PE Summit Vs BK Princess inserts

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Angelo C

Member
Apr 11, 2010
95
Peoples Republic of NJ
Guys,
Sorry for the "what stove is best for me" post but. I'm stuck "wanting" the BK but leaning toward the PE Summit.
I have a great source for fuel and it's already seasoned. Much better with a saw and splitter then fireplace. I have a full masonary exterior FP with 25' of 16x11" clay flu. and I can't get any usable heat from it currently. its entertainment at best and an excuse for running my saws in reality. want some heat. the area is a 2 story family room in a 3500 sq ft well insulated 14 Y/0 house. I don't really understand how the EBT work or the ceramics in the BKK. Looking for overnight burns and don't mind loading the bad boy up. why would you chose one or the other if they are both w/in a few $ of each other and your wife dont mind the look of either if the thing keeps her warm. So...money no object, fuel no issue, looks don't matter....big area to heat...love to run saws what would you chose and why.

thanks,
A
 
That's a large area, can I throw a wrench into your question and suggest looking at the Buck model 91 insert. It has a 4.4 cubic foot firebox, I'm sure the ones you're looking at will help lower the heat bill but doubtful they'll carry the full load.

If you must choose between your two choices I think the Summit would be a good fit. I have a BK and the only reason I suggest the Summit is the Princess shines on low burn, with the area you're heating the stove will very rarely see low burn.(although you say well insulated so maybe it would) Without being able to use the stove on a low burn you won't benefit from the long burn magic of the cat.

Hopeful some of the more seasoned burners will offer their advice.
 
You say your house is 3500 square feet. if you were looking into the bk, i think that the princess would be undersized and you may want to look at the king model. dont know much about the summit but the bk is an awesome stove. especially with good fuel.
 
You will find widely varying opinions around here as to which stove you should buy but what I can tell you is that given the information above neither of the stoves will heat 3500 sq ft. Given the fact you have so much sq footage and the fact that you will be able to run the stove hotter even during shoulder season I think the really low burn of the Princess insert is a fairly moot point. I have had both cat and non cat stoves at this point and I am enjoying the T6 and have no regrets going with a PE product however in the end you need to be happy with what you bought so go for what you really want and if it is the Princess then go for it. Why are you leaning towards the Summit? Bye the way whichever stove you get make sure you plan on lining the chimney and putting in a block off plate. Good Luck on the decision
 
ecocavalier02 said:
You say your house is 3500 square feet. if you were looking into the bk, i think that the princess would be undersized and you may want to look at the king model. dont know much about the summit but the bk is an awesome stove. especially with good fuel.
woops just re read the title didnt realize you were talking about inserts.
 
rdust said:
That's a large area, can I throw a wrench into your question and suggest looking at the Buck model 91 insert. It has a 4.4 cubic foot firebox, I'm sure the ones you're looking at will help lower the heat bill but doubtful they'll carry the full load.

If you must choose between your two choices I think the Summit would be a good fit. I have a BK and the only reason I suggest the Summit is the Princess shines on low burn, with the area you're heating the stove will very rarely see low burn.(although you say well insulated so maybe it would) Without being able to use the stove on a low burn you won't benefit from the long burn magic of the cat.

Hopeful some of the more seasoned burners will offer their advice.

Very good points. Its a tough process, I had not considered the Buck as I am not familiar with it. I narrowed to the BK and Summit as they are the closest distributors in the area in two retailers that have been in biz long term. Had not thought about the "low output" efficiency. Any and all other brands/suggestions will be considered as well. I don't need it to carry the full heat load, I want it to. To be quite honest the home has LP and it is fairly cheap to heat. I want to burn and am still young enough to enjoy the ability.
 
certified106 said:
You will find widely varying opinions around here as to which stove you should buy but what I can tell you is that given the information above neither of the stoves will heat 3500 sq ft. Given the fact you have so much sq footage and the fact that you will be able to run the stove hotter even during shoulder season I think the really low burn of the Princess insert is a fairly moot point. I have had both cat and non cat stoves at this point and I am enjoying the T6 and have no regrets going with a PE product however in the end you need to be happy with what you bought so go for what you really want and if it is the Princess then go for it. Why are you leaning towards the Summit? Bye the way whichever stove you get make sure you plan on lining the chimney and putting in a block off plate. Good Luck on the decision

will line and insolate flu. Have a major draw issue now. I think the flu is oversized and thats the major heat loss so far. fully expect to insolate and block off as well. Summit dealer is closer is the reason and seems like a lower long term maintenance machine from reports here.
 
