Hi everyone,
After about 2 weeks of burning, I thought I'd finally jump in and provide a review on my Blaze King Princess Ultra. I plan on providing a final review once this burning season is over.
I live in the Northwest Territories (Canada), where the winter weather is comparable to Alaska and the Yukon. Winter season ranges from Mid October to March/April. Winter temperatures range from 0 °F (-18°C) to -40 °F (-40°C), where January and February are the coldest months. Last January I did record a temperature reading of -79.6 °F (-62 °C)... my coldest record reading while I've lived in the North!
The reason for me purchasing the Blaze King Princess was based on several factors. First, the previous homeowner had an Osburn 1050 unit which had a poor burn time (5-6 hours), as well as a small firebox, and I wanted something that would easily burn overnight. Secondly, I took advantage of several home energy rebates, which took off $1000 from the final price (I ended up paying $2250 CDN, taxes in). Thirdly, I wanted an energy efficient unit that would adequately heat my home throughout the winter season so that I could save on gas (propane), as well as electricity. Lastly, I wanted comfortable/even temperatures and felt the catalytic option was a necessity. I did ponder getting a pellet stove, but couldn't let myself go down that route as wood burning seems to run in my family. In the end, the decision was simple, and I'm glad I chose Blaze King.
Overall I'm quite pleased with my Blaze King. The craftsmanship of the unit is outstanding. I personally like the bold look of the unit (although I understand why some may not find it aesthetically pleasing). I have the satin trim kit with convection deck, which I find boasts the look of the stove. I opted not to purchase the fan kit this year as I wanted to determine if I would be able to heat my house comfortably without it, as well, I wanted to save on electricity costs.
I'm burning pine this year (I also have the option of birch and spruce). Soft wood is the only type of wood available in the Northwest Territories. I have been averaging around 12 hours of comfortable burn times (gotta love the cat!). I have been able to stretch the burn times to about 15-16 hours, but find very little heat is produced. I know the advertised burn times is as high as 20 hours, but I'm quite pleased with what I'm achieving as I am burning soft wood. I load my stove three times a day. Once in the am (2-3 logs), once when I come home from work (1-2 logs) and once prior to bed (2-3 logs). My stove is situated in the basement of my home, and on t-stat setting 1 (low), I have been able to achieve a cozy basement temperature of 78-82 degrees, and an upstairs temperature at 69 degrees. I feel as the winter gets colder into the season, I will likely need to turn the t-stat to 1.5 or even 2 to maintain these comfortable settings. My furnace rarely kicks on now (maybe 3-5 times during the day), which is a drastic improvement prior to installing the stove. I will definitely notice the cost savings with the use of this stove this winter.
While there are many great wood stove manufacturers available, Blaze King definitely tops the list. I couldn't be happier with my decision.
I wanted to say Thanks to those who have helped me out since I've joined this forum. It has a plethora of useful information and an intelligent bunch of guys.
Happy and safe burning!
-Steve
After about 2 weeks of burning, I thought I'd finally jump in and provide a review on my Blaze King Princess Ultra. I plan on providing a final review once this burning season is over.
I live in the Northwest Territories (Canada), where the winter weather is comparable to Alaska and the Yukon. Winter season ranges from Mid October to March/April. Winter temperatures range from 0 °F (-18°C) to -40 °F (-40°C), where January and February are the coldest months. Last January I did record a temperature reading of -79.6 °F (-62 °C)... my coldest record reading while I've lived in the North!
The reason for me purchasing the Blaze King Princess was based on several factors. First, the previous homeowner had an Osburn 1050 unit which had a poor burn time (5-6 hours), as well as a small firebox, and I wanted something that would easily burn overnight. Secondly, I took advantage of several home energy rebates, which took off $1000 from the final price (I ended up paying $2250 CDN, taxes in). Thirdly, I wanted an energy efficient unit that would adequately heat my home throughout the winter season so that I could save on gas (propane), as well as electricity. Lastly, I wanted comfortable/even temperatures and felt the catalytic option was a necessity. I did ponder getting a pellet stove, but couldn't let myself go down that route as wood burning seems to run in my family. In the end, the decision was simple, and I'm glad I chose Blaze King.
Overall I'm quite pleased with my Blaze King. The craftsmanship of the unit is outstanding. I personally like the bold look of the unit (although I understand why some may not find it aesthetically pleasing). I have the satin trim kit with convection deck, which I find boasts the look of the stove. I opted not to purchase the fan kit this year as I wanted to determine if I would be able to heat my house comfortably without it, as well, I wanted to save on electricity costs.
I'm burning pine this year (I also have the option of birch and spruce). Soft wood is the only type of wood available in the Northwest Territories. I have been averaging around 12 hours of comfortable burn times (gotta love the cat!). I have been able to stretch the burn times to about 15-16 hours, but find very little heat is produced. I know the advertised burn times is as high as 20 hours, but I'm quite pleased with what I'm achieving as I am burning soft wood. I load my stove three times a day. Once in the am (2-3 logs), once when I come home from work (1-2 logs) and once prior to bed (2-3 logs). My stove is situated in the basement of my home, and on t-stat setting 1 (low), I have been able to achieve a cozy basement temperature of 78-82 degrees, and an upstairs temperature at 69 degrees. I feel as the winter gets colder into the season, I will likely need to turn the t-stat to 1.5 or even 2 to maintain these comfortable settings. My furnace rarely kicks on now (maybe 3-5 times during the day), which is a drastic improvement prior to installing the stove. I will definitely notice the cost savings with the use of this stove this winter.
While there are many great wood stove manufacturers available, Blaze King definitely tops the list. I couldn't be happier with my decision.
I wanted to say Thanks to those who have helped me out since I've joined this forum. It has a plethora of useful information and an intelligent bunch of guys.
Happy and safe burning!
-Steve
