2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Dustin]

I let it rip for awhile on a full load.

Good lord this stove can get hot fast.

 

[Highbeam]

Just now, at about 26 hours in on softwood (alder / maple).

View attachment 265353

It says “too cool” in that yellow zone for a reason! Sure, at that late stage of the burn the risk is low since most water is gone.

 

[rwhite]

I guess I have to re-learn my princess! I've been experiencing smoke roll out on reloads for the last 3 years I owned this stove. I knew it was likely related to needing an extra length of chimney. Finally got around to putting one on this year. What a difference. Added another 3 feet. No more smoke roll out at all. The interesting thing is up to now I could only turn my stove to 2 before the cat would stall. I can now turn it down to 1 and it cruises right along. Doesn't seem to have lengthened the burn time but the settings to get the same burn times are different.

 

[MacinJosh]

I agree with @Highbeam . With the combustor I am burning less wood. The replacement combustor is less expensive than all that extra wood to keep my house the same temperature would have cost in $, plus I didn't have to split it or stack or carry it in to the house. I am saving about two cords per year that I don't have to burn, still burning about 8 cords annually.

I replace mine when the performance has tailed off noticeably, having to load the stove more often or running higher than usual throttle settings, house seems cold for how much I am using, that sort of thing. First step is to shut it down, let it cool, remove the flame shield, brush off ash accumulation if there is any, put it back together, fire it back up and then if performance isn't restored order a replacement cat. And a gasket.

I don't know that I have ever had a cat fail, they just start failing to meet my expectations up around 15-20 cords and get replaced.

Don't you need to replace the gasket every single time you pull the cat out (not just replacing the cat. cleaning, etc.)? Just verifying.

 

[kennyp2339]

Don't you need to replace the gasket every single time you pull the cat out (not just replacing the cat. cleaning, etc.)? Just verifying.

More or less yes, because the gasket turns to a flakey paper and falls apart when you pull the combustor out. But when you say cleaning are you talking about removing fly ash or soaking in the boiling vinegar solution?

 

[Highbeam]

Don't you need to replace the gasket every single time you pull the cat out (not just replacing the cat. cleaning, etc.)? Just verifying.

Yes. New gasket every time. Good thing I never pull the cat out until it’s time to replace. New cats come with new gaskets so I’ve never actually bought gasket material but if needed it can be bought online for a couple bucks per foot.

 

[Highbeam]

I guess I have to re-learn my princess! I've been experiencing smoke roll out on reloads for the last 3 years I owned this stove. I knew it was likely related to needing an extra length of chimney. Finally got around to putting one on this year. What a difference. Added another 3 feet. No more smoke roll out at all. The interesting thing is up to now I could only turn my stove to 2 before the cat would stall. I can now turn it down to 1 and it cruises right along. Doesn't seem to have lengthened the burn time but the settings to get the same burn times are different.

What was the old and new length? Did you have to stick on a brace?

 

[vwmike]

I follow most of the steps mentioned here. I do have a bit of an issue with the 30min char. After about 10-15min with bypass closed my cat probe will read around 4pm. My flue probe will read around 600 and i have a raging inferno in the box. I also start smelling those new baking paint smells. Plus, i am burning 3yr old basswood and hemlock. I have a feeling if i let it go for another 15min i might have a super clean firebox (free of creo) and only 1/2 load of fuel left.

My princess is the same way. I’m burning 15% m/c wood, mostly softwoods, once my flue temps get up to 600 I start shutting it down slowly as beyond that I’m just wasting wood. Last season some of my wood was 18-20% and that wood I could char for 20-30 without issue.

 

[rwhite]

What was the old and new length? Did you have to stick on a brace?

I had around 19' before but there are 2 45s in the double wall. I need to put a brace on probably. I'm at 6' above the roof now.

 

[BKVP]

I guess I have to re-learn my princess! I've been experiencing smoke roll out on reloads for the last 3 years I owned this stove. I knew it was likely related to needing an extra length of chimney. Finally got around to putting one on this year. What a difference. Added another 3 feet. No more smoke roll out at all. The interesting thing is up to now I could only turn my stove to 2 before the cat would stall. I can now turn it down to 1 and it cruises right along. Doesn't seem to have lengthened the burn time but the settings to get the same burn times are different.

Hallelujah Rwhite! Good Job!

 

[Poindexter]

Don't you need to replace the gasket every single time you pull the cat out (not just replacing the cat. cleaning, etc.)? Just verifying.

