So I went to my local BK dealer.... questions, comments, n pricing...

[claybe]

I'd have to pull out my receipt but I seem to remember that the stainless/nickel (whatever it's called) door was ~$300 extra. The regular black door was included with the cost of the stove.

My dealer didn't give me the black door for free option. I think the black door was like $289, the silver was three something and the gold was $489. I really splurged, but I really like the gold trim and door look

 

[weatherguy]

My dealer didn't give me the black door for free option. I think the black door was like $289, the silver was three something and the gold was $489. I really splurged, but I really like the gold trim and door look

Nevermind, mixed up posters

 

[nate379]

In the end I'd imagine it works out the same.. cost of stove with door from my dealer = cost of stove plus door from yours.

The brass door just screamed early 1990s to me. Reminded me way too much of older bathrooms.

My dealer didn't give me the black door for free option. I think the black door was like $289, the silver was three something and the gold was $489. I really splurged, but I really like the gold trim and door look

 

[Bster13]

Bump for more insert pricing! Thx.

 

[Waulie]

My dealer didn't give me the black door for free option. I think the black door was like $289, the silver was three something and the gold was $489. I really splurged, but I really like the gold trim and door look

Isn't that like going to the car dealership and getting a quote for a car minus the windshield?

 

[Bster13]

Well I'm going to try and make a deal today. Any last minute pricing details would be appreciated thx.

 

[Highbeam]

Isn't that like going to the car dealership and getting a quote for a car minus the windshield?

Since the door is available in three colors BK had a choice to make, ship each stove with a black door which would be thrown away 2/3 of the time or lower the price and ship it with no door so the buyer only has to buy one door.

I would not have wanted to pay for the black door and then had to buy the nickel door. Such a waste.

To compare this to cars it would be like the manufacturer painting them all black and then letting the buyer pay for a repaint to the color of their choice.

 

[rideau]

To naswer your question about the safety of the chimney with low chimney temps when burning with a cat:

The chimney temp is lower because the cat extracts almost all the available heat out of the gases, and the flue gases that remain are not hot enough to heat the chimney much. If the cat is working properly (you can tell by stove top temps and the lack of visible smoke coming out your chimney), then there are essentially no byproducts of combustion remaining in the flue gases, so no deposits possible in the flue so no creosote issue. Cats burning cleanly are very safe stoves and carry no creosote risk. Any stove can be burned improperly and cause creosote problem, so good to check the chimney, once early on in burning, as recommended, and at least good visual inspection yearly. . Best thing to do if you have cat is be aware of what your gases exiting your chimney look like. You shouldn't be able to see them, except at start up.

 

[Bster13]

Put a deposit down on a bk insert w large surround. Very happy with Fireplaces etc. Dealt directly with the owner, nice guy who knows his stuff. Many thx to the hearth.com community. Now I need to figure how to run it.

 

[PapaDave]

Congrats!
Now, we need pics of the install.
We'll wait.

 

[Highbeam]

To naswer your question about the safety of the chimney with low chimney temps when burning with a cat:

The chimney temp is lower because the cat extracts almost all the available heat out of the gases, and the flue gases that remain are not hot enough to heat the chimney much. If the cat is working properly (you can tell by stove top temps and the lack of visible smoke coming out your chimney), then there are essentially no byproducts of combustion remaining in the flue gases, so no deposits possible in the flue so no creosote issue. Cats burning cleanly are very safe stoves and carry no creosote risk. Any stove can be burned improperly and cause creosote problem, so good to check the chimney, once early on in burning, as recommended, and at least good visual inspection yearly. . Best thing to do if you have cat is be aware of what your gases exiting your chimney look like. You shouldn't be able to see them, except at start up.

Not so sure about this. Seems those of us with BKs, even new ones with fresh cats, accumulate quite a bit of creosote. The hotter burning woodstocks seem to keep a cleaner flue. I've never had as much creosote as I do with the BK. My previous stoves were all non-cats though and sent lots of heat up the flue.

 

[rideau]

I think the BKs are the exception to the rule. They have been designed to smoulder, which you are never supposed to do with a Woodstock. Many have postred they get some smoke out the chimney when burning with a BK. Smoke = creosote possible. Burning with a Woodstock you should never have smoke out the chimney. No smoke = no creosote.

 

[Bster13]

Unfortunately Woodstock does not make an insert that competes so the BK Princess insert is in a class of its own especially with the bimetal magic.

 

[jeff_t]

Not so sure about this. Seems those of us with BKs, even new ones with fresh cats, accumulate quite a bit of creosote. The hotter burning woodstocks seem to keep a cleaner flue. I've never had as much creosote as I do with the BK. My previous stoves were all non-cats though and sent lots of heat up the flue.

Huh. I'm going to forgo the mid-season sweep, because it seems like a waste of time. A little bit of brown soot isn't worth the effort. I get a little black in the cap, but the screen stays clear.

Now, the inside of the stove is a different story.

 

[Dave A.]

Finding a large cat insert is even more of a problem if appearance is a concern. Had to rule out all of the bay fronts with glass on the sides early on, because of the dirty glass. That excluded Quadrafire (non-cat), Buck (cat) and some others. Excluding bay fronts with glass on the sides, didn't find any cat inserts in 3 cf range with n/s loading besides BK. And from what I'm reading here, the main air washed glass doesn't stay clean with that, even if there weren't other appearance issues.

 

[Bster13]

Yes, I understand the front glass won't stay clean. I'd certainly be nice to look at, but I guess function over form (corrected, thx.)

 

[Dave A.]

I think you really mean it the other way round. And if you've made your peace with the form issues, then it appears to be one of the top contenders in inserts as far as function goes.