Blaze King - King Ultra Catalyst Temp Too Hot

[black smoke signals]

Highbeam The cat won't overheat unless something has failed such as the door gasket which is the cause of 95% of cat failures your quote. My question what are the other 5 percent of failures? Then is this correct when the power goes off and no fan one of the failures?Im talking about an insert now?

 

[ohlongarm]

I don't know if this helps,my BK parlor is running at BK's minimum chimney height which says 14 feet,this includes two 45 degree turns ,55 inches from where stovepipe enters stove,and then the two 45's which are combined 18 inches,and a horizontal run of 18 inches then straight up.Now i've never had a problem,yet my thermometer for the cat pegs into the black often,the drier the wood,the higher.Mine settles in at about here after 12 hours,this is this morning elm dry as can be. I wouldn't worry.Mine will bottom itself out if I give it air,watched a fire show last night about two hours on about 5 setting cat probe was in the black.

With the BK's loose the idea that the cat probe can tell a story about temps, the cat probe is only good for when to shut the by-pass (active zone) because of the t-stat the bk will not over fire, unless the t-stat is opened all the way (btw, you should burn it that way for at least 30min once a week)
Remember: these stove are not flame show stoves, if you have flames in the box your burning it for high heat and using it like a regular stove, the stove makes its $$ by providing a clean smoldering burn (yes black glass burn) and extracting the most heat due to cat position inside the stove.
As far as the un-insulated liner, you should have an insulated on with at least 15ft minimum height, just keep an eye on it, check for creosote build up near the cap, when the stove is cruising on low burn, your flue temps with be about 200-250deg range.

Not flame show stoves ,guess i'm missing something my King this evening on #5 0"clock setting with a load of ash ?I could keepit there as long as I want then cut her back and go to bed,which I often do.

 

[Highbeam]

At some point the stat will cut itself back to prevent overfire so that huge flameshow can't go on for the whole full load.

 

[black smoke signals]

So I are you saying the cat is safe from overheat or damage when this t-stat decides to go into fail safe mode?

 

[ohlongarm]

At some point the stat will cut itself back to prevent overfire so that huge flameshow can't go on for the whole full load.

I have never left it go for a full load but have kept it there for a couple of hours,no probs so far,I've had it going for over an hour tonite going to check the stove temps.

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam The cat won't overheat unless something has failed such as the door gasket which is the cause of 95% of cat failures your quote. My question what are the other 5 percent of failures? Then is this correct when the power goes off and no fan one of the failures?Im talking about an insert now?

BK tells us that 95% figure and it's not from overfire due to a leaky door gasket but "thermal shock" from the non-preheated air hitting the hot cat. Ceramic cats are more sensitive to this of course but apparently the steels don't like it either. What happens the other 5% of the time? Well that could be anything from burning trash, defective catalysts, to just plain old wear since the 10 year warranty could include 5 times the rated hours of catalyst life that the manufacturer rates them for.

I don't have an insert. The fans are not optional but since they can be turned off I would expect that the insert is also designed to be run at high stat setting without the fans and not overtemp the stove or catalyst.

Perhaps @BKVP can comment on both of these manufacturer type questions.

 

[kennyp2339]

At some point the stat will cut itself back to prevent overfire so that huge flameshow can't go on for the whole full load.

Bingo

 

[Highbeam]

So I are you saying the cat is safe from overheat or damage when this t-stat decides to go into fail safe mode?

It's not a "fail safe" mode, it's normal operation that the thermostat limits the high temperature of the stove. When someone, like @Poindexter runs his stove at the top setting for full loads the stove stat doesn't allow overfire. I don't plan to try it myself though.

 

[jetsam]

I would guess that a brand new cat could be overheated in the same stove that would not overheat a cat with a year or two on it. My first year with the princess insert, I wrapped the needle around the cat probe pretty good once. Same thermostat settings, but with a super-active cat, the thermostat cranks down the air, the wood smokes more, the cat gets even hotter...

There's obviously some level of user error there, but first-time BK users as a group are likely to have brand new cats, so I doubt it's terribly rare.

So why don't you hear more about it? As noted above, I cooked mine pretty good at least once last year, and it still looks fine and performs okay this year. (Noticeably less excitable than when it was new, though.)

 

[black smoke signals]

Jetsam Same thermostat settings, but with a super-active cat, the thermostat cranks down the air, the wood smokes more, the cat gets even hotter... You nailed it Jetsam this overheat protection inside the firebox great performer for B/K Im still unsure about cat temp climbing up to higher than normal when your asleep or out polishing the hot rods. BKVP sure would like you to jump in here for us newer guys and gals.

