Upgrading Encore 2N1 for a Blaze King?

With a catalytic stove you can smoulder the wood and the cats stay engaged with enough smoke going through them, the nice thing with the BK stoves is the Bi-metallic thermostat that regulates the air to keep the cat in the active zone and producing heat. Pretty much a set and forget stove.

I would recommend getting double wall as with a stove like this that idles so low you want to keep the temps in the chimney higher so you don't loose draft.

bcphillips said:

Thanks for your reply. Couple questions for my application. Can I spray paint it biscuit? Can I hook up to 6 inch single wall pipe? Is princess too big for my home? I understand it isn't 400 degrees all around the stove but operating at that temp all the time sounds like too much heat. What happens when it isn't getting enough air and it goes into non-active range? Does the fire simply just go out?

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With a 400 degree stove top its not TOO much heat just a nice steady output. With the BK thermostatic control the stove will adjust its own airflow to match the stove temp you set. And yes, the princess can RIP too, less burn time but hey.

bcphillips said:

Thanks for your reply. Couple questions for my application. Can I spray paint it biscuit? Can I hook up to 6 inch single wall pipe? Is princess too big for my home? I understand it isn't 400 degrees all around the stove but operating at that temp all the time sounds like too much heat. What happens when it isn't getting enough air and it goes into non-active range? Does the fire simply just go out?

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1) You can spray paint it any color you want so long as you use the proper paint product. We've seen red, gold, brown, etc. I like OEM black but this is totally up to you and reversible. It won't be baked on enamel.

2) Yes, you can use 6" single wall. Double wall is better for a few reasons but that wasn't your question.

3) No. The size of the stove is not as closely related to low end heat output with cat stoves as it is with non-cats. The larger stove just holds more fuel. At high outputs, the size of the stove becomes more and more important. On "low" the princess stove only puts out a small amount of heat. If that's too much then you can let it die and fire every other day.

4) If the cat goes inactive, it stops eating the smoke and your wood load smolders until either extinguishing itself or running out of fuel. That can be a smokey stinky mess in the firebox, up the flue, and out the stack. You will learn, through trial and error, what the lowest stat setting is that will maintain cat lightoff. It's pretty low.

RIP, like kick butt, rippin hot.

How was fireplace supply's showroom? What pricing did he quote for the princess?

bcphillips said:

just got back from going there this afternoon. they were unable to give me any quotes as they were told by their distributor that blaze King will be selling directly to the dealers. she has contacted blaze King and has not yet heard from them.

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This was touched upon in another thread
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/first-24-hour-burn.131826/page-2#post-1773526

You could probably contact Chris if you're not getting anywhere.

bcphillips said:

For woodstoves, there are hearthstone displays and heritage as well.

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I had a heritage and dumped it for the BK. The HS stoves are pretty and perform as advertised but they are not built to last. Don't be tempted.

I would like to know how much you get for the encore 2n1 when you sell it...

I have entertained the thought of selling mine online or craigslist and trying to get 1500$ for and it turning around and purchasing an ideal steel or bk princess...The IS being the more reasonable choice financially. Would love a bk king, but i'm not going so far as to replace my 6in liner.

IMHO, you would be hard pressed to get more than $800-$1000 for any VC stove. The only exception to that would be one that has been rebuilt using all new parts.

begreen said:

There are lots of 20+ yr old Hearthstone's in service. Our neighbor has a 34 yr old H1 still heating his house. The nice thing is that Hearthstone still supplies parts for older units.

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Lot's of 20+ year old VC in operation too. Neither are available today.

begreen said:

A 3 year old Encore 2n1 should bring in about $1500 if it is in excellent condition, especially during peak season. They went to a harder refractory in the newer model. Of course it will likely sell to someone that is not a stove enthusiast and hanging out here.

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I would be very sad If i couldn't get 1500$. It is in immaculate condition, no cracks or breaks, refractory looks brand new. His 2in1 however has a crack in the back...might change things slightly... not sure. I would look at getting that repaired under warranty however.

begreen said:

How many cords did you run through the Heritage? Was it 30?

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Yes, about 30 over only 5 or 6 years. The door hinges and latch wore, became sloppy, and were ONLY repairable by a stove tear down and rebuild. It was a good stove otherwise. Performed as advertised and looked great.

Maybe that's a "lifetime" of burning to you but not to me.

Good to know, you can't beat that kind of service. So the BK is out of the picture?