My husband and I are about to buy a wood stove. We are trying to stay on a budget but also want a good wood stove. We will be heating a 1200 sq. foot 2 floor place with wood heat as primary heat (trying to use it only!) We have been looking at a variety of stoves. The ones that we are trying to choose between are the: Blaze King Princess, Lopi Leyden, and Lopi Republic 1750. We have heard good things about all of them. The Blaze King is the most expensive, is it worth it? We have heard that it is great, but others say that the catalytic converters can cause lots of problems. The Leyden looks great and is a better price. Do they work good? The Republic is the cheapest but also seems like a good stove. Please give us some feedback as soon as possible! We need to get it into our new home as soon as possible! Thank you!
Blaze King Princess, Lopi Leyden, or Lopi Republic 1750 which stove to get??
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leeave96
Minister of Fire
I feel a cat stove is superior to the extent that you have more temperature range output settings - mainaly on the low end of the burn. I would vote for the BK Princess, but the other stoves are great burners too - especially the Leyden.
Cat stoves are very simple to operate and not predisposed to failure anymore than any other type of stove. In fact, I feel that a cat stove is so simple to operate that if one feels they can't operate one, they shouldn't be burning wood in the first place.
There are other great stoves out there, both cat and noncat. Woodstock, PE Alderlea series and Englander too. Hearthstone makes some very beautiful non-cat stoves too.
Good luck,
Bill
Cat stoves are very simple to operate and not predisposed to failure anymore than any other type of stove. In fact, I feel that a cat stove is so simple to operate that if one feels they can't operate one, they shouldn't be burning wood in the first place.
There are other great stoves out there, both cat and noncat. Woodstock, PE Alderlea series and Englander too. Hearthstone makes some very beautiful non-cat stoves too.
Good luck,
Bill
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
whichstove said:
Based on all the reports from the many members here that live in Alaska, the Blaze King would be the stove I would buy if I had to live in your climate. The long burn times, the air controls and temperature control, combined with the incredibly long burning season that Alaska has would push me in the direction of the Blaze King. I am not a fan of how the Blaze King looks, but I have that luxury living in a milder climate.
If I lived in Alaska, I'd get over the looks and the price tag pretty quickly.
I would take the BK cat stove. The Leyden will heat like a champ but a bit trickier to use, potentially more problematic than a cat stove.
Thanks so far! I have been reading up more on the Leyden and it does seem like it has problems with down draft. I have been looking at the Republic. Have people had problems with that? Have people had problems with Blaze King Princess?
cmonSTART
Minister of Fire
Also the reason for our debating on which stove is the price. Blaze King Princess close to $2600 Lopi Leyden on sale $1900 and Lopi Republic 1750 on sale $1550
It seems like King might be too big for our house plus even more money. Is the princess still good, even though it is not a king?
Mt Ski Bum
Minister of Fire
Blaze Kings are known for 2 main things: ultra-long burn times... & being ugly. If the looks of BK units don't bother you, they are otherwise a quality stove- haven't heard of any real re-curring issues with them. Travis Industries (Lopi/Avalon/FPX) is also know for making very quality stoves, & are my personal fav. most of the time when it comes to wood stoves. I don't know for sure, but I guessing that the Leyden (or Avalon's equivelent, the Arbor), with its "fancier" looks, probably isn't on the cheap end of Travis products... Their 1750 (called the "Republic" by Lopi, & "Spokane" by Avalon) is basically the Lopi Endeavor in a more basic/economic outershell. I have heard many good things from Endeavor owners on this forum, & don't know of any issues with them either. I have also heard from others that Travis Ind.'s customer support is really good. Really haven't heard one way or the other on BK.
I would personally go with the 1750. It is cheap, but still well-built & will heat like a champ.
I would personally go with the 1750. It is cheap, but still well-built & will heat like a champ.
I have the Leyden and I don't have any trouble with the downdraft. It's the porcelain coated model and is very nice to look at. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about it.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
whichstove said:
The Princess should be just fine for your application. Unless you are dealing with a drafty home the Princess should heat your home just fine.
If you can afford the Blaze King, that would give you the flexibility and heating capacity that you need. If cost is a big concern, I would go with a lopi, but you might want to go bigger than a 2.3 cu ft stove for your climate.
MarkinNC
Minister of Fire
I really love my Lopi Endeavor. If I ever wear it out or move I will look hard at the BK princess. those long burn times are attractive to me. You'll be burning much softer wood that we do down here so that big firebox and long burn time would be nice.
I am very glad I did not get a Leydon. The clearances basically suck compared to the Endeavor. There are numerous gaskets on the stove and that did not appeal to me. It is attractive which is what initially drew me to it. As to the Republic 1750, I don't think it has a bypass damper. I notice that a lot of the Endeavor owners like this feature for running the stove and cleaning the chimney.
So I vote for the BK as first choice or a Lopi Endeavor.
I am very glad I did not get a Leydon. The clearances basically suck compared to the Endeavor. There are numerous gaskets on the stove and that did not appeal to me. It is attractive which is what initially drew me to it. As to the Republic 1750, I don't think it has a bypass damper. I notice that a lot of the Endeavor owners like this feature for running the stove and cleaning the chimney.
