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

[Highbeam]

If the point of the vinegar is to unmask the catalyst by dissolving .mineral depositation, what does the boiling really get you? I had similar results when I boiled my ceramic one (I was initially pleased but I got a new cat a couple months later anyway).

Polishing a turd might be an appropriate description of the last ditch vinegar boil after you’ve already racked up 10-12k hours.

Are you asking why boil it vs. just soak it in vinegar? I just followed the directions. Don’t plan on ever doing it again based on the results. Masking might have been removed but whatever causes a cat to wear out must not be masking.

 

[jetsam]

Look what I found on Condar's site. They have a fancy digital thermocouple cat probe.

The link thing still seems broken so I will just type in some html and hope for the best!

<a href="https://www.condar.com/watchman.html">Linky linky</a>

 

[begreen]

If the point of the vinegar is to unmask the catalyst by dissolving .mineral depositation, what does the boiling really get you? I had similar results when I boiled my ceramic one (I was initially pleased but I got a new cat a couple months later anyway).

Also, some of those sellers' claims are copy pasted off of Condar's website. Others are not...

View attachment 258132

That is a ridiculous correlation.

 

[Ashful]

That is a ridiculous correlation.

You can make statistics say anything you want.

I was born in the early 1970’s, and the fatality rate in most types of automobile accidents has dropped dramatically since the early 1970’s. You are welcome.

 

[jetsam]

You can make statistics say anything you want.

I was born in the early 1970’s, and the fatality rate in most types of automobile accidents has dropped dramatically since the early 1970’s. You are welcome.

Having a brain is a two-edged sword.

 

[kennyp2339]

Re-lit the stove last night, stoves been off for a week but the house needed some btu's, normally I'm tired of the stove by now but this time around I was still excited to lit her up.

 

[Diabel]

I just read this comment in another thread. Did not want to hijack that thread so i will ask this here. Not sure if this was discussed before. kennyp2339@ mentioned that in the other thread.

“keep in mind you'll want to burn the stove on high at least once a week for a good hour to reduce firebox creosote build up, this keeps the metal skin of the stove from corroding over time.”

i burn the Princess on a part time basis. There is quite a bit black gunk on the side walls as well as the back of the fire box. Should i be concerned about corrosion?

 

[Tron]

Unlikely. Corrosion, by definition, needs dissolved ions, meaning water. As long as you don't leave a wet sponge in there or have really high humidity (>80%) in your home over the summer, I wouldn't worry.

 

[rdust]

Second season on my current cat, pulled it yesterday and gave it a bath. Noticed the chimney smoking bunches and my top few rows of bricks on the chimney are all junked up, which has never happened before. First cat lasted 4 season, second 3 and this one two.

I’m good with three seasons but two stinks a bit. Anything else I should check that could cause short cat life? Door, glass and bypass gaskets were replaced last year. I’m thinking the stove needs a good looking over before next season. Current cat has some cracks other than that it “looks” fine.

 

[Highbeam]

Second season on my current cat, pulled it yesterday and gave it a bath. Noticed the chimney smoking bunches and my top few rows of bricks on the chimney are all junked up, which has never happened before. First cat lasted 4 season, second 3 and this one two.

I’m good with three seasons but two stinks a bit. Anything else I should check that could cause short cat life? Door, glass and bypass gaskets were replaced last year. I’m thinking the stove needs a good looking over before next season. Current cat has some cracks other than that it “looks” fine.

According to the experts, some cracks and even peeling are “normal” so long as the cat doesn’t fall apart.

Two years might be normal too if you’ve done the time. I know you’re a heavy user but are you getting 5000 per year?

With excessive cracking we would investigate thermal shock as the cause which would also prematurely kill a cat. Since you have some cracks, how is your door gasket? Leakage of nonpreheated air can shock the cat to death even if the amount of air doesn’t cause high stove temperature.

 

[Highbeam]

I just read this comment in another thread. Did not want to hijack that thread so i will ask this here. Not sure if this was discussed before. kennyp2339@ mentioned that in the other thread.

“keep in mind you'll want to burn the stove on high at least once a week for a good hour to reduce firebox creosote build up, this keeps the metal skin of the stove from corroding over time.”

i burn the Princess on a part time basis. There is quite a bit black gunk on the side walls as well as the back of the fire box. Should i be concerned about corrosion?

Ive seem one bk with a hole corroded right through the back of the stove. It can happen. The design of a bk allows for a thick layer of gooey tar to cover the firebox walls at low burn rates. There is lots of water in the driest fuels and as a product of combustion so yes, water is present and those tars are corrosive.

@BKVP has recommended the full throttle for an hour routine but I found that things get really hot with softwoods. I just didn’t feel comfortable with the smells and flue temperatures. Maybe I’m chicken! I make an effort to burn off that tar occasionally and especially before summer by running some hot loads of smaller splits at high but not max settings. The firebox tar dries and peels off revealing smooth steel underneath. This leads to another problem which is removing those sheets ofpeeled tar from behind the steel firebox baffles. It’s a bit tricky but it can be done. I have not removed my firebricks to clean behind them. Has anybody done that for maintenance?

