Blaze King Princess Recommendation

[BobTheBuider]

I recently purchased a 50 year old 1,500 SF 2 story log cabin in northeast Illinois with an attached 1,000 SF single story ranch. The attachment is via a 450 SF 2-story three season sun room/atrium. Both have open floor plans. The ranch is being renovated with new windows and new insulation. Cabin is in good shape and no renovation planned. Both structures came with older big box store wood stoves that I want to replace. Chimneys are good and go straight up with no bends. Local BK dealer recommended I get two BK Princess stoves, one for each. I have enough firewood for 2-3 seasons and plan to use wood stoves as primary heat. Question is, will the Princess be too large for the 1,00 SF single story. We can open windows from cabin to atrium to heat it but only a door from single story to atrium. Also, I am concerned with simplicity and reliability of operation. I heated with a Vermont Castings wood stove some time ago but sold that house in 2006. So I have not operated any of the newer stoves. Comments and recommendations would be appreciated. I would like to order this week.

 

[Ashful]

Princess can turn down way low, like 35-hour-burn-time low. They're sometimes criticized for falling behind similarly-sized stoves at the top-end of burn rates, but never the bottom.

If a Princess is too much heater, you'd best stick to jar candles.

Oh... and welcome to the "I have two BK's" club. I believe you are member no.3.

 

[bikedennis]

I have a Sirocco 30.2 in a 1200 sq ft house. I debated about getting the smaller 20.2. Glad I got the big one. BKs can be turned down for long slow burns in spring and fall. Bigger fire box means longer burns (more fuel)when big heat is not needed. I think that the Princess has the same size fire box as my 30.2.

 

[showrguy]

Princess can turn down way low, like 35-hour-burn-time low. They're sometimes criticized for falling behind similarly-sized stoves at the top-end of burn rates, but never the bottom.

If a Princess is too much heater, you'd best stick to jar candles.

Oh... and welcome to the "I have two BK's" club. I believe you are member no.3.

I dunno if you have me on that list or not Ashful ?
But technically I have 3, if ya count the one bholler’s been running for the last 4 years…. Lol

 

[BobTheBuider]

I have a Sirocco 30.2 in a 1200 sq ft house. I debated about getting the smaller 20.2. Glad I got the big one. BKs can be turned down for long slow burns in spring and fall. Bigger fire box means longer burns (more fuel)when big heat is not needed. I think that the Princess has the same size fire box as my 30.2.

Thanks. I think the ability to turn down for a slow burn would give the Princess an extended range suitable for the smaller unit.

 

[BobTheBuider]

Any problems with buildup on the glass during slow burn?

 

[bholler]

Any problems with buildup on the glass during slow burn?

Yes when burning low and slow the glass will be dirty. But there really isn't anything to see inside when you are doing that anyway

 

[BobTheBuider]

Is it easy t clean?

 

[Ashful]

Is it easy t clean?

Depends on your definition of clean. A half hour burning on a higher setting will clean up the center and upper part of the window, maybe 80%. But the lower corners are hard to "burn off", as we say. There are some who razor and polish their windows as a weekly ritual, but most using this stove for heat get over the dirty glass, pretty quickly.

As bholler said, on the lowest burn settings, where you're consuming only perhaps 1 cu.ft. of wood per ten hours, there won't be any fire to see, anyway. New users regularly report thinking their stove went out, when they just see some charred wood laying there and apparently doing nothing, until they notice their catalyst is running 1000F.

One thing we've grown to appreciate about these stoves is the ability to have it either way. Turn it up on Friday night, for a nice fire view while watching a movie in front of the stove. Turn it down for "black box" mode on a warmer day, and go long.

But if fire viewing is your only or primary reason for installing a stove, you need not spend the extra coin to go with Blaze King. Their value really is mostly in the turn-down ability and super-long burn times. Folks with non-cats generally report cleaner glass and better fire view.

 

[Ashful]

I just dug up a photo from a few weeks ago, when I was grabbing a picture of an ash rake for another thread, which happens to show the stove when running on a higher setting:



And here's another photo taken just now, about 16 hours into a burn on a medium'ish setting:



On the lowest setting, when you're going for 30+ hours out of a single load, you won't even see a glow. I'll go thru some older photos to see if I can find one for that, and insert it here, if I succeed.

