Stove Shortlist: PE Alderlea T4, Quadra Fire Explorer II, Blaze King Ashford 20

[SuperJ]

Hi everyone. This is my first post but I've spend quite a few hours reading over the last week. I'm just looking for a bit of feedback and discussion surronding my impending stove purchase.

I'm going to be getting wood stove installed in the next month or so.

My home:
I live in Southern Ontario, Canada (Just outside of St.Jacobs). My house is a bungalow built in the 50's 1200-1300 sq ft mainfloor. I have a gas furnace, but want a wood stove for backup (we often get ice storms that cause multiday power interruptions), and I enjoy burning wood (my parents have a wood stove at their place that I've enjoyed on occasion). I work from home a couple days a week so I'm around to feed the fire.

My criteria are:

-Flexible burn rate. I enjoy burning wood spring and fall at my parents but they often overheat their house. Would like a bit more flexibility on minimum fire rates.

-Not huge, since our house is not large and I don't have a lot of extra square footage to dedicate to the stove. But I would appreciate a firebox large enough to hold wood for overnight burns, and longer logs.

-Wife friendly. My wife is on board with the stove (she actually proposed it). But she won't like fiddling with controls to maintain temperatures or safe flue temperatures.

-Locally available, I want to be able to have reliable warranty support should the need arise.

-Long burns would be nice for a couple reasons. Avoid the process of rebuilding a fire from scratch in a cold stove (my wife likely wont do it), and avoid overheating the place.



My shortlist:

-Pacific Energy Alderlea T4 (I wish it had something like EBT2 that the T6 has).

-Jotul F45 (Jotul seems high quality/reliable but doesn't seem to offer anything special).

-Quadrafire Explorer 2 (hoping this has better lowfire control than the PE options).

-Blaze King Ashford 20 (I've seen all the comments about getting the bigger 30, but am worried about the stove getting too large.)

-no electronics, I want it to operate reliably without power


Blaze King was not on my radar until I came to these forums. They almost seem too good to be true. I'm OK with replacing the catalyst ever couple years if it lives up to the hype. Do I need to consider a taller chimney or fully insulated chimney with the Blaze King to run reliably at low burn rates?
I'm want to make sure I'm completely realistic about the downsides: Poorer fire view, less tolerant of high moisture, dirty window, replacement cat, maybe potentially for my wife to overfire and destroy cat?
I haven't actually every seen a Blaze King, but have an appointment next week for an installer to come over and give me a quote. The min burn rates seem similar on paper to the Quad, but based on forum postings it seems like the Blaze King will outperform the Quadra Fire in everyway.

Pacific Energy stoves seem like the Toyota's of the stove world. Very reliable, but maybe kind of boring. My parents and some of friends have a PE stoves, and they all seem to run kind hot even on low fire. I'm concerned that PE doesn't seem to publish a minimum burn rate (Quadra Fire and Blaze King do), I'm curious what EBT2 is on the T6 Alderlea, does it allow extra turn down? or it is basically marketing material?

Quadra Fire Explorer I/II, I'm mostly interested in their lower burnrate capability and longer burntimes compared to PE. But am concerned that in reality it won't be any different than a PE stove, in which case I would rather buy a PE since they are cheaper and have the best rep for reliability/simplicity.
It's unclear to me whether or not the Quadra Fire stoves have thermostatic control, or just automatically close the startup air after 20minutes. The Explorer II seems to have a lower minimum burn rate (11,200Btu/Hr) than the smaller Explorer I (12.100 Btu/hr) in the owners manuals.

Jotul F45, nice cast over steel design, assuming it will run similar to a PE. Not really my top choice but seems like a solid wildcard option.

Stoves I initially considered and then ruled out based on my research here:

-Vermont Castings Encore (liked that it was pretty and a catalyst stove with thermostatic air control, but was turned off by the negative forum posts and expensive price). It's locally available by the same dealer that sells Pacific Energy, Quadra Fire and Harman.

-Harman, the fire dome tech seems like something I would like, but too finicky for my wife to operate reliably. I was attracted to the long burn times.

The stove will likely be installed in one corner of my living room which means that my chimney will be close to minimum length (probably around 15'). I suspect I may want to add a couple feet to maintain a good draft at low burn rates.

I guess my biggest question is whether the Quadra Fire stoves will behave much differently than the Pacific Energy stoves in the real world in terms of burn times and low fire rates. Quadra at least makes some claims about 12hr burns on the Explorer II. I think it's mostly between the Blaze King and Quadra Fire at this point, but the Blaze King option will probably depend on my impression of the dealer once I meet them. Also, I'm wondering if a Blaze King is appropriate for me if I'm not burning 24/7 4 or 5 months a year.

