Wife approves of a Blaze King!!!

[Ashful]

I run my blowers 24/7, but I keep them on so low no one can hear them. My stoves are located inside fireplaces, and this helps minimize heat radiated into the exterior stonework (loss), and to move heat out of the fireplace. It doesn’t take much to affect a big change on the convective / radiant relationship.

When I’m trying to warm the place up in the evenings, I might rip a full load at WOT, and then I might run the fans at 65-75% capacity. That seems to work very well. Running the fans on full is too noisy for me.

 

[AlbergSteve]

We didn't get the blower for the Ashford because we thought they'd be noisy. We had a blower on our last Regency that was noisy, even on low, so it was rarely used. My wife has "bionic" hearing, so fans were an no go. We have a small fan between the two halves of the house to help drive the convection loop that runs at barely a whisper and it drives her nuts sometimes.

 

[Tar12]

Can you please tell me more about your home and heating area? Sq. ft, home age and type. Are happy with the way your BK performs during a Polar Vortex? I just heard more cold is on the way for February. Thanks for your time.

I struggled with wether or not to get the fans when I purchased my stove....I am glad that I did! Last year when that Polar vortex hit here the winds were absolutely BRUTAL! Driving the cold into this place like I had never experienced before. I was able to maintain low to mid 70s but only because I had the fans...its best to have them and not need them...

 

[Woody Stover]

Can you shoot the side of the stove, that is shielded by the inner baffle?

Remember? I provided that info to you too in the past.

No, I don't remember, and it's hard to tell where you're shooting those temp pics you posted. Regardless, your statement "I want to say is that BK has the top end like any other stove" doesn't agree with the experience of some others. One example, bholler has said it takes twice as long to raise house temp with the Princess, compared to his Regency 3100, and that high output isn't the BK's specialty. Now I will say, if your stove is sized correctly you shouldn't have to run it on high to keep your house warm, so that shouldn't be an issue most of the time if you are there to load the stove when you need to. He can't bump it up to the King as insurance, however. I guess we will find out if the Princess is the correct size or not...sounds like he's leaning in that direction. Then again, he hasn't seemed in too big a hurry to finalize his decision..

What stove do you suggest?

Do you want to buy from a local dealer? Which ones are within range, and how many stoves have you gone to look at in person?
I didn't look at the Keystone before I bought it but I had seen my SIL's Fireview and I was impressed by the quality, so I took the plunge.

An hour the other way to inland salt water where bg lives.

I recently looked at a car that spent many years near Long Island. I lifted the hood, and couldn't believe the amount of corrosion under there! Is that an issue?

If you like noise, the fans on a bk will strip a bit more heat from the stove

I'm not a noise fan but it depends on the stove brand. The Buck was almost tolerable on low, but pretty loud when it was cranked up. OTOH, they had a Lopi Liberty burning at a local shop and you could barely hear the blower. Ashful says Ashford's not bad on low..

 

[Tar12]

I cant hear mine on low with the TV on...midway to high I can hear it when in the stove room but then if my arse is cold it matters not!

 

[lsucet]

One example, bholler has said it takes twice as long to raise house temp with the Princess, compared to his Regency 3100, and that high output isn't the BK's specialty.

Well, it is ok. If what bholler says is the law/rule for you and nobody else input is good for you, I respect that.
I burned on englanders stoves, everyone know if there is something they can do is put out massive amount of heat.
I have no problems getting heat out of the princess. Oh well.

 

[jetsam]

We didn't get the blower for the Ashford because we thought they'd be noisy. We had a blower on our last Regency that was noisy, even on low, so it was rarely used. My wife has "bionic" hearing, so fans were an no go. We have a small fan between the two halves of the house to help drive the convection loop that runs at barely a whisper and it drives her nuts sometimes.
View attachment 240035

Teach her to use a 12 gauge and a chainsaw. Motorcycle lessons if that doesn't work.

