Considering BK but Wondering...

[aansorge]

(broken link removed to http://blazeking.com/EN/wood-stoves.html)

It looks like they have changed the stats and that the princess is now also 30 hrs. Anybody know if they made a few tweaks to the princess to achieve this?

 

[Highbeam]

Whoa Eddy!! That's some crazy chit you've done. WOuld love to see the pictures. Especially the crazy door extension that must be 8" deep.

I burn softwoods for 100% of my heat and I don't have to empty the ash any more than once per 6 weeks. Even then, I only empty the ashes to allow me to load more fuel. The princess has a 6" deep belly that holds lots and lots of ash but more ash means less fuel capacity.

 

[Highbeam]

(broken link removed to http://blazeking.com/EN/wood-stoves.html)

It looks like they have changed the stats and that the princess is now also 30 hrs. Anybody know if they made a few tweaks to the princess to achieve this?

Nobody can know for sure except BK but it is highly unlikely that changes were made. That princess has been a staple for decades. More likely they just matched the spec to real world results. When I bought my princess the spec was still 20 hours on low which is silly easy to exceed even when using low btu wood split small.

 

[webby3650]

last I knew, all BK stoves come with a SuperCedar fire starter.

They still do. But the wrapper does not say Super Cedars anywhere on it. So, if a customer wants more of this great product, they have no way of knowing what it is. I don't understand why they don't at least put their web address on it?

 

[eddy_currents]

Whoa Eddy!! That's some crazy chit you've done. WOuld love to see the pictures. Especially the crazy door extension that must be 8" deep.
.

Not crazy, real practicle. I have a pic of it on my phone, I will see if I can post it, if not post a email address and I will send it there.

 

[ohlongarm]

It's not a big deal to most people. But if you are wanting to view a beautiful fire, you aren't gonna see it! Even if the glass is clean, there isn't much fire to see.
I think it's a great stove, overall I enjoyed my experience with the King. I like to mess with the fire and see the fire, it doesn't happen with the BK very often.

A total misnomer, I can get all the fire viewing I want with the BK,it's all about air,as far as the glass it's all about wood. I haven't cleaned my glass once this year and it's as clean as any stove burning on the planet.

 

[webby3650]

I beg to differ. You could have perfect draft that helps keep the glass clean. You might not load it full and run it on Med or Low like most do. If I filled it with small soft splits and left it high it did OK. Everyone has a different set-up, and most BK run dirty glass. Other stoves, generally speaking, will keep clean glass no matter the set-up. I ran a BK King for 2 seasons, and install a dozen or so each season. I've been around a few!

I just think it's something that a customer needs to be aware of before making a big purchase, especially if they are hoping to have a nice view of the fire.

 

[webby3650]

You cant go wrong with a BZ, either princess or king. I have been using a princess model for 13 years. The model with cat, bypass door and thermostat. I cant say enough good things about it. I light it up mid/late Oct and it does not go out until mid/late march. I never have to relight it, and I do not split my wood.I can fit logs up to8 or 9 inches in diameter through the door. After about 5 years of use I got tired of emptying the ash every 4-7 days so I built a base out of 1/4 checker plate steel, maybe 14 inches high, I lined this base with stove brick set the blaze king on it, and cut the bottom out of it. This gives me a huge stove. I can let the ashes build up 12-14 inches before having to empty them, so twice a winter max, really makes using the stove more enjoyable. At this time I also built a hot water tank for it so now my domestic hot water is heated with it.
I pulled my cat out after the first year as I just did not need the extra heat it produced. I can put the cat back in and use it that way if I wish but at this time I dont need extra heat, as I run the stove very low (unless-40).You can also increase the burn time a bit by taking a pop can, and cutting a plug for the hole in the thermostat control (on the baffel). I love my BK, will never be without one, I was so happy with it that after I got it heating my hot water I had the gas company come in and shut the gas off,and pull my meter, as I will never go back, and this year I did one more thing to it, I build a 5.5 inch extension for the glass door that mounts on the original hinge pins(no drilling/bolting or welding), and this now lets me stick 24 inch logs straight in.
I suggest you get the King model, you will be very happy!

