BK Princess initial impressions

[rdust]

I don't have much time with the stove yet so I don't have a bunch to say. I'm bored though so I figured I'd make a post.

I have to say this thing is silly or better yet super silly! It's truly amazing how long it'll burn/smolder on a load of wood in these temps. I've been building up my load sizes and tonight I loaded it pretty much to the gills I didn't get crazy filling every nook and cranny but didn't leave much room empty.(a couple small splits maybe) So far I've been loading around 9pm and having a large amount of wood left around 8am and a stove top temp around 300*. After getting home between 5-6pm the stove is around 150* with some coals left. After the initial burn in the house temps are staying nice and even, today when I left for work the hallway leading to the family room was 71* when I got home is was 70*. Of course I then proceed to cook myself out tonight since I wanted to load the stove up to see how long it'll burn on a full load, the hallway is now 78* and I'm hiding in the living room where it's cooler. :lol:

The dirty glass I'm not a fan of but I burned it pretty clean tonight by running it hot longer before shutting it down.(in stages) I also think it'll stay cleaner when it gets cold and I need to burn it hotter. I knew this going in so it's not a problem and flames are only a small turn of a knob away.

Only other thing I'm fighting is some smoke spillage. My old stove(Endeavor) never had an issue at any outdoor temperature if I opened the door during the coaling stage. I hope it gets better once the cold weather gets here. I'm also still learning the best way to load it and open the door to avoid spillage. I know the chimney is plenty tall enough(27' of liner and the Endeavor used to try to run away) but I don't have the vertical rise that BK recommends before a bend, I'm about 30" up with a 90 and they want 36". If it doesn't improve when the temps drop I may try two 45's. It could also be the BK has lower flue temps so the draft may not be as well once it hits the coaling stage or from a cold start. Once the fire is going the draft isn't an issue, I reached a 750* top temp tonight when I was burning it on 3 for 20 minutes.

So far it's living up to my expectations!

 

[ecocavalier02]

You can turn the t stat al the way up let it get hot for bout 10 15min. then open the bypass for a min or two then slowly open the door and that'll prob help with the smoke. also like you said if you burn it hot and turn it down in slow stages you can keep that glass pretty spotless. mine stay just bout clean all year. i never clean it.

 

[weatherguy]

They great little stoves, are'nt they? I only have the dirty glass at this time of year, once its gets cold you can clean it and it will stay clean all winter.

 

[rdust]

They great little stoves, are'nt they?

Honestly I think everyone should own a stove that burns like these things. :lol: The whole heating season isn't the shoulder season but it makes up a good part of it. I obviously don't expect to go 20+ hours once I really need heat but the steady heat output is awesome! I hate the cold but I'm anxious to see how this thing burns come the cold weather. The other night I loaded up with some silver maple that the old stove would've torched to coals in 3 hours, 10 hours later I still had solid pieces.

 

[bogydave]

After a long burn the chimney is just warm (I can touch the stove pipe) . If you turn on "high" & crack the door for a few minutes, the draft gets stronger & you should get less/no smoke.
(Bypass "open" of course)

 

[rdust]

Getting ready to hit the hay, loaded at 8pm t-stat is on one, blower off, stove top just a touch under 500 above the cat.

 

[project240]

I'm getting pretty excited. We just bought a princess a week ago and I finished installing the chimney and building my feature wall/hearth. I'm just waiting until a can get a neighbour or two to help me lift the stove into place.

 

[SolarAndWood]

You can turn the t stat al the way up let it get hot for bout 10 15min.

I do this as well. Then open the door, rake it all front center and get the coals nice and hot for the reload. Keeps the coal bed from growing and makes for easy reloads.

 

[rdust]

327* at 9:30, cat still active, I'll will post some pictures later.....

 

[rdust]

12:20 pm, 16+ hours and still a 300* stove top with plenty of wood still in the stove. I can't get a good picture of it due to the reflection off the glass.

 

[weatherguy]

12:20 pm, 16+ hours and still a 300* stove top with plenty of wood still in the stove. I can't get a good picture of it due to the reflection off the glass.

Thats about right at this time of the year. Even when its gets colder 40's days and 20's nights I only load the stove twice a day for two 12 hour burns.

 

[Todd]

I don't know if that cat probe is working correctly upside down? %-P

How many times would you have to load your old stove compared to this burn? I bet you save some wood this year compared to last.

 

[North of 60]

12:20 pm, 16+ hours and still a 300* stove top with plenty of wood still in the stove. I can't get a good picture of it due to the reflection off the glass.

