Regency I2400 vs Blaze King Princess insert

[TheOscarGuy]

From a previous threads and suggestions from board members (thank you!) in the thread below:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wood-burning-insert-with-low-mantle-surround.143267/

We now have narrowed down our choice of inserts that our fireplace may take as regency I2400/H300 (depending on what the wife likes) or Blaze King Princess. I have dealers for getting both of these locally here and pricewise the difference isn't much (cost of unit + install). Both coming out around 4700-4800 when everything is done.

I have been spending a lot of time and finding pros and cons of either. I thought a stove with CAT will be a clear cut winner, as I am not looking to reload often. However: 1. The consistent reports of smoke with Princess scare me, 2. The darkening of glass (as reported by some members) will be definitely an eye sore, as the stove will be installed in our living room.

Can folks who own either of these list some of the pros and cons of either? Mostly I have listed what I am worried about with the Princess. With regency, I am worried about frequent re-loads -- my wife and I both work, and I am looking to keep the fire going (low, when we aren't home, or at night time) 24 hrs. I am seeing anywhere from 5 to 8 hrs. of burn times. While more is better I am looking to get average numbers of folks who have used it for more than a season or two.

Specifically, here are some of the important points for us, and if owners could comment on what they think of each one of these, I would really appreciate it.

1. Burn times
2. Maintenance, reliability
3. Performance/wood usage
4. Looks/viewing area, and how much clean a view you can enjoy before cleaning of the viewing glass is required



Before someone recommends, we can not move on up to King or 3100 as our sizing of fireplace does not allow it.

 

[webby3650]

A 24 hour burn with any insert is going to be very difficult to attain. Even the princess would be struggling to produce any usable heat after that long of a soak.
How tall is your chimney?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Black glass is due to improper usage in one form or another so don't let that deter you one way or another......

 

[webby3650]

Black glass is due to improper usage in one form or another so don't let that deter you one way or another......

Not true with a BK. Its pretty common with the princess and the King. That's why I asked how tall the flue is, if it's on the taller side it will be less likely to happen.
If it's too tall, then other issues can arise.
On a non-cat, I agree with you totally, clean glass = good burning practices!

 

[TheOscarGuy]

A 24 hour burn with any insert is going to be very difficult to attain. Even the princess would be struggling to produce any usable heat after that long of a soak.
How tall is your chimney?

Sorry, let me clarify: I would not like to shut down the stove and would like to keep going 24 hrs. I would like obviously more burn times (so lesser re-loadings) but in no way I expect any stove to give me 24hr. of burn times, and be useful in providing heat for our large living room.

I would be guessing here but chimney is about 30ft. tall.

 

[TheOscarGuy]

Another twist, the regency dealer has a free flue liner included in the price. And their stove price from other dealers is also lesser by around 300 or so. So in all The regency now is costing us over 1K lesser than Princess.

 

[webby3650]

The problem you get into is that your flue is so tall it will cause excessive draft. With an insert there is no way to reduce the draft with a damper like a freestanding stove. With A 30' liner the insert will be on the verge of uncontrollable, this is based on what I've seen personally, others might disagree. I have a few customers that have problems with premature catalyst failures with the princess insert, both have liners in excess of 30'. The non- cats don't experience parts failures, they just run hard and have to be left on low all the time. Just don't want you too be surprised when it sucks your hat in the door!

 

[TheOscarGuy]

The problem you get into is that your flue is so tall it will cause excessive draft. With an insert there is no way to reduce the draft with a damper like a freestanding stove. With A 30' liner the insert will be on the verge of uncontrollable, this is based on what I've seen personally, others might disagree. I have a few customers that have problems with premature catalyst failures with the princess insert, both have liners in excess of 30'. The non- cats don't experience parts failures, they just run hard and have to be left on low all the time. Just don't want you too be surprised when it sucks your hat in the door!

