Blaze King combustion air problem?

[drstorm]

Hi all.
I am on my 4th year with a Chinook 30 and have noticed what seems to be a lack of strong combustion air when turned high.
I don't really see a major difference in flame between the 3 o'clock position and the 6 o'clock.
Is it possible dust/lint/etc. is reducing my airflow from the outside? Or is it possible fly ash on the interior tubes ,or simply none of the above?
I can still get the cat to glow and its not a wood issue.I mix in the tractor supply store wood bricks with my seasoned wood.
Drafts fine with bypass open and door cracked.
We are going to have a brief 48 hour warmup ,so I am going to let it burn out to clean the chimney anyway.
Thoughts?

 

[Highbeam]

Hi all.
I am on my 4th year with a Chinook 30 and have noticed what seems to be a lack of strong combustion air when turned high.
I don't really see a major difference in flame between the 3 o'clock position and the 6 o'clock.
Is it possible dust/lint/etc. is reducing my airflow from the outside? Or is it possible fly ash on the interior tubes ,or simply none of the above?
I can still get the cat to glow and its not a wood issue.I mix in the tractor supply store wood bricks with my seasoned wood.
Drafts fine with bypass open and door cracked.
We are going to have a brief 48 hour warmup ,so I am going to let it burn out to clean the chimney anyway.
Thoughts?

Start with the obvious things that should be routinely maintained anyway. Does your chimney cap have a sceeen? If so, clean it and consider removing the screen and throwing it in the trash. Second, you need to remove the normal accumulation of fly ash from the combustor. Do this by blowing the cold cat out with canned air or your air compressor turned down to 60 psi. Use your cell phone camera stuck up in there to verify clear cells.

Then we can start looking elsewhere but your intake air system is almost certainly not blocked.

 

[drstorm]

Start with the obvious things that should be routinely maintained anyway. Does your chimney cap have a sceeen? If so, clean it and consider removing the screen and throwing it in the trash. Second, you need to remove the normal accumulation of fly ash from the combustor. Do this by blowing the cold cat out with canned air or your air compressor turned down to 60 psi. Use your cell phone camera stuck up in there to verify clear cells.

Then we can start looking elsewhere but your intake air system is almost certainly not blocked.

No screen.
I've probably been running the stove for about a month now this season, did some cat maintenance before I fired it up.
I certainly will be checking the obvious though.

 

[lsucet]

Check if with bypass open flames act normal. That can give you an idea of cat is clogged. Check nothing is obstructing the intake if an OAK is installed. Check that the knob is not spinning on the shaft.

 

[jetsam]

Classic plugged cat symptom. Order a couple new cat gaskets now.

Shopvac the face of the cat when the cat is cool. If the stove doesn't improve, pull the cat after the gaskets arrive and shopvac both sides.

I don't know your stove, but you may be able to get a cellphone or inspection camera in there and see all the way through from the front. The top corners on the rear face plug first on my stove.

If you end up removing the cat, a soft paintbrush will be enough to knock any crud loose on the back.

 

[drstorm]

Classic plugged cat symptom. Order a couple new cat gaskets now.

Shopvac the face of the cat when the cat is cool. If the stove doesn't improve, pull the cat after the gaskets arrive and shopvac both sides.

I don't know your stove, but you may be able to get a cellphone or inspection camera in there and see all the way through from the front. The top corners on the rear face plug first on my stove.

If you end up removing the cat, a soft paintbrush will be enough to knock any crud loose on the back.

Yep, was a clogged cat.
Just vacuuming with a brush attachment (when cold) seemed to do the trick.
24 hours since and it seems to be back to normal.
Thank you everyone.