Since I'm another recent convert to the Blaze King crowd, I thought I'd add my experience with my stove for what it's worth. Late last heating season I decided to change from my old Earth Stove to a used Blaze King. Mine is the KEJ-1101, it's a couple generations back from the 1107 and was made in 1984. It's still basically the same design, a big firebox and a cat to eat the smoke. I liked my Earth Stove, but didn't like the piles of wood it consumed or the creosote I had to clean out of my cap and chimney every couple of months. In my 1200 sq. ft. ranch with a full basement, the stove is downstairs in the family room and there's an open stairway to the main floor. Comparing between the two stoves, it seems like the Blaze King can make the wood last twice as long, I'll know for sure by the end of the season. If I put in a couple of 6" rounds of ash, I get 12 hours easy burning on low. I've loaded it up when I was going to be away, came back 36 hours later and the stove was just starting cool down. Granted, that was on a low burn, but it kept the house at 74 degrees in 40 degree weather. I opened it up and found about a 3" bed of coals, that was after starting up in a cold stove. With it's big belly it'll hold a load of ash too, no daily cleanings here. I suppose you could go around a month between cleaning it out, but it would be pretty deep. I suppose I do it every couple of weeks or so, just to make room for all the wood you can stuff in it.
My twice daily routine now that it's around freezing is to open the stove, stoke the coals around, and put in two or three pieces of wood or whatever will fit in it. I don't cram the firebox full, but I don't leave much room in there either. I don't do it at 12 hours exactly. If I leave early for work that day and stay out late, it might be more like 16 hours. Not to worry, the Blaze King is still heating away. I've got elm, ash, and hedge this year to burn. If I'm using elm, I fill the fire box. With the ash or hedge (osage orange) I'll put in enough to give me one layer above the coals. And that coasts me through till the next stoke and load session. Letting the coal bed build up and putting more wood in twice a day seems to work well for me. That way the cat doesn't drop below the active temp of about 500 degrees. Here is the sequence, open bypass door, open door, stoke coals, load wood in stove, close loading door, close bypass door with side handle. That's it, I probably shouldn't say it, but it so easy, even my wife can do it.
Here's the bottom line, the Blaze King gives long burn times, steady even heat output, cleaner chimney and lower wood consumption. If I were ever to need a new stove, the Blaze King 1107 would be on the short list, but I've got to admit that those soapstone stoves are a thing of beauty, that Equinox is a looker.
