2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Nealm66]

Should be two 45's instead of one 90 elbow?

I just went with what they sold me with the measurements that I gave them. I’m going to pull the outside down this summer and have an aluminum kick out bracket made for the outside instead of the treated wood brackets I made. I’m going to paint the through the wall pipe black as well. If I notice anything awry, I’ll change to 45’s. It’s supplying heat to the upstairs to help with everything I’ve got left to do. The room the stove is in is considered non living space. The concrete floors are not insulated . This is going to be our summer home when we retire and the concrete keeps everything cool even on hot days but it’s sucking up a lot more heat than I would have guessed.

 

[Nealm66]

Pipe is 17 inch from the lid

 

[moresnow]

Pipe is 17 inch from the lid

Same exact gauge combo I use. I have my magnetic on the opposite end of the Cat probe (door end). Over the Cat. Your Cat indicator looks like it is in a similar position as mine for the first part of the burn. I'll run the temp needle up to the white/red break before turning down the stat many time's.

The shoe prints topside are quality visual enhancement

 

[Nealm66]

Same exact gauge combo I use. I have my magnetic on the opposite end of the Cat probe (door end). Over the Cat. Your Cat indicator looks like it is in a similar position as mine for the first part of the burn. I'll run the temp needle up to the white/red break before turning down the stat many time's.

The shoe prints topside are quality visual enhancement

Yes, for future reference, the princess model will hold 190# , not sure exact psi

 

[Nealm66]

I’m curious if anyone has done a cost comparison of press logs vs pellets. I’ve got 3 different ( I think) press logs and I’m impatiently waiting for the fir I put in last night to give up so I can see which performs the best and how. This stove is not for the impatient

 

[Highbeam]

Different tip, the original tips will do out since propane gas sinks.

Ha! That's not why. Liquid propane sinks too! I tried my old bernzo torch upside down to light my fire this morning. It worked great.

So I looked it up and it turns out that an upright cylinder releases the gas from on top of the liquid propane in the bottle, all torches burn this fine. Inverted or sideways cylinders release liquid propane which only a pressure regulated torch can convert to gas right before burning. It just depends on which torch head you own.

The standard finger tip ignition, cast bodied, TS8000 that I bought from home depot is pressure regulated so is an "all position" torch.

https://www.bernzomatic.com/Using-a-Torch/FAQ

 

[Highbeam]

The pellets always seem cheaper per ton compared to the logs but not by a lot and of course, the pellet stoves require very expensive maintenance and are noisy. You can also burn wood. The pressed logs can be a little tough to start but BK thermostatic cat stoves burn them unlike other stoves. Much more controllable and even since the BK can control the burn rate so well.

I can't believe you stood on that stove. At least wipe off the boot prints before they burn into the stove top and you're stuck with them until repaint.

It's going to be raining, dark, muddy, and 40 degrees outside for the next week. My BK is simmering on low as usual.

 

[Nealm66]

Lol, ya, sorry for the footprint. It pretty much wiped off. Planning on repainting, actually have a can in waiting. It will be interesting to see how the press logs burn , if this thing will ever let me reload. I’d say the needle is stuck but it’s still pumping out heat. I never paid any attention to the price of the first two type of logs I bought but I bought 5 from the feed store at$1.19 a piece today when I was picking up some hay. If they last anywhere near the length of time the regular fir firewood is lasting, I would sure think it would be a tight race. I wouldn’t expect a 40# bag of pellets to last as long pumping out this much heat but then I really don’t have a clue. Going to slice down a fir snag hopefully next weekend and split it up and put it in the room with the stove on a rack and see how long it takes it to dry. My dang kid pilfered a bunch of my semi dry fir for his backyard pit. Oh well, I was definitely glad to have a second hand yesterday

 

[Nealm66]

Here’s what they sold me if anybody wants to know. Not sure what it cost

 

[Highbeam]

Here’s what they sold me if anybody wants to know. Not sure what it cost

Just plan on painting the whole “panel” like on a car so that you can’t see any difference. Oh and shake it really well, there’s a ton of heavy metallic flake in the new Bk paint.

My stove top needs some paint but back in 2012 they used a totally different paint.

