I have been burning a Blaze King-King for the last 12 years or so. It's a great stove, served me well. But last Fall, an issue developed , Blaze King helped me address it, and I was able to use the stove for the duration of my burning season. But it was apparent it was time for a new stove. So, a new F5200 is in place. It's really tough these days to find an 8" flue compatible stove. And since I just replaced all my pipe, I wasn't enthusiastic about doing it again with 6". So I went with the Regency. I have many Pro/Con's between both stoves, but nothing too drastic. I'm still on the learning curve with the F5200, but it has been surprisingly controllable and the heat output better than the old stove. I have a breakdown I will post later, the stove is only 1.5 months in operation, so no concrete observations at this point. Good thing is, both were burning the same 3 year CSS lodgepole, so that is consistent for observation. Check in later...
Kinda, sorta, that thing. Directly behind the blower housings, where you never look. Both sides. I have pictures, it was freaky (...but not unheard of...)
It seems to pop up now and again...someone else just posted about another one on that other site...they patched it up and gonna run it for the winter I think...then replace with another king. It is pretty hard to find 8" stoves anymore...
Funny, but BK actually has a part number to modify/fix that situation. So, not that uncommon, apparently. Oh yeah, needs to be be fit and welded in place. I'll have my critique ready when I've had more time with this new F5200. So far, so good..
Interesting about the repair kit. On one hand I'm glad they have it, on the other I'm sad you need it.
It's big, we know the BK actually delivers on promised firebox volume but maybe beetlekill can measure the 5200 for us. The 5200 is a hybrid design and shares an awful lot of similarity to the BK king. No thermostat of course.
WOW! We need pics of this stove. Gotta have them. I may not sleep tonight without them! How big is the house you are heating with this Goliath?! OOOO eeee oooo Ah Ah Wala-Wala Ting-Tang OOOO eee oooo Ta Ta Ting-Tang Wala-Wala Big Bang!
So far as internal capacity, the way I measure them, they're almost identical. The King is 3.78 CF, the Regency is 3.66 CF. Nice thing about the 5200 is I'm not limited in loading N/S or E/W, they all fit the same. The King was different, 18" max for N/S whereas the 5200 will go 21" comfortably. I've changed my cut lengths for my new wood because of this, shooting for 20" approx. lengths. I do miss the depth of the ash pit on the King, 8" vs. 3" for the 5200. So, a little more frequent cleaning, not a big deal. And, the 5200 will go 24hrs on low air, but only enough coals to re-light some splitter trash, no real heat output. I predict I will use more wood with the new stove. Biggest difference so far is how much cleaner my flue has stayed. Went up on the roof and checked about a week ago, any build-up was flaky and and scraped off with my thumbnail. That was never the case with the King. I'm really keeping track of that also. I'm heating 2100 sq/ft, two levels. House is 50 years old and leaky, this thing won't be overkill. Check in later.. Edit- I should add, the King had both a convection deck and dual blowers. The Regency has the same, but I fab'd them myself. Saved some coin and a higher CFM on the fan set-up.
So BKVP tells us that there is no repair kit available for this “rare” issue. I have no idea what to recommend to other king owners future or present that may run into this. In the case of this thread it resulted in stove replacement.
If I dig into my deleted e-mails from a year ago, I could find who it was I dealt with. It might have been a "Francisco" or some such, and Chris was initially copied on our correspondence. I told the guy I was dealing with to not involve Chris as he was busy (I'm sure) and he was handling the issue. The repair plate was on "back-order" from the fab shop in Vancouver, they had to make a new one for me. They knew what the part was, and why it was necessary. The repair plate that was delivered to me was almost perfect, minor fitting and then welding. It was not a replacement back to the stove, it was a purpose cut and formed piece. It had a part number. I've been in the steel fab business for many years, this was not a 0ne-off. "Franco"..?
Oooh, the plot thickens. Seems to be some sort of misunderstanding. Chris tells a very different story on that other site so I don’t know. Hopefully he pops up here to help us understand.
I'm good with that, I still have plenty of pictures from the discovery of the problem, my "temporary patch", and the replacement backer. I still have the King in my garage, so current photo's can be had. To be clear, I'm not knocking BK, but this happened.
@BKVP Chris, I have heard it is possible that a young king can have corrosion problems. If this is true, what can the user do to prevent it? If it happens, what can the user do to keep using their king temporarily or permanently? Is BK making any changes or have they made any changes to prevent this in the future? Please take this opportunity to show the public how responsive and accountable your company can be.
Beetle-Kill, I am certain you will find the new stove to be an excellent stove, As for the part your were sent to address the issue you had with your King, that part number was the piece number for the back of the stove. It was laser cut as a regular rear panel and made in our shop, not in Vancouver. It was then sent out to have it welded in place. It was not a repair kit. The most recent incident, again so infrequent, that stove was still covered by the warranty period. That is why it was replaced. Thank you for your consideration. If you wish to PM or call my offices to discuss, more than happy to do so. I will not be posting future comments so as to avoid additional drama being but will gladly speak with you anytime. Happy Thanksgiving. BKVP
Interjection… as a volunteer mod, I truly appreciate everyone’s civility in this discussion. Carry on.
Happy Thanksgiving to you also, BKVP. To be clear, I have no issues with how my situation was handled. Your CS agent took care of my problem as quickly as he could. What I've posted is what I was told, and it doesn't matter at this point, it's all good. Please continue making a great product, it served me well for many years. Now, that should be settled. I'll continue my observations on the new Regency. Seems not many are being reported on, so it might help someone who is considering one. These days, if you're dealing with an 8" flue set-up, your choices are limited. In all honesty, it might be beneficial to crunch the numbers and replace the 8" with a 6" set-up, and a more commonly available stove. So many variables to consider. Everyone, have a great Thanksgiving.
