My Blaze King BTJ-503

[guidecca]

I recently bought a trailer house in Butte County, South Dakota which has a wood stove. I know nothing about wood stoves except what I could glean from a Blaze King BTJ-502 online manual. Could you look at the pictures I attach and tell me something about this stove? I lit a fire in it a few days ago and had a leak from a stove pipe seam. I don't want to repeat that episode and my first thought is to patch the seam with furnace cement and maybe add another 3' section of stove pipe. The elevation here is roughly 3000'. The pipe on the roof extends about 3' up. It was a windy day when I lit that first fire. The stove has a makeshift aluminum foil gasket between the outside air pipe and the stove's intake pipe. Not sure how that jury rigged fix affects the stove. It also has a fan that powers on with 2 or 3 speeds to blow out hot air. How can I avoid smoke leaking? How does the knob on the side work and how should it be set at startup? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[guidecca]

The Blaze King manual

 

[guidecca]

I read through the manual. Picked up some Rutland gasket cement at the hardware and put some on that seam up on the chimney pipe. Climbed the ladder and took a look at the chimney cap. Got a hair this morning and lit a fire in the stove and its blazing now. Its a wonderful creation the wood stove. The blower is pushing air out on low speed and I'm sitting besides it enjoying the heat. Edit: About one hour or less the thermometer on the stove pipe drops out of the yellow zone and reads 100 degrees. When I open the door to the stove there are red coals and some unburned pieces of wood. Just wondering if the control on the stove pipe is supposed to be full open or partially open?

 

[stoveliker]

The knob on th side is I believe the thermostat.
It regulates the air.with a bimetal coil. I don't know the older models but it looks similar to the newer ones.

I see broken brick and a lot of creosote in the box.

Do have your chimney inspected; if it looks the same you might burn down your home soon.

Also look at the manual for clearances. Are they met? (With clearance to the back meaning the distance to the drywall or studs behind the title)

 

[guidecca]

Its cold in Butte, South Dakota and I'm loving this wood stove more than ever. It just stays hot which is much appreciated when you come in from outside. Pretty sure it is wood coals smoldering. Thanks for the heads up "stoveliker" on the creosote in this stove. I will do what I can to fix it.

 

[stoveliker]

To avoid creosote you'll have to burn wood that's dry enough. How long has your wood been split and stacked to dry? (And what type of wood is it?)

And you have to make sure you don't choke the air off too much; smoldering fires give dirty chimneys.

This glazy stuff is the most dangerous.studf to have in your chimney.

I see broken bricks too, and the stove has some white splotches. This could indicate it's been over fired too.

The key damper on the pipe likely has to be (partially).closed after the fire gets going to retain more heat


Having coals and unburned pieces could indicate that your wood was too wet.

Personally, I would not feel comfortable burning this in this state without a profession inspection.

 

[guidecca]

When we bought this place there were two stacks of cut cottonwood, one was sun bleached with no bark and the other pile had some bark on some pieces. I brought in all the small pieces I thought would fit in the stove and split them within the last two weeks. These cottonwoods tend to die according to the locals. Is it likely that the cut sun bleached pieces would still retain water? I have no idea but I would guess it has been several years since they were cut.

Finding resources and services out here in rural South Dakota is a challenge. Part of the beauty of living here is that people leave you alone. When I picked up the stove gasket cement at the hardware store I saw come creosote remover. I could probably remove creosote from the stove but not the chimney. It just never crossed my mind that the stove would need maintenance and now its cold as Hades.

Thanks for pointing out what I suspected. The black shiny stuff is creosote. I will seek an inspector to examine the stove and the chimney. Thanks again for your expertise.

 

[stoveliker]

Okay. Generally unsplit rounds (trunk sections) don't dry very well - but they do dry, slowly. If it's barkless it helps. If it's bleached it could be good.

If you whack two splits together, does it sound full or does it reverberate? If you split and push a split against your cheek, does it feel moist or cold, or dry (and hence warmer)? These are not perfect ways, but barring a moisture meter it's what will have to do.

Creosote remover logs don't really remove it but make it more brittle and cracked, powdery, so you can sweep it out.

Try to keep your fire hot enough, with good flame. Best is to minimize smoke out of the chimney e because creosote is smoke particles deposited on a surface.

