Blaze King princess insert

[ZCor]

I have a question for anybody familiar with the blaze king princess insert. I have a princess insert on the main floor of my house and like it so much I decided to replace the outdated insert in my basement with a new princess insert....but I am so far disappointed with the new one. When I burn it on a higher setting the needle goes way passed the active mode like it’s over heating the combustor. I have made sure the bypass door is completely shut but it still does it. I also noticed that the heat output is very disappointing way less than what my other one is. Also my blower fan is about half as strong. Has anybody else had similar issues or have any ideas what could cause this?

 

[mellow]

Longer chimney = more draft, possibly overdraft.

 

[stoveliker]

Did you check the gaskets (door, window, and bypass)?

 

[ZCor]

Did you check the gaskets (door, window, and bypass)?

Yes they all seal tight. The flames are real slow and not acting like there is a bad seal somewhere.

 

[ZCor]

Longer chimney = more draft, possibly overdraft.

I have thought about that but it’s just weird to me how the combustor will act like it’s overheating but the heat output of the stove is very poor compared to my other one.

 

[mellow]

Give us some more info on your setup, I can only give generic answers to generic questions.

 

[kennyp2339]

Sounds like a much higher draft in the basement stove, you may need to rig up some type of damper between the flu collar and flex pipe, it can be done with a knowledgeable installer.
I dont have an insert, but I do have a freestanding princess in my basement, I was having trouble also with high cat temps (sometimes you can smell a Sulphur like odor outside if the wind was blowing right, last year I installed a damper to slow things down, but I was way to cautious with the settings, so some days I had the perfect experience, other days I was out of whack, this season I decided to keep the damper shut all the time with exception to reloading, night and day difference, better heat output, longer burn times, nearly perfect cat probe readings between noon and 2 o'clock for the first 8 - 10 hrs, just a great stove now that I have the draft issue figured out.

 

[ZCor]

Give us some more info on your setup, I can only give generic answers to generic questions.

What more information would you like? My chimney length for that stove is probably 20-25’. My issue that I’ve been dealing with is when I run the stove on high after reloads like the manual states or run it on high after a long burn on the low setting my combustor gage goes all the way past active sometimes almost all the way back to the “inactive” part. It’s not like the fire is roaring inside like it’s getting to much air somewhere it actually burns slower than my other princess does. I can run my other one on high all day if I wanted to and the gage will never goes past “active”. I have checked all my seals and everything looks good. The heat output of this new one is way less than my other one when ran on the same settings. I should also state that my “older” one was put in back in August. It was 2 years old but still new in the box when I bought it from the dealer. This new one had to be ordered in from Blaze king and it was installed right before Christmas. I will attach pictures of my chimney and a picture of the old insert where the new one was installed.

 

[mellow]

The problem with inserts is you can't put a key damper on them, not allowed since it is "out of view", hence the need to use high grade stainless on the liner and adapters.

Do you have a liner installed in that chimney? What size? Insulated?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Even though it's a basement, the chimney height doesn't look excessive. I think it would be a good idea to have the installer test the draft, though, since there is a very specific range in which you need to run.

What is the flooring? Are you sitting on an uninsulated slab? That could absorb a lot of BTU's right there and explain the difference in feel you have from your upstairs stove. I also wonder if you have more air leakage around those sliding doors.

I know I read years ago about some folks adjusting their blower strength. @BKVP had guidance, I believe.

 

[ZCor]

The problem with inserts is you can't put a key damper on them, not allowed since it is "out of view", hence the need to use high grade stainless on the liner and adapters.

Do you have a liner installed in that chimney? What size? Insulated?

Yes there is a brand new 6” insulated liner that was installed with the stove.

 

[ZCor]

Even though it's a basement, the chimney height doesn't look excessive. I think it would be a good idea to have the installer test the draft, though, since there is a very specific range in which you need to run.

What is the flooring? Are you sitting on an uninsulated slab? That could absorb a lot of BTU's right there and explain the difference in feel you have from your upstairs stove. I also wonder if you have more air leakage around those sliding doors.

I know I read years ago about some folks adjusting their blower strength. @BKVP had guidance, I believe.

The basement floor is just concrete with thin carpet right now. There could be more leakage around the sliding doors but I haven’t noticed much draft coming through them. They are fairly new about 6-7 years old. Running both stoves on medium I can put my hand within about an inch of this newer without it getting hot whereas the other one is hot about 6 inches away.

 

[mellow]

An overdraft condition would be sucking more heat up the liner, but we usually see this at 30'+ conditions.

How did the previous bayview insert run?

I would also look into insulating that fireplace for more heat retention.

 

[ZCor]

An overdraft condition would be sucking more heat up the liner, but we usually see this at 30'+ conditions.

How did the previous bayview insert run?

I would also look into insulating that fireplace for more heat retention.

The old one was very inefficient it was as an 80’s earthstove. The seals were getting bad and the damper was rusted open so that was a big part of it. You could definitely tell the flames were getting to much air in that one.