I am comfortable "cleaning" my combustor with a soft bristled paint brush, or the brushy attachment on my wife's vaccuum cleaner. Neither of these techniques require removing the combustor from the stove, and neither require a new gasket. If you pull the combustor out of the stove, you need a new gasket for putting it back in.

I personally have never yet fooled around with boiling vinegar. Some folks have and have report being happy with it, I just don't have that kind of free time. It is economical for me to just replace the combustor if brushing and vacuuming are not enough to restore performance.

If I had more free time than money I likely try boiling vinegar and a new gasket. Since I have more money than time, I haven't. If I could "buy time" I would spend more time with my kids and not fool with boiling vinegar.

M2c

 

[Highbeam]

I am comfortable "cleaning" my combustor with a soft bristled paint brush, or the brushy attachment on my wife's vaccuum cleaner. Neither of these techniques require removing the combustor from the stove, and neither require a new gasket. If you pull the combustor out of the stove, you need a new gasket for putting it back in.

I personally have never yet fooled around with boiling vinegar. Some folks have and have report being happy with it, I just don't have that kind of free time. It is economical for me to just replace the combustor if brushing and vacuuming are not enough to restore performance.

If I had more free time than money I likely try boiling vinegar and a new gasket. Since I have more money than time, I haven't. If I could "buy time" I would spend more time with my kids and not fool with boiling vinegar.

M2c

On the vinegar thing. I wrote a big post about it with pictures. I agree that it is more economical for us with 210$ cats to just pop a new one in. In an emergency, like no new cats available, the vinegar treatment can buy you a few more months if you happen to have an extra gasket and a huge jug of vinegar and distilled water on stand by. Though if you want to be prepared, just have a second cat ready to go!

 

[Poindexter]

@Highbeam , your write up was excellent. If I ever need to make time to do it I know where I will start. Thanks.

 

[MikeK]

They’re welded in. Extraordinary measures are required to remove the significant amount of junk that falls back there. It can be done on my princess but unlike the king, there’s no rear internal shield so that’s good.

I recently acquired a used princess and now a king and just noticed this difference, looked in manual and couldn't find info on this. Question answered, gotta love this place!

 

[Blazing]

Sure wish we'd get some cold so I could contribute more pics this year. I got some smoked venison until then. Cheers

 

[Dustin]

Locked into a solid 24 loading schedule. Fresh load goes in around 730pm each day. 2800 square foot open floor plan house hasn’t dropped below 73 since I lit up three days ago

She’s quickly paying for herself. Haven’t touched the propane furnace once, and I don’t think I’m gonna have to. At all.

 

[twd000]

I installed my steel combustor from Midwest Hearth this weekend and wow, does this thing light off fast! I charred a fresh load of hardwood for about 10 minutes, until the box was about 1/3 flames. At that point, my catalyst probe hadn't even budged off the cold setting, but I engaged the catalyst anyhow. Within a couple minutes, the entire face of the combustor was glowing solid orange. The cat probe still hadn't budged. I stepped into the front yard to look at the chimney, and all I could see were heat waves - no smoke. The cat probe had finally woken up and started to rise. I turned down the air incrementally over the next 30 minutes or so, and settled in to enjoy the heat for the next couple hours before heading off to bed. Still had a decent pile of embers this morning and the forecast said mid-50s so I didn't add any more wood before work.

So I'm happy with the steel combustor and now I have my old ceramic as a backup. I didn't see any visible damage, but there was some fly ash in some of the cells. I'll try the vinegar cleaning trick and see if I can get a couple more years out of it when the steel combustor reaches end-of-life. Has anyone tried the vinegar wash with room-temperature liquid, instead of near-boiling? It would be nice to just use a 5-gallon bucket instead of junking a cooking pot. I'm patient enough to let it sit in the acid for a couple weeks. Does the high temperature of the boiling method do anything besides speeding up the reaction?

 

[green pacific]

hello kind Hearth friends,

Another season is here and my woodstove -- faithful friend of four years -- is giving me heebie-jeebies! ...

A week or so ago, I loaded the stove as usual for a first burn, noticing a larger-than-usual spill of smoke as I added wood after the kindling phase was well established; waited for the needle to indicate "Active," engaged the cat as usual, anticipating the start of the lovely long woodstove season (my stove goes day and night from October until March -- or even April -- this year) and immediately noticed smoke seeping from around the collar. I took the cat off and turned the thermostat to zero and let the fire go out, praying all the while ... Called the chimney sweep -- he's booked until December. ... What to do?

