It's the only place in my stove or chimney that gets much creosote. Was able to reach my hand in and get a few handfuls out. Any ideas on how to clean it outmode thoroughly?

Sirroco 20.

 

[jetsam]

After shovelling out the stove, I jammed half my body into the fire box to stare up the flue to my first offset -

Now I want a thread devoted to photos of people seeing how far they can crawl into their stoves

 

[jetsam]

I thank you for your comments. I was watching that probe like an eagle last night. I got a bit paranoid from stalling the cat, as that’s not happened since i first got the stove 3 years ago. Plus didn’t want to leave it unattended overnight - peace of mind - so i sat up with it until it got to coaling.

i did notice that my cat flame shield has a bit of a bow in it.

I've already taken mine out and hammered it flat once in 4 years. It doesn't need to be perfect.

I wouldn't stay up all night to watch the stove in your situation... the consequence of a repeated stall is just that you waste a little wood and maybe build up a little creosote. It's not damaging the stove or the cat. Some people burn like that every load, every day of the season...

 

[Ashful]

Stove didn't seem quite right theist few days, so I decided to check outer cat. It was pretty well closed with fly ash, see photos, so I gave it a quick vac. Any need to go all chemist and give it a vinegar cleaning anyone think?

Also, the tube that ones from front to back in the firebox (upper right) had a fair bit of creosote in it. It's the only place in my stove or chimney that gets much creosote. Was able to reach my hand in and get a few handfuls out. Any ideas on how to clean it outmode thoroughly?

Sirroco 20.

View attachment 254084View attachment 254085

Likely no need to go all chemist”, see how it burns. In my case, the next fire will get that cat nice and hot, like a self-cleaning oven.

 

[spudman99]

I was planning on posting this request anyway, but it falls nicely behind @mismac and her questions. I am now 7 weeks into my first and only season burning the new Princess Insert. I have really strong draft as you may know (0.20wc on high on a cold night) but I rarely burn on high. Typically I burn at or near fully closed and the Magnehelic shows around 0.12 - 0.15 and the cat seems to hold, I am getting 12 hour burns this way.

It was warm today so I cleaned out ash, removed the flame shield and took these photos of the cat.


I would say this is not bad after 7 weeks of near continuous burning, maybe 3/4 cord in total of cherry and some crappy popular.

What I noticed, but now I have all this creosote in the box.

Upper left corner, just off the flame shield near the top. Flakey stuff.


Close up from my phone of same stuff on upper left. This is similar to the right hand side top.


Door inside edge, left side. Clearly built up creosote, is that normal or should I worry?


Rear wall, above the firebrick retainer (brown stuff in front is the wood load ready to burn). Again shiny and flakey in spots.

So coach me through this 3,000 mile check up .... lol. I think all is fine but have no experience to rely upon. Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all.

 

[AlbergSteve]

I was planning on posting this request anyway, but it falls nicely behind @mismac and her questions. I am now 7 weeks into my first and only season burning the new Princess Insert. I have really strong draft as you may know (0.20wc on high on a cold night) but I rarely burn on high. Typically I burn at or near fully closed and the Magnehelic shows around 0.12 - 0.15 and the cat seems to hold, I am getting 12 hour burns this way.

It was warm today so I cleaned out ash, removed the flame shield and took these photos of the cat.

View attachment 254113 View attachment 254114 View attachment 254115
I would say this is not bad after 7 weeks of near continuous burning, maybe 3/4 cord in total of cherry and some crappy popular.

What I noticed, but now I have all this creosote in the box.

View attachment 254117 Upper left corner, just off the flame shield near the top. Flakey stuff.

View attachment 254118
Close up from my phone of same stuff on upper left. This is similar to the right hand side top.

View attachment 254119
Door inside edge, left side. Clearly built up creosote, is that normal or should I worry?

View attachment 254116
Rear wall, above the firebrick retainer (brown stuff in front is the wood load ready to burn). Again shiny and flakey in spots.

So coach me through this 3,000 mile check up .... lol. I think all is fine but have no experience to rely upon. Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all.

No experience with ceramic cats, but I think a quick vacuum and it'll be fine. The creosote, yup, that's normal.

 

[jetsam]

I get creosote inside my PI's firebox too. It goes away when it gets cold outside.

 

[Highbeam]

totally normal.