Problem solved!

 

[BKVP]

Heat output is highly dependent on more items than the stoves themselves. Draft, air intake, fuel (species, specific gravity etc). Our units can produce a great deal more heat than most realize.

Just ask the residents of the great State of Alaska. They don’t get to call their often brutal winters anything more than winter. I can’t tell anyone or relate to anyone the performance attributes of every stove (especially models that I personally have never owned) but the greatest resource are folks like Webby and bholler.

Speaking of which....bholler I’ll be in your area next week!

 

[Ashful]

Teach her to use a 12 gauge and a chainsaw. Motorcycle lessons if that doesn't work.

Problem solved!

Just came in from an hour running a Parks heavy duty planer. Bandsaw for a half hour before that, and a radial saw most of the morning. “WHAT?”

That Parks is amazing, never again will any manufacturer of any piece of machinery be allowed to care so little for their customers’ hearing.

 

[BKVP]

Just came in from an hour running a Parks heavy duty planer. Bandsaw for a half hour before that, and a radial saw most of the morning. “WHAT?”

That Parks is amazing, never again will any manufacturer of any piece of machinery be allowed to care so little for their customers’ hearing.

I have an entire shop of really noisy equipment...but a custom machine for drilling our thermostats requires in-ear and over ear protection. What are you making? A custom bar for the bourbon collection?

 

[Mnpellet]

Little over 1700 two story. Built late 90s nothing special. Actually a pole house but heats pretty easily. Never ran the stove hard at all except for 20-30 minuets on reload. So far love the stove.

Can you please tell me more about your home and heating area? Sq. ft, home age and type. Are happy with the way your BK performs during a Polar Vortex? I just heard more cold is on the way for February. Thanks for your time.

 

[AlbergSteve]

Just came in from an hour running a Parks heavy duty planer. Bandsaw for a half hour before that, and a radial saw most of the morning. “WHAT?”

That Parks is amazing, never again will any manufacturer of any piece of machinery be allowed to care so little for their customers’ hearing.

The parks is a beast, the open cutter head scares the bejebus out of me though. I've used custom plugs for years and just had another, higher attenuation pair made for the shop - they're typically 32-42 dB, these are 40-50dB.

 

[Ashful]

What are you making? A custom bar for the bourbon collection?

My wife would admonish you to not give me any new ideas. Building sets for my kid's school musical.

The parks is a beast, the open cutter head scares the bejebus out of me though.

Yeah, it used to give me the willies, too. But compared to the antique clamshell head jointer I used to own, staring into the open mouth of the Parks is not nearly as unnerving. At least it has a modern gibs head!

 

[jetsam]

My wife would admonish you to not give me any new ideas. Building sets for my kid's school musical.

I would ask what part of making a plywood tree requires an hour on a tabletop planer, but I already suspect the answer is going to be, "Well, some audience members sit off to the side, so we went for a 3D tree, and sculpting the individual bark nuggets turned out to be much slower than cutting them out of a sheet, so I welded up a spring suspension and a foot pedal so I could make the planer bounce a little as the wood passed over..."

 

[jetsam]

Yeah, it used to give me the willies, too. But compared to the antique clamshell head jointer I used to own, staring into the open mouth of the Parks is not nearly as unnerving. At least it has a modern gibs head!

Those are healthy willies.

I have a lot more hours on a tablesaw than a planer, and the tablesaw still looks more dangerous to me (I mean, the planer clearly wants to pull you in and do some grinding, but the tablesaw has a lot more reach!).

When it stops looking dangerous, I think of the hands of several people I know to make sure that I stay concerned. It's easy to lose your respect for any tool, and that's how even people who understand the tool get hurt. Goes for saws and planers, guns and knives, blenders and mixers, torches and stoves.

(Gotta work 'stove' in there to keep begreen happy...)

