2021-2022 BK everything thread

[rdust]

First fire of the season in the Princess tonight. Converted to NG with a high efficiency furnace this year so I’ve been slacking. Nice to feel the stove heat tonight!

Dog quickly found his place.

 

[clancey]

That's a beautiful stove set up and how cute that doggy clancey

 

[Poindexter]

@estepracing , In general we look for 10-12-14k hours of active time out of a combustor. I am an outlier at the low end averaging about 8k active hours, and one or two users here have posted 16k active hour lifespans.

 

[JKanor]

This is the frog in hot water issue. Any new cat will be quicker to light off than an old cat. Not many of us get the chance to compare new cats of different materials back to back.

I should've been more clear. I meant quicker light off when pushing the low end limits of bypass engagement. Like if it's closed too early the thermocouple wouldn't show take off and ramp up. The steel seems to take off and ramp up around 480-490* where the ceramic seemed to be in the 570-580* range. Before that it would climb steady, Like a 2 stroke lol.

 

[weatherguy]

First fire of the season in the Princess tonight. Converted to NG with a high efficiency furnace this year so I’ve been slacking. Nice to feel the stove heat tonight!

Dog quickly found his place.

View attachment 284849

I see more than the dog warming up next to the fire

 

[Poindexter]

I should've been more clear. I meant quicker light off when pushing the low end limits of bypass engagement. Like if it's closed too early the thermocouple wouldn't show take off and ramp up. The steel seems to take off and ramp up around 480-490* where the ceramic seemed to be in the 570-580* range. Before that it would climb steady, Like a 2 stroke lol.

From what I have read here the metal cats can be engaged "earlier" than the ceramics. As a regulated burner ( I am in an EPA non-attainment area for air quality) I have a limited amount of time to get from cold stove to engaged combustor and clean plume, so it _seems_ like sticking with a metal cat is the way to go for me. My local BK dealer really knows their stuff, I am confident if I could get to clean plume quicker with the whatever latest tech from BK they would be calling me.

If I wasn't regulated I would pay a LOT more attention to the ceramic cat discussion. Since I am a regulated burner and can barely reach the legal limit with a metal cat and dry wood I am sticking with what works for me. Your data point that a metal cat can light off about 100 degrees cooler than ceramic supports my position. There are plenty of folks here that prefer ceramic cats for sure.

 

[JKanor]

From what I have read here the metal cats can be engaged "earlier" than the ceramics. As a regulated burner ( I am in an EPA non-attainment area for air quality) I have a limited amount of time to get from cold stove to engaged combustor and clean plume, so it _seems_ like sticking with a metal cat is the way to go for me. My local BK dealer really knows their stuff, I am confident if I could get to clean plume quicker with the whatever latest tech from BK they would be calling me.

If I wasn't regulated I would pay a LOT more attention to the ceramic cat discussion. Since I am a regulated burner and can barely reach the legal limit with a metal cat and dry wood I am sticking with what works for me. Your data point that a metal cat can light off about 100 degrees cooler than ceramic supports my position. There are plenty of folks here that prefer ceramic cats for sure.

I feel for you guys that are regulated like that. We have no regulation here and the only reason for playing with the steel cat is because when I needed one last year, the ceramics were on backorder. At least it gives something to pay attention to, since these stoves are so good they're kind of boring. Even in our coldest weather I'm on a 20-24hr reload routine.

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll stick with my ceramic for now. Has anyone ever tried cleaning the catalyst with a soda blaster or anything for that matter. Just for future reference, I don't want to be recreating the wheel.

You’re no even allowed to use high pressure air, much less an abrasive. You’ll blow the catalyst off.

There is a vinegar boil procedure that does work to remove some of the “stuff” that bakes on to the catalyst and covers the precious metals so that they are unavailable for chemical reaction with smoke. I did it once to revive a dead cat for a couple months of bonus extra life. It works but the juice ain’t worth the squeeze. You need a new 7$ gasket, a vat of boiling vinegar, a jug of distilled rinse water, a pot to do it in, an angry wife from stinking the house up, time to let your stove go cold, and hours of your personal time. All of this just to get a couple of extra marginal months when a new cat is only about 200$ and lasts at least 18 months.

Rather than even worry about cat maintenance (other than clearing possible ash cloggage), just plan on popping in a new fresh one.

The vinegar boil method is better than nothing if you can’t get a new cat due to supply issues or something.

 

[Highbeam]

You can try to boil it in distilled water and white vinegar. Someone (@Highbeam ?) did it two or three years ago and posted his results. IIRC you can squeeze an extra couple of weeks of use out of a nearly dead catalyst.

