Blaze King King fit for Wisconsin Winters?

[Sconnie Burner]

I will be building a new house this spring somewhere in the neighborhood of 2800 sq ft as stated in my other threads a week back. I've done alot of reading about the king in the last week and wondering if it is ok if these things get pushed hard for days at a time. Been mild this year but can see a string of days not get out of the single digits. Will I have an issue with the cat getting too hot and shortened life? I like the idea of the thermostat and the thermostatic damper for an even burn without a huge spike. Or should i stay with a hybrid to burn some of the gasses and impurities so the cat doesn't get hit with a ton and no be able to keep up? I only want to make one big investment and not have regrets.

 

[kennyp2339]

I have been pushing my princess since mid January, the stove can handle it. I've consistently ran my stove between the setting of 2.5 and 2.75, and the stove loves it, my average burn time has been between 10-12 hours at those settings with the blower going. I've also had a couple milder days in between and have ran the stove at 1.25 and the cat acted just find (staying in the active zone for close to 15 hours) the stoves are made to heat, unless the door is left un latched, the bypass opened on the highest air setting, or have an excessive draft, its hard to get a run away stove, the cat and thermostat air control really keep the stove in check, just set it and forget it until its reload time.

 

[Dieselhead]

Get the ultra, it helps a lot with hot ash management using the built in ashpan

 

[tarzan]

Not in Wisconsin but getting single digits above and below 0* here. We have ran our stove hard and it is heating the house better than any stove I've owned. No getting up in the middle of the night to reload as 10 hours is the shortest burn time we have gotten with the Princess. As for how the cat will handle it, I don't know yet. This is our first year with the stove and all I can say is, so far so good. It's been said before but if it took replacing the cat annually I would do it, but I seriously doubt that will happen.

 

[Highbeam]

The cat can't get too hot, that's a non issue with the bk. With such a large house you would want the king model which is much larger than any hybrid.

 

[Sconnie Burner]

Looking at the king ultra for sure! Second in line would be the Regency F5100 as mentioned in my other posts. Cost wise they are within a couple hundred of each other. Just a lot more real world reviews to be found on the Blaze Kings! Dealer is a little farther for the blaze king but not major concern.

 

[tarzan]

To ease your mind about the stove being pushed hard you could check out some of Poindexters posts. Many of us run them hard occasionally but they do things different up in Fairbanks.

I can't blame you for doing your homework on this one. A new stove purchase is something you don't want to regret or do twice. The odds are very much in your favor though that you would be happy with a king in my opinion.

 

[Dieselhead]

I forgot to mention the fan kit would be a good idea too

 

[Sconnie Burner]

Yes I was planning on the fan kit. Better to have it and not need it than the other way around!

 

[Poindexter]

To ease your mind about the stove being pushed hard you could check out some of Poindexters posts. Many of us run them hard occasionally but they do things different up in Fairbanks.

I can't blame you for doing your homework on this one. A new stove purchase is something you don't want to regret or do twice. The odds are very much in your favor though that you would be happy with a king in my opinion.

Yes, my BK Ashford 30 was at full throttle from mid December to late January, non stop. For the worst of it I was loading three x daily, anticipating a fourth reload in 24 hours on the nights it got below -50dF. My sqft-age, my insulation envelope etc.

First season with the stove, have a 6 year warranty on the cat. Yes, get the convection fans. I don't know what range of firebox sizes would be about right for you. If you plan on a BK cat stove get your wood split soon, they love love love dry wood. Nope, drier.

BKVP has posted at least once that any wood under 22%MC per electronic gizmo is "OK". I am not going to argue with him on the point, he does represent BK. But I do disagree with him. I burnt one box of 20% and have not willingly burnt anything over 16% MC this season. You are far enough north to bring your A game to your wood stove. Shoot for 16% that first season and you should be ecstatic with the stove. I split a little smaller this time around, I am looking for 14% in the wood shed fall of 2015.

 

[Greg67]

We just bought a Princess Ultra this year and absolutely love it. I live in Indiana and its -4 right now, we have had a long streak of colder than normal temps and have been running the stove in the 2.5-2.75 range for days. The main thing is to have dry seasoned wood and you will have no problems while enjoying some long burn times. After using this stove I wouldn't consider any other brand. I'm sure you will be happy with your investment.

 

[jeff_t]

I've been burning mine since Dec '11, probably getting close to twenty cords. We pushed it hard last winter, and for the last few weeks. The cat is definitely getting sluggish, shows some degradation, and is nearing the end, I'm afraid. It's working fine now, but I don't think the low burn performance is gonna be there come spring.

