New Blazeking Princess Owner - need some feedback

[Ricky8443]

Looking for all advice or feedback for princess blazeking, particularly the insert, owners. I have not met anyone yet who owns one so my color and advice is limited.

How bad was your first burn as far as smoke and paint curing was concerned? How do you operate under normal conditions...meaning do you typically keep it on low and feed it every 18 hours? Or do you find yourself doing it twice a day etc. I'll be burning seasoned mixed hardwood. Was there any extra dust in the house or smoke smell. How long do you get on a medium or high setting. What temp are you normally getting at the different settings, etc etc.

I'm just trying to get ideas together for running the stove next year and I'd like to be prepared in any way possible. Thanks in advance,

 

[Highbeam]

You should do some reading, many of us BK owners have detailed our stove burning characteristics because we are so dang impressed.

Paint burnoff was not bad at all on this stove. I was reusing double wall pipe so the smoke from the pipe was not present at all. There was a smell but not a smokeshow.

Typical conditions, I load it full to the top, max fuel load and run it on low for 24 hour cycles. When temps are in the teens or lower I will drop to a 12 hour reload cycle and bump up the stat to medium. These stoves are boring to run, minimal effort required. They just make heat for extended periods and that is extremely useful if you are away from your home when working.

I have burned high btu wood and low btu wood. Burntimes are almost the same. This thing loves low quality wood.

No extra dust or smoke compared to other stoves.

This time of year I let the house cool off and then run a hot fire for a short time to prevent nasty creo accumulations and also to limit the amount of heat being delivered to the house. I run it at about 75% and stove top temps are around 600. On my normal low burn the stove top temp hangs out at 400 an awful lot. Measuring stove top temps on a cat stove is not a great way to determine output, see, the cat iteself is always really hot and then the rest of the stove heats up or cools down when you adjust the stat.

 

[privatejoker75]

I just finished year 1 of our BK Chinook 20.

Paint burnoff was minimal, we got the stove last summer so we just picked a cooler day, opened the windows and lit it. Seemed like the smell was gone in a few hours.

I burn 80% pine, 20% fir/tamarack. The stove seemed to take about 2-3 months to settle in. By mid winter i was getting 12+ hour burns on medium heat with a full box. I lit our first fire in october....it never went out until a few weeks ago. it was on 24/7 the entire winter.

Also, a tip. Cut your wood thinner than you think. Stuffing these things to the gills is an art form, and it much easier to do with smaller pieces of wood. I learned that the hard way

 

[Highbeam]

Also, a tip. Cut your wood thinner than you think. Stuffing these things to the gills is an art form, and it much easier to do with smaller pieces of wood. I learned that the hard way

You know, I'm starting to feel the same way. The BK video and company line is that you can save time by processing large splits and yes, the large splits are faster to process and do burn cleanly but if you want to fit the most wood into the firebox then you need smaller chunks. A combination of small and large is good too but then you need to spend more time selecting your armload.

 

[privatejoker75]

You know, I'm starting to feel the same way. The BK video and company line is that you can save time by processing large splits and yes, the large splits are faster to process and do burn cleanly but if you want to fit the most wood into the firebox then you need smaller chunks. A combination of small and large is good too but then you need to spend more time selecting your armload.

it's like a game of tetris or something trying to hand select the right combo of pieces to fill up the entire box lol. It's kind of fun, plus if you do it correctly you won't have to do it again for the rest of the day/night/next morning

 

[Missouri Frontier]

armload

Dang Highbeam, you must be a monster of a guy if you can fill this stove on an armload! remind me not to make you mad!
I've got a wood bag I carry out to the shed and when I load it with hedge, it's everything I can do to hump that thing back inside and I'm no shrinking violet.
My stove break in was uneventful as well. no smoke. very little smell. Quite pleasant really.

+1 on the smaller splits

 

[Highbeam]

Dang Highbeam, you must be a monster of a guy if you can fill this stove on an armload! remind me not to make you mad!
I've got a wood bag I carry out to the shed and when I load it with hedge, it's everything I can do to hump that thing back inside and I'm no shrinking violet.
My stove break in was uneventful as well. no smoke. very little smell. Quite pleasant really.

+1 on the smaller splits

Yes, 12 splits in an armload and take back the one or two that I couldn't make fit. These days they're doug fir or red alder so maybe not quite as heavy as some of the eastern hardwoods. Another factor is that I only have to haul it about 40 feet from my outside wood hoop to the stove. I refill the hoop once or twice a week with a cart from the stacks way out back.

I'm not a tall guy but more of a knuckle dragger. Sometimes the stack of splits is hard to see over.

 

[Missouri Frontier]

Yes, 12 splits in an armload and take back the one or two that I couldn't make fit. These days they're doug fir or red alder so maybe not quite as heavy as some of the eastern hardwoods. Another factor is that I only have to haul it about 40 feet from my outside wood hoop to the stove. I refill the hoop once or twice a week with a cart from the stacks way out back.

I'm not a tall guy but more of a knuckle dragger. Sometimes the stack of splits is hard to see over.

I don't think I've ever really counted splits. Mine tend to very in size. Funny, as I split them, they seem to get larger the more tired I get. But, I digress. When my stove is cold and clean to the bricks it holds way more than I can carry in an arm load. I'll have to count next winter. I do see what you are saying about the differance between softwood and hardwood when it comes to total weight. maybe that is a big part of it. Then again, I might just be a pipsqueak whiner!

 

[begreen]

I know that when I am toting locust there is a big difference as compared to a load of fir or alder. I would guess it weighs almost twice as much. I've been told hedge is a similarly dense wood though I've never burned any.

 

[Missouri Frontier]

I know that when I am toting locust there is a big difference as compared to a load of fir or alder. I would guess it weighs almost twice as much. I've been told hedge is a similarly dense wood though I've never burned any.

Hedge is heavier than Locust. I believe I've read 25% heavier. you guys are right thats probably the differance.

 

[begreen]

Wow, that sounds like ironwood.

 

[Missouri Frontier]

heavier than ironwood(hop hornbeam). about 10% heavier. amazing stuff. i believe its the heaviest northamerican hardwood