Blaze king cat question.

[truck guy]

The cat starts to burn smoke at 500-550, but doesn't really glow until around 1000. At this point there really isn't much smoke to burn anyway, but just because it isn't glowing doesn't mean it isn't working.

You'll be surprised how much the increased draft you'll get with colder temperatures affects the way the stove burns. Your cold weather settings might not be that much different. I found myself regulating my house temps with the blower as much as the thermostat.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I had 27 hr burn with cat active so far. After 34 hrs I still had coals enough to restart a fire and stove warm to the touch

I'm sure it depends on the wood. I can usually get maybe 14-16 hrs to where there's enough coals to get a fresh fire going still.


Yeah when it's -20* outside my stove pulls a draft HARD.

 

[unclemoustache]

Sorry guys, I had a laugh at your expense about the stove smoke lol. I've always move my newly painted stove outside for their first fire to bake off the new paint. When I get my King I plan to do the same thing. At least the weather is mild and you can open up the house.

I knew it was going to smoke, so I had two fans upstairs blowing air into the house, and both doors in the room with the stove open, so most of the smoke went directly out. It wasn't a big deal, but I was surprised at how much there was. Still set off the smoke detectors, though!

Didn't think of burning one outside first - that's just plain brilliant! Could have even done it in the trailer before unloading.

 

[Marshy]

Well I am home now and the stove is still putting out heat it is 3:26 we loaded it yesterday evening at 6pm so almost 24 hours now . The thermometer is saying the cat is still in the active zone but the cat is not glowing red so I am not sure how the cat is working when not red? maybe it does not have to be red to work? there is probably 4-5 inches of coals inside. Now if it was 15* and not the current 65* that setting of 2 on the draft control most likely would not be high enough.

The cat does not have to be glowing red to be working. To my understanding the cat will be active down to 500*F. Go by the indicator on the stove, not glow on the cat. The cat will always be working if there is fuel for it to burn and it's at the active temperature or higher.

 

[Jeff Lary]

ok thanks Marshy, still learning joined a site that has a good BK thread so I can learn more.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

I've been running my princes for the third year now.

1. Glow does not mean active, as said before trust the cat probe.
2. Turning down the stat will ALMOST always make more smoke and run the cat harder at first. If your worried of over fire the best thing to do is turn the stat UP.
3. split size doesn't matter too much in these things, set the stat and it will run based on stove temp until it runs out of fuel. These things are not like smoke dragons where you need HUGE freakin splits to go overnight. Overnight burns are achieved easily, 24-30 hr burns are achieved by cramming as much wood as possible in the stove. Have a small electric splitter on hand to make splits the size and shape needed to fill in the empty spaces.
4. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR WHEN THE CAT IS HOT, if you need to reload while in the middle of a burn you should open the bypass and then the crank the stat to max to cool the box down. A sudden rush of cool air to the cat can make them crack and fall apart.

I gained alot of knowledge of these stoves on that hearth site. also had a few private chats with the Vice Pres. for Blaze King. feel free to PM me and i can share any knowledge i have.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Perhaps OT but I didn't want to start a new thread...

How low can you run a Blaze King stove? I get the max burn times are with the stove turned all the way down, but what temp is the stove kicking out on low?

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

low is relative, mainly to outside temp. I can run a 300 stove top with fans for about 20 hrs with a full load of 15%MC oak in my princess, the king will go longer since it has a larger fuel tank....

 

[CaseyForrest]

300 would be very nice.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

300 would be very nice.

My stove before this was a tractor supply, US Stove 2500 Magnolia. HEAP OF ****. To keep up with my heating demand i burned it out in 2.5 years, welds were breaking and the plate steel on the front was ripping from the tension of the door latch and hinges.

I am now a full fledged Blaze King fan boy. Very well built and very efficient.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Unfortunately our house was not laid out well, with the addition, to fully utilize the wood stove. It heats us out of the family room before it can heat the rest of the house. And that's after we moved it. I cant turn it below 400 without the refractory getting to cold to function. Being able to get below 400 and not start creating creosote would be nice. Thats why I asked, realistically, how cold the stove can run and still function as a catalytic stove.

Prior to us moving, we kept the house around 62. 15 years of that mindset is hard to break but I'm working on the kids and wife to change their mindset about inside clothing during winter. I'm fine in a t shirt and shorts and run the stove to get the house about 75. They all complain that its to hot, while they are still bundled up.

 

[Marshy]

70-72 is perfect in my mind however, my wife feels 72-75 is more comfortable. Want to guess how warm it typically is? LoL

I recall reading the cat stays active down to 500F. I believe that is flue gas temp passing through the cat. As long as you ran a hot fire once or twice a day you would be OK. I was told the most important part was after reloading to get that 20 min burn in and that ensures the the fire catches good and drives moisture out initially and cleans the residue off any internal surfaces.

