2020-21 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)

[Dustin]

Lit a fire yesterday and one this morning. It was 49 outside and rainy, 69 in the house.

lit the king with a top down fire, mix of uglys from my wood pile. Fir and alder. I lit the stove at around 8am.

I turned the Thermo down to low after I got a good fire going. Mind you, this was a really small load of “meh” wood.

House got up to 74. Annnnd the cat was still active at 7pm. This thing is insane. I can’t imagine what it’s going to do when I stuff it full. My house is really tight so the small fire and a low setting is working perfectly this shoulder season.

So, what do the rest of you do when you happen to be around and the cat goes inactive on some coals and you don’t plan on reloading? Leave the bypass closed and ignore it? Open it? Or?

 

[moresnow]

You can turn the therm knob wide open to burn them up.

 

[Dustin]

More questions!

The stove is hot (Thermo on order) but based on my previous stoves I’m guess 500 plus stove top.

Cat pegged all the way to the right.

little bit of cat glow, thermostat at medium.

This blue smoke from the chimney, not much, but some...

Thoughts?

 

[showrguy]

More questions!

The stove is hot (Thermo on order) but based on my previous stoves I’m guess 500 plus stove top.

Cat pegged all the way to the right.

little bit of cat glow, thermostat at medium.

This blue smoke from the chimney, not much, but some...

Thoughts?

Try turning your thermo a little lower in small increments.. You wanna find where your “do not go below” is..

 

[MacinJosh]

My princess came with ceramic.

is there a way to look and see without removing?

 

[vwmike]

Try turning your thermo a little lower in small increments.. You wanna find where your “do not go below” is..

Just to add to this, the drier your wood and the taller your chimney the lower you can usually turn the thermostat without having the cat go inactive. I’m noticing I can turn mine well down below 2 this year as my wood is drier.

 

[Highbeam]

is there a way to look and see without removing?

You bet. You can see it through the window.

 

[Dustin]

Just to add to this, the drier your wood and the taller your chimney the lower you can usually turn the thermostat without having the cat go inactive. I’m noticing I can turn mine well down below 2 this year as my wood is drier.

Thanks!
So, even when I was seeing some smoke the cat thermo said it was “active” the entire time.

according to this thermo my cat is basically active until I almost have zero coals left in the firebox... does this sound right?

 

[Highbeam]

Lit a fire yesterday and one this morning. It was 49 outside and rainy, 69 in the house.

lit the king with a top down fire, mix of uglys from my wood pile. Fir and alder. I lit the stove at around 8am.

I turned the Thermo down to low after I got a good fire going. Mind you, this was a really small load of “meh” wood.

House got up to 74. Annnnd the cat was still active at 7pm. This thing is insane. I can’t imagine what it’s going to do when I stuff it full. My house is really tight so the small fire and a low setting is working perfectly this shoulder season.

So, what do the rest of you do when you happen to be around and the cat goes inactive on some coals and you don’t plan on reloading? Leave the bypass closed and ignore it? Open it? Or?

View attachment 264558

If you don’t plan on reloading then just let it go out. No action necessary. As the stove cools, the thermostat will automatically open up the throttle to try and get heat from those last coals.

I’m burning 100% fir and I get light blue smoke off and on. Cat is under 50% consumed and wood is very dry. It’s not thick smoke but I do wish it was a crystal clear plume like noncats can do with the same fuel.

Maybe it’s a fir thing?

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks!
So, even when I was seeing some smoke the cat thermo said it was “active” the entire time.

according to this thermo my cat is basically active until I almost have zero coals left in the firebox... does this sound right?

Just because your cat is hot enough to be active does not mean you won’t have smoke.

 

[begreen]

If you don’t plan on reloading then just let it go out. No action necessary. As the stove cools, the thermostat will automatically open up the throttle to try and get heat from those last coals.

I’m burning 100% fir and I get light blue smoke off and on. Cat is under 50% consumed and wood is very dry. It’s not thick smoke but I do wish it was a crystal clear plume like noncats can do with the same fuel.

Maybe it’s a fir thing?

Isn't fir dimensional lumber what is used for the EPA tests? If there is smoke I am not understanding how it would pass emissions testing.

 

[BKVP]

Isn't fir dimensional lumber what is used for the EPA tests? If there is smoke I am not understanding how it would pass emissions testing.

That test, M28 now M28R has 1" cleats pin nailed to provide air gaps around all surfaces.
All tests done by all labs show hardwood fuels produce more PM than identical loads of softwood. Bark, now that is a major contributor. MC plays a vital role regardless of the SG of the fuel.

 

[kennyp2339]

Got the stove lit this morning, finally lol 46 deg out w/ heavy rain and a northeast wind, good day to have a BK

 

[MacinJosh]

You bet. You can see it through the window.