Thanks.
Do you mean I may not be able to run the I2400 on high too long?
We are beginning to lean towards I2400, due to price, and the blackened glass cover reports I read on this forum. I need to make an exact measurement to be sure the chimney is 30'. Do I measure the height from the top of fireplace, all the way to the top of the chimney outside? I won't know for sure how tall chimney is outside the house, from the roof to its top, but I can measure the inside height of chimney to the roof, and estimate how much tall it is outside.

 

[TheOscarGuy]

We are beginning to lean towards I2400, due to price,

I meant HI300. But they are more of less same stoves, I am told.

 

[webby3650]

Thanks.
Do you mean I may not be able to run the I2400 on high too long?
We are beginning to lean towards I2400, due to price, and the blackened glass cover reports I read on this forum. I need to make an exact measurement to be sure the chimney is 30'. Do I measure the height from the top of fireplace, all the way to the top of the chimney outside? I won't know for sure how tall chimney is outside the house, from the roof to its top, but I can measure the inside height of chimney to the roof, and estimate how much tall it is outside.

With a flue that tall the Princess will not really have an issue with black glass.

You will likely find that you run the stove on low because the draft is excessive. It definitely won't be unusable, you will just have to learn to run it.

 

[TheOscarGuy]

With a flue that tall the Princess will not really have an issue with black glass.

You will likely find that you run the stove on low because the draft is excessive. It definitely won't be unusable, you will just have to learn to run it.

Thanks. I will discuss it with the dealer.
Would reducing the liner to 5" help with the draft?

 

[prezes13]

There is no need to run modern stove on high. You want it to run on lower setting so you don't send the heat up the flue. I have roughly 15' of chimney and my stove never runs more than 1/4 open for extended period of time. Other than reloads or startups.

 

[webby3650]

Thanks. I will discuss it with the dealer.
Would reducing the liner to 5" help with the draft?

No, reducing the size will actually make it worse in this case. If it was short then it would likely reduce draft.

 

[BKVP]

Thanks. I will discuss it with the dealer.
Would reducing the liner to 5" help with the draft?

Let me clarify a point on draft, please. There are few places where excessive draft is more common than Fairbanks AK. That excessive draft is not necessarily due to chimney length but rather the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, making the stove the go to stove when concerned about draft. The thermostat in the Princess will automatically close to prevent over firing, even on a 30' chimney.

As for cat failures due to excessive draft, more than likely there is an air leak around the door gasket or glass gasket, as this family here many recall from a Princess stove two years ago. I would bet the Regency is a fine insert, but it is important to remember the role the thermostat plays.

Thank you all,
Chris

 

[chazcarr]

I have the Regency 2400 so I can share a few thoughts.

1. Burn times

As with everything with this stove, type and moisture of wood make all the difference. Pine will last about 3 hours. Oak will burn well for up to 7-8 hours in an already hot stove. I buy "Hot All-Nighters" which are compressed sawdust logs. Two of those burn well for over 10 hours overnight with easy start up in the morning. In very cold weather I burn the stove a bit hotter and average reloading about every 5 hours.

If your wood has too much moisture, this stove will refuse to burn it. Anything over 25% just kills the heat. Have a moisture meter!

2. Maintenance, reliability

Solid as a rock so far after 5 years. I broke the baffle brick by accident jamming it with a poker, and replaced the window gasket once. Door gasket and firebricks still going strong. No cracks or other things noticeable with the frame. The unit does "oilcan" somewhere in the back while warming up from a cold start, but that does not seem to be a safety issue that I can detect.

3. Performance/wood usage

In a typical winter I go through about 4-5 cords of wood. It is a fairly big stove that I stuff full as much as I can. Once it gets going, it cruises with secondaries for about an hour and then just kind of has an orange glow, but plenty of heat for a few more hours after that.