 

[jetsam]

The parks is a beast, the open cutter head scares the bejebus out of me though. I've used custom plugs for years and just had another, higher attenuation pair made for the shop - they're typically 32-42 dB, these are 40-50dB.
View attachment 240113

I bet I could make those with a can of Great Stuff and a can of vinyl dip...

I'll let you guys know how it works if the hospital has wifi!

 

[Ashful]

When it stops looking dangerous, I think of the hands of several people I know to make sure that I stay concerned. It's easy to lose your respect for any tool, and that's how even people who understand the tool get hurt. Goes for saws and planers, guns and knives, blenders and mixers, torches and stoves.

(Gotta work 'stove' in there to keep begreen happy...)

Two years before you joined the forum, I watched my FIL cut off his finger with a tablesaw, right in front of my face. The story is on this forum, somewhere. It interrupted my scheduled weekend of wood splitting, since I had to run him to the hospital for the re-attachment. The only amusing part of the story is the surgeon’s noted respect of my ability to sit in the room and eat a hospital cafeteria-grade egg salad sandwich while they were struggling to put his finger back on.

It takes a few weeks to get images like that out of your head, each time you use the machine, even after cleaning the blood off of your table saw.

 

[Woody Stover]

Well, it is ok. If what bholler says is the law/rule for you and nobody else input is good for you. I burned on englanders stoves, everyone know if there is something they can do is put out massive amount of heat. I have no problems getting heat out of the princess.

I'm not sure that the Englanders puts out "massive" heat, compared to some of the other med/large steel stoves from the other makers. I never burned those non-cats, though..just a guess on my part. But I don't think you've burned any other non-cats to compare the Englanders to either, right? I bet bholler has seen many a stove running..
I consider everyone's input; One reason I mentioned bholler is that I suspect that his heating requirements may be similar to the OP's, where he will have to run the stove above idle to get the heat he needs.
I'm not convinced I have the total picture yet, but the following is what we have so far. I just want the guy to get a stove that will do the job, not be left wanting after he's spent a big wad of cash.

I need a big stove for this Wisconsin weather. I want to heat with wood as much as possible because it's off-grid and self-reliant. I don't plan to buy a blower.

Western Wisconsin.

one thing you could evaluate with your current setup is how often you need to push your current stove with frequent reloads and a full firebox.

OK, he seems to want more heat, which I'm convinced the Princess would give him, over the Heritage he's now running. He doesn't want to use a blower, so will the Princess still be enough additional heat? If he has to run like bholler does sometimes, he will still be sending a lot of heat up the flue and loading as often as with a non-cat.
My brother has some land near the Mississippi in WI, about where the Iowa/MN border hits the river. Might be close to the OP's place. IIRC it is fairly windy out there, like it is at bholler's place. In the OP's house pic, I only see one tree, doesn't look like the house is sheltered from the wind very much, if at all. Wind can be a big factor in how much heat is needed.

2000 sq. ft. Bi level. Build on 2008. Well insulated with modern windows.

"Build-on," or entire house "built in" 2008? This sounds like it could be a room addition which may be tight and well-insulated. OTOH, the pic of the house he posted, looks like the entire house may be pretty new..??

I want to heat with wood as much as possible. I want as much heat in the house as possible....I am losing a fair amount of heat up the flu.

How do you know you are sending heat up the flue? Is that a probe thermometer in double-wall connector pipe, or a magnetic surface meter on single-wall pipe? What kinds of temps are you seeing on it at different stages of the fire?

The Princess should meet most of my heating needs. Switching from soapstone to steel should put a lot more heat in the home.

I suspect that the reason that you are sending heat up the flue is that you are burning the Heritage at a higher setting rather than on low, to get the heat you need, not because of a difference between soapstone and steel. The higher you have to burn a stove to get the needed heat, the more heat you are going to send up the flue. If the Princess won't provide sufficient heat most of the time, on low, you need a bigger stove that will.

