do you think any of the wood stove brands are 'tighter' than another?

If that was really true about the BK's someone here would have mentioned it.

I suppose there does exist a stove with a seal incrementally tighter that the rest but wouldn't say that sole distinction would exclusively make it the best stove. All the EPA stoves are pretty much in the same ballpark. Do a search on the BK's here... lots of information.

If anything the BK is tighter because it's a cat stove. Non cats need more air for their secondary burning temps to pass EPA test, so the air controls are rigged to not shut off completely. Cat stoves don't need as much air so can be shut down almost completely and still burn the smoke.

BK just has one door. My old Dutchwest has four (side loading door, ash
drawer door, and dual front doors). I would think all steel stoves tend to
be tighter, because cast-iron ones have all the joints between the plates -
which, theoretically, are sealed perfectly at manufacture, but the sealing
can degrade over time.

I'm curious - is this guy talking about brand new stoves, or is he talking about 20-year old stoves?

I could be wrong, but I am thinking that the old, old BK had a steel door with a large size gasket attached to it. However, there wasn't a channel for the gasket to set in, nor one on the face of the stove. The gasket was the seal, basically steel against steel with thick gasket as a seal. If the BK is the stove I am recalling when the gasket compressed with use, the seal was rather hap hazard at best.

Webwidow said:

I could be wrong, but I am thinking that the old, old BK had a steel door with a large size gasket attached to it. However, there wasn't a channel for the gasket to set in, nor one on the face of the stove. The gasket was the seal, basically steel against steel with thick gasket as a seal. If the BK is the stove I am recalling when the gasket compressed with use, the seal was rather hap hazard at best.

Click to expand...

With attached Pic. This is what you had to do with those old boys every couple of years. They could still snuff a fire out at ten paces. A true smoke dragon though. The door on my new stove has a well refined and a real simple/ easy to adjust mechanical advantage door latch system.

...loose enough so that they leak smoke...

Any stove that allows smoke to leak out has some kind of chimney blockage/closed vent thing going on to cause it. With a properly operating stove and chimney you could drill a half inch hole in any horizontal or vertical part of the stove pipe and watch it smoke on by without leaving the pipe. Of course that's with a working fire not a smoldering one.

Stoves are easy...chimneys do all the heavy lifting.

RustyShackleford said:

BK just has one door. My old Dutchwest has four (side loading door, ash
drawer door, and dual front doors).

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I've got one of those. Leaks like crazy. Replacing seals is an anual tradition. On bad days we tune down the dampers and it works well enough. It can fill the entire house with smoke if you cold start it in temps under 20deg.

Beware the rear venting models. Those are real draft problems imo.

ilmbg said:

A neighbor- who knows everything, of course, was saying how bad Blaze King is- that they are one of the worst for a tight seal. Are ANY of the wood stoves exceptionally tight??
Your views please- and if you have any data to back it up.......

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Does he have any data to back up his statement?

It appears as though most Blaze King owners are happy with them, but I have no data, just do a search on here, look at the reviews, and notice how long most of the owners have had their stove, or have owned BK in the past, and purchased a new BK rather than a different brand. Many of the owners of BK stoves on this site are living in Alaska and Canada, I would think they would know the difference between a stove that works, and one that doesn't.

There have been several people lately purchasing new BK stoves. I am hoping that there will be a few for sale used in a few years because they don't like the cat, or don't like the looks, so I can get one bought cheaper than retail. There will be a few of these new owners that will not burn the stove with dry wood, and not be happy with the cat plugging on them. There will be a few that miss the extra flame show that a non-cat will give, and there will be a few wives that will not like the looks of the stove. I can't wait till one hits the market used in my area, because I will snatch it up.

BrotherBart said:

There isn't a new stove out there that is designed to have anything but airtight joints and door gasketing.

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Sure, but the question has more to do with build quality, not design.

For steel stoves, computer-controlled cutting/bending and robotic welders have brought dramatic improvements in consistency. At this point in time, I'd be surprised if any one manufacturer had a significant leg up on the others in that department.

Looking at all the stoves at various hearth shops, they all are tight. One dealer told me some of the cast models need rebuilding/sealing every 8-10 years. I went with the Blaze King and have had no problems at all.

I have not found any of their newer King or Princess models for sale, which means folks must like them.

As for the catalytic converters, one dealer explained that any anit catalytic bias is going away since all manufacturers made them at one time, but did not have good designs. Blaze King seems to have stuck with it and has the best design.

The guys at the Axemen in Missoula told me that if a person has owned a Blaze King before, they don't even try to talk them into another brand...the loyalty seems unmatched....according to their dealers.

Here to tell ya, I haven't seen ANY Kings for sale used. Anywhere on the net or in my area. So they must be a)a good build, b)very popular, or c)complete unsellable trash when used.

I'm thinking a or b.

I've found 1 bad review for about every 7 good ones. Negative feedback is usually new owners. I could back that up if I had to.

You're probably right. New owners that are unfamilar with catalytic wood stoves could have some problems. My dealer told me to 1) never burn green wood 2) Do not burn trash 3) Burn on higher setting when first loaded to help evap. mositure 4) Run the stove on a higher setting a few times each week to keep it all clean inside....Funny, same thing the manual says, but who reads the manuals? 1 in 7 probably dont'!!

