Blaze King "King ultra" Questions

[Eagle Rock]

Hi all -
I'm new to the site but see a lot of people that know what they are doing. My question's are as follows....
I'm looking at a new Blaze King Ultra King - Dealer at $2800 for everything (comes with the black door, not gold). Is this a good price? Also, can someone explain how this stove is going to burn? The dealer stated I need to get it to 450-500 degrees then shut it down so the cat takes over. He stated that all I would see thru the glass is mostly smoke but the cat will be reburning all the gases around 1200 degrees, to acheive a long burning/heating time. I had a VC Defiant witht the cat (2003 model) and had a lot of problems with it, but did get great heat. Eventually, the interior box holding the cat fell apart, rendering the cat useless. This is why I'm gunshy about another cat stove. The dealer I'm talking to is really steering me towards another VC Defiant "2 in 1" which I am unfamiliar with. My main concern is with creosote buildup in either due to the cat. My house is 2500 sq ft. 20 foot cathedral ceilings in a large family room that is where the stove will be. Lots of glass. Well insulated home, built in 2003. Burning dry, split hardwoods, mostly locust and oak. Does anyone feel this stove will be too big for my needs? Any input is appreciated. Oh yeah, the dealer recommended I go with the smaller princess stove to burn it hotter to prevent cresote buildup. Problem is I have 8" and that stove rolls with 6". Currently using a mammoth "Earth Stove" but it has no glass. I like to see what is going on and figured it's time to upgrade anyhow. Thanks.

 

[cmonSTART]

I would say that's a pretty good price in your area. The price update from BK that just came through yesterday shows that stove MSRP at $3672 (!).

 

[webby3650]

I don't think the King will be too big. If you are really wanting a good fire view the Blaze King might disappoint you. Every one I have been around, including mine, has pretty dirty glass no matter how hot you burn it. My flue was pretty clean though! I doubt the price from your dealer included the fans, if it did, jump on it. I love mine, the only improvement I would like to see is cleaner glass.

 

[SolarAndWood]

From a utility standpoint, I don't think you will find much better than the King. There are a lot of reasons people buy stoves though. As you have the 8" pipe and are talking about laying that much money down, I would also look at the Equinox.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Its not to big for your house! Especially with the T-stat.

I paid $2750.00 in Oct 2009 for my Ultra with all the bells and whistles. So that seems like a damn good price in NY....

My house in 2120 sqft and has great ceiling insulation,overall poor wall insulation(soon to change), and 27 windows.

So far I couldn't ask for anything more. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I have burned just over 2 cords since it was installed in November of Mostly Black Locust, Cherry, and little White Ash.

 

[Eagle Rock]

Hey Guys -
Thanks for the replies so far. I'm really leaning towards that Blaze King. The price was for complete set-up with the blower fans (they are standard issue on the Ultra). Can anyone give me some insight on their burning experience with this particular model? My old VC was pretty sensitive as to how it wanted to operate and I was told that's how they burn...live with/adjust to it. Is this Blaze King quite simple? My problem is there are no dealers locally that I can go look at the stove up close, never mind see one burn. As I stated before, the dealer (over 2hrs away) stated to me to just light 'er up, get it to about 450-500, and shut the damper to let the cat take over. Any opinions or experience on cresote buildup with this cat model? I ask as I had a chimney fire years ago with the VC b/c the chimney flue was too cold due to the cat which caused a really quick buildup. Any advice/opinions appreciated. Also, what are your average burn times/temps that are being acheived by owners of this model? Thanks.

 

[weatherguy]

BK warranties the cat for six years on a sliding scale, actually the company that they get the cat from warranties the cat, I think 100% refund for the first 2 years then 80, then 60 down to 20%. Id have to dig out my manual to get the exact numbers. I think the cat company is in Mass.

 

[SolarAndWood]

My old VC was pretty sensitive as to how it wanted to operate and I was told that's how they burn...live with/adjust to it. Is this Blaze King quite simple?

I went from a similar VC experience as you to the King and it is quite frankly a different world.

 

[bogydave]

I have the ultra.
A "learning curve" for the Cats is involved.
Simple to operate, well, yes. After you learn the nuances for your set up.
Like any new tool, the more you operate it, the easier it gets.
My stove would operate different in your house. The differences in stacks, house location, weather etc will
change operations. I just put in new double wall pipe & am learning the small changes it's made to my operation.
At -10°f I get about 14 hours on a full load. At 25°f, I get 16 hrs on a 1/2 load. (house in the 70s range)
At -10 with 60 mph wind, full load, stove on high, 10 hours. So there are variables & your set up , wood type will have different
burn times than mine. (you may have Oak, locust, I have birch & spruce).

***
Haas
Chinook in Alaska last month $3250. Dealer said a 6% increase in April. That's like $200 more.
Call a dealer. None here yet but he has some on the way, but not sure when they'll arrive.
I don't think they are "prettier", & don't compare to the King ( king much better for heat & heat range). IMO

 

[SolarAndWood]

2500 sq ft in upstate NY with a lot of glass and those kinds of ceilings is King territory especially given that he has an 8" pipe already. Hopefully they will Chinook the King or go even bigger.