Most heating contractors would do some sort of heat load calculation in order to size heating and cooling equipment. And use spreadsheets or software to do that. If a guy wanted to get fancy about it there are sites out there that could help with that: http://www.loadcalc.net/ Then a benchmark could be created for comparisons.

This would be the way to get a handle on what your requirements would be, but you still have to try to translate that into what each stove actually puts out, which could be hard to do.
I lieu of that, if we can get a handle on how hard he has to run the Heritage to do the job, we might be able to guess at what other stoves would be a better fit..
OK, enough talk about woodworking power equipment...this guy is "off the grid."

 

[bholler]

I only know the Firelight, but I believe the Oslo and Castine have the same construction, scaled smaller. I owned the old Firelight 12, but all of the primary castings and assembly were identical to the F600, just modified for required interior differences. Everything was cemented, with the exception of the lid and inside rear burn plate, which were gasketed for easy removal. Base and sides were all cemented. You’re right, it is likely several years before it needs attention, unless overfired.

Agreed on convective designs, if heating from a basement. My Jotuls could crank out massive heat, but the stone fireplaces into which I had stuffed them just soaked it all up, and spit it outside. That is what had me checking the PE Alderlea, before the Ashford was released.

To be fair the firelight was one of the worst jotuls made. Using it as a basis for comparison is very unfair.

 

[Diabel]

To be fair the firelight was one of the worst jotuls made. Using it as a basis for comparison is very unfair.

@bholler, I was waiting for this!

The firelight was the unrelated cousin of the encore and the defiant......same tech concept

 

[bholler]

@bholler, I was waiting for this!

The firelight was the unrelated cousin of the encore and the defiant......same tech concept

Yes I know. But jotul was smart enough to give up on it pretty quickly when it was clear there were problems.

 

[bholler]

No, I don't remember, and it's hard to tell where you're shooting those temp pics you posted. Regardless, your statement "I want to say is that BK has the top end like any other stove" doesn't agree with the experience of some others. One example, bholler has said it takes twice as long to raise house temp with the Princess, compared to his Regency 3100, and that high output isn't the BK's specialty. Now I will say, if your stove is sized correctly you shouldn't have to run it on high to keep your house warm, so that shouldn't be an issue most of the time if you are there to load the stove when you need to. He can't bump it up to the King as insurance, however. I guess we will find out if the Princess is the correct size or not...sounds like he's leaning in that direction. Then again, he hasn't seemed in too big a hurry to finalize his decision..
Do you want to buy from a local dealer? Which ones are within range, and how many stoves have you gone to look at in person?
I didn't look at the Keystone before I bought it but I had seen my SIL's Fireview and I was impressed by the quality, so I took the plunge.
I recently looked at a car that spent many years near Long Island. I lifted the hood, and couldn't believe the amount of corrosion under there! Is that an issue?
I'm not a noise fan but it depends on the stove brand. The Buck was almost tolerable on low, but pretty loud when it was cranked up. OTOH, they had a Lopi Liberty burning at a local shop and you could barely hear the blower. Ashful says Ashford's not bad on low..

That is my experience in my house on my chimney. Some people have the same experience as me and others don't.

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

I'm not sure that the Englanders puts out "massive" heat, compared to some of the other med/large steel stoves from the other makers. I never burned those non-cats, though..just a guess on my part. But I don't think you've burned any other non-cats to compare the Englanders to either, right? I bet bholler has seen many a stove running..
I consider everyone's input; One reason I mentioned bholler is that I suspect that his heating requirements may be similar to the OP's, where he will have to run the stove above idle to get the heat he needs.
I'm not convinced I have the total picture yet, but the following is what we have so far. I just want the guy to get a stove that will do the job, not be left wanting after he's spent a big wad of cash.


