what is the longest burning wood stove out there ???

[wildbio]

I have the Blaze King Princess model. It is a catalytic combustor model. It has been our main source of heat (2500 sq ft house) since last fall (bought it new last summer). Forty hours as claimed by the manufacturer might be possible (!?!?!?) with a full load of some really dense hardwood set on low but realistically we refill the stove about twice a day. We burn lodgepole pine and Douglas fir almost exclusively. It burns hot but not as long as a hardwood would. The automatic thermostat on the Blaze King works real well and helps the stove maintain a stable temperature output by adjusting the damper as needed (you set it to a temperature level and it "automatically" adjust the damper). This also allows for a good efficient burn....theoretically prolonging the burn time of a given amount of wood by reducing fluctuations.

When it's real cold here (below zero F) we were loading the stove 3 times per 24 hours. When it was real cold and real windy - maybe 4 times. When it's in the upper 20's to 30's (F) we load it first thing in the morning (6am) and don't have to reload it again until going to bed (maybe 10-11pm).

I have no regrets about getting this model. It is a very practical and efficient stove at a good price (about $1500 US retail). Hope the info helps.

 

[KindlingKing]

I have had the Avalon Olympic for the last three winters and can nominally get a 12-hr burn out of it with hardwoods (e.g., oak or locust). The firebox is 3.2 cubic feet and accepts 24 inch logs. It is one of the bigger EPA phase 2 stoves on the market. After 12-hours, I have a bed of coals sufficient to start another log up easily but the stove is usually not putting out a substantial amount of heat for the last two to three hours of burn.

For real cold nights, you can probably only count on the stove getting you buy for about 9 hours with the thermostatically controlled fan running the whole time - pumping out lots of nice warm air. I wish the stove had a bigger fire box but it probably meet emissions requirements.... Besides, my kids never let me sleep 9 hours anymore anyways. The little boy is always up crack o' dawn...

Local firewood tree.. :greenchainsaw: Just kiddin', but sure have been tempted a few times. You still run across these big trees in the woods out here. I'm always thinking of them in terms of cordwood and all...... Last fall I started working on an 8 footer that was left on a log deck (rot in the center) and gave up after cutting a few 18 inch "cookies" off the end. Filled the truck up with some left over.

 

[user 19670]

I have the Blaze King Princess model. It is a catalytic combustor model. It has been our main source of heat (2500 sq ft house) since last fall (bought it new last summer). Forty hours as claimed by the manufacturer might be possible (!?!?!?) with a full load of some really dense hardwood set on low but realistically we refill the stove about twice a day. We burn lodgepole pine and Douglas fir almost exclusively. It burns hot but not as long as a hardwood would. The automatic thermostat on the Blaze King works real well and helps the stove maintain a stable temperature output by adjusting the damper as needed (you set it to a temperature level and it "automatically" adjust the damper). This also allows for a good efficient burn....theoretically prolonging the burn time of a given amount of wood by reducing fluctuations.

When it's real cold here (below zero F) we were loading the stove 3 times per 24 hours. When it was real cold and real windy - maybe 4 times. When it's in the upper 20's to 30's (F) we load it first thing in the morning (6am) and don't have to reload it again until going to bed (maybe 10-11pm).

I have no regrets about getting this model. It is a very practical and efficient stove at a good price (about $1500 US retail). Hope the info helps.

Went to the Blaze King site and looked at your stove. The next biggest is the King and I quote:
"the King can burn up to 40 hours on a low setting. Produces up to 47,000 Btu’s and efficiencies as high as 82.5%!"

I dunno but 40 hours sounds like an inflated estimate at best and it sure wouldn't be putting out 47,000 BTUs at that setting.

Every installation has its own challenges to overcome and the number of variables that can effect the length of burn are many. Like you often read in USENET "Your mileage may vary".

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

When it's in the upper 20's to 30's (F) we load it first thing in the morning (6am) and don't have to reload it again until going to bed (maybe 10-11pm).

That's what I do with my old, un-EPA, no fancy automatic damper Fisher!


Of course, I'm burning mostly oak, and some poplar thrown in here and there. I save the occasional locust for the really cold nights.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Besides, my kids never let me sleep 9 hours anymore anyways. The little boy is always up crack o' dawn...

Welcome to fatherhood! 9 hours? What's that?




Good looking kids, though. Take after their mom, I guess? :monkey:

Local firewood tree.. Just kiddin', but sure have been tempted a few times. You still run across these big trees in the woods out here.

Man, that is a gorgeous tree! Enjoy it! Teach your children to appreciate it!

 

[wildbio]

Went to the Blaze King site and looked at your stove. The next biggest is the King and I quote:
"the King can burn up to 40 hours on a low setting. Produces up to 47,000 Btu’s and efficiencies as high as 82.5%!"

I dunno but 40 hours sounds like an inflated estimate at best and it sure wouldn't be putting out 47,000 BTUs at that setting.

Every installation has its own challenges to overcome and the number of variables that can effect the length of burn are many. Like you often read in USENET "Your mileage may vary".

I agree

 

[hanko]

I can say emphatically that it is not the Jotul Oslo. An excellent stove, but has to be crammed full and dampered down to get through a cold night with a strong draw up the chimney and still have enough coals to fire up in the morning.

