2013-2014 Blaze King Performance Thread(everything BK)

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We are going to buy a Blaze King cat stove. But which one...?

I used to be an installer decades ago, and I am fussy about my wood, season 2-3 years, test with a moisture meter, etc.

We wore out a cheapo epa stove from menards after ten years and now we have the money for a good stove.

Having read all the manuals/pdfs we have narrowed it down to 4 similar stoves. My question is, aside from cosmetic differences, are there any real performance differences between:

Princess
Ashford 30
Chinook 30
Sirocco 30

And, which is the least expensive of the four?

Never having purchased a Blaze King, is it common for dealers to have end of season sales??


Thanks in advance,

troy
 
Troy

I just paid about $3300 for a loaded Princess Parlor.. I was told they don't offer end of season sales because they usually sell them anyway. (Demand > Supply)

If clearances are an issue, I think the princess has the lowest side clearances of those 4. The min ceiling height is bigger though for the princess as it's 49" above the top of the stove (so min ceiling of about 82") where the others are all min ceiling of 72" (there are some inconsistencies in the Princess manual that I'm trying to clear up, but this seems true). The side clearances of the 4 are close, but the inch or so difference is a big deal for my installation so I had to go with the Princess.

I don't know if I'm off on this, but with the new proposed EPA regulations on stoves for 2019, the Princess puts out more than the proposed limit of emissions. So I think that means you wouldn't be able to sell the Princess after that point. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. (I didn't know about this before I bought the Princess). The other 3 are under the proposed limit.
 
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The Chinook, Sirocco, and Ashford all share the same firebox, with different exteriors.

The Princess is an old, proven, efficient design. It just isn't as asthetically pleasing as the others, to some people anyway.

Deals on BKs are pretty rare. I found one, but only because the dealer didn't sell any. Mine was five years old when I bought it off the showroom floor.

Where in Michigan are you?
 
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The Chinook, Sirocco, and Ashford all share the same firebox, with different exteriors.

The Princess is an old, proven, efficient design. It just isn't as asthetically pleasing as the others, to some people anyway.

Deals on BKs are pretty rare. I found one, but only because the dealer didn't sell any. Mine was five years old when I bought it off the showroom floor.

Where in Michigan are you?

Do the "new" 30 series fireboxes have the same 6" of ash storage in the belly that the old princess has? I really appreciate that belly when I'm burning deciduous stuff.
 
Do the "new" 30 series fireboxes have the same 6" of ash storage in the belly that the old princess has?

Nope. I didn't get an exact measurement, but I figure 1.5" - 2" depth max. The next time I clear out some ashes, I'll get the measurement :)
 
Well, if that is the case, I'd get the princess. Depth is really nice.
 
Nope. I didn't get an exact measurement, but I figure 1.5" - 2" depth max. The next time I clear out some ashes, I'll get the measurement :)

I was just looking at your pics, and it seems deeper than that, but it is still deeper than a lot of stoves.
 
If fire view is important it's been said that the 30 series stoves keep it a little cleaner than the princess. Apparently that nice deep belly helps contribute to dirty windows.
 
At 35 pages long this thread is getting too dense to derive info from it for many. Would you all be opposed to me closing this out and starting a new thread on the modern BKs?
 
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At 35 pages long this thread is getting too dense to derive info from for many. Would you all be opposed to me closing this out and starting a new thread on the modern BKs?
Makes sense to me
 
Closed. Feel free to start a new one for the 2014-2015 season.
 
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