I looked for used BKK's for some time. Occasionally one will pop up here and there, but it's pretty rare. The few I found over several months of looking were either older models or people that recently bought a house which had one installed and have no interest in it. Either way, they were never local (the closest was about 250 miles away). Once the tax credit was finalized, that was enough for me to end my search since I was able to buy new (after the credit) for $1400 to my door... Even if I found one used for less, would it be worth the "unknown" factor and the additional shipping/hassle? Granted, I got a great deal on mine, but the tax credit still makes this purchase much easier, even at higher sticker prices. I will tell you the performace alone is worth the coin...

Wet1 said:

I looked for used BKK's for some time. Occasionally one will pop up here and there, but it's pretty rare. The few I found over several months of looking were either older models or people that recently bought a house which had one installed and have no interest in it. Either way, they were never local (the closest was about 250 miles away). Once the tax credit was finalized, that was enough for me to end my search since I was able to buy new (after the credit) for $1400 to my door... Even if I found one used for less, would it be worth the "unknown" factor and the additional shipping/hassle? Granted, I got a great deal on mine, but the tax credit still makes this purchase much easier, even at higher sticker prices. I will tell you the performace alone is worth the coin...

Click to expand...

That makes me feel better. We've ben concerned about dropping that much cash on something I have limited knowldege about. All I know is that we love wood stoves. I saw 2 oldies but they weren't cats which is a dealbreaker for me. Looking hard for a parlor king.

I've been interested in the credit. If I can expect to get a $1000 back I will just buy one outright. I haven't seen much on the success on the credit returns but the few notes I have seem to have gone just fine. I've got stung on "rebates" b4 so I was a little leery of it. I'll need all new pipe but I doubt that has anything to do w/the 30% tax crdit?

So far sticker prices are running $2500 to $2800 b4 tax. I am 95% certain I will drive to pick it up even if does involve my open bed trailer.

I appreciate the input as it helping solidify (and the wife especially who is doubtful of the BKK) our choice. This site helped us get away from what I believe would have been an inferior purchase.

What do you all think of a King vs a princess? I have a 2400sq foot home but half of it is chopped up floor plan. My currecnt hvac system I zoned (2 furnaces, one for each half the home. A king would be running on low but a princess would be run hotter. My biggest peeve is reloading stoves in the wee hrs of the day. I have to have at least a 12hr burn time or I won't be happy.

And another question would be can you clean these out w/the optional ash drawer while the unit is in?

Thanx for the educated opinions I hope this new stove performa as well as you hoped and I look forward to reading some updates!

Ive got 2140-2150sqft 12hrs are easy with pine.

I burn western larch (tamarack) and can burn about a cord between cleaning out the ash. We did get the Parlor too, but I had to make my fresh air kit run out the wall behind the stove so we would not look at the pipe running between the legs.

I do clean it out while the stove is still pretty warm, just wear some longer welding gloves. I pull the plug and knock ash into the pan, which has a sliding little lid to keep ash from flying around while I carry it outside. I wish the pan were deeper, but it's plenty big.

I have a Dura Vent double wall slip joint pipe that fits perfect to the collar welded on the stove...no adapter was needed. I did this so I can clean my chimney from inside the house (very steep roof). The guys at BK told me how to make a chimney cleaning system from PVC and a 5 gallon paint bucket. It works pretty darn good.

As for King or Princess, how big is the room it will be in? Where do you live and how well insulated is your home? How arm do you like the house to be? What type of wood will you be burning...Lots of questions.

I like the King because it's huge! I can load it full and take off for the weekend and enjoy the out of doors. Come home Sunday morning and the house is still warm and the still have plenty of burning chunks of wood.

The 8" system did set me back quite a bit more than my old 6", so you need to keep that in mind.

The old hermit stopped by the other day and said he was working on his wood furnace.
He said he found lots of big cracks in it and tried finding a used stove at the stove store ($$$).
I tried to hook him up but he said it was too late, he'd already re-suppoprted it structurally (?) and was filling the cracks with furnace cement. Pray for him.

*prays for Kenny's hermit buddy*
There's always JB weld no? that should do it. We used it on an engine block crack ( I watched) once and it was fine after we grinded it down.

Are we anywhere "on topic" ?

Tight design was it? Uh, my house isn't tight. Half is old leaky as a screen and a wide open design over a crappy crawlspace. Windows leak about as bad ad the floor. There's also a large open stairwell to the upper areas.

The other half is pratically brand new @ about a year old. I just built it. It's well insulated, airtight and on the other side of 2 small rooms, a sunroom and a walk-thru closet. One of the rooms has 14' ceilings.

Moving heat thru them will be as hard as anyone here has had. Even if you employ the hvac systems it won't work to really circulate the warm stove air due to the split up systems. The new side is new enough I don't exactly know what to expect. If you give up on the newer half then we only have 1300sq of old house to heat.

The stove sits at one far end against an exterior wall in the old open part.

*shrugs* I would rather open a window than wish I had a bigger firebox.

My wifes biggest concern is if she can sit in the same room as a king. Keep in mind she's a cold blooded lil thing and LOVES heat. The first coupla years she walked around inside with 2 sweaters and an electric blanket wrapped around her like a skirt. I refused to turn on the furnace and the medium dutchwest couldn't keep it over 60deg most the time. It just doesn't have anything more to give. It's an ok stove overall, it's just too small. output is prolly around 6000-26000 btu meaning we get 10k btu by my guesstimate. has a new cat btw.

We do have the luxury of having alot of hardwood available. If softwoods are working that well I like to think we would be in pretty good shape.

Maybe some pics would help the kings cause. It's looks are widely debated

Eye of the beholder and all that.