Blaze King -King; Ultra, Classic or Parlor

[ksks]

Posted previously that my shop is build and will be setting a King this summer.

So, I've decided on a King.

But, which of the three.

I like the legs on the Parlor.
I like the idea of the big ash pan on the Ultra.

How well does the bigger ash pan on the ultra work?

What to you say about a choice between the three?

Thanks,

ksks

 

[webby3650]

I prefer the ultra. The ashpan is huge, and easy to use. Although others choose to not use it for some unknown reason. It works well, holds a ton of ash and is cleaner than most ash handling systems.

 

[ohlongarm]

Posted previously that my shop is build and will be setting a King this summer.

So, I've decided on a King.

But, which of the three.

I like the legs on the Parlor.
I like the idea of the big ash pan on the Ultra.

How well does the bigger ash pan on the ultra work?

What to you say about a choice between the three?

Thanks,

ksks

The ash pan on the Parlor holds more ash than did my Ultra,and very easy to use and clean. This has been my observation,others may see it differently.

 

[Highbeam]

So I own an ultra and bought it mostly because I think it doesn't look as silly as the other two models. Look at them head on and you will see that the face of the ultra stove is cut out more square on the ultra. It has less taper in towards the top. More like a conventional stove and the included side shields flatten the sides too.

I admit to being one of those guys that thought the ash pan was stupid small and shoveled out instead. I have since changed my ways and have learned to use the ash pan but only when there is about 2" of firebox ash depth to be removed instead of trying to fill the belly with ash. One ash pan full is about 2" of firebox ash and the belly can hold 6". I use the ash pan because doing so releases little or no ash into my house compared to lots of ash floating away when shoveling into a bucket. So while I think the ash pan should be much bigger, I do find it to be effective and use it. With doug fir softwood from my area there is very little ash produced so this is a monthly or bimonthly task.

Oh and get the blowers.

I wish I could put a king in my shop. It requires that dang 8" flue. Maybe I'll move my princess out there someday and put a fancy ashord in the house!

 

[ksks]

Thanks guys.

Seems to be different opinions...bigger ashcan on the Ultra or Parlor?

 

[webby3650]

Thanks guys.

Seems to be different opinions...bigger ashcan on the Ultra or Parlor?

The ultra is more of a bucket than a pan, easier and cleaner in my opinion.

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks guys.

Seems to be different opinions...bigger ashcan on the Ultra or Parlor?

Neither will hold a full stove's ashes. Both will work just as well.

Does the parlor still have that ruffely skirt looking thing going on between the legs?

 

[Poindexter]

When i looked recently the only one i could put a convection fan kit on was the ultra.

I stand to be corrected, but now that i have stove with convection fans i dont plan to do without them again.

On my A30 i have found kind of a sweet spot range where the stove has more ash than i want in the floor, fill the ash bucket in the drawer once and leave behind a little less ash than i want in the floor, repeat in 3 weeks or so

Took a couple seasons to find that spot. Kind of like getting a haircut, once you have a good rhythm just go with it.

 

[webby3650]

Neither will hold a full stove's ashes. Both will work just as well.

Does the parlor still have that ruffely skirt looking thing going on between the legs?

Yes it does

 

[ohlongarm]

When i looked recently the only one i could put a convection fan kit on was the ultra.

I stand to be corrected, but now that i have stove with convection fans i dont plan to do without them again.

On my A30 i have found kind of a sweet spot range where the stove has more ash than i want in the floor, fill the ash bucket in the drawer once and leave behind a little less ash than i want in the floor, repeat in 3 weeks or so

Took a couple seasons to find that spot. Kind of like getting a haircut, once you have a good rhythm just go with it.

The Parlor has the convection fan.

 

[ksks]

I got a quote on a King Parlor with fan and total new install with all piping and gadgets of $4900. The closest dealer is 1.25 hours away.

Looks like I will go with that.