Another discussion point is do I have an accurate perception of PE burn times? and low fire rate? Perhaps the people I know with them are doing it wrong somehow. Maybe they're waiting too long to turn things down after starting?

 

[begreen]

This is a good group of stoves. I would suggest the Alderlea T5 instead of the T4. The coupled secondary air control affords this stove excellent burn time. There's no need to have the EBT on the smaller firebox. Besides baffle and secondary design, another difference between the Quad and the PE is loading. The Explorer has a shallower firebox that loads E/W, unless you cut shorter splits. The Alderlea T5 has a deeper firebox that loads N/S or E/W. For just occasional burning you may want to consider the PE Spectrum if cost is the issue. Same stove as the T5 but with a steel jacket instead of a cast iron jacket. And remember, you don't need to load the stove full in order to have a good burn, especially in milder weather. FYI, you might also want to look at the Enviro Boston 1200.

For a cat stove the BK Ashford is a great choice. It will give you thermostatic control and good long burn time. Plus it's a good looker. Your call on whether it's worth it for just occasional burning.

Question - Chimney height and flue system design affect draft. What will be the flue system that the stove connects to? Will it be a new chimney straight up through the house? If yes, approximately how tall.

 

[SuperJ]

Question - Chimney height and flue system design affect draft. What will be the flue system that the stove connects to? Will it be a new chimney straight up through the house? If yes, approximately how tall.

The chimney will be straight up, technically it could meet the min 3' (above the roof penetration), and 2' above a 10' radius with about 15' for pipe (above the stove). I think most of the local installs I've seen are single wall up to the first ceiling and then double wall above that. If there was a difference in chimney requirements between stoves I wanted to make sure I accounted for it since the double wall insulated pipe is so expensive.

 

[begreen]

Some stoves work ok with a <16' chimney, others really want at least 16'. If you use double-wall stove pipe, connected to double-wall chimney pipe and go straight up through the house that achieves a 15' total flue system length then it should work out well. There are some factors that could affect this like chimney location on the roof and the house location in the terrain.

 

[Highbeam]

I would skip the ashford 20 and go right to the 30 series. The 30 has a lower low burn rate so you are less likely to overheat and a larger firebox which means 30 hours between reloads instead of 20 hours. That's a big deal. Also, if needed, the 30 can put out more heat than the 20. It has a wider range of available burn rates than the 20 which is always a good thing. The 30 is only a few inches bigger physically than the 20.

If you go non-cat then I would recommend the t5/super series from PE since has a great reputation for long burns (for a noncat) and allows the wonderful north/south or straight in loading. No throwing in logs sideways and hoping they don't roll out!

The superior performance (efficiency, burn rate control, burn times, thermostat) of the cat stove is available for use anytime whether you use it 24/7 for 9 months of the year or just every once in a while. The BKs are not the cheapest stove but are not much more than the others you chose. Also, they do offer a fireview if you want to run them at the higher output settings which is your only choice if you have a non-cat. My older BK's design means more gunk on the glass, the folks with the new 30 series report much less junk on the glass.

15' all vertical meets the requirements for the BK. You will want to use double wall black stove pipe inside the stove room and then once you pass through the ceiling will switch to class A insulated pipe which is also double wall. This chimney is about perfect for most stoves and would be great for the BK or the PE.

 

[SuperJ]

15' all vertical meets the requirements for the BK. You will want to use double wall black stove pipe inside the stove room and then once you pass through the ceiling will switch to class A insulated pipe which is also double wall. This chimney is about perfect for most stoves and would be great for the BK or the PE.

I was probably mistaking the inside double wall black pipe for single wall.

Not feeling much love for the Quadra Fire, so I guess I will do either the Alderlea T5 or Ashford 20/30. I will have to look at stove dimensions and clearances to figure out which Ashford will work best.

The stoves on my list are all cast iron over steel to meet my wife's style requirements. She's not impressed with the look of bare steel stoves or the modern styled ones.

 

[SuperJ]

FYI, you might also want to look at the Enviro Boston 1200.

Does the Enviro Boston do anything better than the Quadra Fire or Pacific Energy? I think my local dealer can get me Enviro stoves but he doesn't keep an inventory or have any in the show room.

