Will the Princess really give me 24 hour burns on low?

[Nateums]

I see the Princess is rated for 30 hour burns on the low setting.

Would I typically be able to reload just using the remaining coals at 24 hours if I'm burning on the low setting?

 

[Todd]

Yes, I used to do 24 hour burns during the shoulder seasons with my Princess but as it got colder those 24 hour burns turned into 8-12 hour burns.

 

[Diabel]

It all depends on your heat/room temp requirement/desire.

 

[Nateums]

It all depends on your heat/room temp requirement/desire.

Yup. The stated 12.5k btu would be perfect for our small highly insulated house for a good portion of the winter.

I guess I'm just trying to ask if the stove will really put out 12.5k btu relatively uniformly for 24 or 30 hours, and if I am reloading at that 24 hour mark am I going to have enough coals to not need to use newspaper/kindling to get it going again.

The current stove often requires newspaper and kindling after only 12 hours, and I'm over it. Kids and busy schedules are at a point now where I think a blaze king is a much better fit for our house.

 

[Diabel]

With seasoned hardwood, you should have lots of coals after 24h granted burning on the lowest setting. Again, every install will have a slightly different lowest setting. There are sooooo many variables to consider

 

[Highbeam]

I see the Princess is rated for 30 hour burns on the low setting.

Would I typically be able to reload just using the remaining coals at 24 hours if I'm burning on the low setting?

Yes, there are no conditions about outside temperatures. The properly installed princess with appropriate fuel at a low burn rate set by the operator is dependably capable of 24 hour burn cycles. I do it with softwoods and lower btu hardwoods from the pnw area. I wish we had the fancy oak and hickory of the east coast guys.

I too burned a modern high dollar noncat that could barely make it through the night and upgraded to the princess because of the ability to load once per day when I had kids and work. If you’re retired or at home all day or maybe only burn on the weekends then this long burn capability is not as important.

 

[Diabel]

Yes, there are no conditions about outside temperatures. The properly installed princess with appropriate fuel at a low burn rate set by the operator is dependably capable of 24 hour burn cycles. I do it with softwoods and lower btu hardwoods from the pnw area. I wish we had the fancy oak and hickory of the east coast guys.

I too burned a modern high dollar noncat that could barely make it through the night and upgraded to the princess because of the ability to load once per day when I had kids and work. If you’re retired or at home all day or maybe only burn on the weekends then this long burn capability is not as important.

As always, @Highbeam sums it up well😉

 

[Highbeam]

As always, @Highbeam sums it up well😉

Thanks bud. I believe in giving credit to people for realizing that if they choose to run the stove hotter for any reason that the burn time will be reduced. The stove only burns as fast as you tell it to. No other stove on the market (all catalytic BKs) has such a wide range of burn rate choice.

 

[Poindexter]

I agree with all of the above.

I can routinely get 24 hour burns out of my (smaller firebox) Ashford 30 on low. The real question is 'in what weather is whatever (12.5k BTU/hr) burn rate going to keep your house warm enough before you switch to 12 hour burns? This one is highly variable.

Stack height is a variable for every install. The book from BK probably calls for something like 14-16 feet minimum stack height. If you have a really short stack you can run that beast at wide open throttle when it is -40 outdoors, and not do experiments with magma on your hearth. If you have a really tall stack you can run the stove on 'low' for 24 hour burns when outdoor ambients are +60dF, but you will have an obstreperous rascal on your hands in deep winter.

I have been running the same (A30) stove for 9 years now. I changed the stack height at the end of winter one, winter two, and winter four. There is some dialing in to your lot, your house, your topography to be expected here.

Air leaks are the big easy. Having an air leak is an extremely expensive luxury when you are the one swinging the splitting maul.

The other thing about modern catalytic stoves, from any mfr, is they are not kidding or suggesting when they talk about having fuel at or under 20% MC. You got to get your cordwood down to or under 20% MC, or the stove is not going to run right. I can run my stove on fuel at 19.9% MC with an eight dollar meter from the home store, but my stove/ my house/ my envelope runs best on fuel at 14%. No matter where you are in North America (planet earth?) you got to get your splits stacked up off the ground and top covered ASAP.

 

[Poindexter]

Yup. The stated 12.5k btu would be perfect for our small highly insulated house for a good portion of the winter.

I guess I'm just trying to ask if the stove will really put out 12.5k btu relatively uniformly for 24 or 30 hours, and if I am reloading at that 24 hour mark am I going to have enough coals to not need to use newspaper/kindling to get it going again.

The current stove often requires newspaper and kindling after only 12 hours, and I'm over it. Kids and busy schedules are at a point now where I think a blaze king is a much better fit for our house.

This depends on your stack height, outdoor ambient temperature, as built air leaks and as built insulation envelope. Besides your likely air door test to show how tight the house was before the mechanical systems went in, you can measure your degree loss per hour.

Working in Farenheit, I typically would heat my home (state of the art when built 1980 build) to 80dF, with the woodstove cold; and then turn off the breaker to the oil fired boiler, and then time how long it took for the house to cool to 70 dF. I found my old house, as built, would lose 1dF per hour when outdoor ambients were about -20dF. In warmer temps the house would lose heat more slowly. From -20dF to about -40dF the house was on the exponential knee. Colder than -40dF, in that house, the insulation fell flat and the real question was could I get enough BTUs out of the oil boiler and the wood stove to keep the pipes from freezing up before such and such a time if the weather didn't break.

For chronic long term operation, the BKs stoves I am familiar with are looking for 30 minutes at full throttle after hot reloads on hot coals, and then turn down to low throttle based on onsite conditions, with one or two intermediate steps between wide open throttle and low throttle not unheard of, especially with fuel above 18%MC. One advantage of 14%MC fuel on my install is I can run a hot reload at full throttle for 30 minutes, and then chop the throttle to low in one step without having to screw around when I am trying to get out the door in the morning.

