New Blaze King APEX-CBT owner

[WhoKilledBambi]

Hello Hearth!

Just snatched the last Apex-CBT from my dealer for a steal, actually cheaper than a PSG Caddy, i am very pleased with my purchase financialy but i have been searching internet for actual reviews of this furnace without great luck. I know it uses the catalytic combustor of the King stove, and it looks very well built and rugged with a 5.7sq feet firebox . My house is about 2000sq feet without the basement, construction is 1880 but the basement is 1970. There is little to no insulation in the attic... i knew it was a problem when we bought now i know it's a priority in the spring.

This is our first winter in this house and i have been burning SO MUCH wood in this old smoke dragon in the basement. We had a weekend with temps down to -22F with a lot of wind and the old stove in the basement and the VC Intrepid on the main floor were running full blast and the house was not really that hot. I burned a whole face cord in two days in those stupid stoves.

Any Apex owners here want to share their experience with this furnace? I know it needs a 7'' flue but i have a masonry chimney and was planning on installing a SS liner anyway.

I'd also like to know how fragile it is to semi-seasoned wood? This old smoke dragon burned everything i had mostly. I'm wondering if i should keep the cord i have left for next year.

Hopefully next winter will be much more cozy.

JP

Here's next years wood, buried in snow, these are 16' lenghts of maple and cherry mostly i think.

 

[laynes69]

I recommend at least airsealing the attic now. If it's 1880 construction, chances are its ballooned framed. We have a victorian home from the mid 19th century. I ended up capping 32 open cavities with sheetmetal then using fireproof caulking to seal. Every top plate in the exterior walls also had at least a 1/2" gap allowing heat to funnel from the walls. Airsealing alone probably cut our heating demand by 25 percent or more.

There were a few users of the Apex on here at one time. I do remember the unit draining 9 volt batteries if I recall.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-wood-furnace-from-blaze-king-now-with-pics.36591/

 

[WhoKilledBambi]

Thank you Laynes,

Will update this thread when i get the furnace going.

 

[Moon Dawg]

Been burning an APEX for about 7 years now. Because it's a Cat stove you really need to burn well seasoned wood. With a good condition Cat and dry wood I easily get 12 hour burns giving off lots of heat. Read up on how to extend the life of your Cat Combustor by not "shocking it with wet wood" and by stopping the flames from hitting it directly (impingement). I just wish the price of replacement Combustors would be lower as $300 hits the old pocketbook pretty hard. I live in a 2600 sq ft house and burn from end of Nov through March (Wisconsin) on three cord of Oak. Wife usually has window cracked a bit to keep it cool enough. I called Blaze King and they sent me a plug in power supply for the Cat temperature gauge. Enjoy!

 

[BKVP]

www.firecatcombustors.com

 

[WhoKilledBambi]

Many thanks Moon Dawg. Can't wait to try it out next season, i have to get my whole house ducted in the summer, that is going to be fun.

I called Blaze King and they sent me a plug in power supply for the Cat temperature gauge. Enjoy!

I'm looking at you BKVP!

 

[WhoKilledBambi]

Moon Dawg, how many cats did you use in 7 years?

 

[Highbeam]

Moon Dawg, how many cats did you use in 7 years?

You should be able to get a few years, 12000 hours, out of a cat. I’m also curious how often you are changing them.