UMM? I'm speachless!
The cat Isn't really designed to produce extra heat. It extends burn times and cleans up the smoke, so your neighbors can breath.

 

[eddy_currents]

UMM? I'm speachless!
The cat Isn't really designed to produce extra heat. It extends burn times and cleans up the smoke, so your neighbors can breath.

true, but you have to burn the stove hotter to activate the cat, and that cooks me out of the house(1 foot thick walls). My neighbors breath fine, infact two have bought a blaze king after seeing mine. oh man, with that pic it sure shows that I am not a welder!

 

[webby3650]

My cat fired up really quick, then I could turn it down to low and it would cruise at around 250 degrees for 40 hours. My King didn't even seem very hot when the cat was into the active zone.

 

[rdust]

I pulled my cat out after the first year as I just did not need the extra heat it produced. You can also increase the burn time a bit by taking a pop can, and cutting a plug for the hole in the thermostat control (on the baffel).

Congrats you took one of the most efficient and pretty clean burning stoves on the market and turned it into a smoke dragon.

 

[Machria]

I have a few lingering questions...

1. I am still unclear whether burning paper with colored ink or wood with some metal in it is okay in the BK. We start our fires with a little paper, peanut shells, and salvaged cedar shingles as kindling. These days virtually all newspaper includes color ink and our shingles still have some metal staples and the occasional old nail in them. I'd rather not have to sort paper and remove nails as part of the fire lighting process. Am I asking for trouble? Or is this question better posed to the BK folks directly?!

Regarding starting a fire in a modern stove, click this link and scroll down to post #9 for easy instructions, and #15 for pics of it. You will NOT need paper, peanuts or lots of kindling; https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/fire-starting-with-a-modern-stove.105231/


Regarding burn times, before you get all caught up with the BK 24+ hour burn times being talked about, do what I did and experience it yourself what they are talking about. Sure they do what one "might" call "burn" for that lenght of time. But, what they neglect to tell you is, you really do not get any heat out of it when burning that low. In April when you might get a 30 hour burn at the lowest setting, I will have my windows open and no fire, for fresh spring air. When it's 50 or 60 degrees out, you really don't need or want a fire in the house, but that is just me. I don't want to be carrying wood and loading the stove, sweeping up the dirt... to heat the house 5 or 10 degrees. On the other hand, a LARGE part of why I like burn wood and upgraded my fireplace to a freestanding stove was, to get heat from it, while still enjoying a fire show, and all that comes with. When a Bk is turned up for real heat like last night when it was 15 outside with 40 knot winds, it gets 10 or 12 our burns, just like the rest of us. There are only so many BTU's in a load of wood.

Now, if I was installing a stove for the sole purpose of heating my home, and it was going to be located in a non-main-living area of the house (aka basement, empty heat room....), I would not hesitate for a minute to get the largest bk they make and stick it in there and have at it.

Having said all that, I do like the look of the Chinook 30, that is a beauty looker. I like the modern looking stoves and wonder why there are not more of them. All the manufacturers need to update their lines with more modern looking models.

 

[Todd]

I have to say my BK has had clean glass for a good month now, just as clean as my Woodstock but I have been burning right around #2 with the colder weather. I used to be pretty anal about a good looking fire and clean glass but have changed more to function over form since I installed the BK.

Eddy,
Those are some interesting mods you made on your stove. I think I'd still burn it with the cat, it should give you a longer burn, cleaner chimney and save you a ton of firewood throughout the season.

 

[webby3650]

When a Bk is turned up for real heat like last night when it was 15 outside with 40 knot winds, it gets 10 or 12 our burns, just like the rest of us.

This not so with the Blaze King, unless you've had one, you wouldn't understand. They are a totally different machine than a Hybrid.
It will get 24-30 hours under the conditions that you mentioned.

