New Blaze King owners where are you ?
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2 warm easily had thumbs up. NS rocks. Steel rocks. Tstat rocks. Big damn firebox rocks. Emptying ashes with a coal shovel instead of screwing around with an ashpan that leaks, then overfires and warps your stove pretty much rocks too. Burn times, yep, you guessed it.
3000 sq ft - basement & main floor - Basement says nice and warm all the time - main floor stays between 68 - 72 degrees @ 20 °F, with high winds. Burning on 2.5 setting after 14 hours there are still plenty of hot coals to start the next fire, although the upstairs heat will kick on for a few minutes at a time after 10 hours. If I could find/get all my cold drafts sealed it wouldn't kick in at all. It can be a challenge (a good challenge) to add just enough wood for over night so I can fully load the stove in the morning before heading out for work.
I've been burning 24/7 from Oct to now and gone through about 2 cords.
I've been burning 24/7 from Oct to now and gone through about 2 cords.
What 1st reply (SolarandWood) said.
Small caveat: pre-purchase, I was put off by the short log length but mollified by realizing I could load longer
ones E-W. But it really works better N-S, at least for long (overnight) burns, because you can get a lot more
wood in there. The stove is so awesome that I will very happily cut my wood a couple inches shorter from
here on out ! Longer logs can still be used at times when you don't care about the ultra-long burns.
Also, I did not find I needed to use double-wall chimney pipe. The stove draws just fine without it. I do open the intake
some (as well as the bypass, of course) before I load - if I open the door with a smoldering fire, it will let some smoke
into the room. Being as how you usually want to open the air intake to get a new load going anyhow, I don't see this
as a problem. I do sometimes find that the cat goes inactive at the end of a long burn, with wood still available, and
I suppose it's possible that double-wall might keep a better draft going and this wouldn't happen. More likely, I'm
simply turning the intake down too far or using wood that's not dry enough.
Small caveat: pre-purchase, I was put off by the short log length but mollified by realizing I could load longer
ones E-W. But it really works better N-S, at least for long (overnight) burns, because you can get a lot more
wood in there. The stove is so awesome that I will very happily cut my wood a couple inches shorter from
here on out ! Longer logs can still be used at times when you don't care about the ultra-long burns.
Also, I did not find I needed to use double-wall chimney pipe. The stove draws just fine without it. I do open the intake
some (as well as the bypass, of course) before I load - if I open the door with a smoldering fire, it will let some smoke
into the room. Being as how you usually want to open the air intake to get a new load going anyhow, I don't see this
as a problem. I do sometimes find that the cat goes inactive at the end of a long burn, with wood still available, and
I suppose it's possible that double-wall might keep a better draft going and this wouldn't happen. More likely, I'm
simply turning the intake down too far or using wood that's not dry enough.
The Princess insert has kept my house warm in this below 0 weather we are having in Minnesota. The temps have been -15 to -1 for the last week. The insert T-stat doesnt have numbers so I dont know what you guys are saying about your numbers compared to what I am doing. My setting range from a medium setting to medium low for overnight burns.
I think the insert is a little different animal than the Princess stove. I also am loading n/s because its quicker and works just as well as e/w loads. Burn times are about 8 plus hours in the below 0 temps. I think thats good for a insert.
I love the big 2.8 firebox. You can load lots of splits. The big front lip keeps all the ash/coals in the box, I think its about 8" tall. Thats a big deal in my book, because you can rake all the coals forward with out them falling out on the hearth. Ash removal is a couple of scoops every week and your done.
I have been leaving the by-pass open on reloads for 5 to 10 minutes with a medium low t-stat setting. My glass has never been cleaner, are you guys doing this? It has worked great for me......
I think the insert is a little different animal than the Princess stove. I also am loading n/s because its quicker and works just as well as e/w loads. Burn times are about 8 plus hours in the below 0 temps. I think thats good for a insert.
I love the big 2.8 firebox. You can load lots of splits. The big front lip keeps all the ash/coals in the box, I think its about 8" tall. Thats a big deal in my book, because you can rake all the coals forward with out them falling out on the hearth. Ash removal is a couple of scoops every week and your done.
I have been leaving the by-pass open on reloads for 5 to 10 minutes with a medium low t-stat setting. My glass has never been cleaner, are you guys doing this? It has worked great for me......
I leave the tstat wide open for the burn off but I burn a lot of crap wood and always fill it to the top. 5-10 mins works for me as well. Light off is pretty quick after closing the bypass.
Rusty, in another thread you said you are reloading every 4 hours? I assume you are not filling the firebox? I have a hard time maintaining a 12 hr burn cycle for consecutive days even at high burn and opening up the tstat all the way after 8 hours.
RustyShackleford said:
Or maybe your blower is set at to high of a speed for a low t-stat setting. When I turn off the fan the cat goes back up to the active zone.
Lanning said:
Even though I have an Ultra, I got it without side shields or fans. It sits in the middle of a big "great room"
in my 1400 sq-ft house, and keeps this area warm nicely with radiant and a ceiling fan (blowing upwards in
winter) to get some convection.
My cat thermometer is also about 1/4" below the bottom of the inactive zone with the stove dead cold, so
maybe I need to recalibrate it (at tick-mark at bottom edge of "inactive") and then when I see the needle
right at the inactive/active border now, it'd be 1/4" up in the "active" zone instead. Certainly the flue gasses
are still clear.
