buyer's remorse

[Campcook]

I recently bought a 2012 Blaze King Princess to replace an old All Nighter Mid Moe. I was excited by the long burn times, steady heat output, and the idea of going through less wood and heating oil. Now, I think I've made a terrible mistake.

The max burn time I can get is 12 hours, which isn't so bad until you consider I was getting 8 hours out of the All Nighter and the BK holds twice as much wood. 2x the wood for 1.5x the burn means I've actually gone through more wood. Last night I did an experiment and shut the heat off, loaded the stove, set the blower, and went to bed. In the morning the stove was cold and the house was 50 degrees. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

There are a lot of guys on this forum who claim 24 hour burn times and that's the whole reason I got the stove but now...I wish I'd kept the old one.

 

[bholler]

I recently bought a 2012 Blaze King Princess to replace an old All Nighter Mid Moe. I was excited by the long burn times, steady heat output, and the idea of going through less wood and heating oil. Now, I think I've made a terrible mistake.

The max burn time I can get is 12 hours, which isn't so bad until you consider I was getting 8 hours out of the All Nighter and the BK holds twice as much wood. 2x the wood for 1.5x the burn means I've actually gone through more wood. Last night I did an experiment and shut the heat off, loaded the stove, set the blower, and went to bed. In the morning the stove was cold and the house was 50 degrees. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

There are a lot of guys on this forum who claim 24 hour burn times and that's the whole reason I got the stove but now...I wish I'd kept the old one.

What is the moisture content of your wood?

What is your chimney setup?

 

[begreen]

Wondering if the stove has a failing cat or a leaky bypass.

 

[Todd]

Only time I ever got 24 hour burns out of my Princess was in the shoulder seasons. This time of year like you I would of woke up to 50 if I set it too low. 8-12 hours was the norm for me if I wanted a warm house.

 

[stoveliker]

I don't even have a princess; I have a Chinook 30.2. It's close, but the princess is a little more efficient, so it should get a little longer burn times.

I regularly get 14-16 hr burn times. (And my very first trial was around 26 hrs.)

This means (to me) that something is wrong with your set up. A common issue with people changing from an older stove to a modern one is wood that's not dry enough. This would result in lower heat output, and thus the operator to increase the burn rate to achieve the heat output that is wanted. (And thus to decrease the burn time.)

Please check the moisture content.

Another issue could be too much draft. But I don't think that is likely given that the previous stove apparently was able to heat properly.

Bottom line, if a more efficient stove can't get more heat out of the same amount of wood, something is amiss that decreases the efficiency of this newer stove.

 

[showrguy]

This aughta be a good one !!

 

[bholler]

Also just because a stove can potentially burn for 24 hours doesn't mean it will heat your house while doing that. Can you give us some more details please?

 

[stoveliker]

Also just because a stove can potentially burn for 24 hours doesn't mean it will heat your house while doing that. Can you give us some more details please?

I agree, but if the previous stove was able to get longer burn (no, *heating*) times with less wood, something is amiss here.

 

[bholler]

I agree, but if the previous stove was able to get longer burn (no, *heating*) times with less wood, something is amiss here.

Absolutely

 

[clancey]

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You will figure out your new stove and its a beautiful stove that gives you ambiance as well. The other stove (in my opinion is weird shaped and no glass but you were happy with the heating of it but you might be surprise as you find out about your new stove on how it operates...Hope everything works out real well for you...I cannot give you advice just a old lady opinion who knows "not much" about stoves...but the new stove is pleasing to the eye and you will fix it and find out the problem...and be happy too...old mrs clancey

 

[Highbeam]

The old allnighter only holds half the wood? It was just 1.5 cubic feet? That's super tiny and not what I would have expected from a smoke dragon. Sounds like a boat stove.

I burn 24 hour cycles on my 2012 princess to heat my 1700 SF home in western WA. It's frosty most nights but 40s during the days. Oh and I Burn softwood. Even when it's only 7 degrees out I just drop down to 12 hour partial reloads so would get 16-20 hours.

You bought a 10 year old used stove. Catalysts should only be expected last 10-12k hours which is just two years for full time burners like me. What I'm saying is that you could easily have a dead cat. Is the chimney smoking?

Are the bypass gasket retainers melted out of it? Super easy to do and not as uncommon as I'd like.

Also, you need to really pack the hardwood fuel in there to get the full rated 30 hours. No short loads. Fill her up. And then run on low which may not be enough to heat your home. If you then use a higher burn rate then your burn time will fall correspondingly.

Obviously dry wood. 20% or less.

 

[stoveliker]

I had missed the "2012"... indeed. See if you can download the manual from the BK site, and read about what the cat gauge does when the cat is operating properly. Chances are, as recognized above, that the cat is dead. (Unfortunately no Schrodingers cat here...)

 

[bholler]

The firebox of the mid moe is 36"d 24" w and 21"tall

 

[stoveliker]

The firebox of the mid moe is 36"d 24" w and 21"tall

wow. If all that's usable, it's close to 10 cubic ft...

If 10 cubic ft gave 8 hrs of burn time, and the efficiency of the BK is twice that of the old stove (that's likely an overestimate in efficiency, but gotta start someplace), and the princess is only 3 cubic ft, then it should last about 5 hours for the same heat output.

I don't think one can even burn down a stuffed BK firebox in 5 hrs if one wanted to...

And something is wrong with the model noted by the OP or the times quoted by the OP... It just does not add up.