4. Looks/viewing area, and how much clean a view you can enjoy before cleaning of the viewing glass is required

When the glass is clean, the view is amazing. A real nice light show. If I keep it going hot then the glass doesn't get dirty. If I simmer it out long overnight then the glass gets a bit black on the corners. I have never gotten the glass to be blacked out in the center. Once the fire gets hot enough the glass clears right up again. Whenever the stove cools enough, a quick wipe with a cloth and cleaner takes all the ash off.


Here are some other thoughts that I have on the Regency:

1) It burns 24-7 for about a week before I have to remove the ash. It can really hold a lot of ash. But if I burn cherry wood, I have to clean the ash out every three days.
2) I have a tall chimney, and my draft is super strong, but I have to open a window when starting a cold stove up or I risk smoke pouring into the house. It takes a bit to get the chimney warmed up.
3) Be sure it is installed correctly! My original instal was not good and stove performance suffered.
4) Fan on low is silent, but very loud on high. I only use high if I feel I overloaded and want to get the box temp down.

 

[TheOscarGuy]

Exactly the kinds of response I was looking for! Thanks a lot!

1. Burn times

As with everything with this stove, type and moisture of wood make all the difference. Pine will last about 3 hours. Oak will burn well for up to 7-8 hours in an already hot stove. I buy "Hot All-Nighters" which are compressed sawdust logs. Two of those burn well for over 10 hours overnight with easy start up in the morning. In very cold weather I burn the stove a bit hotter and average reloading about every 5 hours.

If your wood has too much moisture, this stove will refuse to burn it. Anything over 25% just kills the heat. Have a moisture meter!

OK so in the middle of the winter, I would need more frequent re-loading. That is a little on the lower side of burn times we were hoping. I need to look up on the hot all nighters. Do you only use them for gettting an overnight burn so its easier to get the fire going in the morning?

4. Looks/viewing area, and how much clean a view you can enjoy before cleaning of the viewing glass is required

When the glass is clean, the view is amazing. A real nice light show. If I keep it going hot then the glass doesn't get dirty. If I simmer it out long overnight then the glass gets a bit black on the corners. I have never gotten the glass to be blacked out in the center. Once the fire gets hot enough the glass clears right up again. Whenever the stove cools enough, a quick wipe with a cloth and cleaner takes all the ash off.

This is good to know. We want this as a secondary source of heat, but it also needs to be aesthetically appealing in our living room. My wife will not go for something that blackens up the glass too much.

Here are some other thoughts that I have on the Regency:

1) It burns 24-7 for about a week before I have to remove the ash. It can really hold a lot of ash. But if I burn cherry wood, I have to clean the ash out every three days.
2) I have a tall chimney, and my draft is super strong, but I have to open a window when starting a cold stove up or I risk smoke pouring into the house. It takes a bit to get the chimney warmed up.

Good to know on cleaning intervals.
I too have a tall chimney, so I am going to have to do something similar if I see smoke during startup of cold stove. How tall is urs?

 

[webby3650]

Let me clarify a point on draft, please. There are few places where excessive draft is more common than Fairbanks AK. That excessive draft is not necessarily due to chimney length but rather the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures, making the stove the go to stove when concerned about draft. The thermostat in the Princess will automatically close to prevent over firing, even on a 30' chimney.

As for cat failures due to excessive draft, more than likely there is an air leak around the door gasket or glass gasket, as this family here many recall from a Princess stove two years ago. I would bet the Regency is a fine insert, but it is important to remember the role the thermostat plays.

Thank you all,
Chris

I understand what you are saying. I've dug deep on the 2 that I referred to and haven't been able to find any leaks. The stove literally rumbles it drafts so hard! My solution was for them to run the stove on a much lower setting, never really using high at all. So far so good, 2 seasons on the same cat with no issues.
On the non-cats I've had issues with there really was not much control at all. The air is set to low and left there, and it will rumble away even set at low.

So yes, the thermostat is doing its job and maintaining a low burn, but the customer needs to know not let er rip for long periods of time if they have an extreme draft issue.