One of the problems with any EPA certified stove is that the stoves are, by design, not fully airtight to prevent the smoldering that was common on the "long burn" stoves before the EPA got involved.

well I disagree, mine goes all night plenty of coals left after 7 or 8 hrs. Its been down to 10 a couple of times sense I have put my oslo in and no problem keeping my 1600 ft house 72 or better all night. maybe you need new windows, or better wood, or something

 

[hanko]

Not a stove but a boiler...I have gotten 40 hours plus from my OWB...10 degree weather...dropped the house temp to 68, packed it full on friday evening and still had 170 degrees on Sunday afternoon.
Weather above 30 degrees I easily can get 40 hours packing it tight. Seasoned ash/oak/cherry.

Im sure you can also pack about a whole cord in the OWB too. Common guys let compare apples for apples. If I lit my who wood pile on fire it would probably last 40 too

 

[hanko]

You aren't supposed to share a flue between an oil furnace and a wood burning appliance. Don't know why for sure but know that it is forbidden around these parts.

Gordie, that picture looks obcene. what the hell is that. I dont want to show the wood stove slave, she might want to move in with you

 

[bassman]

so I guess when it comes to burn time it's all about a huge firebox and a decent design.
buy the biggest stove I can find and fill it with good hardwood.
thanks

 

[KindlingKing]

Welcome to fatherhood! 9 hours? What's that?




Good looking kids, though. Take after their mom, I guess? :monkey:





Man, that is a gorgeous tree! Enjoy it! Teach your children to appreciate it!

They definitely take after their mom. She is a beauty and I married up.

 

[WidowMaker]

I have a "Clone " of a Blaze King that was built by the local Community College welding class several years ago, It will easily go for 15 to 18 hrs on a full load of Red Fir, Doug Fir, Tammarack, or fruit wood. However it is not EPA friendly, so sadly it sits used.

 

[bassman]

Is the blaze king not a cat stove??
whatever stove I upgrade to will be big as I think that is the only way to get long burn times.
I am having a hard time getting long burn time kinds of wood so I sometime think paying a gas bill is better than paying too much for crappy wood.

 

[user 19670]

I have a "Clone " of a Blaze King that was built by the local Community College welding class several years ago, It will easily go for 15 to 18 hrs on a full load of Red Fir, Doug Fir, Tammarack, or fruit wood. However it is not EPA friendly, so sadly it sits used.

THAT is a testimonial for sure. The wood in your example isn't known for long burns.

 

[WidowMaker]

Is the blaze king not a cat stove??
whatever stove I upgrade to will be big as I think that is the only way to get long burn times.
I am having a hard time getting long burn time kinds of wood so I sometime think paying a gas bill is better than paying too much for crappy wood.

===
Basman,
yes the current Blaze King is a "Cat" stove. I'm not sure they were at the time, late 70's early 80's, and my clone was not a cat stove and it was/is a "Air Tight" stove, as well as having a huge fire box. Were it not for the Air Nazis I'd still be burning it...


unforunately I/we of the PNW do not have the readily available, unlimited supply of great hard woods you midwest and left coasters do...

 

[blis]

just out of curiosity, why in hell would anyone need +2h burn times ever for any reason?

 

[wildbio]

I just located the tag that came with my Blaze King Princess and it list the burn time as up to 20 hrs. This is more reasonable for sure. I mean if you have a few hot coals left at 20 hours then it is still burning right?

Bigger boxes may mean more burn time but not necessarily. I looked at both the King and Princess model. The bigger box of the King was appealing but one needs to consider that with a cat stove it is important to keep the cat active which requires a certain temperature. If the stove is not kept in that active zone then additional creosote is deposited in the chimney and the stove burns less efficiently (more smoke/emissions going up the chimney). For us the King model was overkill....we'd have to keep it fired up at a level (to keep the cat active) that would make our livingroom (where the stove is located) too hot/uncomfortable......which would also result in greater wood consumption (and shorter burn times). Our house is a 1920's farm house w/ poor insulation, lots of drafts, and is located in a cold and very windy location.....and the Princess model worked great for us. Another factor in our choice was that the King requires an 8 inch flue which is more expensive than the 6 inch that the Princess takes (and we needed a new chimney at the same time). Plus with an 8 inch flue it is harder to maintain a good draft in the chimney.

Our stove dealer see many people that go the "bigger is better" route having problems with frequent catalytic combustor replacement and excessive creosote deposits because they don't keep the stove fired up (for the reasons mentioned above).

 

[dumbhunter]

comparing apples to whiskey

here in missouri i dont think epa is much concern yet, i use an old johnson, i think it will take a 24" stick 12" thick if i could fit it. i fill it before bedtime and wake up warm, my folks has stove half my size and it burns hotter than mine, it is a cat stove, but burn time is not as long. and then there is my buddy, he has an old homemade jobber made from an old barrel, not like the new 55 gal, but it is tapered on both ends like a keg. he gets alot of heat, and excellent burn times. not kid friendly as you get to close you will get burned. a small fan behind it to circulate the heat and he leaves a window open to keep from overheating his house.

and we all burn the same wood and its seasoned the same lenght of time as we get it from the same place.

to many factors can determine the burn time.

 

[wireedm]

just out of curiosity, why in hell would anyone need +2h burn times ever for any reason?

Hmmmm......A good nights rest maybe? lol

 

[arojay]

Does anyone have any experience with Benjamin boilers, made in Nova Scotia I think. They have straight wood and wood oil combos.