BK Princess Install completed and inspected

[Lanningjw]

Time for show and tell.

I would like to show you my new fireplace insert, the Blaze King Princess. Fire box size 2.8 cubic feet in size. This is a Catalytic style stove that I read about on this very forum and decide to install. I use to have a Century insert but it was to small. I will be trying to heat 1931 1,500 story and a half house. The chimney is located in the center of the house and seems to be absorbing a lot of the heat from the insert.

I had to cut out the maple floor and then install 15.5 inch Italian ceramic tiles, I bought them at a outlet stove for .99 a square foot. Good place to go for small amounts of tile. The hearth is over 32 inches for the 18 inches that is required from the front door of the stove. This insert comes out over 13 inches onto the hearth from the fireplace. This provides a non combustible surface for the insert.

I am impressed with the burn times so far, I have had a 13.5 hour burn with usable heat and a restart after a new load of wood was added to the stove using Red Oak and bass wood. Also keep in mind it was only 35 degree outside the real test will be at 20 degrees below. I am in the process of learning how to use this cat stove. Dry wood is a must for the cat to work, high moisture woods cause the cat to not work correctly.

The insert also passed its City inspection today, so I am gonna have a cold beer!

Thanks goes out to the forum for all the great reads on this insert. I would have never bought it with all the the great reviews.

 

[Chopslide]

Congrats lanning looks great! Im burning mine in as I type Kinda stinks but very cool to see it burn Btw is it normal to look like the fire is out when on low?

 

[Lanningjw]

Yup, it is burning low and slow. Is you glass getting dirty from the low t-stat setting?

 

[Easyellis8]

Congrats on the new insert, the burn time sounds great. Just bought a new home with an insert, right now I'm looking at the many choices that I have.

 

[68 Couper]

The install looks good. Can you tell me a little about the flush tile install? Did you morter up to the wood? I'm staring at 4x14 area I cut out to lay tile for an entry way and non combustionable floor under a Nap 1100cp.
Enjoy!
Coupe

 

[weatherguy]

Lanning, where do those two metal strips go? they were loose when I unwrapped my princess.
Id like to trade stoves with you, my plug is on the left and I needed a righty, Im going to have to get the electrician to put in another insert.

 

[Chopslide]

L it is a little dirty but can still easily see everything inside
these stoves are amazing Im still wound up over getting this installed and burnin,,,,,,, probably sit up all night and just watch it

 

[Chopslide]

your pics look great btw I am still tryin to figure out how to put pics on here

 

[weatherguy]

I have mine in the on deck circle

 

[Chopslide]

Batter up

 

[learnin to burn]

Sweeeeeeeeeet - Chop

 

[greythorn3]

way to get it in and get it burning! looks great man i wish they were safe to put in zero clearance fireplaces!


Ray

 

[Lanningjw]

Congrats on the new insert, the burn time sounds great. Just bought a new home with an insert, right now I'm looking at the many choices that I have.

Goof luck there Easy Ed. You should put the PI 1010 on your short list. Its not the best looking insert on the forum but may out perform many other inserts.

 

[IPLUMB]

Nice! No fire in there though....

 

[Lanningjw]

The install looks good. Can you tell me a little about the flush tile install? Did you morter up to the wood? I'm staring at 4x14 area I cut out to lay tile for an entry way and non combustionable floor under a Nap 1100cp.
Enjoy!
Coupe

The flush tile install was done so we could walk thru to the left of the hearth in the the kitchen without tripping. We grouted the tile right up to the maple floor. Cut 2x4 with a table saw to the desired height and then plywood and durorock. Buttered the durorock to make the tiles the same heights as the wood floor. We never had to cut any tiles. Used some of the maple that we cut out of the floor to frame in the hearth area.

 

[Lanningjw]

Lanning, where do those two metal strips go? they were loose when I unwrapped my princess.
Id like to trade stoves with you, my plug is on the left and I needed a righty, Im going to have to get the electrician to put in another insert.

Metal strip are for helping you slide the insert over the hearth because of the leveling screws that in your case your gonna want to install. See LEVELING SCREWS on the bottom of page 10 in the manual.

The electric cords comes out the left of all the insert from the fan motor. The cord runs inside and around the insert and out the right side to the outlet. See ELECTRICAL POWER in the of page 13 of the manual.

Read the manual about 5 times, then read first fire on page 22 before you fire her up. Thats what helped me out. Jim

 

[Lanningjw]

L it is a little dirty but can still easily see everything inside
these stoves are amazing Im still wound up over getting this installed and burnin,,,,,,, probably sit up all night and just watch it

Thats Huge that you got installed and up and running! This stove is a machine, it works like one. I haven't had to run the the fan because it creates to much heat for the outside temps we are having right now in Minnesota.

I am really happy for you, Because I know how well mine works. Its a real quality stove!
Jim

 

[Wet1]

John,

As Lanning mentioned, those strips are not part of the stove. They can be placed under the insert to help you slide it in place. You might want to hold onto them for future use, should you want to slide the insert in and out.