 

[BKVP]

I have a question for anybody familiar with the blaze king princess insert. I have a princess insert on the main floor of my house and like it so much I decided to replace the outdated insert in my basement with a new princess insert....but I am so far disappointed with the new one. When I burn it on a higher setting the needle goes way passed the active mode like it’s over heating the combustor. I have made sure the bypass door is completely shut but it still does it. I also noticed that the heat output is very disappointing way less than what my other one is. Also my blower fan is about half as strong. Has anybody else had similar issues or have any ideas what could cause this?

First, cats are hyper active when new. Give it a season or so and it will settle in. You are not over firing it.
Second, the Btu's are nearly identical between the PI1010A and the PI29. Is the insert upstairs a PI1010A or previous model?
Third, we had many complaints about the fan system used in the PI1010A. It was a vertically integrated squirrel cage fan. The PI29 uses a more reliable, less noisy but also less rpm fan motor. Make certain the flue trim ring is in place. This has to be sealed to the unit and in place before connected to the liner. If this is loose or not sealed, there is the possibility some fan air it traveling through the gap and into the chimney space.

Honestly, we have had great reviews (with the exception of amount of air movement from the blower) from owners of the PI29.

 

[spudman99]

2nd year with a PI29. What @BKVP stated above is all you need to know. Check the trim rim to make sure there is no air leak. Make sure you have a block off plate in the basement install. My 33' liner regularly pulls 0.20wc on the Magnehellic and is well above BK specs. I still get pretty good heat out of the unit and 12 hour burns with green ash 17% wood. My combustor gauge will regularly go well past active, almost to 5pm on the dial. Stove top temperature does not usually pass 500deg regardless of where the combustor gauge falls on the high side. In other words do not worry about it getting too hot.

 

[sminion]

Going on our 11th year with our 1010 princess insert and couldn't be more satisfied. A little history first. We switched out the ceramic cat for a steelcat 2 seasons ago, after replacing the ceramic cat(s) twice after trying the boiling vinegar cleaning procedure twice. , (The first time under warranty). I've replaced the bypass gasket once, and will be doing so again in the coming weeks - this time using some hi temp grease under the cam and correctly adjusting it so it WILL click when closed properly. Replaced the firebrick 2 yrs ago as some were beginning to crack. I've also replaced the door handle, and its latch and gasket. Our house is under 1,000 sq ft, so there's ample heat on most days on a low burn - usually 18 hrs. My only complaints are that the manual said absolutely nothing about pushing the bypass handle down until it clicks. and the "trim ring" wasn't mentioned in the installation instructions. I've keep the shroud off of the stove and in the closet - without it the stove performs more like a free-standing one. I'm getting tired of splitting and stacking and moving the wood from splitter - to stack - to racks on covered porch. This year I'm going to burn mostly "Bio Blocks". Their price per ton is comparable to pellets, and they are clean, relatively smoke free and always at 10% moisture level. I've discovered that my idea of a 128 cu, ft.cord of delivered, (seasoned - HA!) cut and split wood isn't in agreement with many area firewood dealers, who, for the most part shortchange people. So, I'm off on a new wood heating adventure with these compressed sawdust fuel bricks. Thanks to BKVP for all your help AND the BK Socks! Wishing everybody a warm, safe, happy and healthy holiday season.

 

[begreen]

The basement floor is just concrete with thin carpet right now. There could be more leakage around the sliding doors but I haven’t noticed much draft coming through them. They are fairly new about 6-7 years old. Running both stoves on medium I can put my hand within about an inch of this newer without it getting hot whereas the other one is hot about 6 inches away.

It looks like a lot of the heat may be heading right upstairs. If so, that and a cold concrete floor can make it seem like the stove is underperforming.

 

[BKVP]

Is it underperforming? Appreciated mention of shortcomings in manual, which were addressed in later versions. Although you're not using the shroud, is there a block off plate?

 

[sminion]

Minus the shroud, there's more room for our kettles of water to keep the humidity up. And we don't need to run the fan very often with the stove exposed to the room air. The flex pipe is insulated, about 14 ft long and run within the clay tile liner of an exterior chimney and sealed at the top (below the cap), and blocked at the bottom as pictured. The Princess is performing really well. We have a cord+ of 2-3 yr old mixed hardwood (@ $200/cd) outside. and a one-ton pallet of SWI Bio Blocks @ ($309) inside. Bio Blocks (1 ton) claim to have BTUs equiv. to 1 1/2 cords seasoned hardwood. The store doesn't deliver, however my trusty '95 SAAB 9000 and I brought home the 1 ton pallet load in 3 trips. Slightly over the vehicle's load capacity. I'd heated my house in the 1980s with a large LOPI insert - a smoke dragon. Then came up here to NE PA in early 2000s, heated with a Mama Bear modded to sit within the fireplace before buying the Princess. The house has Oil HWBB, but it's job is making our hot water and only occasionally heating the house.