I am really happy for you.
Lets you know I wasn't exaggerating.
Silly, amazing and crazy were the words I used after switching stoves. OH and BB will not believe me.
It was a no brainer after the 1st few loads that it was a good investment.
Thanks for sharing your new experience and happy smoldering. The flames will come this winter.

 

[rdust]

I am really happy for you.
Lets you know I wasn't exaggerating.
Silly, amazing and crazy were the words I used after switching stoves. OH and BB will not believe me.
It was a no brainer after the 1st few loads that it was a good investment.
Thanks for sharing your new experience and happy smoldering. The flames will come this winter.

Nope no exaggeration! It's now been almost 24 hours and the stove top is around 200(a little more, little less depending on the spot) with some wood left on the sides. I would turn the t-stat up and move the wood to the middle but I would probably overheat the place quickly. We're in the mid 40's right now but had some sun today so the house is still quite warm.

 

[rdust]

I don't know if that cat probe is working correctly upside down? %-P

How many times would you have to load your old stove compared to this burn? I bet you save some wood this year compared to last.

The needle hits a convection deck fin if I turn it the other way so the easy fix is turning it upside down!

Our weather isn't cold yet so I would've probably loaded a decent load last night,(got into the 30's) a decent fire to chase the cold in the morning. The temp in here right now sure wouldn't be 72 and cozy though. This stove holds more wood than the last one so I don't know how it will compare use wise but I would've had to deal with the temp swings that come with loading multiple fires.

The nice even heat for hours and hours on end is truly awesome.

 

[Todd]

Awesome! Glad your happy with this stove. Funny that there is not more thermostatic stoves out there, I think it really makes a difference in long even heat.

 

[rdust]

Awesome! Glad your happy with this stove. Funny that there is not more thermostatic stoves out there, I think it really makes a difference in long even heat.

Yeah it's interesting, it doesn't seem like it would be that complicated to engineer into the stoves. I could see it even being done with a thermocouple and some electronics.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Sounds like some kind of "star wars, cyber-tech, newfangled hardware, alien technology" that made it so you didn't have to expend any effort. ......

 

[rdust]

Sounds like some kind of "star wars, cyber-tech, newfangled hardware, alien technology" that made it so you didn't have to expend any effort. ......

:lol:

I just loaded some poplar e/w on coals left from wood I loaded 26 hours ago. As North says silly, amazing and crazy! :lol: I really didn't need to load since it's 72 in here but the stove made me do it. ;-P

This thing really burns a nice fire on about 2 1/2, it had a nice flame floating around the top with a little flame on the wood. Turn it down to 2 and "poof" no more flames. :lol:

wow I used a bunch of smiley faces!

 

[bogydave]

rdust
You are going to make believers out of some doubters.
What ever kind of ''technology" it is,
it burns a full load of wood for a long time,
puts out allot of heat while doing so
& has saved me lots of work cutting 40 to 50% less fire wood per year.
Glad you like your new stove

 

[rdust]

rdust
You are going to make believers out of some doubters.

These stoves are like a mythical creator, I had to buy one just to see if it could really exist. Mine is installed in my family room in a decent climate and I have hardwoods so I think I'll be able to provide some pretty good results to others who may be on the fence.

Heck this thing burns so good I'm going to start burning more pine! I have a dozen or so pines here that need to come down and more die every year so I can have pine for a while. If I can burn a couple cords of pine yearly it'll allow me save my good hardwoods.

 

[North of 60]

This thread doesn't mention an NC-30 or a PE. These burn times are impossible and cant exist providing decent usable heat in the shoulder season. It may be moved or closed at any time. :lol:

 

[Hiram Maxim]

This thread doesn't mention an NC-30 or a PE. These burn times are impossible and cant exist providing decent usable heat in the shoulder season. It may be moved or closed at any time. :lol:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TuUSF-RSlWU/R4Yuy_-QSVI/AAAAAAAAAGA/APuFCw9S6oU/s320/don't+poke+the+bear.jpg

 

[North of 60]

OHHHH Perfect Hiram you are a funny guy. I spit my beer out. The truth hurts, but I thought they would be all sedated right now. Help.....Need a longer pole. :lol:

 

[dafattkidd]

Rdust,
These burn times are incredible. I am so impressed with Blaze Kings. Do you mind me asking how much you paid the the Princess? If you're uncomfortable with it I completely understand. What is the cf, and measurements (height, width, depth) of the firebox on Princess? Glad to hear you're enjoying your new stove. That baby sounds like a real beast. I wish you well with it. What were you burning before the BK? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really curious after such astonishing results.