BK Princess Insert 1 year in

[KB007]

We’ve now had the Princess Insert for a little over a year. Was installed in Dec 2024 and we used it thru to about the end of March 2025. Started burning around end of Nov 2025 til today (end of Jan/26). It replaced a Regency I3100 - well the first I3100 lasted about 5 yrs then cracked on the front, then the warranty replacement I3100 lasted about 5 years until it had a big crack inside the door.

We live in rural Ottawa (Canada) and winters can get quite cold here. This winter has been a fairly cold Dec and Jan so far.

The Princess firebox is a little smaller than the Regency was.

Things I quite like:
The “thermostat” control works very well, allows for very consistent heat output throughout the burn.
I can get an overnight burn fairly easily, usually loading up around 8:00 and turning down before 9:00.
Same is true for daytime, basically I can do 12 hour burns fairly easily.
It definitely burns better, I get less coals and more ash in my clean out.
I do mostly get to see the fire rather than the glass getting covered in creosote. My wood is min 2 yrs old and dry, it burns quite nicely even on low settings.
Burns very clean with minimal creosote. I usually run a 20-30 minute hot load once a week, once the load is going, I just leave the thermostat open and turn down after 20-30 minutes. I’ve seen some creosote in the firebox, but it just seems to burn off. I had my chimney swept in May and the sweep commented on how there was a little creosote in the firebox, there was no unburned creosote anywhere in the flue.
It does keep the house warm (1,800 sqft bungalow with very good insulation / sealing). With temps above -20C, it does a great job. If temps fall below -20C it struggles a bit and I find a second load is usually required. Not overly surprising, but worth noting.

Things that I’m not as keen on:
The 12 hour burn cycle - usually with the thermostat somewhere around 4:00 - 5:00 on the dial, certainly does burn, but obviously the heat output drops on the longer burns.

Questions I have:

1. Is it really necessary to keep the fan level consistent with the thermostat level? Is there a down side to having a higher fan setting with the thermostat at a lower level (4-5 oclock on the dial)?
2. Any issues with this process: Once the previous load is burnt mostly down, and the cat thermometer gets to 12:00 or lower: turn the thermostat full open. Wait a few minutes. Open the bypass door and wait a coupe of minutes. Open the min door and let it sit for a minute or 2 with the door resting on the latch. Once this is done, open the door, rake the coals to the front, load in a new load. Close main door. If the cat thermometer is still above the line, close the bypass right away. If below, wait for it to come up to temp and close. Usually let it burn for a few minutes to get the load nicely going, then turn down the thermostat to about 2:00. Wait a little longer and turn it down to 4:00 +/-. If it’s below -15C outside, I’ll usually let it burn a little hotter with the fan higher. If I do, it usually means a second daytime load around 2-3pm, following the same process. If it’s above -15C I can usually run the full day with the thermostat turned down lower.
3. How long does the cat usually last? I have visually inspected a couple of times, it looks fine, certainly no cracks or build up. When it’s cold, I have blasted a little air thru to clean out any buildup. But when do I need to expect to replace?
4. How do I tell if the cat is metallic or ceramic? The insert is a 2024 Princess. I presume it’s not a bad idea to order one now rather than wait for any issue?
5. How do I know if I have any cat issue? Obviously a visible crack, but are there other symptoms that will tell me it’s time for a replacement?
6. Is there any way to “loosen up” the bypass door / handle to make it easier to open / close. My wonderful wife just isn’t strong enough to pull it up to open. Maybe this is just a ruse to get out of operating it, but if there was a way, that’d help here confidence some.

Overall, I’m quite happy with the Princess Insert, it does what they say it will and that’s somewhat rare in today’s retail world.

 

[Highbeam]

Cat life is quite variable based on many things including your tolerance of a mostly dead cat. Some people just don't care. Others expect a reasonable level of performance and will happily replace when needed to keep things running well.

Go to amazon and investigate purchasing a new cat from midwest hearth. They have very good pictures of metal and ceramic replacements so you can compare and identify which it is you have. I would guess you have metal but recommend ceramic if you are buying a new one.

The way to tell if the cat is dead is to set your desired low burn rate and go outside after a few hours to observe the chimney for smoke. No smoke, just clear heat waves, you're probably good.

Even cracked cats can be perfectly effective. Metal cats don't crack but they do suffer from weird shrinkage and other physical failures.

 

[Tron]

Hmm, almost.

Any issues with this process: Once the previous load is burnt mostly down, and the cat thermometer gets to 12:00 or lower: turn the thermostat full open. Wait a few minutes. Open the bypass door and wait a coupe of minutes. Open the min door and let it sit for a minute or 2 with the door resting on the latch.

No. Open the door and reload, don't let it sit with the door even partially open.

Once this is done, open the door, rake the coals to the front, load in a new load. Close main door. If the cat thermometer is still above the line, close the bypass right away. If below, wait for it to come up to temp and close.

Don't close the bypass right after the reload, let the load catch first for a few minutes.
If the cat temperature is a bit below the active line after that, it doesn't matter much, I found. The cat gauge lags a bit, and when you close the bypass with the gauge showing a bit below, it'll catch up quickly. You can verify by looking at the cat itself, it'll start glowing pretty quickly.

Usually let it burn for a few minutes to get the load nicely going, then turn down the thermostat to about 2:00. Wait a little longer and turn it down to 4:00

After the load has caught and you've closed the bypass, you can directly turn down the thermostat to whatever setting you want.

And regarding cat life: it seems(!) that they last around 10k hours. YMMV.
Mine became a bit sluggish after seven years, which by estimate is pretty close to that runtime.

And the fan setting is independent of the thermostat setting. Of course, if you turn the fan higher, it'll draw more heat from the stove, resulting in the flapper opening more.