Corrosion hole in BlazeKing, KEJ1107

That’s not good. Anything can be fixed, but unless that part of the stove is designed to be sacrificial, I’d say that damage is extreme.
We have a pre-epa Blaze King burning 4-5 cord per year at my childhood home. That stove is over 30yrs old. Different design with different firebox temps, yes, but there’s nothing like that going on internally.
I wonder if anyone else has had this problem. May have to ask around (possibly the old site).

 

45°here this morning so looked at my bk before I started fire...took the poker and scratched the creosote off shiny metal underneath

 

Burning on low creates creosote, I don’t think I can get birch any drier . maybe something in birch bark creates a more corrosive creosote.
No evidence of it being more corrosive though.

the inside of the stove does build up with creosote, in the back corners & behind the inside steel side baffles
when I clean it out, it’s crunchy & dry

 

Yea
I did let the guy know I don’t believe the problem is burning wet wood.
No response back though.

 

My theory is , when the fans are running , they cool the metal in that area on the back, that’s part of the fan channel,
creating creosote forming conditions.

Almost done burning this season ,
Gonna pull both fans & check for other thin spots.

Since I patced I’ve the hole, I can’t see the
Patch now, covered in creosote.
4 year wood , over 6 months in the basement
Near 80° with 12% house humidity ( the wood is drier than a popcorn fart )

Beetle kill had internal creosote issues a while back
He burns dead standing , really dry lodge pole .
Need to see if has any similar issues.

 

Well that sucks!

 

Seems like you should’ve gotten several more years from most any decent stove with your burning habits. I’d be hesitant to repeat the process with another BK after an experience like that. Seems like a design flaw. Good luck with the dealer, you never know.

 

I would think the creosote buildup would be more of a problem during the off season. What is the humidity of the stove room in the summer time? Any chance that you get some condensation in the stove during the summer that combines with the creosote to release acid and corrode the metal? Just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks... Maybe block the chimney and leave the stove door open a crack to allow the stove to maintain the humidity of the room? Would be interesting to find out what is causing the problem so it doesn’t repeat itself and we all get to learn something too... maybe one last hot fire at the end of the season to burn off any last creosote before putting the stove to bed for the summer would help ...

 

Once again stuckinthemuck gives great insights using sound logic.

 

I’m making sure to do some super hot burns, an hour on 100%, to dry up and burn off any firebox creosote before the summer slumber.

95% of the time my bk runs at low output for maximum burn times, maximum efficiency, and least emissions. Firebox tar is a side effect regardless of wood mc content. That tar can be corrosive so drying it out and cleaning it is our best defense.

 

Thats for the ideas.

Still having a fire now & then,
Been a cold Spring. Yesterday it got above 60° for a couple hours.

 

I would have a hard time investing that kind of money on those repairs for an 8 yr old burner..... New with a manufacturer discount sounds like what i would push for....

 

Another one bites the dust....

 

Is that the rear….or? How old is the stove?

 

Yes right at the bottom of the fan bracket,I have to check my paperwork on age