Blaze King needs to do some QC on their dealers. I called one company off the site and someone answered, poor rapport, little info. When I asked about the stove he said I would need to call back between 8-9am, "that's when the guy is here." I asked to leave a message and he said he maybe could but couldn't find anything to write on. Then he said this is a "community phone." After some questioning, this is an Amish community with one phone answered by random people and the Blaze King rep is there only at that time. NO one else there to give info.

I called a company outside of KC and got a low energy, low info guy. I asked if he would come to my area to install. He said, "I don't install," then stopped talking. After some prodding, I found out he just sells them. I told him what I wanted and he fiddled around and then said he guesses he doesn't have the price list with him but would call me back.

I left a message with one other company outside of KC. We'll see.
.....

Well I was dinking around on the BK website and a couple other dealers came up when I but in towns west of me that didn't show up when I put my town in, and when I put the State in.

More phone calls...

ksks

....then I find a shop in SW Missouri on the BK site. I go to their website and the are not showing BK???

BK, you've got to do some thinning of the herd.

.......Then I call a hardware in Nixa off the BK site and the guy said he has worked at the store of 7 years and they have not sold BK in at least that long.

What the hell???????

 

[Highbeam]

I got a quote on a King Parlor with fan and total new install with all piping and gadgets of $4900. The closet dealer is 1.25 hours away.

Looks like I will go with that.

Blaze King needs to do some QC on their dealers. I called one company off the site and someone answered, poor rapport, little info. When I asked about the stove he said I would need to call back between 8-9am, "that's when the guy is here." I asked to leave a message and he said he maybe could but couldn't find anything to write on. Then he said this is a "community phone." After some questioning, this is an Amish community with one phone answered by random people and the Blaze King rep is there only at that time. NO one else there to give info.

I called a company outside of KC and got a low energy, low info guy. I asked if he would come to my area to install. He said, "I don't install," then stopped taking. After some prodding, I found out he just sells them. I told him what I wanted and he fiddled around and then said he guesses he doesn't have the price list with him but would call me back.

I left a message with one other company outside of KC. We'll see.

.....

Well I was dinking around on the BK website and a couple other dealers came up when I but in towns west of me that didn't show up when I put my town in, and when I put the State in.

More phone calls...

ksks


....then I find a shop in SW Missouri on the BK site. I go to their website and the are not showing BK???

BK, you've got to do some thinning of the herd.

Aren't you glad that you are forced to support those dealer middle men by paying an extra profit margin to them? Aren't you happy that you have no choice but to use these dealers for parts too? It's a dang shame. Bk stoves are just as easy to install and operate as the other mail order stoves. If you want to pay extra for hand holding that should be your own cost.

 

[Marshy]

For me, the ash pan was a necessity. I was installing my King in my basement and wasn't interested in the fancy asthetics so the Ultra met all of my needs. I don't know if the pan between the tow is the same size or not. What I can tell you is after a week of running my stove 24/7 on high output the ash was at full depth of the lower bricks and I would rake coals out of the ask and have to take 2 sometimes 2.5 pans of ash out of the stove. Removing the ash was straight forward and is even easier if you have a small coal rake. Sometime I wish the door to the ash pan was larger but it is what it is. I found that as long as the pan was pushed in tight to the base no ash dust would come into the room. Just make sure you have a really good set of welding gloves because that ash pan gets really hot on the second trip. I know my gloves are smoking after carrying it 30-40 ft to dump it.

 

[ksks]

Thanks!

 

[MacinJosh]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a King and now I'm having second thoughts on which model. Getting quoted $3,475.25 for the parlor (which is the style I think I like the best), but the dealer has an Ultra and a Classic in stock offering 20% ($700) off. Is the only difference in models the look/aesthetics? Also, yes or no on the ash pan? I was told the King has a small opening in the bottom so kind of a pain to get the ash in the pan. If you don't have a pan and burn 24/7, how do you get the ash out without a pan? Won't the firebox eventually fill up or do you have to shovel it out while it's running?

Appreciate any answer for the noob. Thanks!

 

[webby3650]

Get the ashpan!