 

[Highbeam]

The firebox of the mid moe is 36"d 24" w and 21"tall

Probably an 8” flue? So now the princess is hooked to an 8”?

That mid moe could probably really make some heat with so much steel.

 

[bholler]

Btw campcook most of us are not blindly defending blaze king. They are not perfect stoves but something doesn't sound right. With more info we may be able to help you

 

[MMH]

I’m running the ashford, and consistently pull 12 hour cycles with pine even down to negative temps; check your gaskets, cat, and moisture content. 2012 or not what your describing doesn’t add up.. as others pointed out some more info and I’m confident someone on here can steer you in the right direction.

 

[rwhite]

I can get 24 hours during the shoulder seasons burning soft woods. Mid winter I drop to 14-ish if I pack it full. I try and load to get 12 hour burns so I can load up in the morning and before I go to bed. Mine is a 2006 princess. I agree that something is amiss.

 

[Tar12]

Something is indeed wrong..I am running a 2017 princess with a 2 year old cat and burning locust and oak and this house stays in the low to mid 70s regardless on 12 hour cycles ..

 

[Campcook]

What is the moisture content of your wood?

What is your chimney setup?

My wood probably isn't dry enough. We bought a new houae after living in a place without a stove for a while so we Wwre scrambling to find wood. A lot of it is 20% but there's some wet ones in there.

6" liner through 25' masonry chimney.

 

[Campcook]

Wondering if the stove has a failing cat or a leaky bypass.

The previous owner installed a steel cat 2 years ago. I inspected and vacuumed it out. It's clean, if a little rusty. No idea if that matters or not. A leaky bypass is definitely a possibility. I don't know how to get to the damper to replace that gasket. That'll take some research.

 

[Highbeam]

Even new, the steel cats are brown.

 

[Campcook]

I don't even have a princess; I have a Chinook 30.2. It's close, but the princess is a little more efficient, so it should get a little longer burn times.

I regularly get 14-16 hr burn times. (And my very first trial was around 26 hrs.)

This means (to me) that something is wrong with your set up. A common issue with people changing from an older stove to a modern one is wood that's not dry enough. This would result in lower heat output, and thus the operator to increase the burn rate to achieve the heat output that is wanted. (And thus to decrease the burn time.)

Please check the moisture content.

Another issue could be too much draft. But I don't think that is likely given that the previous stove apparently was able to heat properly.

Bottom line, if a more efficient stove can't get more heat out of the same amount of wood, something is amiss that decreases the efficiency of this newer stov

Also just because a stove can potentially burn for 24 hours doesn't mean it will heat your house while doing that. Can you give us some more details please?

More details:
Big and old drafty house, center chimney with two 6" liners, about 25 feet tall. Dollar bill test shows a small spot near the handle that isn't as tight as it could be. I just tested a couple of pieces of room temp fresh split: 19.3% and 22.1%, so some of my wood is good and some is a little too wet.

I fill the stove, throw the bypass as soon as the cat probe reads active, let it run for a few minutes and then slowly start to turn the tstat down. Cat probe continues to go up until it about maxes out. I've set the tstat to 2, 1.5, 1, and lower than 1 (my tstat spins about 180* past 1??), All with the same 8-12 hour burn. By the end, I have a ton of coals but hardly any heat and the probe has dropped to inactive.

 

[Tar12]

The previous owner installed a steel cat 2 years ago. I inspected and vacuumed it out. It's clean, if a little rusty. No idea if that matters or not. A leaky bypass is definitely a possibility. I don't know how to get to the damper to replace that gasket. That'll take some research

The previous owner installed a steel cat 2 years ago. I inspected and vacuumed it out. It's clean, if a little rusty. No idea if that matters or not. A leaky bypass is definitely a possibility. I don't know how to get to the damper to replace that gasket. That'll take some research.

Getting to the by pass is easy...pull the pipe off of the top of the stove and its right there..that reminds me are you sure you are getting the by pass lever cammed over all of the way? This is common mistake new owners make...the by pass tension is adjustable and is self explanatory...

 

[Campcook]

The old allnighter only holds half the wood? It was just 1.5 cubic feet? That's super tiny and not what I would have expected from a smoke dragon. Sounds like a boat stove.

I burn 24 hour cycles on my 2012 princess to heat my 1700 SF home in western WA. It's frosty most nights but 40s during the days. Oh and I Burn softwood. Even when it's only 7 degrees out I just drop down to 12 hour partial reloads so would get 16-20 hours.

You bought a 10 year old used stove. Catalysts should only be expected last 10-12k hours which is just two years for full time burners like me. What I'm saying is that you could easily have a dead cat. Is the chimney smoking?

Are the bypass gasket retainers melted out of it? Super easy to do and not as uncommon as I'd like.

Also, you need to really pack the hardwood fuel in there to get the full rated 30 hours. No short loads. Fill her up. And then run on low which may not be enough to heat your home. If you then use a higher burn rate then your burn time will fall correspondingly.

Obviously dry wood. 20% or less.

I don't know the size of the firebox on the all nighter, but it took 1 +/- armloads if wood to fill. The princess takes about 3. Gaskets are a possibility. Not sure how to change the bypass gasket.

The only time I've seen the chimney smoking was this afternoon but it was 45* outside so the chimney may not have been drawing enough to keep the cat active? I don't know, just a guess. Maybe the cat is blown and I haven't noticed. 2 year old steel cat according to the previous owner. I've inspected and vacuumed it out. Looks good but who knows.