So, most of four heating seasons for me. Hoping for more, but I'll still take it.

 

[blueguy]

I've been burning mine since Dec '11, probably getting close to twenty cords. We pushed it hard last winter, and for the last few weeks. The cat is definitely getting sluggish, shows some degradation, and is nearing the end, I'm afraid. It's working fine now, but I don't think the low burn performance is gonna be there come spring.

So, most of four heating seasons for me. Hoping for more, but I'll still take it.

Jeff, have you tried the vinegar bath in the time you've owned it? I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be?

 

[drz1050]

So how does the cat warranty work? Does it need to be completely dead for them to honor it?

 

[jeff_t]

Jeff, have you tried the vinegar bath in the time you've owned it? I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be?

I haven't. I'm not sure it will help at this point. It's still working fine, just takes longer to light off, and it falls out at lower burn rates. It still gets up toward the top end of the active range and glows brightly, but not without a little flame in the firebox.

With the checking and small cracks in it, I really don't want to take it out without another on hand.

 

[Highbeam]

So how does the cat warranty work? Does it need to be completely dead for them to honor it?

You can read the warranty on the BK website but the old cat has to have been defective as determined by BK. You must buy a new one from the dealer and they will send the old one to BK for this determination who will then issue a refund (minus shipping, tax, etc.?)

The golden question is, what is defective? A normal degradation is expected as the cat ages. Just because it doesn't work as new does not mean it is defective. The cat manufacturers all seem to state that it is only "good" for 10,000 hours which is only like two burn seasons.

 

[rdust]

I've been burning mine since Dec '11, probably getting close to twenty cords. We pushed it hard last winter, and for the last few weeks. The cat is definitely getting sluggish, shows some degradation, and is nearing the end, I'm afraid. It's working fine now, but I don't think the low burn performance is gonna be there come spring.

So, most of four heating seasons for me. Hoping for more, but I'll still take it.

Similar experience with mine. 4th season in and I'm starting to notice differences. It's not sluggish on light off but notice it's not making as much heat as a new cat. It still glows bright, stove top gets hot but notice the t-stat is opening more than it used to in order to maintain stove temps after the burn settles in. I'm hoping it will burn low in the shoulder season without stalling but if not I have no problem spending the money on a new one.

 

[rdust]

I haven't. I'm not sure it will help at this point. It's still working fine, just takes longer to light off, and it falls out at lower burn rates. It still gets up toward the top end of the active range and glows brightly, but not without a little flame in the firebox.

With the checking and small cracks in it, I really don't want to take it out without another on hand.

Crazy, your experience sounds almost the same as mine except mine is still lighting off fine. Our climate is the same and we both burn 24/7 end to end so it makes sense our cats would be behaving about the same.

 

[rdust]

You can read the warranty on the BK website but the old cat has to have been defective as determined by BK. You must buy a new one from the dealer and they will send the old one to BK for this determination who will then issue a refund (minus shipping, tax, etc.?)

The golden question is, what is defective? A normal degradation is expected as the cat ages. Just because it doesn't work as new does not mean it is defective. The cat manufacturers all seem to state that it is only "good" for 10,000 hours which is only like two burn seasons.

Condar says 12000 hours when it starts to loose efficiency which I figure is right around 3 seasons for me give or take a little. Mine is on it's 4th and can see it's performance falling off. I have no issues replacing it every 3 or 4 seasons. Heck the stove is so good I'd replace it every season if I had to.

 

[blueguy]

It still gets up toward the top end of the active range and glows brightly...

It's funny, even when my cat is glowing brightly and I can see its reflection in the floor, the cat probe needle has never gone past the 2 o'clock position...

 

[tarzan]

I miss my overactive (new) cat! When I got my stove in the shoulder season it was a bit of a nuisance to shut the thermostat completely only to have stove top temps rise above 600* for hours. Now I wish I could shut the thermostat and watch the cat probe thermo needle shoot up like the tach on a 70' Chevel and watch the cat glow bounce off the floor!

 

[Sconnie Burner]

Thanks for al the info guys! I have a roughly 10 cords css so 2 years for the new house! And will be working on more come the end of March w/ a new 27-ton splitter waiting for a workin'. I have a summer to decide on which stove, but now leaning heavily towards the BK king for its thermostat and somewhat self controled air. I think it will suit my needs to do a major chunk of my heating. I will still be doing some research on the F5100 for some reviews if i can find 'em/any. I'm sure i will have more ?'s in the coming months.