OK, he seems to want more heat, which I'm convinced the Princess would give him, over the Heritage he's now running. He doesn't want to use a blower, so will the Princess still be enough additional heat? If he has to run like bholler does sometimes, he will still be sending a lot of heat up the flue and loading as often as with a non-cat.
My brother has some land near the Mississippi in WI, about where the Iowa/MN border hits the river. Might be close to the OP's place. IIRC it is fairly windy out there, like it is at bholler's place. In the OP's house pic, I only see one tree, doesn't look like the house is sheltered from the wind very much, if at all. Wind can be a big factor in how much heat is needed.
"Build-on," or entire house "built in" 2008? This sounds like it could be a room addition which may be tight and well-insulated. OTOH, the pic of the house he posted, looks like the entire house may be pretty new..??
How do you know you are sending heat up the flue? Is that a probe thermometer in double-wall connector pipe, or a magnetic surface meter on single-wall pipe? What kinds of temps are you seeing on it at different stages of the fire?
I suspect that the reason that you are sending heat up the flue is that you are burning the Heritage at a higher setting rather than on low, to get the heat you need, not because of a difference between soapstone and steel. The higher you have to burn a stove to get the needed heat, the more heat you are going to send up the flue. If the Princess won't provide sufficient heat most of the time, on low, you need a bigger stove that will.

This would be the way to get a handle on what your requirements would be, but you still have to try to translate that into what each stove actually puts out, which could be hard to do.
I lieu of that, if we can get a handle on how hard he has to run the Heritage to do the job, we might be able to guess at what other stoves would be a better fit..
OK, enough talk about woodworking power equipment...this guy is "off the grid."

Ok. First, the entire house was built in 2008. That was a typo. There is two car garage just to the right of the house. Wind is a factor. I am about 80 miles from the Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin borders along the Mississippi. I run the Heritage constantly. My wife and I are very careful not to run it over 500 degrees. The Heritage does a decent job until the temps drop into the low teens and single digits. No, I am not off the grid, but I do try to prepare for power outages and that Is one reason I burn wood in the first place. Extra jokes are not necessary. Ok the Princess may not work. I have Jotul, Quadrafire, Lopi, and Vermont Castings and Pacific Energy dealers all with 100 miles of me.

 

[bholler]

Ok. First, the entire house was built in 2008. That was a typo. There is two car garage just to the right of the house. Wind is a factor. I am about 80 miles from the Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin borders along the Mississippi. I run the Heritage constantly. My wife and I are very careful not to run it over 500 degrees. The Heritage does a decent job until the temps drop into the low teens and single digits. No, I am not off the grid, but I do try to prepare for power outages and that Is one reason I burn wood in the first place. Extra jokes are not necessary. Ok the Princess may not work. I have Jotul, Quadrafire, Lopi, and Vermont Castings and Pacific Energy dealers all with 100 miles of me.

The princess will probably work fine as will a large jotul quad lopi regency or Pacific energy.

 

[lsucet]

I'm not sure that the Englanders puts out "massive" heat, compared to some of the other med/large steel stoves from the other makers. I never burned those non-cats, though..just a guess on my part. But I don't think you've burned any other non-cats to compare the Englanders to either, right? I bet bholler has seen many a stove running..

You need to read your own statement. You never burn a non cat or a BK but here you are giving advice and it is okay, nothing wrong with that. At least I have burned both technologies regardless the brands plus the one that you more hate.
I Never doutb the ability and knowledge that bholler has.
Countless times have been mentioned that same stove don't work for everyone due to many variables. Agreed and if it is not working for him at least he give it a try and he will have a solid reason to say is not working for him. I will questioned anyone that says that BK has no top end in a good way, cause it is not my experience. Period.
I salud you, my hat off to you, for the dedication, entertainment, trauma, obsession and anything else that is happening to you, when it comes to your agony of bashing BK.

You think you are helping but actually you're not. You are just seeing another opportunity.

The OP asked questions about it and I provided some answers. If you're not happy with the information provided and it is questionable for you, who cares. You not the one buying it, right?