I guess my dumb question is, what is the obvious difference between ceramic and steel from a visual perspective? I don’t know what I’m looking for. It’s covered in ash so it’s not super clear what the material is.

 

[BKVP]

I guess my dumb question is, what is the obvious difference between ceramic and steel from a visual perspective? I don’t know what I’m looking for. It’s covered in ash so it’s not super clear what the material is.

If it's covered in ash, let the fire go out. Then, with a soft bristle paint brush or a can of compressed air, blow out all the fly ash.. Here are some images of each type. Metal on top, ceramic below.

 

[vwmike]

I’m burning 100% fir and I get light blue smoke off and on. Cat is under 50% consumed and wood is very dry. It’s not thick smoke but I do wish it was a crystal clear plume like noncats can do with the same fuel.

Maybe it’s a fir thing?

I don’t think it’s a fir thing. Having burned both a PE Vista and Summit here they definitely made very little smoke, in fact my
Neighbour was surprised at how much I burn as he rarely ever saw smoke out my chimney.

The princess makes a lot more smoke cold and a little here and there when cruising. I’ll leave it to the lab rats that test these to tell
me they’re just as clean ‍♂️

 

[kennyp2339]

I’m burning 100% fir and I get light blue smoke off and on. Cat is under 50% consumed and wood is very dry. It’s not thick smoke but I do wish it was a crystal clear plume like noncats can do with the same fuel.

I get cycles of smoke to, nothing major just notice whisps of it every once in a while, I think the smoke starts showing when the t-stat is closed, right before it automatically opens to let more air in to heat the firebox up, I'm burning hard wood, so it def isnt just a soft wood thing

 

[MacinJosh]

If it's covered in ash, let the fire go out. Then, with a soft bristle paint brush or a can of compressed air, blow out all the fly ash.. Here are some images of each type. Metal on top, ceramic below.View attachment 264613

I can just tell from your photos and having seen mine before it is ceramic. Thanks

Again, I know this has been answered before but what maintenance if any do I need to do after year one using it? Getting close to my burn season here in Kentucky. I had the chimney swept and all that good stuff but he didn’t touch the cat. I checked the seal and gasket on the front door with a dollar Bill. What else should I be doing? Thanks!

 

[kennyp2339]

Again, I know this has been answered before but what maintenance if any do I need to do after year one using it? Getting close to my burn season here in Kentucky. I had the chimney swept and all that good stuff but he didn’t touch the cat.

remove the black pipe from the stove collar, carefully vacuum the chamber out, and the back of the cat, check by-pass seal w/ dollar bill test.

 

[Highbeam]

I can just tell from your photos and having seen mine before it is ceramic. Thanks

Again, I know this has been answered before but what maintenance if any do I need to do after year one using it? Getting close to my burn season here in Kentucky. I had the chimney swept and all that good stuff but he didn’t touch the cat. I checked the seal and gasket on the front door with a dollar Bill. What else should I be doing? Thanks!

Yep, that’s ceramic. If you feel like the cells are all clear and the cat isn’t worn out yet then there’s nothing to do.

 

[Highbeam]

Isn't fir dimensional lumber what is used for the EPA tests? If there is smoke I am not understanding how it would pass emissions testing.

There is bark on my fir firewood. If bark causes the blue smoke then that could be it.

 

[begreen]

There is bark on my fir firewood. If bark causes the blue smoke then that could be it.

Yep, sounds like the bark, in this case, is worse than the bite.

 

[MissMac]

Can anyone confirm for me that the metal combuster from Midwest Hearth that's for the Princess will work in my Sirocco 30.1? It says it's compatible on their website, but the OEM number is different from the one in my manual, and I don't want to pull the trigger until I know for sure it's the right one for my stove. https://midwesthearth.com/collectio...-princess-4-x-10-6-x-2?variant=19888824287361

Thanks!

 

[Poindexter]

Anyone doing hot reloads yet this year? I finally did my second full load of the season last night, turned it down to medium after the water was baked out, and let it burn out. The cat was almost (but not quite) stalled this morning so I turned it up to full throttle as I was leaving for work.

Looking for our first possible flurries of the year tonight. I am usually burning 24/7 in mid September, so not complaining. I will have to put the rumbly tires on my truck pretty soon.

 

[BKVP]

Anyone doing hot reloads yet this year? I finally did my second full load of the season last night, turned it down to medium after the water was baked out, and let it burn out. The cat was almost (but not quite) stalled this morning so I turned it up to full throttle as I was leaving for work.

Looking for our first possible flurries of the year tonight. I am usually burning 24/7 in mid September, so not complaining. I will have to put the rumbly tires on my truck pretty soon.

I've been following your weather. Might have to journey north to address ADEC concerns. Hope all is well. Go get Brewster burger for me!