Yesterday, a neighbour came with his chimney brush as I could only imagine my chimney was blocked or possibly filthy -- though the stove and chimney were professionally cleaned this February (I usually have it cleaned once a year which has been fine until this past year) -- as last year's burning season went long and I had been burning unusually pitchy wood. But this morning I learned that my neighbour's chimney scrub hadn't changed a thing. .. As soon as the cat was engaged, there was smoke from the collar again.

So, now the stove is cooling and I am worried. Time to turn to Hearth.com!

Does this means the combustor is dead. ... Or just superficially clogged? Of course, I *will* look at it when the fire is dead; meanwhile, my flashlight shows it dark and seemingly superficially clean (LED light doesn't really penetrate). ..

I trust one of you will have some experience. The manual, though helpful, is not specific about this particular "troubleshoot". And writing this reminds me that something like this led me to stop using my stove early last year and wait for the chimney sweep. I ended up taking the combustor out at that time (February), wrecking the gasket of course and needing more help to order a new one and reinstall it. Apparently, the combustor was ok then but I don't understand what I am doing wrong that it is choking again so soon.

Could pitchy wood make this difference?

Excuse the long note, I thought I'd just get the facts on the ground to begin.

good wishes, GreenPacific

 

[begreen]

I trust one of you will have some experience. The manual, though helpful, is not specific about this particular "troubleshoot". And writing this reminds me that something like this led me to stop using my stove early last year and wait for the chimney sweep. I ended up taking the combustor out at that time (February), wrecking the gasket of course and needing more help to order a new one and reinstall it. Apparently, the combustor was ok then but I don't understand what I am doing wrong that it is choking again so soon.

It's time to remove the cat, clean and inspect it. Also inspect behind the cat to see if soot and crud have built up behind the bypass. If you have been burning 24/7 then there is a good chance the cat is on its last legs, but that would not explain smoke coming out from the stove. Look for buildup and a plugged cat.

 

[kennyp2339]

@green pacific, first thing to do is inspect the cap for build up, second thing is to remove the black pipe from the flue collar and vacuum behind the cat being carful not to make contact with the cat directly, fly ash and chimney debris can accumulate behind the cat, especially after cleaning, do not remove the cat unless you have a new gasket on hand.
you can also vacuum with a soft bristle brush the face of the cat, again being careful, but at this time its important to confirm the chimney cap is clean and no debris is behind the cat causing a blockage.

 

[Highbeam]

So I'm happy with the steel combustor and now I have my old ceramic as a backup. I didn't see any visible damage, but there was some fly ash in some of the cells. I'll try the vinegar cleaning trick and see if I can get a couple more years out of it when the steel combustor reaches end-of-life. Has anyone tried the vinegar wash with room-temperature liquid, instead of near-boiling? It would be nice to just use a 5-gallon bucket instead of junking a cooking pot. I'm patient enough to let it sit in the acid for a couple weeks. Does the high temperature of the boiling method do anything besides speeding up the reaction?

You won't get years of additional life from a cat by boiling it. Unless you only burn 1 month per year! After a long and hard boil of a steel cat in vinegar I saw a renewal in cat activity but not like a new cat and it only lasted a few months. Totally not worth the hassle, time, or even the cost of vinegar or the new gasket. The pot I used was of course fine for reuse. Just wash it. It's only vinegar and soot.

Sounds like you finally replaced a dead cat. Good deal. Just do it again after 12k more hours.

 

[Highbeam]

hello kind Hearth friends,

Another season is here and my woodstove -- faithful friend of four years -- is giving me heebie-jeebies! ...

A week or so ago, I loaded the stove as usual for a first burn, noticing a larger-than-usual spill of smoke as I added wood after the kindling phase was well established; waited for the needle to indicate "Active," engaged the cat as usual, anticipating the start of the lovely long woodstove season (my stove goes day and night from October until March -- or even April -- this year) and immediately noticed smoke seeping from around the collar. I took the cat off and turned the thermostat to zero and let the fire go out, praying all the while ... Called the chimney sweep -- he's booked until December. ... What to do?

Yesterday, a neighbour came with his chimney brush as I could only imagine my chimney was blocked or possibly filthy -- though the stove and chimney were professionally cleaned this February (I usually have it cleaned once a year which has been fine until this past year) -- as last year's burning season went long and I had been burning unusually pitchy wood. But this morning I learned that my neighbour's chimney scrub hadn't changed a thing. .. As soon as the cat was engaged, there was smoke from the collar again.

So, now the stove is cooling and I am worried. Time to turn to Hearth.com!

Does this means the combustor is dead. ... Or just superficially clogged? Of course, I *will* look at it when the fire is dead; meanwhile, my flashlight shows it dark and seemingly superficially clean (LED light doesn't really penetrate). ..