 

[jetsam]

I don't think you should lose any sleep over it, but getting an expert opinion (which mine is not) is always good.

 

[Woody Stover]

Again Woody, who has never even seen a BK stove, the stove is engineered to prevent cat overtemp. As such, the user need not worry about such things...The cat won't overheat unless something has failed such as the door gasket

Oh, boy, not this again. As we know, you went from a cheaply-made non-cat to your first cat stove. Predictably, like a school boy under the spell of his first crush, you have been smitten by this new 'princess' in your life. I've been running a variety of cat stoves over the years...I doubt I'd be overly impressed by your stove. It's great for you, though; You married your high school sweetheart and you'll never know that, when it comes right down to it, she just don't put out.
Looking through your rose-colored glasses, you read marketing fluff like "engineered to prevent cat overtemp," and somehow infer that "the cat cannot be overfired," in spite of reports from multiple users that they have "pinned the cat meter." Did they all have "bad door gaskets?"
Despite the R & D findings of the major cat makers, Applied Ceramics and Clariant (Sud Chemie,) you think that you know better, and continue to advise new BK owners not worry about cat temps..."pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" These new users might be better served if you kept your "knowledge" to yourself.

This is a far more advanced stove than anything you've run...I bought a better stove...superior

Well, since you brought that up again...

The door latch is a wear item. The fact that your is wearing indicates that your door gasket is pretty tight still. When mine wears out I will upgrade to your new style latch instead of the old school bent rod latch. I just put one more turn on my latch last night. The old latches use a welded in nut inside the stove that requires the user to tighten or loosen the latch mechanism by one full turn.

Really? You've got the same door latch that one would normally find on a cheap box-store sheet-metal stove? If that's what you mean by a "superior, better stove," thanks but I'll pass. All the brands of cat stoves I've owned and run have had quality door latch mechanisms that were fully adjustable, and have replaceable cast-iron parts...even the budget-model Dutchwest. That stove is over 20 yrs. old, and the original latch mechanism is still adjustable.

I have been told that the new and old style latches are interchangeable

not sure about that. I called BK myself and was told that depending on your door and the stove year it was made, the old hinge one would be better.

Nice, you may have to replace the door if you want upgrade your latch. That's OK, the price of a new door will just be a drop in the bucket when added to the cost of the other (comparatively high-priced) parts you may need for this high-priced, "advanced-engineering" stove.

 

[Highbeam]

As we know, you went from a cheaply-made non-cat to your first cat stove.

I'm afraid you've made another mistake. I went from Lopi Freedom Bay, to hearthstone heritage, and now to princess cat stove. The Hearthstone was the most expensive but also the most cheaply made. I own a cheap non-cat for the shop and the latch is quite durable.

You are again making the mistake that a cat probe meter reading above the active line is a problem. There is no "pin" on the meter. Do you have any idea what you are talking about. The cat can run up to 1800 and that is way high on the cat meter.

Oh and I did marry my high school sweetheart.

 

[Highbeam]

Looking through your rose-colored glasses,

You're such an ignorant troll. You have to actually change quotes of mine? I never said superior, you added that.

 

[webfish]

You two need to use the ignore button. @Highbeam @Woody Stover

 

[Highbeam]

You two need to use the ignore button. @Highbeam @Woody Stover

Unfortunately, when he's not been drinking, woody has some good information.

 

[redyute]

You two need to use the ignore button. @Highbeam @Woody Stover

lol I was tempted to respond but I knew someone would eventually wow lol

 

[jetsam]

Yeah, but that's about as stirred up as we ever get around here.

We're a pretty civil bunch by internet standards.

Edit: To test that hypothesis, I did a quick Godwin's Law check on hearth.com. 18 hits for 'hitler' on the forums, and a quick scan seems to show that they're all historical references, not name-calling.

 

[black smoke signals]

Now if this is all settled back to the run away cat in English. Read my last post

 

[jetsam]

I still vote "Carry on, don't worry about it, sounds normal to me".

 

[Blazing]

Yup new stove new operator no worries been down that road.

 

[Woody Stover]

You two need to use the ignore button. @Highbeam @Woody Stover

Yeah, I probably shoulda let it slide, but when a guy makes a blanket statement that his stove is better than mine, a blatant falsehood, I'm tempted to jump in and set the record straight. Henceforth, I'll try to bite my tongue.

I don't think you should lose any sleep over it, but getting an expert opinion (which mine is not) is always good.

I still vote "Carry on, don't worry about it, sounds normal to me".

That's all I was trying to do, put the "expert opinions" of the cat makers out there. And I agree, carry on, but hopefully some more people are aware of the possible issues.