2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK)
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Outstanding. I work 12 hour shifts so I need long burn times. I'm open to other options, but my research so far has led me to the Princess--even though I'm not sold on the aesthetics.None better
At one point I was considering the Kuma Ashwood insert and the Regency i2600. I still haven't 100% made up my mind.
4000 sq ft 1918 Cape Cod with ZERO insulation. Requires an insert, otherwise I would go with a free standing stove. Limited to 6 inch flue. All your thoughts are most appreciated.
I use duravent double wall and the appliance adapter fit my Princess like crap. I would notice a smell near the stove top occasionally. Years ago I asked @webby3650 what he used for an appliance adapter. He recommended cutting down this adapter. Amerivent All Fuel Single Wall Adapter This season I finally got around to finally installing it. So far it has worked much better than the duravent appliance adapter and I haven't had the smell all season.
Here is the duravent adapter, witness marks look like leaky areas to me.
Amerivent adapter cut down.
Pipes installed
Gonna take a lot more than a Princess insert to heat 4000 sq ft with no insulation! I would figure out a way to install the biggest freestanding stove you can.
If you're only looking for some relieve on the main fuel source it may work ok for you.
Even a BK King isn't going to heat 4000 sqft of poorly insulated house for 12 hours. Idk how open your floor plan it but I'm sure it's not very open, that wasn't a thing in 1918. The best you could hope for is enough coals to start an easy fire. You'll run out of usable heat somewhere between the 6th and 10th hour of the cycle if you are lucky. The Kings max rating is 4000 sqft.
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shoot-straight
Minister of Fire
I will pile on and say no way to the princess insert for you unless u just want to add btus from wood rather than from electric gas or oil. You an get a 12 HR burn, but it may only provide 1/3 the btus u need given your location and home size.
Boiler
Boiler
Quite right, I intend to bring the attic up to a minimum R36. Then work on bringing the walls up to R13. I should note that the basement and upper level is not heated. I only plan to zone heat the main level. Not sure on the exact sq footage but it's prob close to 1800 or so. My mistake for omitting that key piece of information!
I have a Weil McClain boiler that is rated at 200k BTU. It runs us out of the house. BUT, I can't stand the idea of relying on natural gas and electricity to run the water pump. I am hoping the insert will allow me some independence from the utility company.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
By way of giving you a yardstick, I have a Princess insert that heats about 2000sf of moderately well insulated house (which makes it a bit undersized for its mission). Yesterday it was about 0F with wind chill overnight. It was about 72 in the living room when I set a the stove for a12 hour burn and went to bed. Got up about 10 hours later and it was 60 in the stove room. 
It's a great insert (and it could have kept the stove room at 80 overnight if someone wanted to feed it every few hours), but when 2.5cf of wood needs to last 12 hours, you are not going to have a roaring fire going.
(That insert, btw, can make 2.5cf of wood go 24 hours in shoulder season... Which is admittedly not a useful feature when the weather goes all Frozen Wasteland on you.)
It's a triple whammy for any undersized stove overnight, as there's nobody to feed it, the house loses its solar heating, and the temperature falls off...
Oil burner still hasn't kicked on this year, though!
If you are just shooting for supplemental heat, you can't go wrong with the Princess... But you'd get a lot more help from a big freestander like the King. If nothing else, it could burn twice as hot for 12 hours because it has twice the firebox.
It's a great insert (and it could have kept the stove room at 80 overnight if someone wanted to feed it every few hours), but when 2.5cf of wood needs to last 12 hours, you are not going to have a roaring fire going.
(That insert, btw, can make 2.5cf of wood go 24 hours in shoulder season... Which is admittedly not a useful feature when the weather goes all Frozen Wasteland on you.)
It's a triple whammy for any undersized stove overnight, as there's nobody to feed it, the house loses its solar heating, and the temperature falls off...
Oil burner still hasn't kicked on this year, though!
If you are just shooting for supplemental heat, you can't go wrong with the Princess... But you'd get a lot more help from a big freestander like the King. If nothing else, it could burn twice as hot for 12 hours because it has twice the firebox.
