Blaze King vs. Osburn, Majestic Dutch West & Pacific Energy

Parallax said:

Hey Webby, thank you!

Big Redd, comment number 3, above, literally had me laughing into my breakfast.

In advocating the PE over the BK, those qualities you outline in 4 seem like good things to have in a stove. But I'm also interested in long, slow burn times and efficient usage of wood. Are you familiar enough with both stoves to compare the two directly? Right now, based mainly on Webby's consistent praise for the BK, but also on what many others on these forums have said, I'm still leaning in that direction (but also still open to other possibilities).

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webby3650 said:

1st of all the cat DW is not garbage at all! It just won't heat his space.
Blaze King stoves excel with soft wood! They can stretch out a very long burn with soft wood, almost as long as a load of hardwood. This trait is very unique due to the design of a BK.

Blaze Kings do not need perfect wood! This is a myth to say the least!

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The problem with what you are saying here is that you're sortov right. Sortov.

Of course you can bypass the cat and run a BK as a pre-EPA stove burning not so perfect wood. But that sortov ruins the efficiency, doesn't it. And burning less than dry wood with the cat engaged shortens the life of the cat.

BKs do, in fact, excel at burning all wood. But they do not create BTUs. They extract them. Low BTU wood + superlong burn time = not much heat. It's science.

And the Dutchwest is garbage. I guess we'll just have to let this one go.

I'm not down on BKs at all. I love them.

Parallax said:

Hey Webby, thank you!

Big Redd, comment number 3, above, literally had me laughing into my breakfast.

In advocating the PE over the BK, those qualities you outline in 4 seem like good things to have in a stove. But I'm also interested in long, slow burn times and efficient usage of wood. Are you familiar enough with both stoves to compare the two directly? Right now, based mainly on Webby's consistent praise for the BK, but also on what many others on these forums have said, I'm still leaning in that direction (but also still open to other possibilities).

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When I bought my PE Spectrum Classic in 2009 I looked hard at the BK Princess (which promises 20 hour burn times, I think). I went with the PE for shear simplicity - 1 vent lever Vs a dial and at least 2 other lever plus the catalyst itself. There's just way fewer moving parts. I know a couple people (actual people, not internet people) that have and love BKs and I've never heard a complaint - but the fact is they do not go through far less wood than I do.

Bigg_Redd said:

The problem with what you are saying here is that you're sortov right. Sortov.

Of course you can bypass the cat and run a BK as a pre-EPA stove burning not so perfect wood. But that sortov ruins the efficiency, doesn't it. And burning less than dry wood with the cat engaged shortens the life of the cat.

BKs do, in fact, excel at burning all wood. But they do not create BTUs. They extract them. Low BTU wood + superlong burn time = not much heat. It's science.

And the Dutchwest is garbage. I guess we'll just have to let this one go.

I'm not down on BKs at all. I love them.

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Bypassing the cat only happens for a very short time. And it does not in any way shorten the life of the cat, it has no Impact.
Dutchwest cat stoves are not garbage! Have you had one? Non-cats are, but they are a different stove altogether.
Your friends must have undersized their BK's if they aren't using less wood than a non-cat!

jeff_t said:

Having both, though you'd be looking at the Summit/T6 rather than the 2 cu ft stoves, I can say the BK is much easier and more predictable to operate. Not that burning the PE is rocket science, but I feel the BK is just easier overall. Get it up to temp, close the bypass, set the dial where you want it. Done.

My sister also has a BKK, and owns a share of the PE (it is in a weekend place that we bought together), and she feels same.

I think you can't go wrong either way. It is nice to see the fire now and then, but IMO the other attributes of the BK outweigh the clean glass.

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The Ashford has the cleanest glass on average of any stove I've had to date! It is different form the King or the Princess that are know for the dirtier glass. Mine rarely has any dirty glass! I love that!

Parallax

I certainly do not have the experience 99% of the people here on this forum have but I put in a BK Princess in mid November and could not be happier. It is so easy to operate it's ridiculous...I'm heating a 2800 sq ft ranch and that stove will keep the far bedrooms at 70+ all day long. For never having messed with a wood burner this one makes me look like I know what I'm doing.....no regrets.
Dan

Lundrunner said:

Parallax

I certainly do not have the experience 99% of the people here on this forum have but I put in a BK Princess in mid November and could not be happier. It is so easy to operate it's ridiculous...I'm heating a 2800 sq ft ranch and that stove will keep the far bedrooms at 70+ all day long. For never having messed with a wood burner this one makes me look like I know what I'm doing.....no regrets.
Dan

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+1 with a king

I'm telling you, there nothing else that will compare to a Blaze king! Nothing!
That being said, 2,600+ square feet is asking a lot from any stove. That is the higher end of most stoves.

webby3650 said:

The Ashford has the cleanest glass on average of any stove I've had to date! It is different form the King or the Princess that are know for the dirtier glass. Mine rarely has any dirty glass! I love that!

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That's interesting, I assumed it was basically the same princess box with a cast shell, don't most non cat stoves achieve clean glass by placing burn tubes close to the glass. Do you have any ideas on how it's achieving clean glass?

Quentin2 said:

That's interesting, I assumed it was basically the same princess box with a cast shell, don't most non cat stoves achieve clean glass by placing burn tubes close to the glass. Do you have any ideas on how it's achieving clean glass?

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Shallower firebox floor and glass that is vertical rather pitched at an angle.

Parallax said:

You had previously said you thought the Ashford would be adequate for my home, given its location in the Pacific Northwest and the fact that it's newer and well insulated. Or did I misunderstand?

Would you suggest the King? My wife really hates the look of the King.

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I understood him that way...that the Ashford would be fine.
I think he was just saying the Blaze King would be fine. He didn't say Blaze King/King.

My last home was a similar size to yours and I had a DutchWest XL that was an awesome stove. It went 24/7 in the winter and kept the whole house warm & toasty and never let me down. In the house prior I had a BlazeKing - it was also an awesome stove and can really throw out the heat when you need it. Although my DutchWest was great many seem to suggest they are hit and miss whereas I don't think I have ever come across an unhappy BlazeKing owner so that is a fairly good direction in my view. Good luck.

Parallax said:

You had previously said you thought the Ashford would be adequate for my home, given its location in the Pacific Northwest and the fact that it's newer and well insulated. Or did I misunderstand?

Would you suggest the King? My wife really hates the look of the King.

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I believe it will be adequate. I just don't want to see you be disappointed with whatever stove you choose. That's a lot of house!

Parallax said:

Would you suggest I go for the King or another stove?

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No, the King would be the only other stove to consider though in my opinion. Given your climate and the newer construction I think you will be just fine with the Ashford.

I would get a King. The extra CF in the firebox means you can burn hotter on those extra cold B'ham days and still load once per day.

Other stoves that I don't know much about but sound like mega-heaters: Sequoia and the big Buck. Neither of those will give you the burn time of the King but if you or your wife just can't get past the looks of the King you might consider them.

I don't remember if you said you intend to use back-up heat. If you use back-up and set your thermostat low I think the Ashford will do the job grandly. If it's going to be your only heating source, you'll get enough heat out of it but your extended burn times will suffer. The BK is efficient but (contrary to rumour) it's not magical