Once the reload moisture bake out is done, yup, consistent heat output at whatever throttle setting you select. For hours and hours. And hours. These are very boring stoves to run once you learn to trust them.

To me a cold start suggest the combustor in a BK stove is at room temperature, you need kindling and you have to stay involved. A hot reload, the combustor is in the active zone when you are ready to add fuel, never drops out of the active zone during the reload, and you are ready to rip from flag drop. A warm reload is all the conditions in between. I suspect for your second winter you can do a few cold starts in the autumn shoulder season and should have very little problem keeping your combustor in the active zone for months on end, no matches or newspaper required, after your shoulder season ends.

You are asking the right questions @Nateums . Keep asking, you have sort of 'come home' registering here.

 

[Nateums]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

Just bought the Princess. Everything was in stock except the 'standard' base which should be in next week. Got an extra 15% off for cash and carry.

Really excited. I have wanted one for years. Also was leaning toward the Ashford but luckily they had a princess in the back and we really liked the look. They had a cutaway sirocco and was surprised how similar the two were.

Our current chimney has a great by the book draft. Straight up through the house, through the second story roof and 2' above the ridge. Triple wall stainless and double wall black pipe.

Yahoo. Already have plenty of well seasoned ash and maple. Been burning for many years so am not a Woodstove novice, but am happy to now be a BK novice!!

Also just to note the King was in the showroom and I didnt like how huge it was, if I hadn't have seen the princess in person I would have gone with the sirocco.

 

[Hoytman]

I agree with all of the above.

I can routinely get 24 hour burns out of my (smaller firebox) Ashford 30 on low. The real question is 'in what weather is whatever (12.5k BTU/hr) burn rate going to keep your house warm enough before you switch to 12 hour burns? This one is highly variable.

Stack height is a variable for every install. The book from BK probably calls for something like 14-16 feet minimum stack height. If you have a really short stack you can run that beast at wide open throttle when it is -40 outdoors, and not do experiments with magma on your hearth. If you have a really tall stack you can run the stove on 'low' for 24 hour burns when outdoor ambients are +60dF, but you will have an obstreperous rascal on your hands in deep winter.

I have been running the same (A30) stove for 9 years now. I changed the stack height at the end of winter one, winter two, and winter four. There is some dialing in to your lot, your house, your topography to be expected here.

Air leaks are the big easy. Having an air leak is an extremely expensive luxury when you are the one swinging the splitting maul.

The other thing about modern catalytic stoves, from any mfr, is they are not kidding or suggesting when they talk about having fuel at or under 20% MC. You got to get your cordwood down to or under 20% MC, or the stove is not going to run right. I can run my stove on fuel at 19.9% MC with an eight dollar meter from the home store, but my stove/ my house/ my envelope runs best on fuel at 14%. No matter where you are in North America (planet earth?) you got to get your splits stacked up off the ground and top covered ASAP.

I was amazed to recently look at BK’s wood moisture recommendations and see them list moisture content to be nest at 19%-25%. Apparently they changed it. Pretty sure I seen one other manufacturer list accordingly as well. I was like, hmmmnnnn….

 

[Highbeam]

One of the furnace makers seems to have a similarly high moisture recommendation. I wonder if they’re just recognizing the reality that most fuel being burned is not super dry.

 

[Nateums]

Just incredible.

Finally have a high 30s cold, rainy, high wind day that I can run the princess.

Effortless to start and run.

Over 6 hours in, on lowest setting, and the thermometer has been steady, it actually has ticked up a bit above the '~2PM' marking. House is 76F, up from around 68ish when lit this morning.

So impressed. A lot of wood in there is not even charred yet. My old stove would have stopped putting out meaningful heat a couple hours ago.

 

[NHWS]

Page 27 of the manual for my BK Princess suggests using wood that is 20% or less MC.

 

[kborndale]

Page 27 of the manual for my BK Princess suggests using wood that is 20% or less MC.

That's no different than any wood stove if you want it to work well.

 

[Nateums]

People that don't have blaze kings don't realize this is some kind of dark magic.

9 hours in and the thermostat is still at the same spot and there are solid pieces of wood in there.

 

[Todd]

Alien technology

 

[begreen]

Alien technology

aka low heat demand

 

[Tron]

aka low heat demand

Nothing wrong with that. Working from home today, started the Chinook at 6 am, with an outside temperature in the 30s. Going to warm up to upper 50s today, but as that's still below desired inside temperature, heat input will be required, however low.
So currently it's running on low, keeping the furnace from kicking in, and I won't have to reload until later this evening.

 

[Highbeam]

aka low heat demand

The alien technology is the part that allows the stove to deliver low heat output to match that low demand. Of course, it can be turned up too when needed but since you kept your home warm with those long burns on low, the high output is seldom needed to catch up.

 

[bholler]

The alien technology is the part that allows the stove to deliver low heat output to match that low demand. Of course, it can be turned up too when needed but since you kept your home warm with those long burns on low, the high output is seldom needed to catch up.

For you maybe. For me when it gets to the coldest part of the winter the princess is constantly trying to catch up.

 

[Itslay90]

For you maybe. For me when it gets to the coldest part of the winter the princess is constantly trying to catch up.

So do you turn up the air control ? Or do you still keep it low, so it can be more efficient?

 

[bholler]

So do you turn up the air control ? Or do you still keep it low, so it can be more efficient?

Obviously I turn up the air but the princess simply can't keep up on 8 hour burn cycles like the Regency could. Efficiency doesn't do you any good if the house is cold.

 

[Hoytman]

For you maybe. For me when it gets to the coldest part of the winter the princess is constantly trying to catch up.

Specifically why do you think that is?