Went looking for a new wood stove to replace my 7 year old Harman Oakwood. The dealer sells blaze kings, osburns and a few others. He highly recommended the blaze king over the others so my question is are they worth the extra money. I was looking at the blaze king princess vs the osburn 2000. I'm a little concerned with the complexity of the blaze king vs the osburn, mostly the catalytic burner setup. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, I'm a newbie so hello to everyone.
Are Blaze Kings that Good?
- Thread starter camaro14
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Greetings! I think you'll find a Blaze King stove easier to operate than the Oakwood, particularly on low burns. It has a similar bypass damper operation as the Oakwood, but doesn't need to be pushed hard to behave well. For long burntimes in milder weather it's hard to beat a Blaze King. If you mostly just burn during the coldest months than the difference from the Osburn may be a bit less apparent. If you burn from fall to spring 24/7 then the BK is a good choice. I would consider going up in size to the Osburn 2400 for longer burn times if you are heating a full sized area, say greater than 1500 sq ft..
SCOTT S.
Burning Hunk
Thanks for the replies. One of the main reasons I'm getting rid of the Harman is because of it being so finicky. I have problems with it "poofing" and blowing smoke out the doors and seams. I'm afraid of burning the house down. Will I have any problems like this with either the Blaze King or Osburn?
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Yes, they're that good.
The cat system is one step more complicated than a regular non-cat but the rewards are vast. The biggest reward is the long burn time, second biggest is the flexibility to set a very low output for warm days or a very high output for cold days. The non-cats can't do that.
The cat system is one step more complicated than a regular non-cat but the rewards are vast. The biggest reward is the long burn time, second biggest is the flexibility to set a very low output for warm days or a very high output for cold days. The non-cats can't do that.
Actually non-cats can do that, though perhaps just not as well. With a stove that has high mass like the T6 we are able to have a small fire that will heat the house for 8-12 hrs in mild weather. With a minor amount of tending, like adding a log after a few hours one can easily maintain a low btu fire. It's more of a function of how one regulates the fire, the stove location, house insulation and ambient temps. If you have a house with good solar gain a small fire may not even be necessary once outside temps get above 55F.
Poofing or puffback is typical with a downdraft stove when trying to do a slow burn. You should experience none of that with the Osburn as long as the wood is dry. It takes a little bit more finesse with the BK to not close the bypass too early but most folks master the technique quickly.
Poofing or puffback is typical with a downdraft stove when trying to do a slow burn. You should experience none of that with the Osburn as long as the wood is dry. It takes a little bit more finesse with the BK to not close the bypass too early but most folks master the technique quickly.
Blaze King is way too easy to burn however you want. The ability to stuff it full, burn it hot for an hour or two and then crank it back, get up in the morning and open it up for a quick warmup, and then crank it back again for the day, is something you'll never have with any other stove. It shines in the shoulder seasons, and can crank heat with the best of 'em the rest of the winter.
They really are that good. But, it's pretty boring.
They really are that good. But, it's pretty boring.
Just about any stove out there is easier to burn well than that harman. But yes bks are very good
I hate that stove and can't wait to get rid of it!
Thanks everyone for the help. It sounds like both are good stoves with the BK having more versatility and longer burn times.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
A manufactured home around 2100 sq ft. Its 4 bedrooms but the kids are grown and gone so most the bedroom doors are closed. Its like a 1 floor ranch on a crawl space. It heats pretty well with the Harman Oakwood.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
You could also consider the Woodstock Ideal Steel. It won't get quite the burn times of a BK but offers better heat regulation than a secondary burn stove. It is a factory direct order; price in your area will be ~$2500 with delivery and depending which options you choose. The design, however, is not everyone's favorite.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
The unique selling proposition not mentioned here...even heat output, much like a metered fuel appliance. Cord wood by nature is very arbitrary in the way it burns. The thermostat meters out the available heat in a specific load in, dare I say it, a more even distribution. Of course this translates to the extended burn times mentioned here.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
In a modular I would definitely suggest a Blaze King. They are typically very tight, 2"x6" walls with good insulation. It's really nice to have the ability to run it really slow when needed, especially in a house like this.
I had a Jotul Oslo in a modular like yours it sounds like, we couldn't run it correctly unless we had a window open. Once it got up to temperature it was full steam ahead! Or we had to shut it down too soon and then it smoked pretty bad. The BK will be able to run hard if you need it to, but can also run really slow and clean when you want it to.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Ran (2) stoves last year, 1st quarter of the season was a country hearth 2500 (epa tube stove) after December 1st ran the BK princess.
Right off the bat I noticed less wood being used, and even heat coming from the stove (no rise and fall like my old stove, wasn't chasing my heat setting). I was under the impression that the BK would be a little more difficult to run compared to the old stove. I was wrong, the BK was just as easy, you just need to experiment with the thermostat air control to get the heat output you desire, it takes a good weekend, about a 12pack and multiple phone calls to friends and family members that burn wood to brag about your stove.