 

[kenmal]

Merry Christmas
Sorry for long winded and if my explanation is not good. I have been getting uneven burns, @BKVP suggest possible leak from the ash plug so this was cleaned around it and put back in also found a leak in the pipe and took care of that, it appeared to take care of the problem. At that time it did colder out out so we started running the stove a little higher and burns were is horseshoe shaped again. As it started to get warmer out and running the stove lower it started not burn on the sides again.
One thing that is different from the start of the season is that When temps were in the mid 40's to low 50's I would run the thermostat at 2 o'clock with the fan on low. If I do that now it stalls the cat. I have to run it just above 3 o,clock and then adjust that hear and there 10+ hours into the burn, the thermostat has to be turn to high for about 15 minutes or so and then back to just above 3 o'clock again for a few hours.

As of yesterday I cleaned the chimney , put a new cat in. Check door glass for movement and there was none. Dollar bill test on door and it was fine. Checked bypass with dollar bill also (not sure if that is correct way of test that".
Starting the stove was top down and was able to close the bypass in less than 15 minutes with the new cat. Thermostat set to just above 3 after 1/2 hour. cat gauge was around 2pm. hour later the cat gauge was around noon. Came back in a few hours later and the cat was around 4pm and it was there for a couple of hours before going down.

Now this morning it is still not burning along the sides. I going to assume leak somewhere but where else does one look?

Not sure if these matter or not.
Pictures of things noticed when cleaning the stove.
Both back corners has the red stuff , not sure what it is but feels to be powdery. I have seen this a few times now. On reload I usually knock it down to the bottom. The wood from this bin the neighbor is also burning also and did not get the red stuff so I dont think it is from the wood but I could be wrong.

The door seal at the top corners. Passed dollar bill test

 

[kennyp2339]

@kenmal I have the little sister version of this stove (princess) and since day 1 I've gotten the horse shoe burn, I figured its the air wash directing the air, it was very apparent by the creosote V that would form on the door after a few days on low. The typical burn pattern for me was to get the horseshoe that wouldn't completely go to the back of the fire box, it would burn in the center 3/4 of the way then the outsides would start burning to catch up, always had large coal peices or un-burnt wood pieces in the rear of the firebox.
If it really bothers you, you can buy a door glass gasket and new door gasket, replace the door glass and make sure the glass retainer clips are tighten down firmly (some have reported loose nuts, might contribute to a leak) then replace the door gasket since that gasket has to get ripped off to replace the glass one.

 

[MissMac]

Merry Christmas
Sorry for long winded and if my explanation is not good. I have been getting uneven burns, @BKVP suggest possible leak from the ash plug so this was cleaned around it and put back in also found a leak in the pipe and took care of that, it appeared to take care of the problem. At that time it did colder out out so we started running the stove a little higher and burns were is horseshoe shaped again. As it started to get warmer out and running the stove lower it started not burn on the sides again.
One thing that is different from the start of the season is that When temps were in the mid 40's to low 50's I would run the thermostat at 2 o'clock with the fan on low. If I do that now it stalls the cat. I have to run it just above 3 o,clock and then adjust that hear and there 10+ hours into the burn, the thermostat has to be turn to high for about 15 minutes or so and then back to just above 3 o'clock again for a few hours.

As of yesterday I cleaned the chimney , put a new cat in. Check door glass for movement and there was none. Dollar bill test on door and it was fine. Checked bypass with dollar bill also (not sure if that is correct way of test that".
Starting the stove was top down and was able to close the bypass in less than 15 minutes with the new cat. Thermostat set to just above 3 after 1/2 hour. cat gauge was around 2pm. hour later the cat gauge was around noon. Came back in a few hours later and the cat was around 4pm and it was there for a couple of hours before going down.

Now this morning it is still not burning along the sides. I going to assume leak somewhere but where else does one look?

Not sure if these matter or not.
Pictures of things noticed when cleaning the stove.
Both back corners has the red stuff , not sure what it is but feels to be powdery. I have seen this a few times now. On reload I usually knock it down to the bottom. The wood from this bin the neighbor is also burning also and did not get the red stuff so I dont think it is from the wood but I could be wrong.
View attachment 254137View attachment 254138

The door seal at the top corners. Passed dollar bill test
View attachment 254139View attachment 254141

I'm not sure if it's just the quality of the picture, but it looks like you have discolouration on the outside of the stove door gasket. I think i see that your door has the knife edge - i don't have that kind of stove, but looks like it. When i was having some issues with my stove door gasket, one of the things that i learned was that if you have discolouration from your fires on the outside of the knife's edge, then this is likely an indicator of an improper seal around your stove door. One of the much wiser and knowledgeable fellows will correct me here if i'm wrong. But that was something i noticed in your picture.