 

[begreen]

The Enviro Boston 1200 is a 1.85 cu ft , very well made and good looking stove with similar features of the T5 but with tube secondaries. I think its fit and finish is a notch above the PE, but it lacks the T5's nice swing away trivet top. Also, it is more of an E/W loader and has a bit larger clearance requirements.

 

[jetsam]

Nothing on that list is even in the same ballpark as the BK in the "low burn rate", "long burn", and wife friendly" categories. Cue the crying from the people who've never had one, but I'm tellin' ya.

Don't worry about bumping up to the 30. A non-BK owner will tell you, "If you want less heat, put in less wood". A BK owner will tell you, "If you want less heat, pack that sucker full and turn the thermostat down."

You can burn at any burn rate that your draft will support, partially reload any time that suits your schedule, and pack that sucker full right before everyone goes to work without worrying about overfires (provided you maintain it and keep it airtight).

I grew up with (old) wood stoves, and I got a BK in part because I was worried that my wife would change her mind and want to use the stove when I was away (she did, too). I don't even worry about it now- unless she breaks the glass out of the door, it's gonna be fine. (And I got a fire extinguisher in case she breaks the glass. )

 

[Bullyboy]

By no means am I an expert but here's my two cents on the Ashford 20 vs 30. I was dead set on the 20 because I didn't want to heat us out of the house. Had the clearances and stove size taped off on the floor for when we were getting our quotes. Both BK salesman showed me the 30 measurements with reduced clearances compared to the 20 and the difference was negligible. The tape lines were almost over each other. I'm so glad we got the 30. Not only is it amazing how much wood it will hold and how long it will burn but just the pure wow factor. Had it installed in early spring and everyone that walks in the house now immediately says wow, nice stove.

 

[Ashful]

My criteria are:

-Flexible burn rate. I enjoy burning wood spring and fall at my parents but they often overheat their house. Would like a bit more flexibility on minimum fire rates.

Advantage: Blaze King Ashford. No other stove on your list can come even close to the range of burn rate this stove can achieve.

My criteria are:
-Not huge, since our house is not large and I don't have a lot of extra square footage to dedicate to the stove. But I would appreciate a firebox large enough to hold wood for overnight burns, and longer logs.

How about 36 hour burns? I routinely get 36 hours out of my two Ashford 30's, in the shoulder seasons, when I'm running them very low. If I had a non-cat, I'd have to settle for cycling small fires, but with the BK, I just stuff it full and turn it down. In winter, I run one on 24 hour cycles and the other on 12 hour cycles.

My criteria are:
-Wife friendly. My wife is on board with the stove (she actually proposed it). But she won't like fiddling with controls to maintain temperatures or safe flue temperatures.

I can't comment here. My wife runs the Ashfords without any issue. She would also run my Jotuls, but they scared her.

My criteria are:
-Locally available, I want to be able to have reliable warranty support should the need arise.

Only you can answer this.

My criteria are:
-Long burns would be nice for a couple reasons. Avoid the process of rebuilding a fire from scratch in a cold stove (my wife likely wont do it), and avoid overheating the place.

Advantage: Blaze King Ashford. No other stove can sip out 2.6 cubic feet of wood over 30 - 36 hours. I run my Ashfords in whether where I could never run my old Jotuls. In spring, I'm normally running on days when the lows are 45F and highs are 65F.

Blaze King

was not on my radar until I came to these forums. They almost seem too good to be true.

Ditto. After a few years hanging out on this forum, and reading enough about BK to make me sick, I had to have one for myself. The hype is true.

I'm OK with replacing the catalyst ever couple years if it lives up to the hype.

Highbeam is our cat tester. He runs 5000 hours per year, and I think he got 3 years out of his last cat, with one vinegar bath near the end of year 2. That's like 6 years of burning for most heating full-time with their stove, and more than a decade for a more casual burner. Like most, I'm totally fine with having to replace a $180 combustor, every few years.

Do I need to consider a taller chimney or fully insulated chimney with the Blaze King to run reliably at low burn rates?

I have two Ashfords, one with 6 feet of single-wall pipe feeding into about 8 feet of insulated liner, and the other with 6 feet of double-wall pipe (two 45 elbows) feeding about 25 feet of insulated liner. Both work very well, but I can turn the one on the taller chimney down a little farther on warmer days, without any stalling issues. So, the answer to your question is that any chimney height can work, but you need decent height to reach the absolute lowest rates.

I'm want to make sure I'm completely realistic about the downsides: Poorer fire view, less tolerant of high moisture, dirty window, replacement cat, maybe potentially for my wife to overfire and destroy cat?