Also note that this is a BK Ashford 30.1, roughly the same size as the Princess, but with (I believe) a slightly more aggressive air wash system behind the glass. This means my glass likely tends to see slightly more fly ash and less creosote, versus a Princess.

 

[stoveliker]

After running low for a few fires, a high run today. This is half an hour after reloading. Glass is almost clean.

Pine and two maple splits. 60 pct full reload. Hands burn from radiative heat after 10 seconds when taking the pic ...

 

[snojetter]

You asked about simplicity and reliability of operation. Is there a stove that is more simple to operate? Maybe, but you can't get any more basic than a bypass lever and a thermostat control knob. Your sequence of firing a cold stove or reloading will vary slightly depending on your specific set-up, but in my experience our Princess is set-it-and-forget it. Get everything up to temp, set the thermostat (bypass closed), and then walk away. Just don't forget to go back and reload...

Reliable? We're winding down on burn season 9 and are on season two of the second cat. The only trouble I've had with the stove was when trying to get an extra year from the original cat (we burn 24/7 during the heating months) . It didn't perform as I was used to - the control was still there, but the chimney was noticeably dirtier and the heat output not as consistent. Once I put the new cat in, it was like I had brand new stove.

Dirty glass? Don't even notice one way or the other. It's just a great heater. I've drunk the BK Kool-Aid and not sorry to admit it!

 

[BobTheBuider]

Would you recommend the fan option?

 

[Ashful]

Would you recommend the fan option?

Take this with a grain of salt, since I have Ashfords, and not the Princess. But I'd definitely get the fan option, especially if your stove is any sort of corner or alcove. In my case, with each of my stoves sitting in fireplaces (you can see one in my avatar, the other in the two photos posted above), it's the best way to move maximum heat out into the room.

Note, you don't need to run the fans. At least on the Ashford, they take nothing away from natural convection or radiation, so there's no harm in turning them off when you want dead-quiet operation.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes. Better to have it and not need it than to need it but not have it.

But if you are short on money, I believe they can be added after installation. Confirm this with BK.

 

[ratsrepus]

Princess can turn down way low, like 35-hour-burn-time low. They're sometimes criticized for falling behind similarly-sized stoves at the top-end of burn rates, but never the bottom.

If a Princess is too much heater, you'd best stick to jar candles.

Oh... and welcome to the "I have two BK's" club. I believe you are member no.3.

I have two, you never ask me to join😂

 

[ratsrepus]

Take this with a grain of salt, since I have Ashfords, and not the Princess. But I'd definitely get the fan option, especially if your stove is any sort of corner or alcove. In my case, with each of my stoves sitting in fireplaces (you can see one in my avatar, the other in the two photos posted above), it's the best way to move maximum heat out into the room.

Note, you don't need to run the fans. At least on the Ashford, they take nothing away from natural convection or radiation, so there's no harm in turning them off when you want dead-quiet operation.

get the fan option

 

[Ashful]

I have two, you never ask me to join😂

You're the reason he's member no.3! Did the postal service lose your membership card, again?

 

[ratsrepus]

Sometimes feeding two wood stoves is tiresome, I wouldn't want three like your self. How much wood do you go through in a season? Im down considerably this year because we spent 6 weeks in Florida. Normally around 5 cord will do it for me.

 

[Ashful]

I only have two stoves, like you, and I've even been getting lazy on keeping the second one of those going all the time. I was using 10 cords per season, when running two stoves 24/7. Since I was doing 2 loads per day in one stove and 1 load per day in the other, the split was roughly 7 cords in one stove and 3 cords in the other.

There was a time I had three Jotul Firelight 12's, but that was more about playing musical chairs with stoves, to keep two running while a third was waiting on parts or repair. I don't miss those days!

 

[BobTheBuider]

I ordered two BK Princess Stoves with fans. One for each house. Now to finish the remodel before they arrive.

 

[kennyp2339]

I ordered two BK Princess Stoves with fans. One for each house. Now to finish the remodel before they arrive.

did you get the convection decks to?

 

[ratsrepus]

did you get the convection decks to?

how do those work? you got one?

 

[ratsrepus]

I ordered two BK Princess Stoves with fans. One for each house. Now to finish the remodel before they arrive.

make sure you check with ashful on this. He need to approve anyone with two BK's . also you need to a[ply for a member card

 

[BKVP]

Convection decks are now termed blower exhaust and are standard on the Princess, King and Sirocco models.