Blaze King Princess too big for 1400 sq ft?

[Mustard Tiger]

Supposed to have a Jotul F45 installed later this week. Was told it meets the requirements for the tax credit, but when I got home later and looked up the requirements for the tax credit it actually does not qualify because it has an HHV rating of 71%, and the tax credit threshold is 75%. Although it's a completely differnt beast, they did have a Blaze King Princess in stock, and what does attract me to that is the ability to turn it down and take advantage of the extended burn times. I work 12+ hour shifts with a 25 minutes commute each way and it would be nice to not always have to start a new fire and come home to a cold house (sure the dog would appreciate that as well!)

Will I get blown out with the Blaze King, or is it manageable in a smaller place like mine? Main floor os 920 sq ft, with a 410 ft loft, and the stove will be on the main floor. There's also a 920 sq ft unfinished and unheated basement underneath the main floor.

 

[stoveliker]

I suggest to wait a little, after ordering a pellet stove, then the Jotul, and now thinking about a BK...
Do your due diligence first.

 

[stoveliker]

The Jotul has a 2.37 cu ft firebox that the website says can burn up to 9 hrs.
The Princess has a 3 cu ft firebox that can run 30 hrs.
The latter can achieve a lower output than the former, I presume.

The question is what output do you need.
I think you could even be better off with a smaller 20.2 firebox model from BK, given that the space to be heated is not very large, unless it's leaky and poorly insulated. Their minimum output is similar to the 30.2 fireboxes and the Princess, but they're smaller in size.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

I suggest to wait a little, after ordering a pellet stove, then the Jotul, and now thinking about a BK...
Do your due diligence first.

Just left the shop and they apologized that they had incorrectly labeled that Jotul incorrectly as qualifying for the tax credit. Ended up going with a BK Siroccco 20.

You make it sound like I’m just randomly pi oil g out stoves here. I switched from pellet to wood and was given in correct info regarding what stoves qualified for the tax credit. They apologized profusely for the misunderstanding and made it right. They agreed that the Princess would be way too much stove for my space.

 

[stoveliker]

I understand.
I was just remarking on the fact that I saw on this forum within 24 hrs pellet -> Jotul -> BK. All ordered.

Did you look at clearances? Chimney requirements for a satisfying operation?
You're quick, and at this price tag I personally would be less quick lest another issue would pop up.

Anyway, the BK is a great stove if installed correctly with the proper chimney it needs, and if you have dry wood.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

I understand.
I was just remarking on the fact that I saw on this forum within 24 hrs pellet -> Jotul -> BK. All ordered.

Did you look at clearances? Chimney requirements for a satisfying operation?
You're quick, and at this price tag I personally would be less quick lest another issue would pop up.

Anyway, the BK is a great stove if installed correctly with the proper chimney it needs, and if you have dry wood.

This hasn’t been quick! I’ve been back and forth to the store over the last month asking the owner and employees a ton of questions. I’ve taken pictures and emailed them to them, taken measurements and sent them the measurements, etc.

 

[stoveliker]

okay, good.
Then the postings here just gave the incorrect impression.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Don’t misunderstand though, I am new to owning a wood stove for sure. So it’s all new to me, hence the trips back and forth to the store and asking them a ton of questions, lurking here for a bit, etc.

Just seemed to make sense to spend a little more for the Sirocco and get the 30% tax credit once I discovered the Jotul didn’t qualify.

 

[kborndale]

How tall will your chimney be? For a BK to work well you need a minimum of 15 feet at sea level. If your at a higher elevation the minimum rises.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

How tall will your chimney be? For a BK to work well you need a minimum of 15 feet at sea level. If your at a higher elevation the minimum rises.

It’s going to be high. How high I don’t know. But the installers have seen the place and that’s what they do and install stoves all over this area, so I’m sure they know what they’re doing.

 

[bikedennis]

FWIW I have a Sirocco 30.2 in a 1200 sq. ft. house. Not too big due to it's ability to turn down

 

[Mustard Tiger]

FWIW I have a Sirocco 30.2 in a 1200 sq. ft. house. Not too big due to it's ability to turn down

That’s the one thing I liked about the BK. Working long shifts, the ability to turn it down and have longer burns was very appealing.

 

[stoveliker]

As you see, we keep asking about the chimney. This is because it is the chimey that runs the stove, a chimney is not useful but otherwise irrelevant add on. It's the engine of the system.

