Blaze King-King or Princess?

I had an old king before I got the new cat 1107. Also I did several upgrade on house energy efficiency.
It overheats the house when above freezing but I get real long burn times,
but on those sub zero windy days I can crank it up, be warm & still get 12 to 16 hour burns.
I have a little more area to heat so the King was my choice.
I learned to build smaller fires with 1/2 loads & don't overheat too bad. Learning curve for me is on going.
Really good "dry" wood is key. Good install of the stove pipe & chimney (good air tight joints on double wall pipe) for burning on the lower settings.

I think either will work well for you. You'll be impressed with how much "less wood" you use to stay warm.
Won't be me talking you out of it.

You've chosen a great pair of stoves to decide between. Either one will be adequate to heat your home burning 24/7 on our softwoods.

So the king needs an 8" flue. That's a big investment especially if you already have the six in place. The King is also physically much larger and in my 1700 SF space is at a premium, do you mind the bulky fridge like size of the King?

With a cat stove, there isn't really such a thing as too large of a stove. These things can be throttled way back and actually like it. If you have the space, the flue, and don't mind the looks then the king would be better. The princess would also do well for you. Hard to fail here.

I bought a Princess this off season and I'm heating just under 2K. I would've loved to buy a King but with a 6" flue already in place and my family room being on the small side I figured I'd try the Princess out. I found a killer deal on the Princess which also made it worth trying. The Princess is bigger than the stove I'm replacing and that stove did an adequate job so I think it'll work out.

As Highbeam has already stated you'll be able throttle down either stove so if space or the flue isn't an issue I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on the King.

Good choice. What wood are you planning on burning?

Congratulations. I guess you have an 8" flue then?

BrotherBart said:

Congrats. Yer gonna love that stove.

(As BB hears the faint sound in the background of North of 60 passing out cold.)

Click to expand...

<gasp> I think he's coming around! :lol:

Maybe less ugly and more unique looking as cold weather comes around.

What did you end up paying for the king?

I'm sure you be impressed with the long burn times & less wood used.
No such thing as an "Ugly" wood stove, some are just prettier than others.
I get sooty colored glass when burning on low (spring & fall) but it cleans up when the weather gets colder & I "crank it up".
Was 22° last night, burning full loads now, glass is cleaner & a wonderful 72° inside. 17 hrs ago I loaded it (birch & spruce), it's still cranking out heat, to me that's beautiful.
Last night when I added wood, I wen out & watched the stack by moonlight, visibly smoky. When I closed the bypass & it kicked in, then went out & looked, barely visible. At the same time the gas Hot water heater kick on & the water vapor trail was 10 times more visible than the vapors out of the chimney.
Don’t know if it’s good dry wood or efficient burning, (maybe both) but it was cool to see the difference.

BrotherBart said:

bogydave said:

When I closed the bypass & it kicked in, then went out & looked, barely visible. At the same time the gas Hot water heater kick on & the water vapor trail was 10 times more visible than the vapors out of the chimney.
Don’t know if it’s good dry wood or efficient burning, (maybe both) but it was cool to see the difference.

Click to expand...

That's funny. A few years ago the 30-NC was cranking and my neighbor on the place next to me came through the woods on a cold day. He pointed at the chimney and said "I thought you said that stove didn't smoke?" I looked up and there was a little steam coming out of the chimney. I told him it was just steam and told him to follow me. We walked over to his house and I pointed up to the twenty foot column of steam coming from the vent of his propane central heat system.

Told him my steam was cheaper than his steam and walked back home. :lol:

Click to expand...

:lol:
Made me laugh.

Congrats on the stove. Our King sits right in the middle of the living space in relatively close proximity to both the couch and dining room table. I doubt you will find it too big as long as you only burn dry wood when you want to burn low. If you try and get away with burning less than dry wood on a mild day, you will have to burn it too hot to burn clean especially in the beginning of the burn cycle.