 

[ksks]

I would say average that $700 out over the number of years you think you will have the stove and then see if the extra annual expense is worth you getting your top choice.

This is my first year with the stove full time and it’s November in southern MO so not much use yet. I have tried the ash pan. I have let a lot of ash build up so the pan doesn’t hold enough for that. Also it’s kind of a pain to scoop it to the little hole. But I’ve still used it.
More of what I do is shovel the ash into a metal bucket. If you slide it off the shovel instead of dumping it, there is little ash that gets out.

You’ll have to either shovel hot coals or wait for it to burn out and cool. You can separate some coal from ash but not enough.

 

[webby3650]

You’ll have to either shovel hot coals or wait for it to burn out and cool. You can separate some coal from ash but not enough

I don’t ever plan a cleaning. I just choose a time when the stove has burned down to a low amount of coals. Rake the coals to one side and push the ashes down the hole. I don’t bother getting it totally cleaned out. Using an ash hoe is the key to success I think.

 

[Grizzerbear]

Ksks where did you get the bk. The closest i could find was hechlers in st louis. And i agree their dealer search section sucks. I called nixa hardware too and pretty much got same answer. I new it couldnt be tgat easy lol.

 

[Woody Stover]

I admit to being one of those guys that thought the ash pan was stupid small and shoveled out instead. I have since changed my ways and have learned to use the ash pan...I use the ash pan because doing so releases little or no ash into my house compared to lots of ash floating away when shoveling into a bucket.

Yep, I think a lot of people try using the ash pan once or twice, then give up on it. It's like anything else, though..do it for a while and you get efficient at it, making it easy to do. Same can be said for shoveling. You don't want to dump into a bucket and create a cloud, you want to slide ash off the shovel into a shallow pan held below the door. And do it when draft is strong so it pulls in the small amount of dust that is inevitable.

Blaze King needs to do some QC on their dealers. I called one company off the site and someone answered, poor rapport, little info.

I think that down here, where heating bills aren't as expensive as further north, stove sales and service might be more of a sideline and spa/patio sales is where they make their money. Talking to the dealers where I live, you soon realize they know little about wood burning, or their products.

Aren't you glad that you are forced to support those dealer middle men by paying an extra profit margin to them? Aren't you happy that you have no choice but to use these dealers for parts too? It's a dang shame. Bk stoves are just as easy to install and operate as the other mail order stoves. If you want to pay extra for hand holding that should be your own cost.

Werd.

I found that as long as the pan was pushed in tight to the base no ash dust would come into the room.

Yah, I'm wondering about that stuff with my SIL's stove. Probably should leave the ash door open a minute or so, so the dust floating around in the pan area can get sucked up through the open ash dump and into the stove.

 

[BKVP]

Gentlemen, I am always (100%) available to help and get you the help you like. PM me and I can get the dealer issues resolved.

BKVP

 

[SpaceBus]

Gentlemen, I am always (100%) available to help and get you the help you like. PM me and I can get the dealer issues resolved.

BKVP

This is amazing. I wish you were the VP of my tractor manufacturer.

 

[Highbeam]

Gentlemen, I am always (100%) available to help and get you the help you like. PM me and I can get the dealer issues resolved.

BKVP

Note that this is a very old thread dug up from the grave here. I understand that BK has made great progress over the years in improving the distribution system. We here a lot less complaining about the price discrepancies.

 

[ksks]

Ksks where did you get the bk. The closest i could find was hechlers in st louis. And i agree their dealer search section sucks. I called nixa hardware too and pretty much got same answer. I new it couldnt be tgat easy lol.

House of Ivey
Darrell Ivey
Lebanon MO
‭(417) 532-3155‬

Darrell was willing to travel 1.25 hours to get to my house.
Nice guy. Very good install.
HIs wife answers the phone and is very helpful.

ksks

 

[Grizzerbear]

House of Ivey
Darrell Ivey
Lebanon MO
‭(417) 532-3155‬

Thanks