 

[guidecca]

I banged a couple three splits together and they make a high-pitched crack sound to them, like some sort of paddle board game you might hear but louder. I couldn't really tell if it reverberated much; it seemed solid to me. As for the sense of touch my beard sort of hampered that test. I would not say they feel cold but maybe cool. The temperature in the room is 72 degrees and humidity is 25%. Outside it is 27 degree and it feels like 14 degrees.. The stove's inability to maintain a hot flame to minimize the smoke and thus the creosote is concerning. Today, most of the wood became ash but a couple of splits did not fully burn or get to that stage. It was relatively little smoke in the trailer today maybe due to the stove gasket cement on the one seam at the top of the chimney.

 

[stoveliker]

Wood sounds good.
Beard is understandable

Can you open the box where the rid for the thermostat goes in to see if it opens or is too closed?

Is there smoke roll out in the room when you open the door?

 

[guidecca]

Amazing. I was not aware that the cover could be removed. Then the smaller lid to a smaller box inside that box, which is controlled by the thermostat knob on the side. I've got the smaller lid propped open and the temperature is rising tremendously. I don't think that the thermostat knob works to open that small lid. The stove is putting off some serious heat but still in the yellow zone. Not sure how to repair that knob / lid so that the control works. Smoke does not pour out of it. Temperature passed 400 degrees; I wish it was daylight so I could take a look at the chimney cap.

 

[stoveliker]

Ok. Close.it so that it does not overfire. (In the future I wouldn't open things like that while the stove is running.)

I think @BKVP is best suited to suggest things to do to ensure the thermostat works again.

 

[stoveliker]

Is the knob in the side loose? I.e. rotates without the rod rotating?

 

[guidecca]

The knob rotates the rod it is connected to. It is too hot and too dark to see the other end of the rod. Maybe its a simple fix. Love this plate steel and heat it radiates. Thanks for helping me from out there on Long Island.

 

[stoveliker]

Ok,.so the rod rotates but the flapper doesn't open ? (You had to prop it open)?

If the rod moves but not the flapper,.is there a set screw to be fastened?

Often you can hear when the flapper closes if you rotate the knob counter clockwise. A soft "ting".

Th thermostat works in the way that this will close sooner when the stove is hot. (The spiral bimetal coil will regulate the flapper,. opening it when the temp of the stove decreases and closing it when the temp increases.)

The thermostat is only effective in the range from 12 o'clock until 5 or 6 or so.(If the design is similar to modern versions).

 

[guidecca]

Yes, I had to prop the flapper open and the temperature rose. When I removed the prop the flapper closed and the temperature fell. I was able to determine (I think) that the knob does not control the flapper anymore. Thanks for describing what it is supposed to do and when the stove cools off probably tonight or tomorrow I will take a better look.

 

[BKVP]

This is NOT at all like what you guys think. There are two rods. The bimetalic spring is outside. Turning the knob rotates a rod that interacts with the spring. The second rod, with spring, runs over to a box with a flapper and a lid.

The parts are no longer available.

BKVP

 

[guidecca]

You are right. There are two boxes (and two rods) the first box is a small open box and the second box containing the flapper is closed. You slide a cover off the second box to access the flapper. The flapper has never opened via bimetal thermostat since I started using this wood stove. I can never get a good fire because the flapper is closed, thus the fire gets no air. Now, I have excessive creosole in the stove and possibly in the chimney.

I would have preferred a manual control to follow Murphy's Law of KISS. If it can break, it will break. I intend to prop the flapper partially open permanently until I can find a better solution. Maybe fix or alter this design. EBay sells this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2566449696...4uqwrSlCgtOCdYnzgb+7JWHw==|tkp:Bk9SR-DAl87rZA

 

[stoveliker]

This is NOT at all like what you guys think. There are two rods. The bimetalic spring is outside. Turning the knob rotates a rod that interacts with the spring. The second rod, with spring, runs over to a box with a flapper and a lid.

View attachment 332396
The parts are no longer available.

BKVP

I'm not sure this is inconsistent with what I wrote ... I did look at this pic.

OP: Anyway if parts are not available, a straight through rod from knob to flapper might be best.

Be careful with a propped open flapper; you might need to turn it down at some point to avoid runaway.
Especially if your flue is coated with creosote and your fire gets kout of control you can have a chimney fire.

I do urge you to not burn until the flue is inspected and cleaned. I know it's winter but your life and the life of those in your house is more important.

Do you have working smoke and CO detectors?

