jigs_n_fixtures
Platinum Member
I have an old Blaze King, I replaced the catalyst when I bought the house 17-years ago. I cant remember how much it cost. I was at one of the stores in town looking at replacing it, and teh store had sold he one in the house to the previous owner.
They came out and replaced the catalyst and three of the bricks. What they told me was to get it burning with the door setting on the bumpers which come out before the catalyst gets hot enough, and you switch over. Load it full, and leave it alone.
Mine has a bimetal thermostat on teh inlet air, and self dampens. It gets too hot the damper closes, too cold the damper opens. I figured out that it could be plumbed for ducted intake air, so I installed a duct through the outside wall, and it gets all of the combustion air from there, instead of sucking cold air into the house.
The trick with the catalyst stoves is get them burning and don’t open the door, until it burns down. Every time you open the door you cool off the catalyst. Open the door too often and you will coat the catalyst to the point it quits reacting. One of the guys who used to work for me said that he, his Dad, and his Sister all bought them at the same time. He read the instructions and would pack his full of wood get it up to temp, then shut the door until it completed the burn. His Dad and Sister would half load theirs, then open it every hour or so, and throw more wood in. He had the same catalyst in his that it had come with about nine seasons before. He had replaced them for his Dad and Sister several times each.
Mine is in the upstairs at my place about heating about 1300-sf. If I stoke it up before I go to bed at about 2200, and turn it down for the night, it is still hot when I get up around 0730. I restoke it and get the front of the house warmed up for breakfast, and then turn it back down before I leave for the day. I let it burn out Saturday mornings, because the air inlet is at the back bottom, and I need to get the ash out to keep it clear. Is it generating more heat per amount of wood, than a regular stove? I can’t say. It does do a good job of keeping a regulated heat, without getting too hot, and then too cold, and I get fairly long, (8 to 12-hrs), burns out of it. The outside combustion air ducting, and the thermostatic damper make a large difference in my mind on how well it works.
Mine is about twice as big as Blaze King recommended. But the Gal I bought the place from wanted one that was really big. When I was getting ready to close I’d tell people at work, what I was buying, and they would all ask me if I knew she was crazy. So, she frequently did things out of the norm.
She painted the entire downstairs in life size salmon and steelhead.
They came out and replaced the catalyst and three of the bricks. What they told me was to get it burning with the door setting on the bumpers which come out before the catalyst gets hot enough, and you switch over. Load it full, and leave it alone.
Mine has a bimetal thermostat on teh inlet air, and self dampens. It gets too hot the damper closes, too cold the damper opens. I figured out that it could be plumbed for ducted intake air, so I installed a duct through the outside wall, and it gets all of the combustion air from there, instead of sucking cold air into the house.
The trick with the catalyst stoves is get them burning and don’t open the door, until it burns down. Every time you open the door you cool off the catalyst. Open the door too often and you will coat the catalyst to the point it quits reacting. One of the guys who used to work for me said that he, his Dad, and his Sister all bought them at the same time. He read the instructions and would pack his full of wood get it up to temp, then shut the door until it completed the burn. His Dad and Sister would half load theirs, then open it every hour or so, and throw more wood in. He had the same catalyst in his that it had come with about nine seasons before. He had replaced them for his Dad and Sister several times each.
Mine is in the upstairs at my place about heating about 1300-sf. If I stoke it up before I go to bed at about 2200, and turn it down for the night, it is still hot when I get up around 0730. I restoke it and get the front of the house warmed up for breakfast, and then turn it back down before I leave for the day. I let it burn out Saturday mornings, because the air inlet is at the back bottom, and I need to get the ash out to keep it clear. Is it generating more heat per amount of wood, than a regular stove? I can’t say. It does do a good job of keeping a regulated heat, without getting too hot, and then too cold, and I get fairly long, (8 to 12-hrs), burns out of it. The outside combustion air ducting, and the thermostatic damper make a large difference in my mind on how well it works.
Mine is about twice as big as Blaze King recommended. But the Gal I bought the place from wanted one that was really big. When I was getting ready to close I’d tell people at work, what I was buying, and they would all ask me if I knew she was crazy. So, she frequently did things out of the norm.
She painted the entire downstairs in life size salmon and steelhead.