What about sitting a monster stove in the hearth or on a pad right in front of the hearth. Put a big BK or Equinox there, and you will be sweating.
 
firecracker_77 said:
I think stoves generally result in more heat than inserts of the same size.

agree. not sure if the same amount of heat output would result when I shove 3/4 of it in the fireplace. Tough math problems here so far....if a train leaves california traveling 50 mph and another train leaves NJ traveling 75 mph...
 
What are the dimensions of you fp? I'm assuming big by the way you are looking at everything.

Buck makes a solid stove. They do have a non-cat version of the 91, the 94nc. Seen a couple of mixed reviews on it, but have never heard anything negative on the 91. I think it has something to do with a firebox that big and secondary burn tubes. Cat seems to work better in that situation. Don't get hung up on the cat/non-cat thing. Big stove and needs an 8" liner, but shouldn't be an issue in that flue.
 
if you're dead set on an insert, my two cents is find the largest firebox you can fit in your fireplace. That being said, if I were in your situation I would be looking to see if a BK King fits in there. Those seem to be the stoves that get the best reviews for heating large spaces. Hope that's helpful. Merry Christmas!

Where in Jersey are you?
 
Closest BK dealer is in Trenton(that actually has one on display) that's a big reason for the PE. He's about 8 miles away and long timer. Im just outside of Flemington. there is a good Jotul dealer there as well. Not hung up on cat/SBT. Just not sure of technology/witchcraftery involved. Sounds like the CAT is a bit more delicate then the SBT set up.
I think the FP is big enough for a King in it but how much heat would you get out of it and how do you push the air out from behind/back of it.
 
Angelo C said:
Closest BK dealer is in Trenton(that actually has one on display) that's a big reason for the PE. He's about 8 miles away and long timer. Im just outside of Flemington. there is a good Jotul dealer there as well. Not hung up on cat/SBT. Just not sure of technology/witchcraftery involved. Sounds like the CAT is a bit more delicate then the SBT set up.
I think the FP is big enough for a King in it but how much heat would you get out of it and how do you push the air out from behind/back of it.

Well I completely understand being hesitant about the cat. I didn't get one because I don't always have properly seasoned wood to burn, and I didn't want to always be worried about gunking up my cat, but guys who have these units speak of mythological burn times that blow my mind. If I had more space and could store three years of wood I would have seriously considered a BK. That being said, they have blowers as optional add ons. http://www.blazeking.com/EN/wood-king.html

I'm sure a BK owner will chime in with a more detailed answer for you. They can be a bit goofy looking, but they are the beasts of the wood burning community.
 
I would say go with the PE. they are both canadian made stoves and both quality stoves but PE is knowen out west hear as about the best insert you can get.
One thing I would recomend is to get the PE super if it will fit.

I run an osburn but that is only because I got it for 150.00, I was on my way to look at a used Super but it was going to be more and the guy was being difficult.

My buddy heats his whole house with wood, 2 stoves, 2 inserts, and a wood furnace. he has a PE super stove, 1 PE super insert, an old osburn insert that is being changed to a PE super, and a Blaze king stove. and I am not sure what his wood furnace is.

in the PE supper inserts he will put a load of fir in about 8 at night and in the AM he just adds more logs and away it goes. always has overnight burn times. and they chuck a bunch of heat.

Steve
 
stircrazy said:
I would say go with the PE. they are both canadian made stoves and both quality stoves but PE is knowen out west hear as about the best insert you can get.
One thing I would recomend is to get the PE super if it will fit.

I run an osburn but that is only because I got it for 150.00, I was on my way to look at a used Super but it was going to be more and the guy was being difficult.

My buddy heats his whole house with wood, 2 stoves, 2 inserts, and a wood furnace. he has a PE super stove, 1 PE super insert, an old osburn insert that is being changed to a PE super, and a Blaze king stove. and I am not sure what his wood furnace is.

in the PE supper inserts he will put a load of fir in about 8 at night and in the AM he just adds more logs and away it goes. always has overnight burn times. and they chuck a bunch of heat.

Steve
Holy cow!
What size his his house and does he have glass in his windows?
 
HotCoals said:
stircrazy said:
I would say go with the PE. they are both canadian made stoves and both quality stoves but PE is knowen out west hear as about the best insert you can get.
One thing I would recomend is to get the PE super if it will fit.

I run an osburn but that is only because I got it for 150.00, I was on my way to look at a used Super but it was going to be more and the guy was being difficult.

