Blaze King Princess

[Jeff Regier]

Hello everyone, thank you for all of the amazing information I was able to glean from this website over the years. I’ve always just looked in and researched stuff without posting. I now have a question that I’d really appreciate opinions on.

I’m in the process of building a 40x60 shop. It will have a 16ft ceiling and will be fully insulated and finished.

I will have natural gas in floor heat but really like wood heat. I want a stove that can heat that space without the gas needing to kick in.

The question: I have a super lightly used Blaze King Princess available to purchase but the guy wants $3200. Or I was considering ordering a new J.A.ROBY INC Ultimate Wood Stove. On paper the J.A. is better for throwing heat but from my research on here the Blaze King might be better unit overall.

If you had the decision what would you go for? Or would you throw another 3k at it and buy a new Blaze King 40 for that large space. I’m in Canada and deal with fairly brutal winters.

Thank you for any opinions on this as I’m stuck and need to pull the trigger right away on something.

 

[kborndale]

Are you looking to keep the shop warm 24/7 or will the shop being having cold starts all the time?

 

[Jeff Regier]

I’m looking to keep it warm for weeks at a time and then if I’m away let the in floor keep it from feeezing.

My big concern is with the J.A Roby claim that it will heat up to 18hrs. In the reality of not perfect conditions I don’t want to have to start the fire every day and I’m thinking that in reality 12-14 hrs left at low I will still need to restart it. Besides that the stove looks like a beast for throwing heat.

 

[Diabel]

What is your wood supply situation?

 

[Eman85]

Don't know what you do in your shop but most insurance companies don't like woodstoves in shops. I had one in my 30x40 with 13' ceilings well insulated. Not the best stove but between the cutting, splitting stacking and then the starting fires and reloading it was like having another job. Cut into the work time in the shop for sure then the insurance company made the decision for me. I put gas heat in and never looked back. Obviously not as cold here as it is where you are, but the cost of a good stove the work to supply fuel and feed it might not be worth it.

 

[Jeff Regier]

I couldn’t agree more that this won’t save me money. By the time I purchase the stove, chimney and spend the time cutting and splitting wood it will take 10+ years to even consider breaking even. With a natural gas boiler and in floor heat it is cheapest to just turn up the heat. That being said, I can cut all the wood I want, at my last place I burned about 10cord per year and didn’t mind the exercise.

My reason to consider spending the large amount (7k+ stove alone + tax and 8” pipe) on the Blaze King 40 is so I don’t need to relight it all the time. If I knew the Roby would have coals in the morning it throws the same heat for less than a 1/3 of the price. It’ll use more wood but that doesn’t bother me.

As the Roby doesn’t look like it will have a long enough burn time I’m not finding other options besides the BK for a huge stove that I won’t need to relight if I leave it for 12 hours.

The wood situation is maple, ash, oak and lots of indoor space to season it.

Thank you for the thoughtful response!

 

[all night moe]

Gas fired hydronic radiant slab? If so, how about an outdoor wood burner?
You could heat more than your shop if it's at your home.

 

[bholler]

I couldn’t agree more that this won’t save me money. By the time I purchase the stove, chimney and spend the time cutting and splitting wood it will take 10+ years to even consider breaking even. With a natural gas boiler and in floor heat it is cheapest to just turn up the heat. That being said, I can cut all the wood I want, at my last place I burned about 10cord per year and didn’t mind the exercise.

My reason to consider spending the large amount (7k+ stove alone + tax and 8” pipe) on the Blaze King 40 is so I don’t need to relight it all the time. If I knew the Roby would have coals in the morning it throws the same heat for less than a 1/3 of the price. It’ll use more wood but that doesn’t bother me.

As the Roby doesn’t look like it will have a long enough burn time I’m not finding other options besides the BK for a huge stove that I won’t need to relight if I leave it for 12 hours.

The wood situation is maple, ash, oak and lots of indoor space to season it.

Thank you for the thoughtful response!

I just don't think there will be enough btu output from a princess burning 12 hours to heat that space

 

[Jeff Regier]

Gas fired hydronic radiant slab? If so, how about an outdoor wood burner?
You could heat more than your shop if it's at your home.

Correct. I considered the outdoor burner but I really don’t want to tie it in to the house so it seems like overkill. You’re right though, considering the current spend that would make sense.

 

[all night moe]

Gas fired hydronic radiant slab? If so, how about an outdoor wood burner?
You could heat more than your shop if it's at your home.

Even the indoor boiler with water storage. Burn to charge your water with heat ..... batch burning.

 

[Ashful]

bholler already said it, but let me expound a bit. The BK Princes can be set for burn times of 30 hours, and nail them reliably, but remember you're only stuffing about 700k BTU worth of hardwood (or 500k BTU of softwood) into that box. So, if you set the thing to sip it out over the course of 24 hours, that's only 20k - 30k BTU/hour. That will be enough to keep your shop warmer than outdoors, or to take a big part of the load off your central heating, but may not be enough to keep the shop at the temperature you want without additional support.