 

[Machria]

This not so with the Blaze King, unless you've had one, you wouldn't understand. They are a totally different machine than a Hybrid.
It will get 24-30 hours under the conditions that you mentioned.

I have not owned one, but that is exactly what 2 bk dealers told me when presses on the question. They didn't give me that answer until I explained they would be refunding my money and spending a couple grand building scaffolding on the side of my house to get it out if it didn't perform that way. Then suddenly the truth started coming out with a nervous tilt to the conversation. If yours gets 30 hours when it's 10-20 outside, good for you. But again, there is only so many BTU's in a load of wood.

 

[webby3650]

I have not owned one, but that is exactly what 2 bk dealers told me when presses on the question. They didn't give me that answer until I explained they would be refunding my money and spending a couple grand building scaffolding on the side of my house to get it out if it didn't perform that way. Then suddenly the truth started coming out with a nervous tilt to the conversation. If yours gets 30 hours when it's 10-20 outside, good for you. But again, there is only so many BTU's in a load of wood.

That's right, and the BK will extract every one of them!

What dealer wouldn't run when presented with this ultimatum? The fact is, the BK will get these burn times, other stoves will not. Most dealers can only go off what they are told by sales reps and customers that give feed back, and they aren't willing to go out a limb for one customer that threatens revolt if the thing doesn't do everything that was promised.

 

[eddy_currents]

Congrats you took one of the most efficient and pretty clean burning stoves on the market and turned it into a smoke dragon.

Nonsense, its still very clean burning without the cat, I will agree more so with it, but the difference is minor. Efficiency as a function of wood burnt in cords against cubic volume heated/length of heating season/temperature heated to, determine efficiency. My BK as factory built, or as modified blows away every other wood heated home in my area.Nothing I have seen equalls it.

 

[webby3650]

Nonsense, its still very clean burning without the cat, I will agree more so with it, but the difference is minor. Efficiency as a function of wood burnt in cords against cubic volume heated/length of heating season/temperature heated to, determine efficiency. My BK as factory built, or as modified blows away every other wood heated home in my area.Nothing I have seen equalls it.

The fact is: it was 76+% efficient, now it's closer to 50%. Like other pre-EPA stoves with no technology.
If it was over heating your house, why did you want it to hold 24" logs?

 

[HotCoals]

Nonsense, its still very clean burning without the cat, I will agree more so with it, but the difference is minor. Efficiency as a function of wood burnt in cords against cubic volume heated/length of heating season/temperature heated to, determine efficiency. My BK as factory built, or as modified blows away every other wood heated home in my area.Nothing I have seen equalls it.

I love your style..lol.

That said you will get a longer cleaner burn with the cat in..huge diff.
I ran one bkk non cat for years then I bought basically the same stove with a cat and I'm consuming at least 25% less wood and I'm way warmer...more even temps...no smoke after the cat is up to temp and on low burn..and I'm on low burn I would say 90% of the season.

 

[Machria]

That's right, and the BK will extract every one of them!

What dealer wouldn't run when presented with this ultimatum? The fact is, the BK will get these burn times, other stoves will not. Most dealers can only go off what they are told by sales reps and customers that give feed back, and they aren't willing to go out a limb for one customer that threatens revolt if the thing doesn't do everything that was promised.

Well, since you asked, Woodstock didn't run, and doesn't. 6 month money back guarantee no questions asked, and they pay return shipping. When I proposed the same scenario to them on the phone, they did not hesitate a second and basically said "absolutely,it will perform as stated.... And you can return it if it doesn't". . Bk would not do that. ?

 

[webby3650]

spending a couple grand building scaffolding on the side of my house to get it out if it didn't perform that way

Woodstock won't do that!

 

[pen]

Dwight, I hope you received the information you were looking for. If not and you still have questions, a new thread with your updated focus would prove to be most beneficial.

Click the "start a conversation" button under my avatar to the left if you have any questions.

pen