Cleaning the Princess insert top down

[Brik]

For starters, I have been reading the forum for quite a while now, and must say, I have learned a lot, there is a lot of good info on here.

I am going to be replacing a Century steel plate stove from the early 90's, about 1.6 ft^3 and I have narrowed it down to the Quadra-Fire Isle Royale or the Blaze King Princess insert. This will be going into an old fireplace that will easily swallow the Isle Royal or need a custom surround for the Princess. The Princess manual clearly states to remove the insert when sweeping the chimney, this is a huge drawback to me, a deal breaker actually. Looking at the Princess at the dealer I can't see why you couldn't sweep with the insert in place. It seems that all the crud would come out just under the bypass and then you could just reach in and clean it out by hand. What do you guys that own the Princess do?

Also, the Princess I looked at had a silver door, it seemed super light (not a positive to me), does the black door have some weight to it?

 

[SolarAndWood]

They say the same thing in the freestanding manual. I think they are probably just trying to keep the crud out of the cat enclosure. If you are burning dry wood and have a decent stack, there isn't going to be much there anyway. I don't remove my stovepipe as the double wall telescopic is a PIA to get full extended without moving the stove. I just hit the cat enclosure with the shop vac and compressed air to pick up anything that doesn't make it into the firebox. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Highbeam]

I really like sweeping into the stove from above. I don't own a BK, yet, but I think unless you see an obstruction in the way to prevent it, I would jamb your rod into that princess from above.

Removing and replacing the cat seems to involve the isntallation of a new gasket that expands when it heats up. You may need to replace this gasket each time you remove the cat if you need to remove the cat to clean the sweepings.

 

[Todd]

Have you thought about installing a BK classic in that fireplace instead of insert? More heat without surround imo. As far as sweeping goes, I wouldn't move it, just remove the cat, open bypass, sweep down and vacuume out.

 

[Brik]

Considering that people do sweep into the stove, now I just need to check my woodpile, because I think I cut everything in the neighborhood of 18-22" in anticipation of a stove that could take the longer pieces. The princess takes 16" or 18" if loaded E to W, I think.

I have thought about the freestanding Princess, but I'm kind of a superficial guy, can't really get past the looks of the freestanding ones. Do you think the Princess Insert would have a hard time heating 2,400 sq ft of moderately well insulated old farm house in western NY? It is rated for 1,500 sq ft, but it has a 2.8 cu ft firebox, seems like it should do it.

 

[Todd]

If it was centrally located and open floor plan I'd say you have a good chance heating the whole place. Otherwise it should handle most of your heating needs. How big is that fireplace? Maybe you could even stick the King in there?

Oh, and I think you can get a 20" split in the Princess loading sideways or east/west, 16-18" splits are straight in.

 

[Brik]

The fireplace opening is 50" wide in the front, tapering to 41" in the back. 37.5" high, 18" deep at the bottom tapering to 9" at the top. I already have a 6" liner installed for the Century, and it just barely fits through the opening for the damper, which eliminates anything with an 8" pipe. After looking at Hearthstone, Jotul, Lopi, Harman, PE, Quadra-fire and Blaze King, the Isle Royale and the Princess were the two that I felt would meet my heating needs and fit in the existing fireplace. I'll have to stop by the dealer and look over the Princess again I guess, none of the dealers in the area have an Isle Royale on hand, unfortunately.

 

[weatherguy]

Oh, and I think you can get a 20” split in the Princess loading sideways or east/west, 16-18” splits are straight in

No, 18 in tops, if its a hair over 18 in you'd have to angle it a bit. Its pretty much a square box so 18 in or under you could go E W or N S

Also, the Princess I looked at had a silver door, it seemed super light (not a positive to me), does the black door have some weight to it?

I have the black door, its pretty rugged.

Im not so sure about heating the whole house, Probably a good portion of it though. Id probably look for something bigger like a Kuma if your hellbent on an insert, if not, I would go for the BK King.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

I did not pull my BK when I cleaned my flue. Can't imagine why they would ask you to do that other than making sure stupid people don't clean the flue with the bypass open...

With the bypass closed it's a straight shot down the flue and into the stove, and no chance of anything getting into the cat. Then you just have to get whatever comes down the flue off the shelf that the bypass lays flat upon.

It could not be simpler.