Calling on Blaze King Princess Insert Owners

[HuskyNewman]

Hello all. I am seriously leaning toward replacing my current insert with the Princess insert. My current insert is an unknown brand, not very efficient, but does heat my home decently with a 2 cubic foot firebox, but also will burn through a packed load in about 4 hours. My house is 1590 square feet, but we keep our spare bedroom closed, so we heat 1440 square feet. I live in Northeast Ohio, so winter temps can swing dramatically. Usual overnight lows are in the teens. Sometimes weeks of zero degree highs though.

My house is a split level house with three levels, not including the basement. the burner is on the "ground" floor level, the next level is about five feet above that, then the top level is another five feet above that. The lower two levels have a very open floor plan, so heat is easily dispersed, the highest level gets plenty of heat for my liking. My house was built in 1978 so it is a little drafty, but not terrible.

So with all that, what I am wanting the Princess insert to do is; after I load it good and full, keep my house above 68 degrees overnight, and when I get to it 8 to 12 hours later, still have decent heat coming off of it, and have enough coals to just rake, load and go. I burn, oak, maple, ash, elm, cherry, osage orange, mulberry, locust and the like, no soft stuff. So Princess insert owners, do you believe my expectations can be met, or am I going to be asking too much from it? Thank you for any responses, sorry for the long winded post.

 

[moresnow]

Welcome to Hearth. Consider addressing this topic in the BK thread. The BK pro's will get right on your questions as they likely are notified of new posts there. And they like dissecting such questions

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...erformance-thread-everything-bk.162287/unread

 

[begreen]

If you use the search function in the upper right and search on Princess Insert in this forum only, several threads on the topic will show up. There are posts on choosing, installing, using and cleaning the Princess Insert. Member @jetsam has this insert.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/installing-a-blaze-king-princess-insert-and-price.163817

 

[jetsam]

So Princess insert owners, do you believe my expectations can be met, or am I going to be asking too much from it? Thank you for any responses, sorry for the long winded post.

I heat a similar, larger house with the PI. I have a bigger 70s house, but I have warmer winters than you do due to being on an island, so our heat loads might be roughly comparable.

The one insert is more than I need for most of the year, but it is a little undersized for my needs when it gets really cold. (I need high heat output for 12+ hours while nobody's home, and a 2.4cf firebox only holds so many BTUs... so in very cold weather I have to set it for lower burns while we're at work and then do a hot fast burn when we get home to make up for it.) Someone who lived in my house but had someone home to reload it all day would probably not feel that it was undersized.

Someday I would like to tear out the fireplace/chimney and put a King there... that stove holds double the wood, and as such would be able to burn at my "heart of winter" output levels for 16+ hours.

If you have a 2 cf insert burning 4 hour burns, the PI will make you very, very happy- and yes, it does 24 hour burns, but in the middle of the winter as the only heat source, expect to burn it much hotter than that- maybe 8 hours a pop. If you have someone home all the time, you might not care about burn length anyway.

Also, BK stoves are very safe for a spouse who isn't very interested in learning about stoves to reload- as long as you can teach them to always close the door and bypass, you don't have no worry about overfires no matter how it is reloaded. (Someone always wants to say that this claim is rediculous, but it's absolutely true as long as the stove is in good working order.)

I guess my advice would be to consider a freestanding stove if possible, but if that's not desired or practical, the Princess Insert is a fantastic heater.

 

[HuskyNewman]

Thanks jetsam. Begreen, I have used the search function, but was not finding anything that really got to the crux of my situation, so thought I would try a new thread. If I go with an insert, it will be the Princess. I would prefer going with a freestanding unit, but then I would have to remodel, and build an alcove so that the stove wasn't protruding into the room too much. That would not be too hard because my fireplace is not masonry, but if I can heat the way I described with just the insert, that would mean some money saved. Feeding off user's experience, I was hoping to get some educated advice.

 

[begreen]

No problem. Installing into a ZC fireplace is a special case. The fireplace mfg. needs to allow this in the manual or in writing if you contact their support team. Do you know the make and model of your fireplace?

 

[HuskyNewman]

The make is Majestic, not sure on the model. Guessing it was installed at initial construction, so 1978. What kind of throws me is the fact that it has a wood burning insert in it already, and it appears it was manufactured in this manner. It is not your typical ZC fireplace with the fireproof lining in the box, that you would have a fire in. It has that material on the back and floor, but on the sides it has metal encased "shields". What is in these "shields" I don't know. (ceramic wool, or the like possibly)

 

[begreen]

It's most likely a CFM Majestic, but Majestic made a heatform or heatilator style fireplace a long time ago called the Majestic Circulator. It's important to determine if this is what you have. Are there side intake vents down low and output vents up higher? Is there a metal or masonry chimney on the fireplace. A picture may help if you can post one.

