Blaze King Princess Video
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What in the world are you doing wrong?
I think Stans stove from Appalachia is burning hotter and better then that right now!
just joking!
I think Stans stove from Appalachia is burning hotter and better then that right now!
just joking!
Quentin2
Burning Hunk
Dang that's too hot, mines 80-85 and that gets uncomfortable if I'm doing any work or even cleaning. 68 in front of a hot stove seems hard to do in front of any stove. That's my temp in the far corners of my house on the floor above the stove. You must have some serious drafts.
was on the hottest setting for 1-1.5 hours. very frustrated. emailed the dealer 12/18… haven't seen him. wasted a boat load of money.
My Stove is in an unfinished 18x20 room in my basement ,so i dont spend much time there. It keeps the rest of the 3000 Sf 3 story house warm though. You do need serious heat when heating from the basement.
hack
Member
- Dec 13, 2012
- 74
Coach, I just read through your previous thread to try to get all the facts. Judging by the video you posted here, the stove is working hard but obviously isn't matching the BTU's you require. I'm probably going to get some blowback here from other members, but I don't think it's enough stove for what you are asking it to do. I had the same experience when I was trying to run an undersized stove for my requirements.
Looking at your floor plan from the other thread, you mention the room being 28x22 but I see a 55' wall. Is that just one big room? what is the total sqft of your house?
Here are my suspicions:
Possible wood moisture issue. I was amazed at the heat output difference when burning seasoned wood. Boing water off takes a ton of energy.
You are asking it to heat more than it can. Use some supplemental heat to help balance out the BTU equation until you figure out what's going on.
Your chimney could be acting as a heat exchanger to the outside air. Even though it is on an interior wall, It could be conducting a significant amount of BTU's outside in the attic and above. ( I know mine did)
You mentioned that the ceiling is hot, get a fan to circulate the air better. As you know, hot air rises so you need a ceiling fan if you don't already have one.
I doubt there is anything wrong with the stove judging by your video, but i guess there's a chance that the bypass isn't closing properly or the gasket is screwed up. This would allow a lot of heat to escape.
Operating an undersized stove isn't fun, I know. When I was running an undersized stove, it was working hard but I had to stand pretty close to appreciate the heat it was creating. All you can do is try to mitigate the amount of BTU's you need by reducing any potential drafts/insulation issues and supplement the wood stove with another heat source. Maybe all you need is to circulate the air better...
Looking at your floor plan from the other thread, you mention the room being 28x22 but I see a 55' wall. Is that just one big room? what is the total sqft of your house?
Here are my suspicions:
Possible wood moisture issue. I was amazed at the heat output difference when burning seasoned wood. Boing water off takes a ton of energy.
You are asking it to heat more than it can. Use some supplemental heat to help balance out the BTU equation until you figure out what's going on.
Your chimney could be acting as a heat exchanger to the outside air. Even though it is on an interior wall, It could be conducting a significant amount of BTU's outside in the attic and above. ( I know mine did)
You mentioned that the ceiling is hot, get a fan to circulate the air better. As you know, hot air rises so you need a ceiling fan if you don't already have one.
I doubt there is anything wrong with the stove judging by your video, but i guess there's a chance that the bypass isn't closing properly or the gasket is screwed up. This would allow a lot of heat to escape.
Operating an undersized stove isn't fun, I know. When I was running an undersized stove, it was working hard but I had to stand pretty close to appreciate the heat it was creating. All you can do is try to mitigate the amount of BTU's you need by reducing any potential drafts/insulation issues and supplement the wood stove with another heat source. Maybe all you need is to circulate the air better...
hack
Member
- Dec 13, 2012
- 74
I think you might me making a mistake comparing your stove to your friends. Judging by how hard you are running that stove, I doubt you would get any more heat if you had his stove. Almost all the variables affecting you have nothing to do with the stove, and have more to do with where it is installed.
Can you tell us more about how you're circulating the air in the room with the insert?
Can you tell us more about how you're circulating the air in the room with the insert?
Charles1981
Minister of Fire
So judging by the video, the cat thermometer is high into the active zone. Those more knowledgeable will have to answer this question but....Wouldn't this make wet/green wood less of probability as to his main problem? I would think you would have great difficulty getting into the active zone with wet wood where most of the heat is being used up to burn up the moisture content...no?
I read through your other thread...the scary part was were you said the wood was hissing and steam was coming out the ends of your wood. As much as I want to believe that even with unseasoned wood you should still be getting better heat out of the stove that you are expecting in the end this could be the main problem.
