I've had a Princess since 2004. Never did any maintenance on the cat. Burn from November to mid April, never goes out. Replaced the cat twice in twenty years, mainly just because I thought I should. We burn nothing but pine (all we can get), usually about a year old. I clean the chimney once a year in summer and get about one to two cups of soot. Usually, around Christmas, I climb up and clean the soot off the cap. Replace the door gasket about every other year, and the bypass gasket around every five years. Other than that...nothing. Empty ash at the end of the burning season.
Regarding installing the blaze king wood insert. If the insert requires a 15 degree angle to go up the chimney will that affect the stove function? We’re looking at getting the princess..
Is it true that the cast iron top of the Ashford can be removed if you wanted to cook on it? Not that I would regularly do that, but in an emergency situation where there is no power I'd like to use the stove for cooking.
in an emergency its certainly possible, if you remove the top of the ashford its basically a skillet built in! not that I would suggest cooking directly on your blazing!
Clean out the ash every couple months?? Not sure what kind of wood you use but I have to clean the ash out every 3-4 days. I was told to not run the Princess too hot for too long or it would burn out the catalyst??
Our Blaze King Princess is 20 years old… just replaced the original ceramic catalytic combustor today. No cracks or crumblings… just not as efficient as it used to be.
I've had a Princess since 2004. Never did any maintenance on the cat. Burn from November to mid April, never goes out. Replaced the cat twice in twenty years, mainly just because I thought I should. We burn nothing but pine (all we can get), usually about a year old. I clean the chimney once a year in summer and get about one to two cups of soot. Usually, around Christmas, I climb up and clean the soot off the cap. Replace the door gasket about every other year, and the bypass gasket around every five years. Other than that...nothing. Empty ash at the end of the burning season.
Great information. Many thanks.
Regarding installing the blaze king wood insert. If the insert requires a 15 degree angle to go up the chimney will that affect the stove function? We’re looking at getting the princess..
thats a fairly minor adjustment in angle I can't imagine you would even notice. fairly standard on inserts. you'll love it! amazing inserts!
Is it true that the cast iron top of the Ashford can be removed if you wanted to cook on it? Not that I would regularly do that, but in an emergency situation where there is no power I'd like to use the stove for cooking.
in an emergency its certainly possible, if you remove the top of the ashford its basically a skillet built in! not that I would suggest cooking directly on your blazing!
Clean out the ash every couple months?? Not sure what kind of wood you use but I have to clean the ash out every 3-4 days. I was told to not run the Princess too hot for too long or it would burn out the catalyst??
I was told the opposite (run it hot)
@@timberland2862i run mine hot… and got 20 years out of the original catalytic combustor.
I cannot for the life of me find out what the interior bottom middle block in the middle of the bricks is for?
Ok, I prematurely asked that! Lol so moving right along.. does it need to stay in to plug the hole while burning wood?
yes for sure you woudnt want burning ash to drop into the ash drawer. it is the ash hole to clean out the stove if required!
@@cameroncontractingltd Thanks! Just got this new wood stove and never had this type before. I felt better to look silly than to cause a 🔥 🏠🙂
Our Blaze King Princess is 20 years old… just replaced the original ceramic catalytic combustor today. No cracks or crumblings… just not as efficient as it used to be.