So I vote for the BK as first choice or a Lopi Endeavor.
Todd
Minister of Fire
The BK is larger than the 2 Lopi stoves you mentioned. If you want a more even comparison to the BK look at the Lopi Liberty. Personally I'd spend the extra cash for the BK, you will be happier with the longer burns, even heat out put and less loading. This is going to be your primary heat in a cold climate, don't go smaller or try and cut corners on a cheaper stove, Blaze King has a great rep in AK.
One concern we have with the blaze k princess is that maybe it would be too big for us. Our first floor is 750 sq ft and the living room where the stove will be placed isn't that big. It is next to the stair way and we have a ceiling fan. Will it be too much will it get too hot in the living room too fast? Also for the first winter we are only finishing the first floor of 750 sq ft will we be run out if the house or is the stove easily controlled? Thanks for your assistance!!
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
whichstove said:
Other BK owners will chime in, but from what I have read from the BK stove owners here, the BK stoves are extremely controllable. Oversized with the BK in your case would give you some nice long burns. A much, much longer than the Lopi stoves you are looking at.
whichstove said:
$2600
The princess over here is 1000 more than that!Wow.
I'm surprised this is even a question...
I'd take the Princess no doubt.But then I'm a BK fanboy, so I'd say it regardless of your situation
The BK has great low range BTU output, and high as well.
Princess can go down to about 6-7k if I recall correctly. So it's great for when it's only 40-50 degrees outside and you want some heat but don't want to overheat the house. Any stove can burn and put out minimal heat, but the princess can do so and burn super clean and not waste fuel. Along with giving you 20+ hour burn times!
I don't even think a king would be oversized for your house. You could keep it nice and low for the 40+ hour burns, then even when it's 0 out you probably won't have to crank it all the way so you'd still get nice burn times. I was looking at getting a king, and my house is only 792sq/ft.
If you run a 1500W space heater on full power, that's the amount of heat that a BK princess puts out on low. That's about 5300 BTU output with 100% efficiency. a Princess is 6400 BTU with somewhere around 80% efficiency. So if you run a space heater on high and it roasts you out, then a princess is too big for you. (which I HIGHLY doubt)
There's a huge amount of posters here living in Alaska using BK stoves, so I'm sure in a few days people will post up in a similar situation that can relate to you.
edit;
LOL @ your sig browning.
love it.
North of 60
Minister of Fire
Whichstove, how is your firewood lookin for this year? CUT SPLIT AND SEASONED from at least this spring or longer?
We are going to have to buy wood this year because we are moving into this new home. If anyone in Wasilla area in Alaska knows of a good person to get wood from it would help!!
Mt Ski Bum
Minister of Fire
whichstove said:
check craigslist... but you may have to sort through the ads to find the good ones... craigslist wood ads are known to be pretty rediculous at times... also make sure when someone says "seasoned" they mean "seasoned"... I've heard of a lot of incidents on this forum where the "seasoned wood" turns out to be far from actually being "seasoned" (hint: if there's water dripping out of the wood, it probably isn't seasoned ;-P )
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
whichstove said:
Someone on here might be able to help you as I believe we have a poster or two in that area, but buying wood at this point will make wood burning difficult. If you do buy wood now, buy two years worth so your wood will be dry for next winter.
We have a 2 story place what kind of pipes do we need to get? Through the whole house do they need to be double or just through the second floor? Do they need to be A type? What do people know about this? We are going to talk to the people at the stove shop soon but want to know what others have to say about it.
ddddddden
Minister of Fire
Yeah, BK for the win, definitely. If you burn mostly softwood, you need a larger firebox to hold enough fuel so that you don't have to reload every 4 hours. Princess = 2.85 cu ft. A non-catalytic stove this size might roast you out of a small space, but the Princess won't. . .hence the dainty name. BK strongly recommends double-wall pipe. . .keeps the flue warm, which improves draft and stove performance. I *think* you can run this through the 1st and 2nd floors, then class A for the attic and exterior.
BK strongly recommends double-wall pipe. . .keeps the flue warm, which improves draft and stove performance. I *think* you can run this through the 1st and 2nd floors, then class A for the attic and exterior.
ddddddden
Minister of Fire
p.s. Don't fear the cat. Embrace the cat. Love the cat, and your love will be warmly returned. ;-)
A well-designed modern cat stove is a joy. Reports of problems with cats are *greatly* exaggerated, hailing from fist-generation cat stoves that basically added the catalyst into the flue without redesigning the stove, or from unenlightened folks trying to burn wet wood, which will give poor performance in any modern stove.
A well-designed modern cat stove is a joy. Reports of problems with cats are *greatly* exaggerated, hailing from fist-generation cat stoves that basically added the catalyst into the flue without redesigning the stove, or from unenlightened folks trying to burn wet wood, which will give poor performance in any modern stove.
ddddddden
Minister of Fire
Hass, the last time I checked, list price on the Princess was $2600. You might be a bigger fanboy than I am and have more recent info. . .are you saying that the price has gone up $1k in the last 3 years?!
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
The BK is an exceptional heater and burns very low when needed. However, you will more than likely have a frustrating first year and will struggle burning low unless you find dry wood.
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