Replacing my beloved Quadrafire with a new Blaze King Princess insert

[Quadrafire2]

After around 8 years of burning wood with our 3100i QuadraFire insert I finally decided to upgrade to the Blaze King Princess insert for its well known supper long burn time of 20 hours.

I feel a little "strange" loosing the QuadraFire, it served us very well running it 24/7 over the winter seasons, it worked really well and everyone loved it especially the kids during the cold winter days.

I am really excited about the new Blaze King after reading so much about its Long burn cycles, I hope I won't be disappointed because this is the only reason I am replacing the Quadra fire. The only concern I have with the BK is the fact that it can only take a maximum of 16" diameter logs, is this true? The QuadraFire took 18" and I always hoped it could take a 20 or 22", it is easier/faster to cut 22" wood than 18".

Please tell me about your experience when switching to a BK.

Thanks!

 

[MN Ripper]

I put the same insert into our main level masonry fireplace last this last spring. I've been running it overnight the past few days due the cooler night time temps. So far its exceeded my expectations. I'm still getting used to the spring controlled damper but I'm learning quick.

The 16" lengths would be down at the bottom of the firebox from just below the door and up you shouldn't have trouble getting 18" lengths in. Its square so they can go in either direction.

So far the routine with basswood/ poplar has been start fire around 6:30PM after dinner small pieces to get the cat warmed up good then a full load around 8:00PM and that burns all night into the morning. Wife says its down to the coals for reloading around 10:00-11:00AM the next morning. We haven't been reloading because the house has been getting to hot around 78F so an afternoon with no fire and a window open cools things down a bit. Have yet to see any smoke out the chimney when the cat is engaged.

So far I'm glad I went with this stove. I had my doubts but the dealer uses one in his own home and invited me in to to show me how it worked from no fire and a cold stove to hot one cruising on low. That sealed the deal for me.

 

[Quadrafire2]

Wow! This is great to know it can take 18" logs, and I like the fact they can be loaded front to back, it is the safest way to load up the fire box. My setup is going to be very similar to yours (getting it tomorrow), black on black but without your nice silver door trim. Is the stone teak stone? Looks similar to mine... Thanks!

I put the same insert into our main level masonry fireplace last this last spring. I've been running it overnight the past few days due the cooler night time temps. So far its exceeded my expectations. I'm still getting used to the spring controlled damper but I'm learning quicky

The 16" lengths would be down at the bottom of the firebox from just below the door and up you shouldn't have trouble getting 18" lengths in. Its square so they can go in either direction.

So far the routine with basswood/ poplar has been start fire around 6:30PM after dinner small pieces to get the cat warmed up good then a full load around 8:00PM and that burns all night into the morning. Wife says its down to the coals for reloading around 10:00-11:00AM the next morning. We haven't been reloading because the house has been getting to hot around 78F so an afternoon with no fire and a window open cools things down a bit. Have yet to see any smoke out the chimney when the cat is engaged.

So far I'm glad I went with this stove. I had my doubts but the dealer uses one in his own home and invited me in to to show me how it worked from no fire and a cold stove to hot one cruising on low. That sealed the deal for me.

 

[Quadrafire2]

Well, the Blaze King Princess insert is home, drove to CT early this morning and picked it up from Fireplaces, Etc in Connecticut, very good people to deal with and very fair prices as well. Now I need to remove the QuadraFire and install the BK, I need help getting it off the car and to the den... Any volunteers? :msp_rolleyes:

Interesting while I was at the store I was looking at the fire box size of the Princess insert vs Ultra vs the Parlor, the Ultra by far has the biggest volume fire box. I was a little surprise that the Parlor had a slightly wider box than the Insert, maybe 1-2" wider! BK site still gives the Insert 20hr+ burn time so I hope this BK will outperform my QuadraFire by 2:1

 

[PA Plumber]

Awww mannnn, I love my Pacific Energy Summit, but I'm starting to get a roving eye.

We have an enclosed All Fuel chimney that is 6". We just are not in the position to tear it all out to install 8" pipe for a King.

It looks like the BK Princess might the next best thing. Would a Princess be able to put out the heat of a Summit?

We are currently heating about 3000 sq. ft. with the Summit. We use about 25 gallons of fuel oil to supplement during the heating season.

 

[Quadrafire2]

From what I saw when I measured the the internals of the largest Princess it very large, you might want to consider the Princes so you won't have to change the chimney flue size.

Awww mannnn, I love my Pacific Energy Summit, but I'm starting to get a roving eye.

We have an enclosed All Fuel chimney that is 6". We just are not in the position to tear it all out to install 8" pipe for a King.

It looks like the BK Princess might the next best thing. Would a Princess be able to put out the heat of a Summit?

We are currently heating about 3000 sq. ft. with the Summit. We use about 25 gallons of fuel oil to supplement during the heating season.

 

[EXCALIBER]

Well can't say about the inserts but last year in August I bought the Blaze King Ultra and only wondered why I waited for so long. I came from Montana and it is a very common and popular stove there. I tell people on this forum about them and they just do not believe the long burn times and that it will heat a home. Matter of fact you get almost black listed on here when you talk about BK stoves. I just tell them to go check them out and report back, there is no other stove that is even in the same league as BK period.