WizardOfStove
New Member
I also have a princess insert, but it heats up to 3000sf. I'm wondering if any of you know how to increase the sf'age?
raypa
Member
Gforcefd
Member
Please ignore everything I said about when I hear the click on my thermostat. It is 1.5 on a cold stove....must just be going crazy over here. It stops at 6 too. I will report back once I have burned on high for a long while and see if that helps at all. Going to make a few more adjustments and check for air leaks as suggested. Thank you all.
Good morning, new user looking for some thoughts/feedback. We currently have a Blaze King KEJ 1100 (circa 1983). We use our wood stove as our primary heat source and have been pretty happy with our old Blaze King but would like to upgrade for a more efficient model. We looked at a number of other brands but have pretty much decided on the new King. They seem to be, hands down, the workhorses out there. What we are having trouble figuring out is how the new models compare to the old models? I have all the old manuals but it doesn't give specs. Will a new Blaze King out perform our old one? The old one doesn't keep the house quite as warm as we would like it to but it is pretty close. We tend to think that a newer more efficient model might improve on that but are struggling to really get a handle on how much better a new model is, if at all. Thanks.
There are some very knowledgeable members on here that might be able to answer that for you. Incase they cannot, the VP of Blaze King might be able to shine some light on their performance differences. His user name is @BKVP.
fairnorthernlady, what type of chimney do you currently use with the only BK King you have installed?
lsucet
Minister of Fire
Good to know everything is ok in that area. hang in there, these stoves are easy to use but like everything in life has a learning curve. you will find that sweet spot and learn where to set it depending your setup, demand and outside weather. In no time you will be reloading, char, set tstat, walk away.lol
Where is the stove located in the home and is the masonry chimney on the exterior of the home? Do you have an insulated liner in the chimney or is it just a clay lined chimney? Theres a very good reason for these questions and the could be good reason to sway from buying a BK or other car stove...
If you have just a clay lined masonry chimney, what is the size of the clay liner?
@fairnorthernlady, I should of said,
"Theres a very good reason for these questions and the could be good reason to sway from buying a BK or other cat stove if you do not wish to comply with the recommendation for an insulated chimney liner in a masonry chimney.." This is especially true if the chimney is on the exterior of the house.
"Theres a very good reason for these questions and the could be good reason to sway from buying a BK or other cat stove if you do not wish to comply with the recommendation for an insulated chimney liner in a masonry chimney.." This is especially true if the chimney is on the exterior of the house.
The stove is in the lower level and the chimney is on the exterior of the house. I will have to ask if our chimney is lined. I don't know the answer to that but I am sure my husband does. I am still looking to get a little bit better understanding about if a new King is going to be more "powerful" (for lack of a better word) than my old. Are the upgrades in combustor technology, etc. making the BKs a better wood stove than my 1983 model? We have been very happy with our curent one. Am I to expect a similar performance as the old one or is there a benefit to upgrading?
All valid question that I cannot answer. Im sure someone will be along that can help. You can also call BK directly and ask those questions, they have been very responsive every time I have called. I pose those questions because I'm fairly certain the answer to your question is going to be yes, better performance and better efficiency. However, if you are considering the cost of the King (nearly $4K with options) and also need to have a chimney liner installed (another $1-2K) is that still an option? You can go back a handful of pages and read about another member installing a King and having creosote issues (partially myself included) with a non-insulated masonry chimney. Not trying to deter you, just merely providing information and pointing out considerations. The new stoves in general are more draft sensitive and particular attention needs to be given to the chimney to avoid creosote and to get the best performance. They have low flue gas temperatures which increase the risk of creosote in masonry chimneys.
I have a clay lined masonry chimney that I think I can manage to push a 6 inch insulated liner into.Check you chimney requirements first!
I was told 7.5" is really what you need to put a 6" insulated liner in the chimney. If you have a 8x8 clay liner then you really only have 7x7 inches of space as the "8x8" liner is an outside dimension and the walls are about 1/2-5/8" thick.
The king requires 8" flue so if you were doing an insulated liner you need 9.5" of space.
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