 

[CaseyForrest]

75 isn't bad, especially when everything is warm. The hot cold cycles of a NG furnace suck when one gets used to wood heat.

I have read all the literature on when the cat becomes active... But what does a 500 degree cat translate into usable heat from the stove? REAL world experience, not what the manufacturer states. If I realistically can not improve over what I have then there is no point chasing the unicorn.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

Wow, 500 cat...... That ONLY means it will combust smoke down to that temp. If i wagered a guess my 300 deg. stove top would be with a 750-1000 deg. cat......... BK does not print temps on their cat probes. It would freak people out seeing 1500-1700 on a thermometer regularly during peak heating times. The magic of the BK stove isn't the CAT alone. It's the CAT and the Bi-Metallic damper combo, the automatic damper adjusts the draft for you based on the temperature of the REAR of the firebox. That being said i have seen my stove stall (drop below operating temps and have the cat die in the middle of a burn), but only in shoulder season with fluctuating temps and unpredictable draft.

I plan to take some cruising pics on my next burn for you guys. Too warm in the house now to do this though. 70deg @ 8pm does not warrant a burn.

 

[Marshy]

To put it into perspective, I read that the secondary burn stoves with the air tubes are only active down to 1200 degrees.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

To put it into perspective, I read that the secondary burn stoves with the air tubes are only active down to 1200 degrees.

This is very accurate. The secondaries on a tube stove fire off with VERY high temps. I guess something to keep in mind is the cat only fills something like 5% of my firebox. when running on low the temp on the cat can be really high but when dissipated across the mass of the stove it turns into a nice low slow temp..... if that makes any sense.

 

[Idahonative]

yup that's good, I will be very happy I am sure. I split everything quite small just because it was all going to be new to me and I wanted to be sure the stove had good dry wood. I have noticed something else as well on each side of the fire box there seems to be a way to have those two pieces of wood not get burned. I saw it yesterday at the re-fill and today my wife called to tell me that se could see 2 pieces of wood just sitting there one on the right and one on the left. I told her to open the by pass and the damper and then after a few roll those two pieces into the coal bed. I guess I will have to look closer to see if there is a way to avoid the un-burnt wood issue anyone else seeing this?

See the wood on the cart in my avatar? Those are typical splits that we burn in our King. For long burn times, the bigger the better.

 

[truck guy]

I guess something to keep in mind is the cat only fills something like 5% of my firebox. when running on low the temp on the cat can be really high but when dissipated across the mass of the stove it turns into a nice low slow temp..... if that makes any sense.

Stove top temp on a Blaze King isn't a very good indicator of heat output. The cat is right about dead center in the top of the stove. At lower settings, I could have a dark firebox and a glowing cat with 500-550 over the top of the cat. My IR thermometer would show a couple hundred degree difference in just an inch or two in the stove top, and the front of the stove might be less than 300. Hard to tell on the sides, as I had an Ultra with standard side shields. Burning WFO might get me a 600 top, but often 700+ on the front and the side shields too hot to touch.

Big difference between a small hot spot on top and the entire monster of a stove pouring out heat.

See the wood on the cart in my avatar? Those are typical splits that we burn in our King. For long burn times, the bigger the better.

I completely filled the firebox on my King with eight splits once , and I couldn't have gotten another stick of kindling anywhere. I used to have a pic, but I lost it with a phone.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Yes I see the wood size next year I will leave it bigger. I am amazed how cool the back and sides are on my stove. I have shields maybe all of them do but listen to this. I have a stack thermometer that i took off the old stove pipe and put it on the top of this stove. Yesterday the temp was 850* on the top then I proceeded to put my hand flat on the side of the stove,..and kept it there. The bricks 2" behind the stove are maybe 65* they are cool to the touch. Is there insulation under the side shields? I don't think so but I cannot see how it can be so cool.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

Yes I see the wood size next year I will leave it bigger. I am amazed how cool the back and sides are on my stove. I have shields maybe all of them do but listen to this. I have a stack thermometer that i took off the old stove pipe and put it on the top of this stove. Yesterday the temp was 850* on the top then I proceeded to put my hand flat on the side of the stove,..and kept it there. The bricks 2" behind the stove are maybe 65* they are cool to the touch. Is there insulation under the side shields? I don't think so but I cannot see how it can be so cool.

No insulation. The big theing here is WHERE is your thermometer. If you have it on the stove top directly above the cat it will read really high, the rest of the stove not so much. The Infrared (IR) temperature guns come in real handy in determining the best place to mount you magnetic thermometer. Also, Condar brand thermometers seem to be the most accurate. Those rutland ones are barley accurate to 100 degrees sometimes......