Let's get this straight. Your fire view on a BK is exactly the same as any other stove, when burned like any other stove. Folks that talk about their BK being a "black box" are describing its appearance only when run way lower than those stoves noted to have a good fire view can run. If you want ultra-low heat on a warmer day, turn it down and enjoy that gentle black box. If you want a nice fire view while watching a movie on a cold winter evening, turn it up and enjoy the fire. The beauty is that you can have both, in one box.

haven't actually every seen a Blaze King, but have an appointment next week for an installer to come over and give me a quote.

Brace yourself, most of them are not the prettiest stoves. In fact, if they hadn't released the Ashford, I'd have never bought a BK, despite their impressive performance.

The min burn rates seem similar on paper to the Quad, but based on forum postings it seems like the Blaze King will outperform the Quadra Fire in everyway.

I haven't seen anyone posting 40 hour burn times from Quad, but I have to admit I never looked. I can say my little Ashford 30's (only 2.65 cubic feet!) do up to 36 hours on full loads of oak, and others have stated they do up to 30 hours on lesser woods.

BTW, if buying non-cat, I'd be looking at PE Alderlea series. For me, it would be down to cat = BK, or non-cat = PE.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Like most, I'm totally fine with having to replace a $180 combustor, every few years.

Where do you get an Ashford 30 combustor for only $180?

 

[jetsam]

Ditto. After a few years hanging out on this forum, and reading enough about BK to make me sick, I had to have one for myself. The hype is true.

'Hype' derives from 'hyperbole'. Since it turns out that these stoves are pretty great in several areas, I don't think it's a good way to describe the (admittedly shameless) cheerleading some people (including me) do. When you say that your stove goes 24 hours between reloads... not only is that not hyperbole, you're not mentioning that it could go longer if you turned it down a little. That makes it understatement, not hyperbole, sir.

(Since hyperbole got truncated to "hype," could we also call 'understatement' 'undie'? Then we could say things like, "His dry British undies got him a lot of attention from the girls.")

 

[SuperJ]

I think it's toss up between the PE Alderlea(2nd) and the BK Ashford (1st) at this point.
I'm trying to decide whether to ask my local PE/Quad dealer (a highly reputable source that has done a top notch install for everyone I know) to source a BK for me. (not sure if it would be appropriate to ask)
The closest BK dealer is about an hour from me, they seem pretty knowledgeable and straight up on the phone, but I don't know anyone who's done business with them.

This is a wild card, but I can get a new Vermont Castings Encore Flexburn (Cat) for less than half price ($1900cdn/$1550USD) thru a friend with some industry connections (the reg price is $4700cdn). I'd have to the chimney done by a pro, but I'd feel sheepish not buying the stove thru them but getting the chimney done. It's a beautiful stove and the newer ones are supposedly higher quality. But I still feel like it would be like buying a car that all your friends are telling you that you'd regret.

I noticed a bunch of stove manufactures seem to be under the same parent company... Hearth & Home Technologies. Does this mean they are actually built in the same factories by the same people or do the sub brands like Quad, Harman, VC all operate independently?

 

[SuperJ]

Where do you get an Ashford 30 combustor for only $180?

I'm curious about this too... especially here in Canada where everything is more expensive. I'm thinking, I might ask for an extra combustor at time of install just to be prepared.

Not to get off topic but Woody your dog looks just like mine.

 

[Highbeam]

The closest BK dealer is about an hour from me, they seem pretty knowledgeable and straight up on the phone, but I don't know anyone who's done business with them.

Same with me, over an hour drive. You've got to realize that dealers add very little value to a stove purchase if the stove isn't a piece of junk. Parts like door gaskets or cats can be ordered from the supplier or the dealer over the phone and just mailed to your house rather than to the dealer.

Where do you get an Ashford 30 combustor for only $180?

My princess cat, in ceramic, is 186$ from the supplier. I believe the ashford cat is more.

Highbeam is our cat tester. He runs 5000 hours per year, and I think he got 3 years out of his last cat, with one vinegar bath near the end of year 2. That's like 6 years of burning for most heating full-time with their stove, and more than a decade for a more casual burner. Like most, I'm totally fine with having to replace a $180 combustor, every few years.

I've had two cats reach failure. Each time it occurred after 12000 hours which is the expected lifespan but in my application that is only 2-3 years. With the most recent cat failure I rejuvenated the cat by cleaning it using a manufacturer approved vinegar wash. Not sure how much more time that will get me but I could have just replaced it instead. Super easy with no tools required to replace a cat, even if the stove is warm.