 

[BKVP]

You are right. There are two boxes (and two rods) the first box is a small open box and the second box containing the flapper is closed. You slide a cover off the second box to access the flapper. The flapper has never opened via bimetal thermostat since I started using this wood stove. I can never get a good fire because the flapper is closed, thus the fire gets no air. Now, I have excessive creosole in the stove and possibly in the chimney.

I would have preferred a manual control to follow Murphy's Law of KISS. If it can break, it will break. I intend to prop the flapper partially open permanently until I can find a better solution. Maybe fix or alter this design. EBay sells this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256644969674?_skw=bimetallic+thermostat+for+Blaze+King+wood+stoves&itmmeta=01JDEE5W1BA1T7GE7HHAPF89XK&hash=item3bc13b74ca:g:SrYAAOSwnblm6rze&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKnZ2SOhMO+JwvgfkmewzdW+FrxtZ285Cm3WYqw7CTEtY38gjpK45Au/YukNEnHqoQ3NqcswBiYb6v47TCUyjSHbduV7eAwGTPm0WIjFR7EMJdgVOELm8veOZEGDLUdWSEC/6rn6FFXfmQEK4CZ5jVZHuvIBGs9FQvktTijqNv+ffpMVZjsro2v83WLzO/U6kGFGAsjNpJbtc1ClUIsmmQ3C2huRBN2Ouzl93pXYMVZntHSibBGuwilajpf9AdP1+E3YdZBXdJE21E0TRfdINt4uqwrSlCgtOCdYnzgb+7JWHw==|tkp:Bk9SR-DAl87rZA

That is a thermostat we have used since the late 1980's. Your stove pre dates the revision. Also, the current style, the spring is not the same for all models.

BKVP

 

[guidecca]

I'm not sure this is inconsistent with what I wrote ... I did look at this pic.

OP: Anyway if parts are not available, a straight through rod from knob to flapper might be best.

Be careful with a propped open flapper; you might need to turn it down at some point to avoid runaway.
Especially if your flue is coated with creosote and your fire gets kout of control you can have a chimney fire.

I do urge you to not burn until the flue is inspected and cleaned. I know it's winter but your life and the life of those in your house is more important.

Do you have working smoke and CO detectors?

Just a quick note tonight. Thank you for your safety exhortation. I'm going to agree and impose a moratorium on burning in the stove until I can get it checked by a professional. An amazing thing though, you remember that I propped the flapper open and the fire in the box went up to 400 degrees the other night? What happened? The shiny black creosote on the door and inside the box are dried out. I think I could probably scrap it off with a putty knife and then clean up the rest with creosote removal solvent. There were no unburned splits and most of the ash is white. Which begs the question of whether the heat also dried out the chimney. I have a steel brush and 16' feet of fiberglass rods and can clean that out.

I agree your suggestion to use a straight rod to manually open and close the thermostat flapper. I'm really flabbergasted at the results of burning a hot fire and the resulting ash and degraded creosote. Just thought this would be of interest to you. We have a working carbon monoxide alarm and I think a smoke alarm. Tonight is 21 and it feels like 9 degrees. Thanks again for your expertise.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, a hot fire will crisp up the creosote in the firebox and you may be able to scrape it off the walls.
In the chimney of won't get hit enough for that -unless you have a chimney fire.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I remember one time I was loading my old All Nighter and saw the ceeosote slowly burning on the inside of the stove walls. Circles of red embers creeping along the creosote outward from the center of where it originated. It was just a thin layer, and not concerning. It was cool to see.

 

[stoveliker]

Creosote burning can be a very (white-hot) violent thing. And it often is in the chimney.

 

[guidecca]

Creosote burning can be a very (white-hot) violent thing. And it often is in the chimney.

I set out to find the elusive set screw before i went to bed. I didn't find a set screw or a bimetalic spring; maybe I'll find them tomorrow. Two days and it snows here. What i did find besides mouse hair was a standard spring adjacent to the control knob that appears to put tension on the knob. If you pull on the knob the rod retracts about a quart of an inch. The second rod that controls the flapper in my stove was on the wrong side of the first rod. By pull the knob out I was able to retract the rod enough for the second rod to be moved to the proper side of the first rod. Now, I have complete manual control of the flapper.

They're out of order but the first picture shows the flapper closed. The second picture shows the two rods in contact with each other. The third picture shows the control knob and the spring. The last picture shows the flapper open.