 

[ratsrepus]

whats the average life span of the by pass gasket, door gasket too.

 

[kennyp2339]

I got 4 years out of my door gasket and still havent changed the by-pass gasket (check it every year) I good idea that I did not do is when changing the door gasket rope, check you glass retainer clips, sometimes they loosen up.

 

[Highbeam]

whats the average life span of the by pass gasket, door gasket too.

I got 4 or 5 from the oem door gasket. New factory brand gasket is still tight after 3 years with no adjustments.

I’m in my 9th year on the original bypass gasket. This one is less important and harder to replace. You’ll need to have the cat out to do it and special glue.

 

[kennyp2339]

true vertical loading with shorties Yielded close to 18hr burn time with low temps in the mid teens, def like this way.

 

[Nealm66]

So for me, the press logs aren’t the best. They burn hotter but I only put three in and was ready for a reload at 9 hours. Which is fine but no where near a regular fir load. Couldn’t determine any difference between the three. I had the temp setting near low and it was about the same temp as the fir load just under half swoosh. Still, at $3.60 for 9 hours of good heat, I’m not sure if pellets would be cheaper.

 

[Nealm66]

View attachment 269440View attachment 269441
true vertical loading with shorties Yielded close to 18hr burn time with low temps in the mid teens, def like this way.

Tough to stack though

 

[kennyp2339]

Tough to stack though

no sir, got a roll of 72” metal fencing, made round rolls the diameter of a pallet and just through them in there, it worked almost to well, those cylinders had a tree fall on them and didn’t budge, tied the ends with bailing wire, cut same wire and the cylinder popped open just fine, def using this method from here on out with short / ugly splits

 

[Tron]

I do the same, but with 20'x8' wire mesh from construction. Very stable and holds a lot of wood.
I've posted a how-to in the wood shed section on these silos a while ago if you're interested.

Those are so convenient, I don't stack splits at all.

 

[Nealm66]

Those are cool looking as well.

 

[Alpine1]

I’ll try this method next spring. My wood cooker needs 10” splits, that are a nuisance to stack. Those cylinders seem an easier and way more decorative way to go. Thanks for posting!

 

[Highbeam]

I’ll try this method next spring. My wood cooker needs 10” splits, that are a nuisance to stack. Those cylinders seem an easier and way more decorative way to go. Thanks for posting!

To minimize wasted pallet space you could make several like a package of hot dogs, or a six pack of beverages. It’s just a step above throwing the wood into a pile. If you have space, what’s the benefit? Would you try and top cover these columns?

 

[Tron]

Yes, I top cover my columns with a tarp. With the wind blowing through the (loosely thrown in splits), they dry really fast.
I put some bungee cords on the tarp and strap it down. One just needs to make sure to make the stack of wood high enough so the top of the wire does not pierce the tarp.

Here's the thread

 

[WV Homestead]

is this ok? last night i loaded the stove pretty full and lit the fire waited till active. closed the bypass ran it until the fire was well established then turned the air intake to half and when i came back out a few hours later it was like that. will i hurt my stove? am i doing something wrong? i know in the manual it says it is ok . but it also says if u let this happen u will start to peel the combustor

 

[Highbeam]

View attachment 269467
is this ok? last night i loaded the stove pretty full and lit the fire waited till active. closed the bypass ran it until the fire was well established then turned the air intake to half and when i came back out a few hours later it was like that. will i hurt my stove? am i doing something wrong? i know in the manual it says it is ok . but it also says if u let this happen u will start to peel the combustor

Since that meter has no numbers there is no way of knowing if that is above the cat manufacturer’s 1800 degree limit. As long as the door seal is tight and the bypass is closed, the information on the cat meter beyond the active line is irrelevant. You are supposed to be able to choose your output level on the stat and let it eat.

That does look high though!

 

[begreen]

Since that meter has no numbers there is no way of knowing if that is above the cat manufacturer’s 1800 degree limit. As long as the door seal is tight and the bypass is closed, the information on the cat meter beyond the active line is irrelevant. You are supposed to be able to choose your output level on the stat and let it eat.

That does look high though!

IIRC according to BKVP the cat starts degrading at 1600ºF or higher.