 

[kennyp2339]

Has anybody done that for maintenance?

Me neither, I do high burns pretty regularly so I'm not to worried about it

 

[Diabel]

It is hard to burn on high these days, given the warm weather. Back in February i did run the Princess on high on couple occasions. I wanted to see quickly and well it can heat 2200sqft. It did clean up the glass quite a bit but it did not do much to the gunk on the walls. I think what i will have to do is come spring peel the gunk off and maybe remove the bricks and clean behind as well. This just might be the annual thing.

 

[lsucet]

Sometimes on weekends when I am off, I burn early morning a few good size splits on high drinking my coffee. Before reload next time, I use the poker and scrape the rear and corners. Everything come off easy.

 

[Dieselhead]

Still burning here, in 5 days it will have been lit for 6 months. Currently loading every 24hrs and just letting it idle. It has not been a extremely cold, or snowy winter here in CT but it has been chilly for a long time!

 

[rdust]

According to the experts, some cracks and even peeling are “normal” so long as the cat doesn’t fall apart.

Two years might be normal too if you’ve done the time. I know you’re a heavy user but are you getting 5000 per year?

With excessive cracking we would investigate thermal shock as the cause which would also prematurely kill a cat. Since you have some cracks, how is your door gasket? Leakage of nonpreheated air can shock the cat to death even if the amount of air doesn’t cause high stove temperature.

My guess is 4000-5000 a year, figure some in September and May as needed but October-April is pretty steady. Burning habits haven’t changed over the years so who knows. I’m ok with three seasons but two is for the birds. I will say since I boiled it yesterday it seems to be acting better, turns down nice with no flame. Before boiling it the stove needed some flames to keep the heat up. I’m sure it’s only temporary but hoping to limp it through the remainder of the season.

The cat has two diagonal cracks on the outer cells running corner to corner, that was really about it. It’s not missing any pieces.

 

[charger4406]

Ive seem one bk with a hole corroded right through the back of the stove. It can happen

My BK has 2 areas that are corroded thru about 75% of the metal

 

[Highbeam]

My BK has 2 area's that are corroded thru about 75% of the metal

Behind the bricks right? You’ve got me almost worried enough to pull my bricks and check. I’ve got a couple with cracks anyway.

 

[Diabel]

My BK has 2 area's that are corroded thru about 75% of the metal

Not good
Please tell more

 

[Woody Stover]

Not good
Please tell more

Maybe the interior baffles keep the walls from getting hot enough. Could be why they want you to burn on high for half an hour after you close the bypass. Then you go to your long, low wood-saving burn.
I noticed some corrosion in the back corner behind the bricks on the Buck 91, no interior baffles. It wasn't very deep, though, on a ten year old stove. And that's 1/4" steel, not 1/8".

 

[Ashful]

I know this has been asked hundreds of times but I can’t seem to find cat seal and door seal. Just cleaning the stove up the nights are starting to get chilly up north. Thought I’d pull the cat out and clean it up and a keep a door seal on hand.

Cat gasket is 2” x 1/16” interam. Never dealt with a door gasket on a BK, so I can’t help you there. But my door is starting to show signs it’s time to give that gasket some attention, so I guess I’ll be learning about it this summer.

I have 30+ cords thru that stove as of today, in five burn seasons, in case you wanted an idea on how long they can be ignored.

 

[charger4406]

Behind the bricks right

Not good
Please tell more

Yes, behind the bricks in the back corner, right hand side,
Found the problem spots when I was changing out the bricks.
Post #1682 in this thread.

 

[Ashful]

I used to think if stoves as “forever” items, before I was a real wood burner, similar to the way I thought of appliances when I was a child. But now I realize the tech changes quickly enough, and all of the working parts and gaskets take enough abuse over the course of a decade or two of full-time burning, that I’ve changed my perspective. Stoves are consumable, like the modern refrigerator or range. Use them 15 years, and then replace them with something far better. Building an expensive and weighty tank with a shell that will vastly outlast the working components within, or their relevance with regard to current emissions targets, is not likely the best path for any manufacturer trying to compete in a market with any cost sensitivity.

So there may be stoves out there with thicker shells than my BKs, but I don’t think I care. They generally don’t perform as well as the BK today, and will almost surely fall even shorter in comparison to the new ca.2030 BKs with which I’ll replace these, after fifteen years of full-time use and 150 cords thru the pair. Likewise, my mom has a 1953 GE fridge, and can brag it lasted longer than my last three refrigerators combined, but it uses 6x more electricity and has fewer conveniences than any of my more modern variants.

 

[charger4406]

I cannot see my BK lasting another 10 years, but I hope both of yours do.
Mine has worked pretty hard although the F600 burns about a third of the 10 cords that I usually burn,
I will probably be changing it for something else unless BK fixes this one for me,
I'm not sure my insurance would want me to weld it up myself

 

[begreen]

I have 30+ cords thru that stove as of today, in five burn seasons, in case you wanted an idea on how long they can be ignored.

We will be approaching that volume with the T6 by the next season.