BK vs BK+ general BK advice

[Felix5513]

So, I am pretty set on replacing my englander insert with a Blaze King Princess insert but I am just mulling it over and am looking for advice from those who own one. Can anyone give a comparison between the princess insert and the sirrocoo in how well they heat( as in,naturally, between the princess sticking out 11 inches and the sirrocco almost flush)?
Also, would most advise me to wait a couple years to buy one until I have truly,dry, and seasoned wood(<20%)? Right now, I have about half a cord that is <20% even <18% and about 4 full cords css,top covered with metal and on pallets with considerable distance from each stack and from the ground(raised pallets); 95% of splits are 2-4 inches wide.

 

[Highbeam]

If you’re after heating performance then the princess has the better specs in a time tested and proven design. I would only be looking at the princess.

 

[vwmike]

I can’t speak to inserts as I have a free standing princess. However I switched from a PE Summit mid season last year so it was a good back to back comparison,

The BK’s and I’m sure any other cat stove need really good dry wood to perform at their best. This year I built a kiln and dried all my wood in it over the summer as there just isn’t enough room at the house to do the 3 year plan! This year all my wood is 15% mc. What a difference it makes, can turn the thermostat a lot lower and my burn times are way up.

 

[Felix5513]

I can’t speak to inserts as I have a free standing princess. However I switched from a PE Summit mid season last year so it was a good back to back comparison,

The BK’s and I’m sure any other cat stove need really good dry wood to perform at their best. This year I built a kiln and dried all my wood in it over the summer as there just isn’t enough room at the house to do the 3 year plan! This year all my wood is 15% mc. What a difference it makes, can turn the thermostat a lot lower and my burn times are way up.

What kind of kiln did you build?

 

[moresnow]

What kind of kiln did you build?

Guessing solar. Effective. Research solar firewood kiln. Good stuff!

 

[vwmike]

What kind of kiln did you build?

Yup solar kiln patterned after @pointdexter one up in Alaska, keep meaning to post some pics

 

[Felix5513]

I will have to check that out. I have room for the 3 year plan and a kiln....so ya know. I could do both

 

[spudman99]

I hope this is of benefit to you. Last Nov I installed a Princess Insert (my first woodstove) which was the new model and now have 1 year under my belt.

My install went fine, my wife is not thrilled with the insert sticking out from the fireplace but I'm not thrilled with her cooking so I won on that element...hehe. I had already stacked some Sugar Maple and it had about 1 1/2 summers to dry. Larger pieces measured out closer to 24%, smaller ones were under 18%. I had no problem burning either all season long.

I was immediately able to obtain 12 hour burns, loading around 8pm at night and reloading at 8am in the morning and still having heat. Rarely did I run it wide open as I was nervous about an over fire or getting the unit too hot. Members told me it was fine to run open, I was just taking baby steps.

There were a couple of Ashford users here last year, but not enough to get a really good read on its effectiveness. Of course every installation is different, especially considering the heat loss from the building envelop and inability to move air around the house.

I have a traditional 2 story center hall colonial dwelling with 8' ceilings and standard doorways. I did have very limited heat escaping upstairs to the bedrooms and had about an 8 deg difference in temp between the levels. I did use floor fans and tried to move air around, I suspect it was the 1' headers above the doors that blocked the air flow from moving upstairs with ease.

I burned about 2 cords in total. If you check your less ideal wood and it is in the 24% range, you should be ok. I chose the Princess for its better heating ability, no question it provides radiant warmth whereas the Sirrocco would not. Latter looks more attractive but I want performance, not looks. I would go Princess.

 

[begreen]

Guessing solar. Effective. Research solar firewood kiln. Good stuff!

More info and many threads on solar kilns in the woodshed forum here.

Solar kiln for hardwoods part deux

My first thread that was put together for the solar Kiln was not actually intended to be posted, so this time I took the time to try to put together more information. The wood was split March 30th and the racks were set up on April 6th the wood that was split was all Oak and the moisture...

www.hearth.com