Building a 2-story boxy colonial, open floor plan, about 1900sf in central coastal Maine. Room with the stove is about 270sf, but with 2 large openings to rest of house. Wish to heat house primarily with wood stove. Electricity is off-grid solar electric, 48volt system. Narrowed down probable stove choices to Blaze King Princess or Pacific Spectrum. Two dealers have nudged me to a Summit over the Spectrum if I go with Pacific, although they acknowledge the Summit may cook me out at times. I am leaning towards the BK, but am hesitating because of the fans and trying to keep my electric needs reasonable. The fans seem like something I might need with the BK, to tap into its convection potential and heat the entire house. Anyone have experience with a similar situation? Other stoves I might want to consider?
Blaze King Princess or Pacific Spectrum
- Thread starter dsan
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Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
If going with PE you might want to consider the Alderlea T6. The mass of the cast iron jacket absorbs temperature swings nicely. I doubt you will get cooked out with it. It's a great 24/7 burner.
Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
The Alderlea T6 is a great stove, and I like the cooktop features compared to the Summit - something I want as a feature in trying to make a go of it relying on wood stove & solar electricity, and as little propane for a cook stove as possible. Have to admit though, after a morning spent reading the forums and reviews one more time and studying the manuals, this rainy Maine day has me focusing a little harder on the BK Princess. Just waiting on verification from the dealer on the power usage, but with me keeping my power usage low overall, I can't believe they'd be killers.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
If you like the look of the T6 have you checked out the BK Ashford 30? The cast iron surround looks nice really compared with the Princess, IMHO and their sizes are pretty much the same.
As far as I understand the fan kit is optional so you won't need to run the blower all the time if you even want to install it. They also draw only ~100 W so your power consumption will not get a big hit.
Since I assume a new construction will be reasonably air tight I would highly recommend installing an outside air kit (OAK). There is really no drawback to it and using outside air instead of conditioned room air to feed the fire will reduce drafts and give you some energy savings.
As far as I understand the fan kit is optional so you won't need to run the blower all the time if you even want to install it. They also draw only ~100 W so your power consumption will not get a big hit.
Since I assume a new construction will be reasonably air tight I would highly recommend installing an outside air kit (OAK). There is really no drawback to it and using outside air instead of conditioned room air to feed the fire will reduce drafts and give you some energy savings.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
Have you looked at the Woodstock Progress Hybrid? It has a cooktop and is catalytic. Since you are in Maine you could probably drive over (to the NH-VT border) to chose your stove and bring it home yourself. Plus, the company has top notch customer service including an unconditional 6-month return guarantee.
P.S. Almost forgot: Their new "Ideal Steel" stove would have the same benefits but come considerably cheaper.
Hmmmm...nope, I guess I overlooked the Woodstocks. At first look, that progress hybrid screams for a second look. I see what you mean though; great burn times, low emissions, hybrid technology, awesome cook top...and a price comparable to these other ones I'm looking at.
Back to the forum threads...seems to me I remember a few BK vs Woodstock comparisons and opinions...
Back to the forum threads...seems to me I remember a few BK vs Woodstock comparisons and opinions...
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
You might see a comparison or two.
The burn times of the BK are more than double anything from woodstock. Hybrid technology today is the worst of both worlds. You have to deal with a cat (maintenance, careful fuel choices, replacement, complicated operation) and yet you don't get the benefit of the long burn times from a cat stove. None of the hybrids will do 30 hours, heck none are rated for more than 16 as I recall. At least with a real non-cat you can burn anything and only have one lever to deal with.
Woodstock is a fine second choice though and a fine first choice if you must run the stove at higher output all the time. They are tiny though, the biggest one is smaller than the princess.
I have a BK Princess with fans. I put a Kill-A-Watt meter on the fans. At full blast, they use +/- 45.5 watts/ .79 amps, and on low, 26.6 watts and .49 amps 110 volt 60 hz. This info may be useful to you.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
My energy star ceiling fan uses 25 watts on low speed which is where it runs all winter long.
Grisu
Minister of Fire
Do you have a winner yet?
Btw. Since you are building your home, have you looked into EPA-approved zero clearance fireplaces? They heat almost as well as a modern woodstove but have the look and feel of a real fireplace. Just one link to show how that would look like: http://www.fireplacex.com/ProductGuide/FuelTypeOverview.aspx?fueltype=wood&fueltab=0
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