 

[Dmitry]

Someday I would like to tear out the fireplace/chimney and put a King there... that stove holds double the wood, and as such would be able to burn at my "heart of winter" output levels for 16+ hours.

Me too, and when I voice it my wife threatens to divorce me because of "ugly" look of freestanding unit. And she did even see a "King" LOL

 

[lsucet]

It's most likely a CFM Majestic, but Majestic made a heatform or heatilator style fireplace a long time ago called the Majestic Circulator. It's important to determine if this is what you have. Are there side intake vents down low and output vents up higher? Is there a metal or masonry chimney on the fireplace. A picture may help if you can post one.
View attachment 212976

That is exactly the one I pulled out of the wall this year during the remodeling on the other part of the be house were installing the other Princess.

 

[HuskyNewman]

It's most likely a CFM Majestic, but Majestic made a heatform or heatilator style fireplace a long time ago called the Majestic Circulator. It's important to determine if this is what you have. Are there side intake vents down low and output vents up higher? Is there a metal or masonry chimney on the fireplace. A picture may help if you can post one.

It has a metal triple wall chimney, no masonry around anything. 8" inside 10 3/4" inside 13 1/2". I have no visible vents, but I guess it's possible that the tile work around it may be covering things. When I pull the wood burning insert out, all I see on the vertical outside areas is galvanized sheet metal. The wood insert has fans on the lower outside corners though. I'll get some pictures and figure out how to post them.

 

[HuskyNewman]

My first attempt at posting pictures........



I know my chimney needs cleaned! The last pic is the back of the insert. It has insulation to put on the sides, but moving it around, they don't stay. The damper that you see on the top, obviously doesn't hook to anything, and is pretty much centered in the flue exit. This is another reason it appears to me that this wood burning insert was meant for this fireplace.(?)

By the way, thanks for the information so far. You guys have been more help than the salesman at the dealer. I'm not knocking him though, because he probably doesn't normally deal with someone who does hours of research, then asks specifics about my situation, and he can't help, not his fault. This is where you guys come in!

 

[begreen]

My first attempt at posting pictures........

View attachment 215068 View attachment 215069 View attachment 215070 View attachment 215071 View attachment 215072 View attachment 215073 View attachment 215074 View attachment 215075 View attachment 215076

I know my chimney needs cleaned! The last pic is the back of the insert. It has insulation to put on the sides, but moving it around, they don't stay. The damper that you see on the top, obviously doesn't hook to anything, and is pretty much centered in the flue exit. This is another reason it appears to me that this wood burning insert was meant for this fireplace.(?)

By the way, thanks for the information so far. You guys have been more help than the salesman at the dealer. I'm not knocking him though, because he probably doesn't normally deal with someone who does hours of research, then asks specifics about my situation, and he can't help, not his fault. This is where you guys come in!

Well, this is a first for me. It lloks like an insert into metal jacket fireplace. Is there an identifying model info on the insert? Maybe in the door frame? If not it may be worth a call to Majestic.

 

[HuskyNewman]

There is a tag on the upper right portion of the "hood" in the "in wall" box, but it has no legible information or engraving on it. No tags on the wood burner. Looks like there was one inside the door on the lower front lip, based on the "brackets" I see, but it is not there anymore.

More thoughts.....I have thought about ripping this entire thing out, building an alcove into the existing chase, that is in my garage, and going all out with a King. I know it would heat my house overnight, no problem! And, with the control you have over these, I wouldn't burn myself out of the stove room during the day! (I think) But, if I can save the money and hassle and just go insert, that would be good. Part of the hassle is I don't know what is under the existing unit, so I don't know what I would be getting into, or a good estimate on costs.

Under the tile of the hearth extension into the room is some old shoddy brick work. I did drill a hole, 4 inches deep, into the hearth out where you can see that there is no tile. Did this attempting to discover what is under the brick. Hoping to find wood at some point, but it feels like I am in concrete, so if I rip it out, it appears I'll still have an elevated hearth. (no big deal) I cut a hole in the drywall of the chase. All I see is a galvanized sheet metal box, but it appears to be sitting on a wood platform. I could be deceived though because it is a small access hole.

When I had the insert cranked up and burning hot I went around checking the "box" and chimney. Everything was the same temperature as the garage, cold.

Decisions, decisions.........

 

[HuskyNewman]

Well, an alcove build is out. I removed the trim piece above the tile work, and a little drywall, and there is a steel weight bearing plate that runs about 16" above the fire box hole. The plate sits on top of the 8" block foundation walls. Saving money already! (sort of)

So now I am pondering sticking a King or Princess (freestanding) on the hearth extension. It extends 22 1/4" from the tile on the wall. I would discard the current chimney, block off the old fireplace hole, maybe even concave it slightly to allow more room. I might have to extend the elevated part of the hearth a row of tile to make sure the pedestal would fit. Then at the actual floor level, I would put tile down to get the remaining needed hearth length.