Just buy one and you will not be sorry, I know I couldn't be happier with mine. Warm house, load the stove every day or two, and a thermostat so easy even the gf can figure it out! Hope she didn't hear me type that LOL. Plus more burn time between cleaning ashes from stove due to deep firebox. I can fit 23" logs side to side with mine, but have not tried that yet but will soon.

 

[bjorn773]

I replaced my prior stove with a freestanding Princess last year. Like others, now I'm wondering why I waited so long. Ok, the price, that's why. Anyway, I could not be happier. It does burn incredibly long... though 20 hours is stretching it. I can load up in the morning, dampen down, go to work all day and come home to enough coals to start up the next load. I burn hotter until about 10 pm when I reload before bed and dampen down again. The next morning I have plenty of coals to get a reload going. I am very pleased and am sure you will be too.

 

[Quadrafire2]

EXCALIBER, it is all your fault! Seriously.



One of the reasons I bought it is after reading your thread

We will see if the investment was worth it, it better ... The 3100i QuadraFire is no slouch, in my opinion it is one of the best around. I had it new since 2000 and it worked flawlessly, but if I loaded it at 10pm the next morning at 6am I had just enough coals to restart it, then when my wife got home from work at 4pm she really needed to restart it from scratch. I am hoping that with the BK she would have enough coals to just refill, would it be possible you think?

Well can't say about the inserts but last year in August I bought the Blaze King Ultra and only wondered why I waited for so long. I came from Montana and it is a very common and popular stove there. I tell people on this forum about them and they just do not believe the long burn times and that it will heat a home. Matter of fact you get almost black listed on here when you talk about BK stoves. I just tell them to go check them out and report back, there is no other stove that is even in the same league as BK period.

Just buy one and you will not be sorry, I know I couldn't be happier with mine. Warm house, load the stove every day or two, and a thermostat so easy even the gf can figure it out! Hope she didn't hear me type that LOL. Plus more burn time between cleaning ashes from stove due to deep firebox. I can fit 23" logs side to side with mine, but have not tried that yet but will soon.

 

[PA Plumber]

EXCALIBER, it is all your fault! Seriously.



One of the reasons I bought it is after reading your thread

We will see if the investment was worth it, it better ... The 3100i QuadraFire is no slouch, in my opinion it is one of the best around. I had it new since 2000 and it worked flawlessly, but if I loaded it at 10pm the next morning at 6am I had just enough coals to restart it, then when my wife got home from work at 4pm she really needed to restart it from scratch. I am hoping that with the BK she would have enough coals to just refill, would it be possible you think?

Our Pacific Energy isn't quite that bad. If the stove is loaded in the evening, we will have a huge bed of coals the next morning. At about 14 hrs, there is barely enough coals to start a fire. To be fair, this is using Honey Locust or Oak firewood.

 

[WidowMaker]

Awww mannnn, I love my Pacific Energy Summit, but I'm starting to get a roving eye.

We have an enclosed All Fuel chimney that is 6". We just are not in the position to tear it all out to install 8" pipe for a King.

It looks like the BK Princess might the next best thing. Would a Princess be able to put out the heat of a Summit?

We are currently heating about 3000 sq. ft. with the Summit. We use about 25 gallons of fuel oil to supplement during the heating season.

====


I'm thinking 3000 sq ft might be a little ambitious for a Princess...???

 

[Quadrafire2]

allation of stove

I placed the new BK in the fireplace and it looks like it is a few inches too short, maybe 4". I have a liner going up to the chimney top and at the bottom I have a 45° adapter, the QuadraFire is 4 inched taller due to the fact that the back is flat vs. the BK is slanted. I have to figure out how to fix that. Anyone has an idea? Maybe I should start another thread for that.

 

[moose5180]

You will love it, they are great stoves.

 

[EXCALIBER]

EXCALIBER, it is all your fault! Seriously.



One of the reasons I bought it is after reading your thread

We will see if the investment was worth it, it better ... The 3100i QuadraFire is no slouch, in my opinion it is one of the best around. I had it new since 2000 and it worked flawlessly, but if I loaded it at 10pm the next morning at 6am I had just enough coals to restart it, then when my wife got home from work at 4pm she really needed to restart it from scratch. I am hoping that with the BK she would have enough coals to just refill, would it be possible you think?

Yikes!!!:msp_scared:I can feel the pressure already. I think a Blaze King takes some getting used to due to it being so different from other stoves but once you understand how to work it and what it likes, I don't think you will buy anything else. Sorry for the slow reply been busy trying to make a new 8 way splitter to speed up splitting that huge pile of wood I have. To answer your question yes you can get 20 hours burn time on low, however I would say that 10 to 14 hours burn time would be more realistic heating a home when its cold out with a princess. Every install will be different as each house is different in what it takes to heat that home.

I looked up your old quadra fire insert on EPA's site and it lists it as 63% efficient overall. The Princess is 72% efficient overall on EPA's list.

I am curious to see how you like the insert and how it compares to your old one. Did you get it installed yet? My parents have a gas fireplace that I would like to put a wood burning insert into instead, dropping their heating costs a bunch.

