BK princess that expensive?

So I decided to call the local dealer that sells blaze king products and price out a princess insert. They quoted me $3750. Is that a normal price? seems pretty high to me. The same place had a pacific energy (super) insert and that was $3100 installed and had the chimney liner included in the price. Is the princess normally that much more expensive then other non cat stoves? BTW im in canada so these are canadian prices.

Yep. I was quoted around $4k for a Princess insert and Chinook, and around $3600 for a Princess Ultra. I ended up with a King that had been in inventory for 5-6 years and they wanted to get rid of. The rumor had been that the east side pricing might be coming down, as the contract with the distributor on this side was coming to an end, but I haven't heard of any major changes. I don't know if it is the same distributor for eastern Canada or not.

The dealers price on the PE insert looks fair. You could probably get a Summit installed w/liner for $200-300 cheaper than you'd pay for the Princess. From what I remember reading, it doesn't seem like the Princess insert is getting the same burn times as the freestander anyway.

Is that an installed price? The insert doesnt get quite the burn times of the freestander probably due to the blower running all the time, I noticed when I burned it with the blower off (lost electricity) I was getting crazy burn times, it just didnt heat the house as evenly.

no the $3750 is for just the BK princess no liner no install. Seems weird i can get a different stove with liner and install $600 cheaper then the bare BK. I was really hoping to get the princess mainly because of how easy it seems to keep a steady temp with the thermostat. I don't see myself having the time or remembering to adjust the damper on a regular stove, and il probably end up cooking us out of the house or something. This will be my first stove so maybee its not as bad as im thinking. Im almost thinking about paying the extra $1800 or whatever it is for the BK but damn. Is there any other stove out there that is somewhat like the BK with self adjusting damper?

If you don't mind calling around and traveling a ways, check other dealers. They don't all sell at suggested retail.

My new stove search is somewhat stalled as well, not because of the price of the BK's, but because of the cosmetics. For those who don't want a BK, for one reason or another, there don't seem to be a huge number of options for a stove that can cruise unattended like a catalytic stove. Only options I've found so far are the Woodstock hybrids and the Harman FireDome, and I have more question than answers about both.

If your after a cat stove that is good there seems to be a lot of woodstock lovers here. http://www.woodstove.com/ They are really great stoves from what I have seen.

Pete

The Harman stoves are good if you can get the draft exactly right otherwise they are a total nightmare ! There customer service is lacking as well. I still have a sore spot on that one

Pete

I'm still not convinced on the operation of the thermostat, but it does allow precise adjustment. The stove responds quickly, and after you run it for a while you know where the stat needs to be set for given weather conditions. I'm not sure I would lay down $4k for one, but at $2450 it was a no-brainer for me.

I'm not turned on by the looks, but loading every 12-48 hours certainly is beautiful.

What a deal we couldn't find one under 3400 and that was without the door !!

Pete

There are several cat stove manufacturer's out there for way less than a BK, most do not have the tstat, but with a cat stove you load it twice a day and let it go so a tstat was not high on my list of needs.

If you can fit an 8in liner and your fireplace is big enough, I'd look at some of the other large cat inserts available. They should easily match the princess insert burn times and they have larger fireboxes, so they will produce more heat
Buck 91
Country Flame BBF
Kuma Sequoia

Who?

Some already mentioned above, but others are Appalachian, High Valley & Sierra off the top of my head.

Maybe cheaper than a BK, but they're all the same square steel box in appearance! Where's the attractive catalytic equivalent of a cast iron Jotul Oslo or a Lopi Leyden?

Woodstock, sorry no cast available unless you want to buy VC or Dutchwest

It's a fact, cat stoves are not mainstream. They don't get the same attention or aesthetic updates as the higher profit (due to volulme) non-cats. The BK brand is trying to put out tsome more attractive options with the chinook but they have not figured out how to make a normal looking stove yet.

I think the Sirocco 20 is a pretty "normal" looking steel stove, now they just need to make it bigger.

After burning it for a week You will forget what it looks like mainly because You wont see it that much....

My King Ultra with every option was $2,750 USD

Hardly ever use the blowers....but I'm glad I have them.

You need to shop around to get deals, NOW is that time!

Personally I think they look just fine, especially when You can order them in any color.

Not really concerned with getting any deals. The few hundred dollars saved by buying in June or July versus August disappears over the 20 years I'll (hopefully) use the stove. I would love to buy a BK, but it will never fly in this house. Wife is set on something attractive, like a Jotul Oslo, but I really want a cat stove. I'd pay twice the cost of a BK, if I could find that performance in an attractive cast iron case.

Nice rear clearances on that encore. Too bad their largest version is a lousy 2.3 CF. It does have some sort of a stat though!

Yep, I think you're right!

I think 2.0 - 2.3 CF is perfect for my situation.