I thought it was months of extra marginal life but I know it wasn’t worth it. You can search under my username for “threads by” to find it. I provided lots of photos and documented the whole process.

 

[rdust]

I see more than the dog warming up next to the fire

Yep, my 9 yo daughter.

 

[rdust]

I thought it was months of extra marginal life but I know it wasn’t worth it. You can search under my username for “threads by” to find it. I provided lots of photos and documented the whole process.

I’ve done it once, wasn’t worth the hassle here either.

I think I remember reading some of the WS guys cleaning them yearly, by spraying the vinegar on then rinsing it off. Not dealing with the boiling part.

 

[Highbeam]

I’ve done it once, wasn’t worth the hassle here either.

I think I remember reading some of the WS guys cleaning them yearly, by spraying the vinegar on then rinsing it off. Not dealing with the boiling part.

Those Woodstock guys have the pleasure of not needing a new cat gasket each time they want to remove their cats for any reason. Some of them are stuck with steel cats too and they really seem to clog up for some models.

 

[kennyp2339]

Up and down temps this week, upper 50's during the day, 30's at night, I'm burning big maple splits, like I can only fit 3 at a time big, it works perfectly with keeping a constant low level warmth in the house, the stability of this stove is great.

 

[Nelson]

Did my clean out about a month ago. I cleaned out about 2 cups of dry flaky creosote in the section highlighted in the picture. This section Ts into a straight ~20ft section that goes out of the roof (this section is insulated). In the 20 ft straight section, I cleaned out easily less than a cup of dry flaky creosote. This is my first clean out with this set up and I was expecting it to be the opposite (more creosote in the 20ft section) and it's got me puzzled. No issues with my burns - i'm easily getting 20-24 hour burns (with an active cat the entire time) and performance has exceeded my expectations overall. Just curious about the build up on the lower section of pipe (which is double wall).

EDIT: The section in the picture was a 90 degree bend all last year - I just replaced with 2-45s after I did the clean out

 

[John Galt]

Did my clean out about a month ago. I cleaned out about 2 cups of dry flaky creosote in the section highlighted in the picture. This section Ts into a straight ~20ft section that goes out of the roof (this section is insulated). In the 20 ft straight section, I cleaned out easily less than a cup of dry flaky creosote. This is my first clean out with this set up and I was expecting it to be the opposite (more creosote in the 20ft section) and it's got me puzzled. No issues with my burns - i'm easily getting 20-24 hour burns (with an active cat the entire time) and performance has exceeded my expectations overall. Just curious about the build up on the lower section of pipe (which is double wall).

EDIT: The section in the picture was a 90 degree bend all last year - I just replaced with 2-45s after I did the clean out

View attachment 285028

That should eliminate all of that build up. My barn stove was set up like that originally, but the horizontal was around six feet, it dripped creosote.

 

[bikedennis]

Is it better to keep bypass closed when adding wood? Manual states "you may want to open bypass" to keep smoke puffing to minimum. My stove draws very good so I see no reason to open it. Correct?

 

[JKanor]

Is it better to keep bypass closed when adding wood? Manual states "you may want to open bypass" to keep smoke puffing to minimum. My stove draws very good so I see no reason to open it. Correct?

You always want to open it before you open the door. You don't want the cool air of the room to thermal shock the catalyst.

 

[bikedennis]

You always want to open it before you open the door. You don't want the cool air of the room to thermal shock the catalyst.

Yes, I know that but why even open it at all if I don't have a smoke problem?

 

[stoveliker]

Because you can cool down the cat too fast, resulting in the surface (that does the cat job) cracking and deteriorating.

 

[TheElementalCashew]

Not sure which stove you have, but my Princess manual specifically says to open the bypass before opening the loading door. As mentioned already, its to prevent thermal shock to your cat.

 

[bikedennis]

Because you can cool down the cat too fast, resulting in the surface (that does the cat job) cracking and deteriorating.

Not if you don't open it. Am I missing something here? Again manual says "may wish to open bypass". Sounds like it's better to keep closed if smoke is not a problem.

 

[stoveliker]

I don't know how you would add wood without opening it (the stove door)...?

 

[bikedennis]

talking about the bypass here

 

[stoveliker]

you stated "Is it better to keep bypass closed when adding wood?"
The answer is no, because when you open the stove door to add wood, all (colder) air flows thru a hot cat which might damage it.

 

[Alpine1]

With my set up, if I don’t open the by-pass, set the t-stat to max and leave the door closed for at least 5 minutes… smoke spillage is guaranteed