Just bought a Blaze King Princess Insert. Thanks for all the advice!

[seano]

Hi folks: I have been lurking here on the forum for a few years. I just bought a Blaze King Princess Insert. Thanks for all the advice from everyone here!
Does anyone have one of these inserts?
Got any advice?
Cheers
Seano

 

[begreen]

Greetings and welcome. First and foremost, dry wood. These stoves work best when burning fully seasoned firewood.

 

[wenger7446]

Welcome! what did you have in its place before?

 

[BKVP]

Thank you.

 

[Woody harrelson]

I just got a free standing princess. dry wood is some good advice to begin with I suppose

 

[seano]

Hi folks, I love this forum, lots of great info here for a beginner. I bought a bungalo built in 1961 and it has a regular old fireplace. The insert will go in the existing fireplace. I hope to find some good dry birch for this winter to offset my electric base board heating costs. Anybody know where to get good dry Birch in Newfoundland Canada?
My two options here are pretty much Birch and Spruce.

What roughly kind of estimated BTUs can I expect from this unit ( Blaze King Princess Insert) running on Spruce or Birch?
My house is about 1500 square feet and the insert will be in the living-room on the main level. I am upgrading the attic insulation to R50-60 from R-12 at the best.

We have had some bad winter power failures here in the last few years. I love wood heat and plan on using the stove on a regular basis from roughly October to June to reduce my electric bill and to provide a primary source of heat in case of a power failure.

Cheers
Seano

 

[ahtune69]

Really liking the burn times on the BK stoves. Might have to sell my Jotul 550!!

 

[Niko]

Yes good dry wood. Get yourself a moisture meter to help out. I learned my stove real quick and so will you. Report back when you first light it up.

 

[claybe]

You will love it! I just installed a block off plate and insulated the liner. I wish I would have done both of these things when I installed the stove but just got around to it. I also bought a different stove top thermometer. Don't be afraid to run it half open. I got confused when everyone was talking about numbers and dots and wasn't running it efficiently. I think BK just changed their stickers though. BKVP is a valuable source of info and a great reason in and of itself to purchase a BK. Good luck and head over to the 2015-2016 BK thread if you have questions.

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey Seano, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on the new insert. People love those units. Don't be shy to burn spruce in that unit. The burn times on blaze kings are amazing, but some of the reported burn times on softwoods in Blaze Kings are ridiculous. Either way, burn dry wood. That's the key to wood burning. Good luck!

 

[BKVP]

You will love it! I just installed a block off plate and insulated the liner. I wish I would have done both of these things when I installed the stove but just got around to it. I also bought a different stove top thermometer. Don't be afraid to run it half open. I got confused when everyone was talking about numbers and dots and wasn't running it efficiently. I think BK just changed their stickers though. BKVP is a valuable source of info and a great reason in and of itself to purchase a BK. Good luck and head over to the 2015-2016 BK thread if you have questions.

Thank you....

 

[seano]

Thank you.

I just realized you are "The Blaze King Man" My Insert is "en route"; I look forward to becoming a member of this online community! Now I need to get lots of dry wood!

 

[seano]

Yes good dry wood. Get yourself a moisture meter to help out. I learned my stove real quick and so will you. Report back when you first light it up.

Seems like a good idea. Ordered a moisture meter from Amazon. Thanks!

 

[Quentin2]

Congrats and good choice! I wouldn't buy birch to burn this year unless it's kiln dried or somehow seasoned that you can prove with a meter. Spruce can season very quickly if it's split small and top covered in a windy area, especially if it's beetle kill or partial beetle kill. My first winter I burned only standing dead beetle kill and it worked great, most was ready to go.

 

[brad wilton]

Seano ,welcome to the forum.buy the mm and test the wood your going to buy before you order,theres a big diferrence from what people sell as dry and what you actually need.had semi-dry last year got lucky this year found fully dried ,big difference in burns.going to be a happy camper this year