Chop,

Surprisingly, it is normal for it to look like the fire is out when set to low. The fire is basically smoldering and the heat being generated is the smoke/gasses being consumed by the cat. As long as the cat stays active, you're good to go. Not pretty, but this allows super and consistent long burns, and excellent efficiency. Turn up the thermostat if you want to see flames. After burning on low for an extended period, you'll probably notice the interior of the stove getting dirty (especially if you're burning >20% MC wood). It's probably a good idea to burn the stove/insert hot for an hour or so everyday or two, this will burn and clean everything up.

Looking good guys!

 

[weatherguy]

Metal strip are for helping you slide the insert over the hearth because of the leveling screws that in your case your gonna want to install. See LEVELING SCREWS on the bottom of page 10 in the manual.

The electric cords comes out the left of all the insert from the fan motor. The cord runs inside and around the insert and out the right side to the outlet. See ELECTRICAL POWER in the of page 13 of the manual.

Read the manual about 5 times, then read first fire on page 22 before you fire her up. Thats what helped me out. Jim

Thank you sir, Ive read it three times, I'll keep reading til I get the damn thing memorized, LOL.

 

[Easyellis8]

Goof luck there Easy Ed. You should put the PI 1010 on your short list. Its not the best looking insert on the forum but may out perform many other inserts.[/quote]

I agree with you, it's not the best looking insert but the performance is great. Spoke to my local BK rep today and asked if this insert can adequately heat a 3,000 sq ft home and he pushed me toward the Regency 3100. You guessed it, he's a dealer for both and the regency is a lot higher. The dealer mentioned that BK used to sell a classic model insert, but he doesn't see it mentioned any more. A call back to to the dealer tomorrow will confirm this either way.

As I understand your situation, you are heating close to 3,000 sq ft on two levels; mine is a ranch style home that's somewhat open. The fireplace is in the living room that is open to the kitchen and dining room, I have a main hallway that leads to the bedrooms that I want to ensure that heat reaches. I notice that BK doesn't rate their stoves by square footage, but rather by max BTUs.

 

[Chopslide]

Wet 1, thanks for that info it really helps to have coaches on these first few fires with the cat. I have noticed that I cant keep the cat engaged at any setting under 1.5 on the thermo so I am not sure what I need to do to keep the cat engaged on 1. I am burning a mix of larch and dougfir that I have been storing for 3 seasons now It should be pretty dry. I also have not seen this mythical cat glow that I keep reading about. I have had the cat thermo pretty far around but not all the way . I just checked the stove after trying to sneak the thermo under 1.5 and the cat is slowly cooling off. it seems to be a fine line
Lanning that truly is a nice install that flush tile to wood transition turned out great!

 

[SolarAndWood]

mine is a ranch style home that's somewhat open. The fireplace is in the living room that is open to the kitchen and dining room, I have a main hallway that leads to the bedrooms that I want to ensure that heat reaches. I notice that BK doesn't rate their stoves by square footage, but rather by max BTUs.

That is largely my layout. The stove sits in a large open space and then there is a hallway to the bedrooms and bath. One small fan on the floor in the hallway blowing back into the large space keeps the rooms off the hallway warm. There is probably a 5-10 degree difference on average, but we prefer the bedroom cooler anyway.

Lanning, congrats on the install. It looks great and that big central masonry chimney is going to do a nice job radiating heat through your home. It is the perfect compliment to the quick heat you can get from a steel stove with a blower.

 

[Wet1]

Wet 1, thanks for that info it really helps to have coaches on these first few fires with the cat. I have noticed that I cant keep the cat engaged at any setting under 1.5 on the thermo so I am not sure what I need to do to keep the cat engaged on 1. I am burning a mix of larch and dougfir that I have been storing for 3 seasons now It should be pretty dry. I also have not seen this mythical cat glow that I keep reading about. I have had the cat thermo pretty far around but not all the way . I just checked the stove after trying to sneak the thermo under 1.5 and the cat is slowly cooling off. it seems to be a fine line
Lanning that truly is a nice install that flush tile to wood transition turned out great!

Assuming you an adequate amount of wood in there and a good base of coals, it sounds like you most likely have some issues with your wood (my best guess anyway). How large are the splits you're using? Even though your wood has been stored for three seasons, I'd still check the actual moisture content. Do this by respliting a couple of pieces and taking a reading with a moisture meter, you can get them cheap on ebay or Harbor Freight. Your wood will have to be under 20% to really turn the stove down without stalling the cat, I want to say BK recommends your wood be at 13% to 18% MC. Also, I assume you're building a good hot fire and then progressively turning the stove down over time (as outlined in the manual), correct?

 

[Wet1]

Looking good Lanning! I too really like the flush hearth. Cold weather is just around the corner! :coolsmile:

 

[Lanningjw]

Looking good Lanning! I too really like the flush hearth. Cold weather is just around the corner! :coolsmile:

I think flush was the way to go...........