I trust one of you will have some experience. The manual, though helpful, is not specific about this particular "troubleshoot". And writing this reminds me that something like this led me to stop using my stove early last year and wait for the chimney sweep. I ended up taking the combustor out at that time (February), wrecking the gasket of course and needing more help to order a new one and reinstall it. Apparently, the combustor was ok then but I don't understand what I am doing wrong that it is choking again so soon.

Could pitchy wood make this difference?

Excuse the long note, I thought I'd just get the facts on the ground to begin.

good wishes, GreenPacific

I read carefully and you have a freestanding ashford 30 that is smoking from the flue collar when you engage the cat as well as some smoke rollout through the door when you are loading with bypass open but you can get a fire going. Very important, is it possible that smoke was rolling up from some other opening and you just saw it at the flue collar?

Because for 500+ degree flue gasses to not continue to go up the chimney would mean the chimney is blocked. That is not a cat cloggage problem. We know this because the flue collar is downstream of the cat. Your chimney has been blocked with something. Needs to be cleaned thoroughly from cap to stove.

If, when you engage the cat and the door is properly closed as required, smoke started spewing past the door seal then we could have a cat clockage issue.

Pitchy wood is fine. Although western red cedar leaves lots some brown soot that I'm not fond of.

It doesn't hurt a bit to try and clean your cat though. Use a vacuum hose, a soft paint brush, or even a can of compressed air to blast the cells clear. Won't stop smoking from the flue collar though.

 

[lsucet]

First fire of the year, running both stoves. 23 df and it will drop more thru the night with more snow for the next couple of days and low temperatures.

Feels good to run the stoves again.

 

[green pacific]

I read carefully and you have a freestanding ashford 30 that is smoking from the flue collar when you engage the cat as well as some smoke rollout through the door when you are loading with bypass open but you can get a fire going. Very important, is it possible that smoke was rolling up from some other opening and you just saw it at the flue collar?

Because for 500+ degree flue gasses to not continue to go up the chimney would mean the chimney is blocked. That is not a cat cloggage problem. We know this because the flue collar is downstream of the cat. Your chimney has been blocked with something. Needs to be cleaned thoroughly from cap to stove.

If, when you engage the cat and the door is properly closed as required, smoke started spewing past the door seal then we could have a cat clockage issue.

Pitchy wood is fine. Although western red cedar leaves lots some brown soot that I'm not fond of.

It doesn't hurt a bit to try and clean your cat though. Use a vacuum hose, a soft paint brush, or even a can of compressed air to blast the cells clear. Won't stop smoking from the flue collar though.

Hello to the Mt Rainier foothills from south Vancouver Island! and thanks for your answer. I now feel I have a slightly better grasp of the anatomy of my stove. ...

Since I wrote, the stove has been quite happy and even super-efficient (burning for hours on '0' -- the lowest possible setting on the thermostat), humming along all afternoon with the bypass open as I waited for it to cool down, keeping the thermometer in the no-man's-land between Inactive and Active, like never before.

A detail I didn't give earlier is that throwing the cat this morning had the effect of dousing a blazing fire: the window that had shown lots of glowing red and flames the moment before went completely dark immediately and there was smoke at the flue collar immediately.

You mention that the smoke could be coming from elsewhere and only appearing at the flue collar -- but from where I wonder? I do have BlazeKing's lovely decorative enamelled top but there can be no openings under it ... so do you mean the door?

I am trying to imagine the inner workings but have to confess I don't have a clear picture at all. That there is a very specific block in there somewhere makes a lot of sense but I will have to wait for the chimney sweep as removing the cat and gasket cost me a bundle as a special trip for the sweep earlier this year to install a new one :-( and of course I couldn't use the stove until he made time to come, either.

I will write again when I can open the door and have a look at the cat's face and the spark screen.

This is making me wonder whether the sweep should be removing the cat at each cleaning if there is the possibility that there is buildup somewhere back there that is not accessed by the regular cleaning? (I am trying a new sweep this season)

Could some buildup falling down the chimney lodge somewhere? I heard some thuds last year like clumps falling down the chimney after the sweep at been in ... I think it was after ...

The thing that doesn't add up is that the stove worked fine under a month ago when I lit it during a cold spell in September. What could have happened that was so detrimental as to render it unuseable in those few weeks when it wasn't used, I wonder.

Thanks again for your help. I will read the other replies now for clues.

 

[Poindexter]

@green pacific The first thing you need to do is be at home when the sweep does his thing, watch very carefully what she does, and then plan on DIY in the future if you think there is hope. It isn't really any harder than brushing and flossing your own teeth.