 

[EXCALIBER]

Awww mannnn, I love my Pacific Energy Summit, but I'm starting to get a roving eye.

We have an enclosed All Fuel chimney that is 6". We just are not in the position to tear it all out to install 8" pipe for a King.

It looks like the BK Princess might the next best thing. Would a Princess be able to put out the heat of a Summit?

We are currently heating about 3000 sq. ft. with the Summit. We use about 25 gallons of fuel oil to supplement during the heating season.

From EPA's list
Pacific Energy Fireplace Products Limited
Summit Series A, Summit Insert, Summit Classic and Alderlea T6
3.6 Gram per hour
10300-37500 BTU/HR
63% efficient
Non Catalytic

Blaze King Industries, Inc.
Princess Insert Model PI 1010A
2 Gram per hour
7,200-29,500 BTU/HR
72% efficient
Catalytic

I would say you could probably get away with a princess but 3000 sq ft is a lot for one. I would say you are fairly close on btu's according to EPA between the two stoves. I guess it just depends on how hard you have to run your current stove to heat your home. A princess freestanding stove says 1500+ sq ft so like I said every home is different, just depend on insulation, floor plans, ect. The king freestanding says 2000+ sq ft. I think I would opt for the king if I were you, not sure if they make one in an insert or not.

 

[PA Plumber]

I didn't do a very good job clarifying; we have a free standing stove.
On cold days, the Summit gets burned hard.

I would like to be able to install a King, but our All Fuel chimney is 6".
I don't think the smaller flue is a problem when the King is in Cat Mode, I'm guessing they want it to get the fire going.

 

[STLfirewood]

Do you want my address so you can send that Quadrafire to me? I have a perfect spot for it.

Scott

 

[logbutcher]

ALL Modern EPA wood stoves, insert or stand alone, cat or non-cat, are simple heating devices. They are dependent on flue, quality and species and seasoning of wood, firebox size, internal smoke path(s), and air and internal damper controls. Period. There is no, repeat- NO, magic or extra special engineering involved. And how the H do I know this ? PM for details.

We all have our product enthusiasts- Ford or Subaru, Sig or Glock, Stihl or Husky. The quality, operation, and durability over time are critical. However !----

Now listen: NONE OF THEM WILL CURE STD'S, CANCER, OR DANDRUFF, OR ALLOW YOU TO HAVE INCREDIBLE SEX. There is no violating the Laws of Thermodynamics. Re: no wood stove will produce heat over the enthusiast's claims of 40, 80, 0r 200 hours, or heat the mythical 4000 ft² house. None of them. Not possible.

I'm surprised that the BK people haven't piped up here to temper the enthusiasm of virgin owners with central heating and newly discoverers of wood heat boasting about those 200+ hour "burns". :angry2: "I will love you in the morning dear." Most of us/we wood burners (OWB and gasification furnaces excepted) are happy with those coals in the morning to re load the fire for the day.

BK makes excellent products that work extremely well. So do Pacific Energy, Jotul, Woodstock, Harmon, etc.... Temper it with some experience .....first.:beat_brick:

JMNSHO

 

[EXCALIBER]

Exactly only um Not!

Exactly Wrong. Like I said Butcher go to someone who has a properly installed and running blaze king and see for yourself. As you have never ran one that would be like me saying oh I seen brain surgery on the tv so its just a simple cut and sew nothing special no big deal to it right. So when are we scheduling your brain transplant to one that works? As I have said before try it before you knock it, until then just keep being a troll. All you are really showing is how little you actually know about stoves, and how they work. If they are such an easy thing to build I would like to see the video of the one you have built and will burn like many of the new EPA stoves will (oh almost forgot, post the EPA's test results on efficiency on your stove you built), after all these company's must be really stupid as all of them spent thousands of dollars in testing, research and development. After all, we never walked on the moon, Elvis ain't dead, Non of these stoves work cuz logbutcher said.:welcome::chatter::notrolls2:

Sorry about the interruption in our regularly scheduled programming folks seems we have some technical issues causing lots of static. We hope we have fixed this problem, thanks for your patience. Like I said anyone is welcome to come over to my house and see mine in action but you are going to need to bring your sleeping bag and food will not be served. I am not afraid which should speak volumes. Secondly a friend of mine already took me up on my challenge and now is going to order a new BK sometime next week, he just can't figure out which one he wants. Heck been thinking maybe I should become a dealer for them as these stoves tend to sell themselves once you see them in person being run. Its a thought.

 

[Highbeam]

"There is no, repeat- NO, magic or extra special engineering involved."

I'm sorry you are so unable to see past your nose. The BK stoves have some special engineering that NO other stoves have. They have a thermostatic air control combined with a cat combined with a huge firebox to allow 40 hour burn times on the King model. Yes, 40 hours of heat. Low heat for sure but you put your hootus in that low heat fire and you will be cooked.

Does your homemade stove have a non-electric thermostat? A cat? A heat output range from under 10k btu to 90k btu? I didn't think so but I still expect you to be a hater.

Good times. I don't even own a BK but I can be educated.