The Princess Insert would be easier, but if I am spending $4000 plus, I want to make sure it is going to heat my home satisfactorily.

Whew! Now I will rest and await some experienced advice and opinions. Thank you once again.

 

[webby3650]

The princess insert is not approved for installation into a pre-fab Fireplace. Maybe this info will help with your decision.
Actually it is. But fitting a free stander in there would sure be nice!
Since your hearth is not solid masonry you’ll need to elevate the insert an inch off the floor. This makes it hard to finish out without looking silly.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

I'm in a very similar climate and have a house much the same size and shape as yours. I agree with what Jetsam wrote- you'll be happy, it will heat your house great, but you may need supplemental heat for the very coldest time of year. When daytime highs are in the 30's I need to burn a little oil on top of running my stove hard to maintain the 70 degrees my family is used to (thanks to being spoiled the rest of the winter). I'm sure that like others, you have trouble believing what you read about the burn times you can get in a BK. I didn't believe it either until I got one... I've been away from my house for two days, yet been able to get the stove going again from coals without relighting it.

 

[begreen]

The princess insert is not approved for installation into a pre-fab Fireplace. Maybe this info will help with your decision.
Actually it is. But fitting a free stander in there would sure be nice!
Since your hearth is not solid masonry you’ll need to elevate the insert an inch off the floor. This makes it hard to finish out without looking silly.

webby, do you have an idea what this unit is and how it would be installed? HuskyNewman, I'd call or email Majestic to get as much information as you can about it. If there are 8" of masonry surrounding it then I am wondering if the shell that the Majestic inserted into it qualifies.

 

[webby3650]

webby, do you have an idea what this unit is and how it would be installed? HuskyNewman, I'd call or email Majestic to get as much information as you can about it. If there are 8" of masonry surrounding it then I am wondering if the shell that the Majestic inserted into it qualifies.

I don’t think it has masonry around it. Only a veneer. The old pre fabs were just made heavy! But I do not think it’s like a heat form that would be built into a masonry structure.

 

[begreen]

It sounded like it might have 8" cement block surrounding it. Not sure though. I've never seen a Majestic setup like this.

 

[HuskyNewman]

Since your hearth is not solid masonry you’ll need to elevate the insert an inch off the floor. This makes it hard to finish out without looking silly

I don’t think it has masonry around it.

Webby3650...The hearth is elevated off the floor by 5 1/2", sorry that wasn't clear, and not very clear in the pictures either. The brick masonry is under the tiled part of the hearth extension into the room. The tile on the vertical wall is just a veneer. Also correct on no masonry surrounding it. The wall it is built into is a foundation wall. The 8" block is about 46" in height above the poured concrete floor of the room. The block stops on both sides of the fireplace "box, but has a steel plate, or beam, from the top of each block wall stub over top the insert to bear the weight above it. The fire "box" is not surrounded in the chase by any masonry.

 

[HuskyNewman]

I am wondering if the shell that the Majestic inserted into it

Begreen....I'm not positive that the actual wood burning insert is a Majestic. The only place I am seeing the name Majestic is stamped on the left side of the actual fire "box" in the wall. It is stamped on the "heat shield". The wood burning insert has nothing stamped or engraved on it anywhere. I will call Majestic to see if I can get any info from them.

 

[begreen]

Calling Majestic is where I'd start.

 

[HuskyNewman]

I'm in a very similar climate and have a house much the same size and shape as yours. I agree with what Jetsam wrote- you'll be happy, it will heat your house great, but you may need supplemental heat for the very coldest time of year. When daytime highs are in the 30's I need to burn a little oil on top of running my stove hard to maintain the 70 degrees my family is used to (thanks to being spoiled the rest of the winter). I'm sure that like others, you have trouble believing what you read about the burn times you can get in a BK. I didn't believe it either until I got one... I've been away from my house for two days, yet been able to get the stove going again from coals without relighting it.

Thank you for your input Patapsco Mike. I don't like hearing you have to burn oil on top of running your stove hard when it is in the 30's. This is what I was trying to get info on. I don't want to have to burn oil, unless, on the coldest nights, it has to supplement the stove. Especially since I am paying $4000 plus to replace the wood burner and make chimney modifications.

I'm not concerned with burn times during the day. I just want to be able to load it full, put it on a setting that will keep my house around 68 overnight, and have it go 8-10 hours for the overnight. It sounds like a King or Princess freestanding unit is going to work better for me.

 

[HuskyNewman]

Anyone think the King freestanding would be way overkill? Bigger is better you know!

I like the Progress Hybrid too! Different animal though.