To simplify this here's how I light my BK stove - From cold start - open bypass damper, turn thermostat air control all the way up. Load stove with newspaper, kindling, splits (you must have a dry wood supply) light fire, close door but don't latch it. Let the fire become established after about 5-7min from initial lighting shut door completely. Let the stove continue to burn full force, after 10-15 minutes start taking notice of the cat thermometer - the needle should start moving towards the active range. Once the needle hits the active range close the bypass, but keep the air setting all the way open. Since the bypass is closed the stove will heat more quickly, the catalytic converter will start burning more & more smoke producing more heat, once the cat thermometer hits between noon and one o'clock its safe to start closing your air supply to your desired heat level. Total star up time from cold start to active cat takes between 20 - 30 min.
To load more wood on an established fire (active cat) - turn air setting up, open bypass, open door load *dry wood in stove, close door, (I wait until the bottoms of the pieces start catching), and as long as the cat is still active close the by-pass. Keep air setting open, wait until all pieces are blazing (established fire) then close air control down to desired setting. total time about 5 min.
Now this my seem like a lot of time / baby sitting, it isn't because your only really loading your stove 1 to 2 times a day if your burning low - medium. If it get really cold out and you need more heat, you simply turn the air control to a higher setting, but the more heat you call for the faster your wood is going to burn. For me - air setting of 2 3/4 meant that the stove would go through wood like my old one, but even with the arctic winter we had I only ran the stove high like that a few times.
These stoves are meant to burn low and slow, once there's an established fire (lots of flames & active cat) you can turn the stove down, there will be a point where the stove gets turned down and it just glows, no flames, some people have there glass go totally black - but the cat probe will still maintain its setting, this means the stove is working as designed, I call this boring stove mode. BK recommends after running the stove on a lower setting for a period of time to do a burn off, what that means is after loading the stove and having a established fire to keep your air setting at the highest setting and letting the fire burn fully for about 30min, this will clean the inside of the stove, and the stove glass.
Right off the bat I noticed less wood being used, and even heat coming from the stove (no rise and fall like my old stove, wasn't chasing my heat setting). I was under the impression that the BK would be a little more difficult to run compared to the old stove. I was wrong, the BK was just as easy, you just need to experiment with the thermostat air control to get the heat output you desire, it takes a good weekend, about a 12pack and multiple phone calls to friends and family members that burn wood to brag about your stove.
To simplify this here's how I light my BK stove - From cold start - open bypass damper, turn thermostat air control all the way up. Load stove with newspaper, kindling, splits (you must have a dry wood supply) light fire, close door but don't latch it. Let the fire become established after about 5-7min from initial lighting shut door completely. Let the stove continue to burn full force, after 10-15 minutes start taking notice of the cat thermometer - the needle should start moving towards the active range. Once the needle hits the active range close the bypass, but keep the air setting all the way open. Since the bypass is closed the stove will heat more quickly, the catalytic converter will start burning more & more smoke producing more heat, once the cat thermometer hits between noon and one o'clock its safe to start closing your air supply to your desired heat level. Total star up time from cold start to active cat takes between 20 - 30 min.
To load more wood on an established fire (active cat) - turn air setting up, open bypass, open door load *dry wood in stove, close door, (I wait until the bottoms of the pieces start catching), and as long as the cat is still active close the by-pass. Keep air setting open, wait until all pieces are blazing (established fire) then close air control down to desired setting. total time about 5 min.
Now this my seem like a lot of time / baby sitting, it isn't because your only really loading your stove 1 to 2 times a day if your burning low - medium. If it get really cold out and you need more heat, you simply turn the air control to a higher setting, but the more heat you call for the faster your wood is going to burn. For me - air setting of 2 3/4 meant that the stove would go through wood like my old one, but even with the arctic winter we had I only ran the stove high like that a few times.
These stoves are meant to burn low and slow, once there's an established fire (lots of flames & active cat) you can turn the stove down, there will be a point where the stove gets turned down and it just glows, no flames, some people have there glass go totally black - but the cat probe will still maintain its setting, this means the stove is working as designed, I call this boring stove mode. BK recommends after running the stove on a lower setting for a period of time to do a burn off, what that means is after loading the stove and having a established fire to keep your air setting at the highest setting and letting the fire burn fully for about 30min, this will clean the inside of the stove, and the stove glass.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
While I agree that BKs are a well made stove, not all can afford one. I also find from sales that when the touts of BK are put out there, most (New England people at least) just do not like the looks. When shown the Ashford (a beautiful stove IMO) then the high price is the objection to overcome. I have sold a handful of BKs, they are slowly catching on here in the east but they need more of a presence. I believe there is a niche for them, but Osburn, PE, Enviro and the like- their price points dictate they be considered as well. I also think BG's point about running a non-cat for lower heat output is valid and here in NE when its cold out, hard to think that much more than 10-12 hours burn time at substantial heat output could be achieved.
Agreed, As Pointdexter mentioned in another thread that stove gets fed in about 12 hr cycles. Once the stove is being pushed the differences between cat and non-cat are small. Thermostatic operation is a nice feature, had it on our VC Resolute, but it is not a necessity. I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how even our house temps stay with our stove. This was not the case with the more radiant F400. With the Jotul we would see 5 hr swing cycles in temperature of about 5 degrees. The convective mass of the T6 works well at regulating temperature swing. I would expect the Ashford to also have this attribute, even if it wasn't thermostatic.
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