On the flip side, you could burn a hot load in the morning when you arrive at the shop, and then set it up for a slow burn overnight. The Princess can do it all, up to it's maximum limit, dictated again by how much you put in the box and the rate at which you release it... say 500k - 700k BTU over 6 hours?

If the JA Roby has a max spec burn time of 13 hours, well then you'd better plan on visiting your shop at least once every 13 hours, to keep it from going cold. Whether or not that suits your schedule is your decision, but it's working under the same principle of total box capacity divided by hours of burn time.

 

[Jeff Regier]

bholler already said it, but let me expound a bit. The BK Princes can be set for burn times of 30 hours, and nail them reliably, but remember you're only stuffing about 700k BTU worth of hardwood (or 500k BTU of softwood) into that box. So, if you set the thing to sip it out over the course of 24 hours, that's only 20k - 30k BTU/hour. That will be enough to keep your shop warmer than outdoors, or to take a big part of the load off your central heating, but may not be enough to keep the shop at the temperature you want without additional support.

On the flip side, you could burn a hot load in the morning when you arrive at the shop, and then set it up for a slow burn overnight. The Princess can do it all, up to it's maximum limit, dictated again by how much you put in the box and the rate at which you release it... say 500k - 700k BTU over 6 hours?

If the JA Roby has a max spec burn time of 13 hours, well then you'd better plan on visiting your shop at least once every 13 hours, to keep it from going cold. Whether or not that suits your schedule is your decision, but it's working under the same principle of total box capacity divided by hours of burn time.

The second thing you mentioned is the plan, keep the stove running at maximum heat during the day and cut it back at night so I won’t need to relight. You’re right the 13hr burn with the JA Roby just isn’t enough for me. It’s too bad as it can produce major heat and is extremely inexpensive.

 

[joop]

when i burnt 24/7 with the roby,3 to 4 reloads per day.last load at 10:30 on average in the morning 7ish throw splits on, have fire in 15 to 20 min.no idea wood composition all mixed.2000 dollar oops to an 8000 dollar oops.glad i'm not in your shoes lol.but with the gas heating i don't think you should have a problem with either.especially with oak on night burns

 

[Diabel]

I just don't think there will be enough btu output from a princess burning 12 hours to heat that space

I agree.

 

[joop]

if you burn princess low at night let gas do it's thing then light her up for the day should work out

 

[joop]

ok jeff,started fire at 3 in the afternoon .putting splits on coals now at 8:37 am

 

[Diabel]

Yeah, the Princess might work as suggested above. It is a large space and “well insulated” is a very loose term😉. Ontario is a big province, if you are in Niagara region, your heating requirement will be much different than if you are in say….Thunder Bay region….

 

[joop]

agree,everyplace has it's variables

 

[joop]

fire starting 8:50 am.give you an idea

 

[Jeff Regier]

ok jeff,started fire at 3 in the afternoon .putting splits on coals now at 8:37 am

I’m impressed that it relit after leaving it that long. If I knew I could cut it back and have coals in the morning as you’re describing I’d have the right stove for me. Thanks for the 1st hand experience.

 

[Jeff Regier]

Yeah, the Princess might work as suggested above. It is a large space and “well insulated” is a very loose term😉. Ontario is a big province, if you are in Niagara region, your heating requirement will be much different than if you are in say….Thunder Bay region….

I used 3” insulation under slab and along footings, 6” in the walls and 14”+ in the ceiling. I spent extra insulating as I plan to keep this property. It is located near Bayfield Ontario. It’s fairly far south, however, it’s right on Lake Huron. I have another property virtually as far as you can go North (Hunta ON) and it’s almost as tough to heat here with the lake effect winds and storms. I was just in Hunta last week and it was colder but no wind, it seems to make a big difference.

 

[Diabel]

So, sounds like you are aware of weather elements that will need to be considered. Try out the princess, if it is too small sell it and get something bigger. Wood burning requires mucho commitment, I think you already know that.

 

[Jeff Regier]

So, sounds like you are aware of weather elements that will need to be considered. Try out the princess, if it is too small sell it and get something bigger. Wood burning requires mucho commitment, I think you already know that.

I think you’re right. I’ll give it a try and resell it if it doesn’t work out. The only bugger is that the King uses an 8” pipe. I just can’t justify spending 10k+ to get the King with chimney. If the lightly used princess doesn’t work out someone will get a deal on the stove and new 6” chimney. I’ll have 1/2 the money invested, tough to pay twice as much for the king. Thanks

 

[BKVP]

Waste oil Furnace might work. Burns about .75/gal hr.

 

[all night moe]

Waste oil Furnace might work. Burns about .75/gal hr.

View attachment 322217

Looks like a DIY build. Home heating oil tank....