BK Princess Insert owners

[CodyWayne718]

Trying to do some research fore I take the plunge. Curious to what length logs it will take and in which direction, their site says 16". Is that e/w or n/s? Reason I ask, is my current stove takes 18" logs e/w so I go by the bar on my saw to buck, their usually 17" to 18" and I really don't wanna have to trim everything I have so what I'm cutting now I can make 16". Thanks in advance

 

[weatherguy]

The box is square so you can e/w or n/s, I go n/s. My wood is cut 16 inches but my BIL being the generous guy he is cut the splits 18 in, I had some trouble with he first course at that length because they would get hung up on the clips that hold the firebricks in. I use shorter pieces for the bottom row and then I put the larger splits from then on up, with the first row being shorter I can fill the box a little tighter and dont have that wasted space when the splits get hung up.

 

[ddddddden]

Not that the BK isn't a fine insert, but some owners report that it does not get the legendary burntimes of the freestanding Princess. You might want to investigate that before taking the plunge with the insert.

 

[weatherguy]

Not that the BK isn’t a fine insert, but some owners report that it does not get the legendary burntimes of the freestanding Princess. You might want to investigate that before taking the plunge with the insert.

It doesnt but thats because its an insert and you'll be using the blower. I still only load three times in the coldest of weather, usually its been two loads a day so I dont get the 72 hour burns :cheese: like the other guys but I still get pretty long burn times.

 

[pete97]

I cut 16" and load N/S. I get about 10 to 12 hrs when it is milder out. I am loading about twice a day now and it has been really cold. Pete

 

[NorthlandMN]

If you qualify for the rebate, you have three days left. We've had our new Princess for a week or so and love it. It replaced a Kodiak insert. Wood consumption has been reduced, maybe 40% less.

 

[jtb51b]

My buddy bought an insert a month or so after me installing the FS princess. He loves it, gets good burn times and doesn't have a complaint in the world.. Now, for the wood length: He and I burn the same wood, we share the bucking, splitting and stacking chores. For most practical purposes the two stoves are the same inside, I can burn 18" stuff pretty easily both NS and EW, I have even been known to throw some really long stuff in NW and ES to get rid of it without cutting. My previous stove was a buck model 21 and was a very small firebox (1.6 cf and very shallow) my parents are using that stove now and we cut for them as well. I have a good bit of wood that was cut for that stove left to burn and its cut in 12" lengths, I just put one longer piece in the back (ew) and fill the bottom with the short splits (NS) then I load the top layer with the longest stuff NS (this was cut for the buck to be loaded EW for burn times).. This seems to get me where I need to be. I have decided that I am satisfied with my princess and other than large coal piles in the AM I am getting good burns (load twice daily). Remember that dry wood is VERY critical with the BK stoves, I have found that questionable wood will cause heartache. Sorry to ramble, good luck with your BK, I imagine you will like it.. (for the NC-30 crowd) Try not to let the stove convince you to tell the tall tales we all do, just keep the good stuff to yourself.

Jason

 

[CodyWayne718]

Thanks for all the replies, I was really excited about the extra long burns, thats kind of a kick in the ****! 10 to 12 hour burns are better than what we are gettin out of this little 1.2cu firebox. I work 12 hour swings and the only time the stove is going is when I'm off. As for the pile of coals in the AM, you can't turn the thermo up and let them burn down? I'm sure goin from secondary to cat will be a PITA anyway til I figure it out

 

[kgrant]

I've only had mine for a few weeks. We pack it full at night and easily get 10-12 hours of heat production (stove top is 3-400 degrees in the AM). During the day we don't load it as full, just a piece or two every few hours. We always have our blower going, about on 1/2. We keep the thermostat set at 2-3 dots most of the time.

I'm burning not quite seasoned birch, and pallets (whatever they're made of, lots of iron wood lol).

I just measured some of my wood I have in the house. Some was 18", some 12", some 16". They all seem to fit, and if they don't I put em in the King. It's like Mikey, he will eat anything!

I wouldn't let my current wood length determine what stove I'm going to buy. Well maybe if I had 100 cords.

Going from a BK cat to secondary is a PITA, gotta add wood too often! Nah, I like my NC-30 too.