But again, i don't get how the cat is so high in the active range. I have a completely different stove and I thought I would try a couple pieces of wet oak on some hot coals (cut just 3 months ago). The stove wouldn't climb past 350, the wood smoldered and really wouldn't catch, and it there was no way my CAT would activate. I had to actually remove those two pieces of wood from the stove and chuck them out in the snow.
You seem to have a nice fire going, the cat is in the active range, I would expect heat output. Maybe my thoughts and questions will help, and maybe they will be useless additive information for you and others but I really want you to be happy with your stove!
Have you tried purchasing 3-4 bundles of kiln dried wood at your local grocery store or big box store and stuffing the stove full and starting a fire just with them? If met with the same results, low heat output, then the heat is has to be going else where (not into your house most likely).
I read through your other thread...the scary part was were you said the wood was hissing and steam was coming out the ends of your wood. As much as I want to believe that even with unseasoned wood you should still be getting better heat out of the stove that you are expecting in the end this could be the main problem.
But again, i don't get how the cat is so high in the active range. I have a completely different stove and I thought I would try a couple pieces of wet oak on some hot coals (cut just 3 months ago). The stove wouldn't climb past 350, the wood smoldered and really wouldn't catch, and it there was no way my CAT would activate. I had to actually remove those two pieces of wood from the stove and chuck them out in the snow.
You seem to have a nice fire going, the cat is in the active range, I would expect heat output. Maybe my thoughts and questions will help, and maybe they will be useless additive information for you and others but I really want you to be happy with your stove!
Have you tried purchasing 3-4 bundles of kiln dried wood at your local grocery store or big box store and stuffing the stove full and starting a fire just with them? If met with the same results, low heat output, then the heat is has to be going else where (not into your house most likely).
Thank you. That is exactly my point. Most of the wood burns very well. I can get an fire going without much effort. The total square footage of the house is 2140. I don't expect miracles here….only being warm in front of the stove. I shouldn't have to be under blankets 9 feet away after shelling out $4,000+. The fireplace wall is very hot, I think there is an issue somewhere. Disappointed in the performance and lack of dealer response. Blaze King and the dealer have all made their money, while I sit in a cold room, not acceptable at all.
Charles1981
Minister of Fire
Have you tried stuffing the stove with kiln dried wood from the store? If you have and experience the same results there is a problem.
If you haven't you can at least help yourself and everyone here trying to help by hopefully crossing one very significant possibility off the list which would be unseasoned wood.
If it isn't the wood you need to harass your stole dealer/installer and get them out to investigate the situation.
If you haven't you can at least help yourself and everyone here trying to help by hopefully crossing one very significant possibility off the list which would be unseasoned wood.
If it isn't the wood you need to harass your stole dealer/installer and get them out to investigate the situation.
Sounds more like you got a stove too small for your needs than it is the stove not performing.
How did you determine that this was the correct stove for your home?
What is the insulation like in your home?
Do you have tall ceilings?
Is it drafty home?
What are your outside temps right now?
Is there a blockoff plate installed?
The stove appears to be working correctly.
hack
Member
- Dec 13, 2012
- 74
I've burned some pretty wet wood in my princess and the cat had no problem getting hot. Maybe its because it was a new cat. The stove didn't get as hot though.
I still think its the stove being undersized for the current BTU needs. Thats not to say it isn't the correct stove in the long run but that the other factors need to be addressed if possible.
Im burning the same stove in a house that's 800sf larger and my stove room gets over 80, its just the farther rooms that don't get as warm. I'm not trying to heat the whole house though, I just wanted to supplement. I think he's losing heat through the masonry or up the flue, that thermo by the chair should be reading close to 80. If I tried burning unseasoned wood my thermo wouldn't be as far into the active zone as his is.
This stove just doesn't heat well. Period. I tried bio bricks and yes it did feel somewhat warmer. Maybe I need more biobrick and measure for a video. Can someone please take a pic of their Princess air vent? The hot air seems to go right to the ceiling, maybe due to the angle of the slats?. There is no adjustment on the vent itself to aim it closer to where you sit or downward. The air vent spans the width of the stove but only hot air comes out of the middle part of the vent? Is this right? Also, there is very very little heat that come off the stove if you don't run the fan. Have others experienced this? I am a patient person and really don't rush to judgement….but…when you sell an expensive product (I paid more for this stove than competing brands) if expect that the dealer could come and check on it. I bought this stove because he was the closest dealer. I am really sick over the whole experience. I asked the dealer to adjust the damper or to see if it's a problem, Emailed him 12/18/13. I am starting to understand why another Connecticut dealer said poor things about the brand…shoulda listened!
