New Install of Blaze King King 40 KE Stove on Six Inch Flue and Chimney

Heck yeah, claim your warranty cat. BK now allows the warranty claim online.
Since they don't warranty the replacement cat, consider in the future, getting them from midwest hearth online. The offer the pro-rated warranty on their cats as well. There is a study in progress about cleaning a cat. The results will be presented soon. I or someone will post the results.

 

Good info, thanks!

 

I agree w/you and Todd! I've read so many sales brochures that state the years of burn time when in real life, the longevity depends on quality of wood and the hours of use!! I'd like to see three years out of my CAT but it was somewhat abused due to my long drawn out learning curve. My gasket set is on the way so when it gets here, I'll pull the CAT and give it a good cleaning and report back on any efficiency changes. And BTW, the CAT for that monster is $350-$380.

 

My stove sees long seasons as well. Last year, started fires in the evening on September 14th, and last fire was May 30th. This year, started October 13th. 10k-12k hours doesn't take me long.

My wood is very good. 3 years seasoned in fully enclosed shed which is open to air flow during summer. Tested splits 2 weeks ago with meter and my range was 8% to 12%, with majority at 10%.

So, curious, has anyone decided whether a cat lasts longer on mostly low and slow burns, or on hotter "more flame" burns? I'm not talking about over firing, just hotter fires when outside temps drop. When winter really sets in, we may not get out of the teens to low twenties for possibly weeks, nights in single digits or negative. At those temps, I have to burn hotter for the heat output.

I will say though, with this new cat installed, stove is much happier! Big difference in performance, so, it was due

 

Good question? With flame there's generally less smoke for the CAT to eat so that put's a new wrinkle on my brain?

 

Cat "works harder" at low n slow/no flame settings, so I ASSUME that means less life?

 

Yeah BKVP stated after cleaning maybe two more seasons at about 85% what it was new but didn’t have all the details from that study yet?

 

The only cleaning mentioned for the BK cat is a light "no touch" vacuuming. I did that before the burn season this year. Honestly, wasn't even really dirty. Must not have helped mine at all.

 

I believe this study is about the 50/50 vinegar/distilled water cleaning. Not sure on the exact procedure or if they use something better? Just brushing or vacuuming doesn’t remove the masking of the wash coatings and precious metals.

 

The study is being funded by US Department of Energy. The study includes a review of various precious metal coatings and different washcoats. The aim to see if a combustor can be made to "light-off" quicker (say 400F instead of 550F) and also a washcoat that would tolerate increased temperatures of more than 1600F. Ultimately, when the study is complete it will include this data as well as the removal over over plating (deep cleaning) results. One person very involved said the results are better than expected. Once it is complete, it will be posted.

BKVP

 

Genuine question, and maybe this is obvious to everyone other than me, at what temperature would someone be confident that the fire is "up and running".
I want to just clarify I'm not questioning anything about the study- I'm excited to read this when it comes out- I'm just sort of curious to know if there is a temperature where once it is achieved we can be satisfied that it's going to be sustained. Over the years there have been a handful of times where I've started the fire before work, jumped in the shower pretty sure things were going to be all set and ready to throw the bypass, only to discover that I need to basically re-start things.

 

The one BK steel cat I used died much earlier than the ceramic cats. Very noticeable. The steel cat didn't even make it two years and my hours per year sound similar to yours. That along with clogging, draft restriction, and cost I would recommend a ceramic cat. They're just 300$ delivered and wrapped in gasket ready to install in your king.

Catalytic Combustor Blaze King Classic, Parlor, Ultra (5

Now for your other question I have operated a modern noncat on the same hearth and by switching to the BK my wood consumption dropped by one full cord per year. That wood savings, even considering buying raw logs, easily pays for the replacement catalyst. Along with the other benefits of the BK design which is the ability to burn low and slow. Can't do that with a noncat.

I burn mostly low and slow and up to medium output. That may reduce cat life compared to running with flames all the time but I didn't buy the BK to run like a noncat.

Glad you found the problem.

 

I'll definitely be looking into those. So, dealer must have been correct in saying BK doesn't stock the ceramic??

 

I believe that BK only certified this stove with the steel. They chose for you. In the past it was either or.

 

Hmmmm, interesting for sure.

 

I believe the steel cats are supposed to be a little more efficient since they have more surface area and more contact with the coatings. Also more durable, less susceptible to thermoshock which is probably the biggest issue and complaint from consumers. Maintenance can be a bugger though with clogging in those smaller cells. Not every cat stove has easy access for maintenance that typically needs to be done every cord or so burned.

 

They light off in half the time it takes ceramic. They are preferred by mfgs because of this. Also, the current test method requires a first hour filter change. It’s likely that going forward EPA will use the 1st hour results or other exceedence metric to disqualify certification.

BKVP

 

I'm confused. Once you close the bypass after the cat meter hits active the ceramics are glowing within seconds. So is this to mean that the steel cat is glowing in half as many seconds? That is, if it's not clogged up or shrunk out of its frame.

 

Probably why some manufacturers have gone hybrid and no bypass?

 

Oh dang!