Ditto. After a few years hanging out on this forum, and reading enough about BK to make me sick, I had to have one for myself. The hype is true

This was me too. I ran a non-cat hearthstone stove for about 30 cords and it worked well. I just didn't like the very short burn times and narrow range of hot burn rates. I watched people upgrade to cat stoves and come back with very good reports of significantly reduced fuel consumption and huge burn times while still having high output available if needed. I even PM'd a few to ask if it was real. I made the switch and am very happy that I did. There is a place for a non-cat, I have recently installed one in my detached shop and it works well in that application. In a home, used as a heat source for full time heating, the performance is just superior.

Oh and until you've owned one you really have no idea. The performance is like magic and it's just unbelievable. Woodstock makes some very good cat stoves too if you don't mind a shorter (but still double the non-cats) burn time.

 

[Highbeam]

I'm curious about this too... especially here in Canada where everything is more expensive. I'm thinking, I might ask for an extra combustor at time of install just to be prepared.

Not to get off topic but Woody your dog looks just like mine.

Be careful with getting a second cat from the dealer. Dealers are an extra middle man and will charge you a very high price for a new cat in order to milk a profit out of the deal even though they add no actual value to the transaction. If you can get it added for free, that would be great.

I'm not sure if it still applies but BK used to (still does?) warranty the cat for 10 years so you should be able to get a new cat for free when the cat fails during that period. Just one though. No other manufacturer does this.

 

[lsucet]

I'm trying to decide whether to ask my local PE/Quad dealer (a highly reputable source that has done a top notch install for everyone I know) to source a BK for me. (not sure if it would be appropriate to ask)

Remember that is possible that all what they will do for you is the top notch install. The one living the experience is you. You the one curing the paint, you the one turning that dial more or less accord to weather conditions and your heat demand to stay warm, etc. Many of us do our own installs and are also top notch. is good that they do good job and you feel comfortable. That is a plus.

I'd have to the chimney done by a pro, but I'd feel sheepish not buying the stove thru them but getting the chimney done.

I understand and that says a lot about you, but you are the one living with that stove for x amount of years and you will like to make a decision in your own regardless which stove brand you are getting at the end without those kind of influence. After all you will pay them for the install or any job you request from them, is not like they are doing it for free.

 

[Ashful]

Where do you get an Ashford 30 combustor for only $180?

I was quoting the price I paid for my Jotul cat combustors, and had also seen several report a similar number for their BK's. However, I think Highbeam cleared it up, here.

My princess cat, in ceramic, is 186$ from the supplier. I believe the ashford cat is more.

Truth be told, it doesn't change the sentiment of my statement, I'd go BK over non-cat regardless of replacement cat cost. Don't forget, if your cat dies inside 10 years, BK will replace it for free.

 

[Hogwildz]

While the BK is def a champ in shoulder seasons, what most BK owners won't tell you, but some have confirmed, is that that higher output you run the stove on, the more the burn times equal out to a non cat. Not knocking the BK, as it is indeed an impressive slow burner(yes with a black sooted glass), and does excel in shoulder seasons, but in the dead of winter, while running on high, the burn times are reduced.

Enough have confirmed that when set on low, there is not much to view, unless you want to lay on the floor and look up at the cat glowing. If you can see it through the soot covered glass. You can turn it up to get both the glass clean and get a view, but on low, not so much.

Again, not knocking the BK, it is a top of the line burner. Just feel you should know all the facts, aside from the hype of some owners of the "Almighty best stove out there".

My point is, if the wife's impression is to have a view, that is something to consider. Yes, you can open the stat up and burn higher, but also with more similar burn times as a non cat, and heat output.

As far as a wife burning either a cat or non-cat, anyone telling you a wife will have an easier or harder time with one over the other, is full of shitolla.
Any of your choices are a win, just do the diligent research (with the wife), narrow it down as you have, then choice the one that fits your needs the best. If you could actually see both in person, better yet while burning, that may also be helpful in your decision.

Good luck, and enjoy whichever you decide on.