How did you determine that this was the correct stove for your home? All dealers suggested a box that was 2.5-3.0 cu'. Picked this model because many happy customers and liked the idea of long burn times and better technology
What is the insulation like in your home? Plenty in the attic, whole house wrapped before vinyl siding
Do you have tall ceilings? 8'
Is it drafty home? newer windows
What are your outside temps right now? it was 35 degrees when I took the video
Is there a blockoff plate installed? NO
How did you determine that this was the correct stove for your home? All dealers suggested a box that was 2.5-3.0 cu'. Picked this model because many happy customers and liked the idea of long burn times and better technology
What is the insulation like in your home? Plenty in the attic, whole house wrapped before vinyl siding
Do you have tall ceilings? 8'
Is it drafty home? newer windows
What are your outside temps right now? it was 35 degrees when I took the video
Is there a blockoff plate installed? NO
This stove isn't heating your home right now. You need to find out why. Because if you purchase another stove, there is a good chance you will have the same problems. Fix the problems, then determine whether the stove is a good fit for your home.
Most inserts rely on the fan to provide heat. Without the fan, most inserts will not heat nearly as well.
Why email? Why aren't you calling? Stop being passive. You have a problem. Call the dealer and get them to come out. Why have you waiting nearly a month for the dealer to respond?
Being angry and pissy isn't going to solve the problem. This stove has a long track record of being a capable heater. You need to find out what the problem is. Is it the install? Is your home far draftier than you would like to admit?
Long and low only works in milder temps, in a well insulated home, or if the stove is oversized for your needs..
There's a problem. Could be your main problem. You could be losing a TON of heat up the chimney. Was the entry point of the chimney at least stuffed with fireproof insulation?
I'm thinking that's part of his problem, the stove throws plenty of heat that's for sure, temp was 10 degrees today and that's all I used to heat my house, the furnace didn't kick on til the wife came home and wanted it a little warmer.
Niko
Minister of Fire
I understand completely what the op is going threw. I am still doing research on what stove to buy. I think these things are wayyyyyyyy over priced.. Most of your on here have tons of experience with stoves or inserts. My insert o have is old but does a good job of keeping my upstairs warm. She eats wood but she old lol. If im to spend 5,000 on a insert it better be a million times better not just a little better then what I got and so far my research is not showing that. People might spend more money on other types of fuel, oil, propane, natural gas. But none of that is labor intensive. Time is money, it took me i don't know how many days to stack my 9 cords of wood I bought. Feeding the insert, cleaning the insert, going out in the freezing ass cold to bring more wood in lol. Im not sire if its even worth buying a newer model. Cause i will be doing the same exact thing just not as frequent. With other fuel i can sit inside and enjoy being with my family. Just would cost more. But if factor in the time and manual labor this type of heating system needs It breaks even with me paying for oil. I still want a insert and after having more experience and knowledge things will get easier but for such a big price tag i expect better technology and these stoves have none.
Sorry to get off subject. Coach where did u buy the princess from? Od make a phone call to the boss and record the conversation. Speak your mimd and tell him what your expectations where and should be. If he doesn't want to help, get someone else to inspect the install and have that person wright done everything wrong. Go back to the step one and tell em see you in court.
Sorry to get off subject. Coach where did u buy the princess from? Od make a phone call to the boss and record the conversation. Speak your mimd and tell him what your expectations where and should be. If he doesn't want to help, get someone else to inspect the install and have that person wright done everything wrong. Go back to the step one and tell em see you in court.
1. Install a block off plate
2. Run the fans to match the t-stat setting, most inserts don't heat without the fans. If you're expecting heat without the fans you need a free standing stove with a radiant design.
3. Install a ceiling fan in the stove room to keep the heat off the ceiling. Or employ some other method of moving the heat.
What are the stove temps? When my stove was new I had trouble keeping the cat from being pegged out until the cat settled in. I'd expect to see the cat hotter with that much active flame in the box.
2. Run the fans to match the t-stat setting, most inserts don't heat without the fans. If you're expecting heat without the fans you need a free standing stove with a radiant design.
3. Install a ceiling fan in the stove room to keep the heat off the ceiling. Or employ some other method of moving the heat.
What are the stove temps? When my stove was new I had trouble keeping the cat from being pegged out until the cat settled in. I'd expect to see the cat hotter with that much active flame in the box.
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