Princess not as hot as could be!

[Rich2343]

Bought a brand new blaze king princess last heating season. Have 15'to 2 wall stove pipe. And a fresh air kit. In a mobile home. Burning 3 yr old hard wood. Setting on O on nOrmal the wood burns well. Have only saw the 2 nd burn kick in once. However it breaks down into coals quickly and very little heat. Which leaves very little room for more wood.

 

[bluedogz]

Setting on O on nOrmal the wood burns well. Have only saw the 2 nd burn kick in once.

If you're not seeing secondaries that means your wood is NOT burning well.

What kind of wood? How long C/S/S?

 

[HotCoals]

Well is that cat glowing good after the stove is in cruise?
The light show is seen mostly with tube stoves..not cats.

 

[begreen]

Outside of the cat, is there any secondary burn in the Princess? This sounds like it was just flames of primary combustion.

 

[HotCoals]

If the cat gets hot enough and the wood is off gassing good I can get secondary flame right in front of the cat and yet no flame off the wood.
Wispy flames now and then. If you open the air for a few minutes then slam the air off you can get a interesting light show for maybe 15 mins or so.

 

[rdust]

Assuming it's a free standing since it's a MH install. What model Princess, does it have a blower? What type of stove top temp and face temp on the sides of the door do you have when burning on the "O"?

 

[Rich2343]

If the cat gets hot enough and the wood is off gassing good I can get secondary flame right in front of the cat and yet no flame off the wood.
Wispy flames now and then. If you open the air for a few minutes then slam the air off you can get a interesting light show for maybe 15 mins or so.

Im folowing bk instructions closely on lighting. I hear people turn up the stove to burn coals up however the only way i can is if i open the door. my stove was set on O and temp on the pipe at 16 in was at 220 and surface was at 320 i dont get resonable burn times if i turn it up. reading that folks at that setting are cooking themselfs out in a leaky cabin in alaska.

 

[Rich2343]

If you're not seeing secondaries that means your wood is NOT burning well.

What kind of wood? How long C/S/S?

oak,maple, has been seasond for 3 yrs dont understand c/s/s

 

[HotCoals]

Im folowing bk instructions closely on lighting. I hear people turn up the stove to burn coals up however the only way i can is if i open the door. my stove was set on O and temp on the pipe at 16 in was at 220 and surface was at 320 i dont get resonable burn times if i turn it up. reading that folks at that setting are cooking themselfs out in a leaky cabin in alaska.

It does sound like your wood my friend. Only other thing could be a very poor draft..maybe both to some extent. I can tell you that it is not the stove if run correctly and it is not hard to run. Same as my king for the most part.
Those temps are too low for sure.

 

[MofoG23]

oak,maple, has been seasond for 3 yrs dont understand c/s/s

c/s/s = cut, split and stacked. That's the best way to season firewood...

 

[HotCoals]

Some pics of the setup would help and flue info.

 

[begreen]

I would try setting the thermostat up a little higher around hour 12 and see if that helps burn down the wood better and raises the stove temp. Every wood supply, home and flue is different. You need to learn what works well for your setup.

BTW, do you have single or double wall pipe connecting the stove to the chimney? Is the chimney straight up from the stove or out the wall and then up?

 

[Rich2343]

It does sound like your wood my friend. Only other thing could be a very poor draft..maybe both to some extant. I can tell you that it is not the stove if run correctly and it is not hard to run. Same as my king for the most part.
Those temps are too low for sure.

I dont get any smoke when i open my door if i change my 10 ft of 6 in into 10 ft of 8 in stove pipe will this help my draft

 

[begreen]

I dont get any smoke when i open my door if i change my 10 ft of 6 in into 10 ft of 8 in stove pipe will this help my draft

Probably not. The Princess requires 6". Is this single wall or double wall connector pipe?

 

[HotCoals]

I dont get any smoke when i open my door if i change my 10 ft of 6 in into 10 ft of 8 in stove pipe will this help my draft

Nope..don't do that.
If you're not getting smoke at all when you open the door that might say your draft is ok.
How tall is your flue all together?

 

[Rich2343]

I would try setting the thermostat up a little higher around hour 12 and see if that helps burn down the wood better and raises the stove temp. Every wood supply, home and flue is different. You need to learn what works well for your setup.

BTW, do you have single or double wall pipe connecting the stove to the chimney? Is the chimney straight up from the stove or out the wall and then up?

i have 2 ft single then 13 ft of 2 wall. it goes straight up

 

[Rich2343]

Nope..don't do that.
If you're not getting smoke at all when you open the door that might say your draft is ok.
How tall is your flue all together?

15 ft.

 

[HotCoals]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence so don't take me wrong but I have to ask.
Is the cat even in the stove and if so is it snug in the holder...good gasket?
You do know which way the handle goes when in by pass mode right?
Trying some bio bricks or some old pallet wood would be a good idea to do.

 

[HotCoals]

Lift the plate off that is in front of the cat and see if there is fly ash or whatever in front of that cat.
If so clean it off with a soft brush .

 

[Rich2343]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence so don't take me wrong but I have to ask.
Is the cat even in the stove and if so is it snug in the holder...good gasket?
You do know which way the handle goes when in by pass mode right?
Try some bio bricks or some old pallet wood would be a good idea to do.

i dont take it wrong sometimes the simple things are the answer. yes the cats their not sure about the gasket being its new. yes the handle to me is open. will try the bio bricks. did try some killn dryed birch from home depot o my it putt the heat out

 

[Rich2343]

Lift the plate off that is in front of the cat and see if there is fly ash or whatever in front of that cat.
If so clean it off with a soft brush .

this yr i took the stove pipe out and vac inside. and took the protector off the cat and vac it

 

[weatherguy]

Sounds like it might be your wood if the kiln dried worked ok.

 

[HotCoals]

i dont take it wrong sometimes the simple things are the answer. yes the cats their not sure about the gasket being its new. yes the handle to me is open. will try the bio bricks. did try some killn dryed birch from home depot o my it putt the heat out

You will find that dry wood is key to great heat.
You should be able to see that cat glow hot if all is right with little to no flame off the wood.

 

[HotCoals]

this yr i took the stove pipe out and vac inside. and took the protector off the cat and vac it

You did good taking the pipe off and cleaning behind the cat..some don't think to do that. cheers!

 

[begreen]

If the wood is not thoroughly seasoned it's going to produce less heat and more coals. I know, I just went through a battle with 2 yr old maple that didn't season well. Give the fire more air, take it up to "1" and see how it runs.