New Blaze King Princess Owner

[Jbels]

Hello,
I'm new to the forum, and a first time wood stove owner. I did grow up with a wood stove as primary heat, but as with many things you do in your youth you do them with out much thought! I never thought about types of wood, sources of wood, how much wood, etc... I've been heating exclusively with my new Princess for about a week and I feel like I'm going through more wood than I thought. Now I live in my "new" 1860's farm house which is poorly insulated to say the least, is 2100 square feet (but we're only consistently heating about 1600) and it has been between -10 and 30 degrees the whole week. I've gone through between 1/2-2/3 of a face cord and I've had my stove set between settings 2 and 3 on the thermostat. I'm using well dried Ash which I know isn't the best. I guess it is just hard to know what to expect. I'm not stupid enough to think I was only going to load it once every 30 hours! But I was hoping to only have to load 2-3 times a day and right now it is about every 5-6 hours. Let me know if you have some thoughts. Thank you! Also, I didn't invest in the fan kit, should I?

Josh

 

[blueguy]

While I don't have a Princess, I do have a Sirocco 30, which is similar in fire box size. In my neck of the woods, we have been seeing temps ranging from -11F at night to 23F daytime over the last week and I am loading the stove twice a day with 7 medium splits and running it at #2 at night, and 4 medium / small splits during the day running at 1.25 - 1.5 - which is keeping the far reaches of my 2200 sq ft bungalow being heated from the basement at a nice toasty 70F. That being said, my house is only 4 years old, fairly tight and well insulated, however to go through almost a full face cord in a week with the Princess seems a bit excessive to me, even with a drafty house - never mind the reloading after 5 hours.

Most of the BK diehards here will tell you that if you need to have the stove above 2.5 to heat your house constantly = an undersized stove, however I wonder if running it at 3 if just wasting heat up the flue? Are you packing it full each time you reload?

Edit: I should also add that I am still experimenting with how much wood vs t-stat dial setting vs outdoor temps vs indoor temps vs reload times, so what I have been using over the last week is not necessarily a good gauge of wood usage in this stove

 

[Jbels]

Thanks for the reply. I'm beginning to feel like I chose the wrong stove as well. I was going to go with the King, but one day I just happened to stop by my local dealer and the BK rep and president of the Co. were there. After talking with them for a half hour they convinced me it would be too big. I think I need to call the dealer. If I only run the stove at 2 the living room, which is where the stove is located, the rest of the house is just too cold. Especially in the morning, if I let it go all night, I might barely have enough coals to keep it going, but the house will be ~60 in the living room and in the low 50's in the far kitchen which is the farthest room from the stove. Running it like I am right now will put me through way too much wood. I bought 3 face cord to get me started thinking it would get me through the end of the winter, but at this rate, I'll be through that in a month.

 

[blueguy]

If you're running it at 2 all night on a packed box and having 'barely enough coals' come morning, something is wrong. I am able to achieve 12 hours on 7 loosely placed splits at 2 with tons of coals left to reload. Are you packing the firebox full when you reload it?

 

[Jbels]

Yes, I do what the manual says. Let it burn down, and pack the box full to limit the time the door is opened.

 

[Jbels]

When you say you put in 7 loosely placed splits, what time of the evening is this, and what kind of wood are you burning?

 

[blueguy]

5:30 pm, burning a mix of yellow birch, beech, rock maple. I refill at 5:30 am

 

[Jbels]

Yeah, that is what I was anticipating.

 

[Gareth96]

Try some eco-bricks? http://www.ecobrick.net/dealerloc

 

[Jbels]

That's not really what I was hoping to do. I bought the 3 face cord to get me through to the spring when I was going to buy a truck load of logs and be set for the next few years.

 

[blueguy]

If you're burning through a full fire box of wood in 5 hours with the stat set at 2, eco bricks are not going to solve anything, except for having something dry on-hand to burn.

How hot is the stove stop during one of your 5 hour burns? And is your bypass "clunking" shut when the cat is up to temp?

 

[Jbels]

No, I'm burning through a full box, down to large ~3"x3" chunks at a setting of 3 during the day. 2 is what I set is at night. With a full load at 9pm I'm up by 3am to load it again, or it just gets too cold by morning and there is hardly anything left by then. I don't know an exact temp. The only thermometer that I have is the catalyst thermometer it came with. usually it is in the upper third to past the white "okay to run the catalyst mark.

 

[blueguy]

When you close the bypass, is there a "clunk" felt through the handle?

 

[Jbels]

Yes, sorry, I meant to answer that above.

 

[jeff_t]

Describe your chimney setup, flue collar to cap.

Order the fan kit ASAP.

 

[Jbels]

Double wall black pipe up ~4", 45 degree-45degree double wall, through the wall to "T" and up 17' of insulated flexible liner.

 

[blueguy]

+1

Depending on your answer to Jeff's question, I am also starting to wonder if your flue setup is too short and / or if (because you don't know how hot your stove top is) you are burning unnecessarily high (i.e. at #3) and just wasting heat up the flue...

 

[blueguy]

I understand differences in individual install requirements, but only 4" to the first bend? BK recommends a minimum of 24", preferably 36".

 

[Jbels]

Sorry, that was supposed to be 4'.

 

[blueguy]

lol

 

[Jbels]

Its a very little house!

 

[Gareth96]

BKVP said I should be ok with a 15' total pipe length for a straight run pipe. If you have 2x45 degree, and a tee, and some length in between, then the general rule I've found is this:
One Tee Add 3 feet. to the minimum height.
One 45° Elbow Add 1 foot. to the minimum height.
Each foot of horizontal run Add 2 feet. to the minimum height.

And you're at what, about 21' right?

 

[Highbeam]

I bought 3 face cord to get me started thinking it would get me through the end of the winter, but at this rate, I'll be through that in a month.

So you just got this stove a week ago and the wood too. You bought the wood by the "face cord" at this time of year. How does it burn? Other than fast.

I concur with the idea that running the princess on a setting at or above 50% throttle indicates a problem.

 

[Lanningjw]

We have had 50 days of below 0 for a low temp in Minnesota this winter. I burn ash all the time. when its really cold 6 to 8 hours is all I get with the princess insert. My house is a story and a half, about 1,600 square feet. I put closed cell foam under the roof decking with modern windows. I think you have a insulation problem my friend.

 

[Jbels]

I can't imagine that the problem is draft. It starts cold very easily and I have never have smoke come into the house. Would you mind telling me what an extra 6 or so feet of flu would do, and how that would change how it burns?