SolarAndWood said:
I think I was teasing a little with the guys in that other thread, since other stoves (e.g. my old Dutchwest cat)
required me to reload almost every hour when burning at max output. But yes, with these lows in the teens
we've been having, my desire for a very warm house (probably close to 80) and all the glass in my passive
solar great-room, I'm running the thing hard enough that I probably reload every 3-4 hours. Now, when
awake and hanging out near the stove, I'm trying to use up the old wood I have that's too long for N-S
loading, so yes, I'm not really packing the firebox, not trying really.
I don't quite understand your comment. Are you saying that there's still lots of wood in the firebox after
12 hours ? That would amaze me, I guess you have great dense wood and are careful about really packing
it in and not letting the ash bed get too high. Even so, I'm not sure why you say you have a hard time; can't
you just fill it up from whatever is still there, on your every 12-hour reload ?
RustyShackleford said:
I only burn NS and always fill to the top of the firebox at the beginning of a burn cycle. If I burn at 3 with the blower on low (high rate of burn for anyone else reading this), it takes me 12 hours to complete a cycle to the point where I am not building up the coal bed. That is with opening up the tstat all the way 8 hours in. I found that if I don't do this, I end up with a mess in the firebox and lose the ability to generate substantial heat for a while.
SolarAndWood said:
Nice update Solar.I must say when emptying ashes I have to wear the old heat resistant glove and a very long handled ash shovel.Otherwise I'd burn my hand off down to the elbow reaching over the coals in the front trying to scoop out the ashes in the back.It makes me chuckle when Lanning speaks of the big firebox of his Princess which isn't all that once you deal with the King.
lol, I know exactly what you are talking about. I threw my old ash shovel in the metal bin and went and got a full size coal shovel with a 4 ft handle out of the garage. It is long enough that I can pull the coals forward, push the ash back and then scoop the ash out without gloves.
SolarAndWood said:
Solar what do you mean your having a hard time maintaining a 12 hr burn cycle at high burn.Does high burn mean you have the air open to high?If so a 12 hrs. burn on high air is unheard of.Long heat times have always resulted from turning the air to a low setting.I must be missing the point,kindly clarify.Also like everyone else the n/s loading works best for me giving me the longest heat times.And yes the better the wood the longer the heat also.I loaded the stove last night around 10pm with my best oak and maple and it is now 3:09pm and the house is still comfortable.I'll be reloading with in the hour.Like some of us however I'm still on my quest to seal all air leaks.As I do the home gradually feels more comfortable.
I meant having burn cycles as short as 12 hours for consecutive days without building up coals. I have no problem getting 12 hour burns with the tstat set on 3 for the first 8 hours, and wide open for the last 4. The cat thermometer is still around half way at the end of the burn even with the blowers on. Reloads are on a pile coals with chunks of glowing fuel on top that still resemble wood. This pile is front center maybe 2/3 of the way up to the lip and covering maybe a third of the firebox floor.
SolarAndWood said:
Respectfully, I find that hard to believe. How many pounds of wood would you estimate you
are getting in there ? If it's 80lb at 5kbtu/lb, that'd be about 33kbtu/hr, which I guess is a
pretty good output, but probably nowhere near what the stove produces on the 3 setting.
I guess my wood just sucks, and you're burning perfectly-cured hickory. Oh well, wait 'til
next year ...
SolarAndWood said:
Ya ok I see.I can say my status is similar.I too turn up the air to burn the chunks down.I like that 4 ft. coal shovel method.I'll have to pick one up cause I can feel the heat of those coals even through the glove.
Man Rusty your situation is puzzling.Your packing that stove every 3-4 hrs. and your in if I'm correct NC which stands for North Carolina and those of us in New York and Mass. are getting better performance and times than you.New York and Mass. are much colder than you.Your wood must be wack or the stoves a lemon.Could it be your method of operation ?RustyShackleford said:
2.85 compared to 4.27 cu. ft. firebox, means your stove is 50% bigger than the Princess fire box! Holy Hanna, thats big! Do you King guys use a wheel barrel for reloads?
RustyShackleford said:
I think that 5K number is low? Either way, I loaded the stove at 7:30 before leaving this morning, set it at 3 with the blower on low and I am going to reload now. Cat thermometer still well into the active zone. This is what it looked like when I opened the door.
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Well you guys have me worried now lol. Icut my wood to bout18 to20 inches mostly. I didnt realize id be buying a blaze kimg when i cut everything. Anybody getting good long burns loading east west? Or will it be worth it to cut some down to 16?
ecocavalier02 said:
If you get the large Blaze King I don't think you'll have to cut your wood.My longest burns in my Blaze King King are in the n/s position.
Rich L said:
Well, like I said, the 3-4 hours is when I want an intense burn. Yes, it's North Cackalacky, but it's been
cold even here (lows in teens, highs in 30s pretty much "all year"), and I do like it warm inside, and the
passive-solarness means a good bit of radiant transfer into the cold outdoors at night.
I can certainly get a 12-hour overnight burn quite easily, when I pack the thing more carefully and
N-S, and turn it down low.
Still, I do wonder if something ain't quite right, since (as I posted in another thread) even my ClassA
is too hot to touch for very long when I'm in the midst of a high-intensity burn.
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