Insert - Travis Large Flush or BK Princess Insert?

[Woody Stover]

Everything depends on the house....I wouldn't mind having 3cf for my 1200sf "modern" 1994 house

What's going on there? My little Keystone, 1.5 cu.ft, is heating 1000 sq.ft. of leaky cabin with no wall insulation; I'd expect it to heat 1200 "modern" sq.ft. pretty easily.

 

[NoobTube]

My Osburn 2400 has a pretty big firebox and it heats up my 2200sqft colonial pretty dang nicely. Now, if i could go back, and my wife would let me. I would have liked to try a BK Princess... Mostly due to its long burn times and its lower wood usage... Sure its not the best looking thing out there, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[prezes13]

What's going on there? My little Keystone, 1.5 cu.ft, is heating 1000 sq.ft. of leaky cabin with no wall insulation; I'd expect it to heat 1200 "modern" sq.ft. pretty easily.

It does but for 8-9 hours. I might get 10 if I am really lucky. Not too mention shallow and tapered fire box. Bigger box would give me longer burns and better options loading it.

 

[weatherguy]

So you had one metal box that 30% wood burned in, and another one that it didn't burn in?

No, never tried burning 30% wood but my PH will burn wood in the low 20s to 25% without a noticeable difference to my stuff that's under 20.
Speaking of box size and shape the princess box was 18 x 18, don't remember the height, was a nice box to load full. Interested in how the Sirocco and Ashford boxes are, may get the Ashford next year for my other fireplace.

 

[jetsam]

No, never tried burning 30% wood but my PH will burn wood in the low 20s to 25% without a noticeable difference to my stuff that's under 20.
Speaking of box size and shape the princess box was 18 x 18, don't remember the height, was a nice box to load full. Interested in how the Sirocco and Ashford boxes are, may get the Ashford next year for my other fireplace.

Working from memory, the PI box is about 18d x 20w x 8-12h. You can load 19" stuff N/S if you rest it on the firebrick but you may have dead space underneath. The thickest piece you can stick in to fall into the bottom of the firebox is 8", but the total height of the firebox is maybe 12", increasing to maybe 16" in front of the cat. (I don't use that front-of-cat area anyway, because of flame impingement and because wood might fall onto the door glass.). You normally don't have the full height to work with unless you are a diligent ash shoveller.

These numbers may all be off by a little because I didn't measure them. (Fire is hot and all that.)

The Siccoro insert is supposed to be ~0.5 cf smaller than the princess, but I've never seen it. If it's only 0.5 cf smaller and flush, the engineers must have got their shoehorns out for the occasion.

 

[Blazing]

Working from memory, the PI box is about 18d x 20w x 8-12h. You can load 19" stuff N/S if you rest it on the firebrick but you may have dead space underneath. The thickest piece you can stick in to fall into the bottom of the firebox is 8", but the total height of the firebox is maybe 12", increasing to maybe 16" in front of the cat. (I don't use that front-of-cat area anyway, because of flame impingement and because wood might fall onto the door glass.). You normally don't have the full height to work with unless you are a diligent ash shoveller.

These numbers may all be off by a little because I didn't measure them. (Fire is hot and all that.)

The Siccoro insert is supposed to be ~0.5 cf smaller than the princess, but I've never seen it. If it's only 0.5 cf smaller and flush, the engineers must have got their shoehorns out for the occasion.

Here I talk good about you and don't even get a like or honorable mention lol. @jetsam must be a fraud and has no idea what he's saying. Don't buy a blaze king they don't burn hot or run 24+ hours on a load of wood. Shoot I need to go reload after 18 hours piece of junk!

 

[weatherguy]

Well the Ashford 25 and Sirocco 25 have 2.5 cf boxes according to BKVP. The PI is 2.54, so basically identical if they're shaped similar.

 

[jetsam]

Here I talk good about you and don't even get a like or honorable mention lol. @jetsam must be a fraud and has no idea what he's saying. Don't buy a blaze king they don't burn hot or run 24+ hours on a load of wood. Shoot I need to go reload after 18 hours piece of junk!

I was just trying to avoid the terrifying consequences of a circular Like Loop... First you are innocently going, 'aww, that's nice', and then the next person does the same, and one day you wake up to find that your new narcissistic disorder has signed you up for a facebook account, and you're clicking on things like "TRY THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW TO MELT AWAY AWFUL ELBOW FAT".

They'll never take me alive!

 

[BetterCallMaul]

Have you thought about what I said earlier about the shape of the firebox's? Big isn't always big. Do you have a hearth shop where you can compare these models? I would take a Lopi Freedom or Freedom Bay over the Hybrid. They are pretty bullet proof, with a better box shape. Like others have said, if you are looking for big heat, why go with a cat? I don't really see why you'd want the hybrid either? Considering the added expense of the cat mixed in there. On mine the baffle was constantly warping... Lopis advice: take it out and hammer it flat, then repeat next time it warps... not for $3K! I expected better than that.

Yes, I understand firebox shape makes a difference - but an extra 0.7 cu ft also makes a difference (3.0 on FPX large flush vs. 2.3 on Sirocco and some others).

The FPX/Lopi large flush is one of the nicest looking inserts out there IMO, it has large glass, it has one of the larger fireboxes (3.0 cu ft) and the reviews seem pretty good. It seems like there's 80% positive/20% negative reviews on every stove I'm considering.

I'm not married to a flush insert, but I want it to look half decent.

If they are sold in your area I would add the PE Summit to the options list. It has a large deep firebox and heats decently when the power goes out. If the chimney and fireplace is large enough to accommodate an 8" liner then maybe consider a Kuma Sequoia insert or a Buck 91.

Thanks. Hadn't considered PE, but found a dealer about 45 min away. Will check them out as soon as I can.

 

[prezes13]

Hampton makes nice stoves hi300 in enamel is nice looking and a solid heater. Enviro Boston is another great looking stove.

 

[Blazing]

I was just trying to avoid the terrifying consequences of a circular Like Loop... First you are innocently going, 'aww, that's nice', and then the next person does the same, and one day you wake up to find that your new narcissistic disorder has signed you up for a facebook account, and you're clicking on things like "TRY THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW TO MELT AWAY AWFUL ELBOW FAT".

They'll never take me alive!

I don't have Facebook... reckon I need to sign up to get in said like loop lol.

 

[cableman]

Id go for the sirocco 25 or wait for the ashford 25. My bud has the fpx large flush and its all sorts of warped inside, cats hard to get out and clean. Hes not to easy on it though.
I have the hi300 which does a good job on my 2000sq colonial. Heat hasnt been on in a month

 

[webby3650]

Id go for the sirocco 25 or wait for the ashford 25. My bud has the fpx large flush and its all sorts of warped inside, cats hard to get out and clean. Hes not to easy on it though.
I have the hi300 which does a good job on my 2000sq colonial. Heat hasnt been on in a month

According to Lopi, all that warping is normal.. After they try to convince you that you did something wrong and overfired it.