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

[Ashful]

Good info, thanks! Curious, do you let thew new reload burn in for awhile with the bypass open and therm on high just to burn off any possible moisture, etc. before closing the bypass? I do believe this is what the instructions say. Therefore, I do this not because I don't have an active cat, but more because the instructions tell me to. Thoughts?

On a hot reload, meaning cat is active, I just run 5 minutes in bypass and close it. On a cold reload, meaning cat is inactive, I wait until wood is completely engulfed and mostly charred.

I disagree that putting the cat in will knock the flames down. If you flip the cat in and there is an immediate change in your firebox, you have a plugged cat.

keep in mind that the example imposter above was a nearly dead-cold reload, I’m actually surprised the wood even lit, there were so few coals left in the stove. Look at my cat temp, just barely a tick above room temperature. If I close the bypass on a freshly started cold load like this, it will definitely have an effect on how the fire progresses from first flame to active cat. I must be misunderstanding your argument, if there is any.

As stated previously, on a hot reload I just give it five minutes and close the bypass, I don’t wait for full char.

 

[zvholk]

Could someone tell me if this is the right gasket for my princess? When I ordered it the Description said it was but just want to make mak sure

 

[Diabel]

Hard to see the actual gasket. I don’t remember the part number. However, from what I can see it looks similar

 

[zvholk]

Picture of the gasket

 

[jetsam]

That's because you don't want anything on the cat that does not evaporate off and could char when fired up. So using balsamico vinegar is a bad idea.
From a chemist's perspective: pure vinegar is just a 10% solution of acetic acid in water, nothing else. So you could buy 50% acetic acid, dilute it 1:10 and have the same acid concentration as a 1:1 vinegar/water mixture.

Yeah but I bet "10% acetic acid" is 20x the price of "vinegar", even if the two bottles come out of the same filling machine.

 

[Diabel]

Picture of the gasket

Same as mine.

 

[Woody Stover]

Picture of the gasket

Yeah, that's just generic interam gasket and it's what you need for around the cat. I get it from woodmanspartsplus or wherever..

 

[Tron]

Yeah but I bet "10% acetic acid" is 20x the price of "vinegar", even if the two bottles come out of the same filling machine.

I was talking scientifically, not economically ;-)

 

[Indiana wood]

I’m cutting wood for future seasons and need a wood for afternoon burns that doesn’t leave much for Coals. That way my stove doesn’t have so many coals in it for the nighttime reload.
I have quite a bit of black cherry that I could cut up and it splits real easy would that be a good option?

 

[spudman99]

Yes. I am burning some black cherry right now in my princess insert. Gives me a good 8-10 hours on low with moderate coals. Have no difficulty in restarting. Black cherry and ornamental cherry have been my mains source of wood for the last 3 months. Dried in 1 year with no problem.

 

[Indiana wood]

Yes. I am burning some black cherry right now in my princess insert. Gives me a good 8-10 hours on low with moderate coals. Have no difficulty in restarting. Black cherry and ornamental cherry have been my mains source of wood for the last 3 months. Dried in 1 year with no problem.

Does it coal less than ash? Also my ash is in the 20s mc so I know that’s not helping

 

[Woody Stover]

Does it coal less than ash? Also my ash is in the 20s mc so I know that’s not helping

A bit less. Oak is a big coaler.

 

[Indiana wood]

A bit less. Oak is a big coaler.

Is soft/red maple my best option?

 

[showrguy]

Is soft/red maple my best option?

Nope.... Pine is..

 

[Indiana wood]

Nope.... Pine is..

Here in northern Indiana pine is not really an option. Not native here

 

[Woody Stover]

Is soft/red maple my best option?

Yep, it will give you a bit less coals than Cherry.
Even though Pine isn't native, people plant them in their yards here, sometimes. When they die and people take 'em down, they or the tree service are thrilled when you take the wood off their hands. I haven't done that yet; There were two Red Pine in the yard, one died and the other is on its way out. I usually run my stove low enough where the coals stay under control, so I use Pine for kindling. You don't really need Pine to burn down coals; A couple small splits of Red/Silver Maple or other less dense woods will do a satisfactory job as well.

 

[redktmrider]

Here in northern Indiana pine is not really an option. Not native here

Try to find some poplar, dries quickly ( one summer), burns hot, and does not leave many coals.

 

[begreen]

Yes. I am burning some black cherry right now in my princess insert. Gives me a good 8-10 hours on low with moderate coals.

Only 8-9 hrs on low? That seems short for this stove.

 

[Woody Stover]

Try to find some poplar, dries quickly ( one summer), burns hot, and does not leave many coals.

Yeah, I had temporarily forgotten that Tulip was my backup plan in case my BIL can't scrounge enough wood that will get dry by this fall, thanks for reminding me!

 

[Highbeam]

Got a package on the porch last night. A brand new cat for the princess and I'm giddy with excitement. Ready to stop wasting so much wood, gunking up the flue, and smoking out the neighbors!

Got an honest 12000 to 14000 hours out of this one which is exactly what I expect and have experienced repeatedly for the last 3 dead cats. I know the new one will last me another 12000+ burning evergreens mostly on low settings.

I'm sure hoping this new one slides in nicely. It appears to be a little more than 4 inches tall but the gasket fluff might be the reason. Sort of wish I had an extra cat gasket just in case this one tears on insertion.

I might just run the sooteater up the flue as part of the cat swap since it will be so easy to vacuum out the sweepings through the cat hole.

 

[Alpine1]

Is it from firecatcombustor? I will need a new steel cat next year...

 

[Highbeam]

Is it from firecatcombustor? I will need a new steel cat next year...

So I once called firecat after unsuccessfully trying to order a cat through their website. They are friendly enough and sell the applied ceramic cat but they are not up to snuff for retail. The man on the phone pointed me to midwest hearth on amazon as "their" online outlet. Not surprisingly, the applied ceramics cat from midwest on amazon was the exact same price as firecat advertised and with the slick amazon interface so that's what I used in 2017 and again this year.

For 209$ I got ceramic. The steel version was 249$ if you want steel. These are princess cat prices.

 

[Ashful]

Nope.... Pine is..

Of course you’re not wrong, but really any wood will work. I burn down my coals with oak, as often as ash or hickory. I don’t bother hauling or splitting anything less than these woods, so it’s what I have and use, most of the time. I can promise you it works fine.

I have had the opportunity to use some crap wood, too... both red cedar and silver maple that have come down in my own yard. Of course they leave even less coals, but I still wouldn’t bother hauling either one home, for that purpose alone. Any wood will work for burning down the coals, if you follow the technique of raking all the coals forward and running two splits with air on high setting.

 

[Alpine1]

So I once called firecat after unsuccessfully trying to order a cat through their website. They are friendly enough and sell the applied ceramic cat but they are not up to snuff for retail. The man on the phone pointed me to midwest hearth on amazon as "their" online outlet. Not surprisingly, the applied ceramics cat from midwest on amazon was the exact same price as firecat advertised and with the slick amazon interface so that's what I used in 2017 and again this year.

For 209$ I got ceramic. The steel version was 249$ if you want steel. These are princess cat prices.

Thanks for the reply, I checked Midwest hearth on amazon and found they only sell ceramics for the Ashford. Would you be so kind to provide a link? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[weatherguy]

Thanks for the reply, I checked Midwest hearth on amazon and found they only sell ceramics for the Ashford. Would you be so kind to provide a link? Thanks in advance for your help!

Look around here
Amazon product ASIN B0754P418C