Not all installers do things right.

So, different shape of the same question: is this chimney going from the main floor past a loft ? I.e. is it 2 stories high?
If so, you should be fine, especially if it's straight up without elbows.

 

[bikedennis]

Keep in mind that the larger BK holds more fuel than the smaller (20.2 firebox). So you'll get longer burns. Check out the dimensions. The 30.2 is not that much bigger than the 20.2 I'm glad I went with the 30.2.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

As you see, we keep asking about the chimney. This is because it is the chimey that runs the stove, a chimney is not useful but otherwise irrelevant add on. It's the engine of the system.

Not all installers do things right.

So, different shape of the same question: is this chimney going from the main floor past a loft ? I.e. is it 2 stories high?
If so, you should be fine, especially if it's straight up without elbows.

Chimney is going out main floor to the roof. Loft is on the other side on the main floor. The installer mentioned it’s going to be a pretty tall chimney. Here’s the corner the chimney will be in, and it will be going straight up. (That’s an electric heater left by the previous owner, btw. I’m also ripping up all the carpet currently and putting down a new subfloor and prepping for hardwood floors. )

 

[stoveliker]

Looks good.
Make sure the chimney outside complies with the 10-3-2 rule, and beyond that, it'd be best if it is taller than the ridge of the roof - otherwise downward winds can blow in the chimney (pushing smoke in your room).

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Looks good.
Make sure the chimney outside complies with the 10-3-2 rule, and beyond that, it'd be best if it is taller than the ridge of the roof - otherwise downward winds can blow in the chimney (pushing smoke in your room).

The installer mentioned the 10-3-2 actually. When I was originally going to go with a pellet stove he commented on how much more the materials would be for a wood stove because of the height requirement of the chimney and this roof, etc.

 

[30WCF]

Being gone to work for 13+ hrs you need to be ok with coming home to a house that’s cooling down, or put in the time with whatever stove to learn it before you stuff it full and run out the door. Seems folks here, depending on their individual circumstances, need 30-90 minutes to tune the stove after filling the box up full. You can’t just shove it as full as you can and walk away. Split size, MC, shape, species, out door temp, wind speed… all play a role in how the stove will behave that particular day.

Point being, if you’re looking for 13 hrs, you need a stove that can run 20 hrs. at the required temps. The lowest setting may not be enough for where you are. Maybe low and slow is enough to get you through the work day and you can open the air up when you get home and get it warming back up from nicely cool rather than a cold stove.

 

[stoveliker]

The thermostat takes care of how the stove behaves for a BK.

With dry wood I need 30 minutes from a reload to me leaving.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Being gone to work for 13+ hrs you need to be ok with coming home to a house that’s cooling down, or put in the time with whatever stove to learn it before you stuff it full and run out the door. Seems folks here, depending on their individual circumstances, need 30-90 minutes to tune the stove after filling the box up full. You can’t just shove it as full as you can and walk away. Split size, MC, shape, species, out door temp, wind speed… all play a role in how the stove will behave that particular day.

Point being, if you’re looking for 13 hrs, you need a stove that can run 20 hrs. at the required temps. The lowest setting may not be enough for where you are. Maybe low and slow is enough to get you through the work day and you can open the air up when you get home and get it warming back up from nicely cool rather than a cold stove.

I am aware of all this, thanks!

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Being gone to work for 13+ hrs you need to be ok with coming home to a house that’s cooling down, or put in the time with whatever stove to learn it before you stuff it full and run out the door. Seems folks here, depending on their individual circumstances, need 30-90 minutes to tune the stove after filling the box up full. You can’t just shove it as full as you can and walk away. Split size, MC, shape, species, out door temp, wind speed… all play a role in how the stove will behave that particular day.

Point being, if you’re looking for 13 hrs, you need a stove that can run 20 hrs. at the required temps. The lowest setting may not be enough for where you are. Maybe low and slow is enough to get you through the work day and you can open the air up when you get home and get it warming back up from nicely cool rather than a cold stove.