 

[Eagle Rock]

Hey Guys-
Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. It definately relieves some apprehension. I realize the "learning curve" will be back again going back to a cat stove but I'll adjust. Nice to hear some advice from people with experience too. Just one more for you folks that have this stove already - and forgive me if this seems like a stupid question but.... has anyone had any problems with serious creosote buildup from their King stove in the flue? I'm not talking about the usual light buildup but any kind of serious clogs or such? My old VC put a lot into the flue which is why I ask. With oil hitting $4 here, I want this baby to burn 24/7 thru the cold season. Just worrying about having to burn it lower at points thus causing a possible buildup in the chimney. I have double wall metalbestos (supposedly rated at 2100 degrees?) Once again, thanks for all the input. You guys are great.

 

[bogydave]

Hey Guys-
Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. It definately relieves some apprehension. I realize the "learning curve" will be back again going back to a cat stove but I'll adjust. Nice to hear some advice from people with experience too. Just one more for you folks that have this stove already - and forgive me if this seems like a stupid question but.... has anyone had any problems with serious creosote buildup from their King stove in the flue? I'm not talking about the usual light buildup but any kind of serious clogs or such? My old VC put a lot into the flue which is why I ask. With oil hitting $4 here, I want this baby to burn 24/7 thru the cold season. Just worrying about having to burn it lower at points thus causing a possible buildup in the chimney. I have double wall metalbestos (supposedly rated at 2100 degrees?) Once again, thanks for all the input. You guys are great.

I just cleaned mine when I put in new inside stove pipe. (2 days ago)
The cap had more creo than the 18' of 8" metalbestos flue pipe. When I ran the brush, I got less than an inch
in a 5 gallon bucket. It was about 4 month ago since last cleaning & not much then either.
I have improved my "wood seasoning" techniques from things learned on this site, so
I have good dry 2 year old birch that I've been burning. I'm sure this has helped too.
I'm heating allot of house, so in the cold months, I'm running a good fire, but
the chimney pipe temps, with the catalytic, are not real hot. Yet still, no real build up
inside the pipe.
Now the horizontal pipe I removed had about 1/2" of gray/black dust on the bottom, couple cups. But
I don't think that it was creosote, more like compacted fine ash.
Much much better than the old stove. But again , better seasoned wood now too.
Beating an almost dead horse: Dry wood is key to good burning with a cat (any stove, but a cat even more)

 

[BrotherBart]

Dry wood is key to good burning with a cat (any stove, but a cat even more)

Forever and forever amen.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

With good dry wood I have yet to notice any real creosote except a very little on the chimney cap.

My metalbest chimney has a light coat of soot about 2 feet from the top.

90% of the time I burn it in the "1" or low position. Fuel has been drying for just under 3 years.

I'm averaging 24hrs per load with cherry and longer with the Locust. One of the keys to long burn times is filling the spaces on the sides if the CAT with smaller pieces.

Very easy to operate and the learning curve is nothing.

Getter hot, close damper, let it burn hot for 15 minutes and dial her down to desired heat output.

 

[SolarAndWood]

With good dry wood I have yet to notice any real creosote except a very little on the chimney cap.

That is my experience as well. Dry wood is also the key to ease of operation. With the big firebox, tstat and dry wood, it is exceptionally easy to operate 24/7/210.

 

[Eagle Rock]

Hey all King owners -
1 last question....I see that the recommended distance is 36" from stove top to elbow. I only have 20" to connection to 90 degree elbow. Single wall pipe. It then is about 24" to the wall which is where the double wall metalbestos takes over. Double wall metalbestos chimney is approx. 20 feet to cap. Will there be draft problems based upon their recommendations for installation in anyone's opinion or experience? I can't gain any height b/c the chimney is thru our chase in the wall (would need to rip everything out and kinda start over to get 36"). This is my make or break on this stove. Opinions,advice,experience? Thanks.

 

[bogydave]

Hey all King owners -
1 last question....I see that the recommended distance is 36" from stove top to elbow. I only have 20" to connection to 90 degree elbow. Single wall pipe. It then is about 24" to the wall which is where the double wall metalbestos takes over. Double wall metalbestos chimney is approx. 20 feet to cap. Will there be draft problems based upon their recommendations for installation in anyone's opinion or experience? I can't gain any height b/c the chimney is thru our chase in the wall (would need to rip everything out and kinda start over to get 36"). This is my make or break on this stove. Opinions,advice,experience? Thanks.

Was having draft issues. Stove Guru recommended to me ,double wall pipe, get rid of 90°s & use 2 45°s, have as little horizontal pipe as possible.
Here is thread of what I did to improve draft : https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/73529/
Better draft now.

 

[webby3650]

These stoves don't seem to draw too well with a perfect set-up. Do anything you can to help it out. Using 2 45's is good idea.