 

[lsucet]

You are right partially. It still burning longer. If you put the same amount of wood going by weight i am sure it will burn longer. Non cat you shut the air to prevent overfire conditions and if you turn it down a little late you can have an inferno going on and go thru the wood faster. Secondary can still ripping thru wood way faster if get out of control. BK, you give the air you need to reach your needed temperature and the thermostat takes it from there and including with the air wide open the burn rate slow once it reach certain temp, cause the thermostat still closing a good amount preventing an overfire. There is time at wide open throttle that still not much going on in there. What makes it have a longer burn on the same amount of wood. it is see to believe.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

My princess cat, in ceramic, is 186$ from the supplier. I believe the ashford cat is more.

The least expensive I could find for the 30 series with gasket was $280. But that's a stainless steel cat (which is what my Chinook 30 comes with).

 

[Hogwildz]

You are right partially. It still burning longer. If you put the same amount of wood going by weight i am sure it will burn longer. Non cat you shut the air to prevent overfire conditions and if you turn it down a little late you can have an inferno going on and go thru the wood faster. Secondary can still ripping thru wood way faster if get out of control. BK, you give the air you need to reach your needed temperature and the thermostat takes it from there and including with the air wide open the burn rate slow once it reach certain temp, cause the thermostat still closing a good amount preventing an overfire. There is time at wide open throttle that still not much going on in there. What makes it have a longer burn on the same amount of wood. it is see to believe.

I have read several BK Princess owner declare when running the stove high, that they were getting 12 hr burn times, same as I get with my Summit. Nearly same firebox & load size. The fact is, at high, a similar load and firebox size is going to get similar burn times. Yes, shoulder season, there is no comparison, but at high, it is what it is. Not my facts, just the facts from several seasoned Princess owners over the years that have posted their results.

Non cat does not shut air down to prevent overfire conditions, but more so to promote secondary burn, and lengthen burn time as the way they are intended to burn, and also extend burn by not adding a ton of air and prematurely burning the fuel down. The "Inferno" is only during the initial secondary burning stages of the nox gases. Other than that, it is lazy flames then to glowing coals.
If one constantly lets their stove get out of control no matter what type, they should rethink burning wood at all or get an old smoke dragon tank, to just toss in and burn through a shitload of wood.

As I said, shoulder season, the BK absolutely has greater length of burn, running hard if need be, there is a negligible difference with similar load & box size.
I am perfectly happy with 16+ hr loads through the shoulder season.

 

[Highbeam]

I have read several BK Princess owner declare when running the stove high, that they were getting 12 hr burn times, same as I get with my Summit. Nearly same firebox & load size. The fact is, at high, a similar load and firebox size is going to get similar burn times. Yes, shoulder season, there is no comparison, but at high, it is what it is. Not my facts, just the facts from several seasoned Princess owners over the years that have posted their results.

Non cat does not shut air down to prevent overfire conditions, but more so to promote secondary burn, and lengthen burn time as the way they are intended to burn, and also extend burn by not adding a ton of air and prematurely burning the fuel down. The "Inferno" is only during the initial secondary burning stages of the nox gases. Other than that, it is lazy flames then to glowing coals.
If one constantly lets their stove get out of control no matter what type, they should rethink burning wood at all or get an old smoke dragon tank, to just toss in and burn through a shitload of wood.

As I said, shoulder season, the BK absolutely has greater length of burn, running hard if need be, there is a negligible difference with similar load & box size.
I am perfectly happy with 16+ hr loads through the shoulder season.

Yep, the higher you set the thermostat, the more the burning experience is similar between a cat and noncat. I'm with you on that. The cat stove is still more efficient at all burn rates but if all you ever want to do is run the stove balls to the wall then you might as well have a non-cat.That's why my shop stove is a non-cat. Full output all the time! A little clarification though, after 12 hours your summit is nearly cold right? I know that I can burn up 3.5 CF of firewood in 3 hours in my non-cat, best case is overnight with a few coals left to restart.

The pleasure of the BK is that it can put out heat and flames like a noncat OR can be turned way back to idle along when you don't need eye blistering heat. Wide output range with resulting wide burn time range. The ashfords have almost entirely fixed the dark glass feature that I have with my older princess.

 

[lsucet]

We all have different experience and I know how secondary stove works cause I use it before, in fact I still have both just not installed. Including with a 3.2 firebox load it to the grill I was not able to get the same burn times like with BK and smaller box. Maybe the house is not as leaking and bad like I think. For sure I staying warmer with longer burn times and the wood saving is incredible.
There is many BK owners that also going to say different. Some here have both and others come from secondary burn and their experience can possibly match mine?.
Anyway I think that the OP should know also the experience from people that burn both. At the end is up to him. But I feel that BK can be safer for his wife and can make him feel ok about his wife using it.