My buddy heats his whole house with wood, 2 stoves, 2 inserts, and a wood furnace. he has a PE super stove, 1 PE super insert, an old osburn insert that is being changed to a PE super, and a Blaze king stove. and I am not sure what his wood furnace is.

in the PE supper inserts he will put a load of fir in about 8 at night and in the AM he just adds more logs and away it goes. always has overnight burn times. and they chuck a bunch of heat.

Steve
Holy cow!
What size his his house and does he have glass in his windows?

its a 1950's house in the west coast of canada, no isulation and about 3 additions to about 3700 sq feet. some rooms there is no central heat so they have wood stoves, the inserts are in a formal front room and a bedroom down stairs. he has the furnace running in the winter but just used the stoves during the fall and spring.

Steve
 
Our house, minus the basement, is about 2500 sq ft. After researching the many insert options we settled on the Harman 300i which will be installed the first week of January. The dealer (E & E Stoves) Is in Fairless Hills, PA which may not be too far from you. Have you considered the Harman or the Quadrafire inserts?
 
wwindsor said:
Our house, minus the basement, is about 2500 sq ft. After researching the many insert options we settled on the Harman 300i which will be installed the first week of January. The dealer (E & E Stoves) Is in Fairless Hills, PA which may not be too far from you. Have you considered the Harman or the Quadrafire inserts?

the dealer in flemington has the Quadrafires. wasn't sure they were up to the large heat load needed. any comments otherwise are welcome. as well as any other options.
 
stircrazy said:
I would say go with the PE. they are both canadian made stoves and both quality stoves but PE is knowen out west hear as about the best insert you can get.
One thing I would recomend is to get the PE super if it will fit.

I run an osburn but that is only because I got it for 150.00, I was on my way to look at a used Super but it was going to be more and the guy was being difficult.

My buddy heats his whole house with wood, 2 stoves, 2 inserts, and a wood furnace. he has a PE super stove, 1 PE super insert, an old osburn insert that is being changed to a PE super, and a Blaze king stove. and I am not sure what his wood furnace is.

in the PE supper inserts he will put a load of fir in about 8 at night and in the AM he just adds more logs and away it goes. always has overnight burn times. and they chuck a bunch of heat.

Steve

haha, I was confused.. I thought the summit was the smaller one. if you can fit a summit it is a very good stove bigger than the super, so go with the summit.
the PE inserts are the most expensive ones we can buy up here and for good reason there built like a tank and have better reburn system then the osburn, regency, enviro, ect.. and don't use Cats (which means easier operation and less maintenance.) up here Cat stoves are going buy the ways side as only one brand which is concidered good (blaze king) uses them, and even there only on certian models.

but in the end its your desision.. and everybody will have there favorite stoves and reasons for that. I don't have a PE myself, but between 6 of my buddies I have experiance with 8 of them, only 1 summit though, and every one of them is happy with there stoves. I originaly was going to buy a used super for 1000.00 but this osburn came up for 150 and I couldn't pass it up.

Steve
 
stircrazy said:
stircrazy said:
I would say go with the PE. they are both canadian made stoves and both quality stoves but PE is knowen out west hear as about the best insert you can get.
One thing I would recomend is to get the PE super if it will fit.

I run an osburn but that is only because I got it for 150.00, I was on my way to look at a used Super but it was going to be more and the guy was being difficult.

My buddy heats his whole house with wood, 2 stoves, 2 inserts, and a wood furnace. he has a PE super stove, 1 PE super insert, an old osburn insert that is being changed to a PE super, and a Blaze king stove. and I am not sure what his wood furnace is.

in the PE supper inserts he will put a load of fir in about 8 at night and in the AM he just adds more logs and away it goes. always has overnight burn times. and they chuck a bunch of heat.

Steve

haha, I was confused.. I thought the summit was the smaller one. if you can fit a summit it is a very good stove bigger than the super, so go with the summit.
the PE inserts are the most expensive ones we can buy up here and for good reason there built like a tank and have better reburn system then the osburn, regency, enviro, ect.. and don't use Cats (which means easier operation and less maintenance.) up here Cat stoves are going buy the ways side as only one brand which is concidered good (blaze king) uses them, and even there only on certian models.

but in the end its your desision.. and everybody will have there favorite stoves and reasons for that. I don't have a PE myself, but between 6 of my buddies I have experiance with 8 of them, only 1 summit though, and every one of them is happy with there stoves. I originaly was going to buy a used super for 1000.00 but this osburn came up for 150 and I couldn't pass it up.

Steve
PE's reburn system is more durable=Yes. PE's reburn system is better=Your opinion.
 
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