 

[chazcarr]

Exactly the kinds of response I was looking for! Thanks a lot!
OK so in the middle of the winter, I would need more frequent re-loading. That is a little on the lower side of burn times we were hoping. I need to look up on the hot all nighters. Do you only use them for gettting an overnight burn so its easier to get the fire going in the morning?
This is good to know. We want this as a secondary source of heat, but it also needs to be aesthetically appealing in our living room. My wife will not go for something that blackens up the glass too much.
Here are some other thoughts that I have on the Regency:
Good to know on cleaning intervals.
I too have a tall chimney, so I am going to have to do something similar if I see smoke during startup of cold stove. How tall is urs?

I only use the All nighters at night, they are just the easiest thing to use. There is still a draft if I use wood, but getting temps up can take a few minutes. If you have kindling then a refire can take no time at all. The low burn time here is just something I have to accept with the insert because my fireplace cannot accommodate a larger size. If it could I would probably go for the larger firebox.

My Chimney is 20 feet according the the sweep.

Using this as a secondary heat source was my original idea, but the heat that this thing puts out is just so much better than the force air oil heat we have. My wife is the one who insists on the fire as primary heat since it warms much better. I heat around 2000sq feet easily with just the stove. Average inside temp. around 71.

 

[Blazing]

Long time lurker on this site... 3 years plus lol. I got my princess insert this year burned about a cord before it got warm. I do get black glass on the bottom edges with oak at 19 %. One thing I also get is 20-22 hour burns EVERY time I load it. The members here know their stove talk just a new guys two cents.

Oh and yes I have 15 foot of flex king HD with insulation block off plate exterior chimney roxul in the cap and the insert is surrounded with roxul and micore not touching it though.

 

[Blazing]

 

[chazcarr]

Long time lurker on this site... 3 years plus lol. I got my princess insert this year burned about a cord before it got warm. I do get black glass on the bottom edges with oak at 19 %. One thing I also get is 20-22 hour burns EVERY time I load it. The members here know their stove talk just a new guys two cents.

Oh and yes I have 15 foot of flex king HD with insulation block off plate exterior chimney roxul in the cap and the insert is surrounded with roxul and micore not touching it though.

Yes, I would also like to say that now that I have a 2 year old and a newborn coming, then I wish I had gone with the princess, just for the included thermostat and longer burn times. Kids really cut into the free time and many times this winter it caused me to let the stove die down.

 

[prezes13]

Blazing 20-22 hr? What size house and what temp inside and outside? Reason I am asking because I would love to get princess insert for my house. I have only 15' of flue just like you. My cape cod is a great looking stove and a great heater but I am gone for many hours in the winter so if I could get 12 hours of good heat it would be awsome.

 

[macattack_ga]

Run my i2400 24/7 from Halloween to Memorial Day (almost). There are enough coals to get it started after 10hrs.

I've been making larger splits to increase burn time for next year.

 

[Blazing]

1500 square feet built in 1977 with new windows and extra insulation in the attic single story. The Temps when I got the stove where 30s in the day upper teens low twenties at night. Funny thing is the wife text me from home while I was working nights "honey it's hot in here" no problem utility room and garage attached.... I proceed to tell her open the utility room door very poor insulation down there I wait wait text comes in I already did... hum okay open the door to the garage wait wait text comes in I did already lol. So now we are heating the full house 2032 square feet at 77 degrees. This stove is unbelievable! Now granted I did everything suggested on this site to add to its ability that's how I roll . Bottom line believe the hype these stoves when installed and ran correctly are almost to good to be true but your mileage or others could vary just my two cents.

 

[prezes13]

Thanks. It sounds to good to be true. I have only 1200sf upstairs (raised ranch). House is 1994 2x6 construction so fairly well insulated. Plus I close doors to the bedrooms at night. Now I have to talk my wife into the darth vader stove.