I am not expecting the house to stay at 72+ degrees all day on the low setting while I'm gone and have fairly realistic expectations. If there are still coals in the stove and it's even, say in the low 60's when I get home I'm very ok with that. I did inquire about the Sirocco 30 or Princess and ws told unanimously that those are way more stove than I need for my application (and they had the Sirocco 30 and Princess in stock but had to order the Sirocco 20, so they weren't trying to sell me something in stock just to get it off their floor, etc.). Yes, it's something like 1330 square feet if I'm being spot on for square footage, but the main floor is 920 sq ft with a loft that sits on top of nearly half of the main floor. And given that hot air rises, we're kind of only heating 920 sq ft. There's a fan up top at the apex of the roof as well which can help circulate. I get it that pretty much any BK can run on low, and it does make sense that the larger the stove, the longer it will burn on the lowest setting, but if I went larger than the Sirocco 20 per the shop employees they said it would be overkill for my application. It would run great on the low setting for sure, but would probably roast me out of the place and wouldn't really get much opportunity to run the stove wide open. My understanding is it's beneficial to run wood stoves wide open periodically for a certain period of time to reduce creosote buildup and blockage of the chimney. Again, this is new to me and I'm just going with what I've been told so far (or my possibly inaccurate interpretation of what I've been told!)

 

[stoveliker]

A few remarks.

The low output of the 20 and 30 boxes are very similar. Running them on low they have about the same heat output. (Likely because the catalyst is providing most of the heat then, and that size is similar.)

The wide open thing is true for the stove: clean out the creosote in the firebox (because smoldering wood creates creosote and it hasn't gone through the catalyst yet, and condenses on the walls). I do this also at the end of burning season: run one load fully wide open. That "crisps" up the stuff on the walls, allowing easy cleaning with a metal brush so the stuff doesn't stay there all (humid) summer.

The chimney should never be cleaned by running the stove wide open. The only way to clean a chimney with fire is called a chimney fire.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

A few remarks.

The low output of the 20 and 30 boxes are very similar. Running them on low they have about the same heat output. (Likely because the catalyst is providing most of the heat then, and that size is similar.)

The wide open thing is true for the stove: clean out the creosote in the firebox (because smoldering wood creates creosote and it hasn't gone through the catalyst yet, and condenses on the walls). I do this also at the end of burning season: run one load fully wide open. That "crisps" up the stuff on the walls, allowing easy cleaning with a metal brush so the stuff doesn't stay there all (humid) summer.

The chimney should never be cleaned by running the stove wide open. The only way to clean a chimney with fire is called a chimney fire.

Understood. Sorry for using the incorrect words. Didn’t mean to use the word “clean” to actually clean the chimney. I meant running the stove wide open to prevent buildup and to made it easier to clean later on.

 

[dznam]

This is a "no brainer" in my opinion (YMMV though!). Go with the 30, the larger firebox size is simply akin to having a larger pellet hopper or oil tank, the 30 is better in every way as long as you have the room for it (which it appears you do). Why not get the longer burn time?

A few facts might be useful...

Specs for the 20 from BK website:

Performance​

Specifications:
Real World Tested Performance

Constant Heat Output on High
28,355 BTU's/h for up to 8 hours

Constant Heat Output on Low
11,342 BTU's/h for up to 20 hours

Average Heating Time
8 - 11 hours

Firebox Size
1.8 cu.ft.

Flue Size
6"


Specs for the 30:

Performance​

Specifications:
Real World Tested Performance

Constant Heat Output on High
35,980 BTU's per hour for 10 hours

Constant Heat Output on Low
11,993 BTU's per hour for up to 30 hours

Average Heating Time
8 - 13 hours

Firebox Size
2.9 cu.ft.

Flue Size
6"

 

[Mustard Tiger]

This is a "no brainer" in my opinion (YMMV though!). Go with the 30, the larger firebox size is simply akin to having a larger pellet hopper or oil tank, the 30 is better in every way as long as you have the room for it (which it appears you do). Why not get the longer burn time?

A few facts might be useful...

Specs for the 20 from BK website:

Performance​

Specifications:
Real World Tested Performance

Constant Heat Output on High
28,355 BTU's/h for up to 8 hours

Constant Heat Output on Low
11,342 BTU's/h for up to 20 hours

Average Heating Time
8 - 11 hours

Firebox Size
1.8 cu.ft.

Flue Size
6"


Specs for the 30:

Performance​

Specifications:
Real World Tested Performance

Constant Heat Output on High
35,980 BTU's per hour for 10 hours

Constant Heat Output on Low
11,993 BTU's per hour for up to 30 hours

Average Heating Time
8 - 13 hours

Firebox Size
2.9 cu.ft.

Flue Size
6"

I just wonder why they were pretty insistent that I should not go with the 30 and kept telling me the 20 would be plenty for my application.