Blaze king chinook 20 or 30

[fire slave]

Hi , I’ve recently moved, and miss my blaze king princess.
My new place has a secondary wood burner. The house is a carriage house, double garage shop with living space above , around 1000 sq feet., the stove is in the living room on second floor. With about 150 sq feet at first level. Entrance and laundry.
I’m sick of the secondary burner. It burns too quick. And over heats my space. It’s very well insulated and newer home.
I’m guessing all I’ll need is the chinook 20, but have read some people say the 30 is better and can accommodate small fires. Being only 1000 sq ft and open concept would I be happy with the 20?

 

[Nigel459]

Off the bat, I'd say the 20.

But if the 30 fits and doesn't look too huge in the space, it is indeed arguable due to the larger "fuel tank".

The large fuel tank can be a pro and a con tho in my view, from cold you have to get that larger stove up to temp and then run it till it's empty... You say yours is a newer home and very well insulated, and at 1000sf your heating needs are not huge, unless you're in northern BC instead of coastal...

I run a Sirocco 20 at my lake place, 1500 sf 1982 build, and sure, in the dead of winter -20 I reload at maybe 8 hrs instead of the 12 hrs I might with a 30 box... in shoulder season it's an easy 20hrs.

 

[fire slave]

I’m definitely leaning towards the 20. I think the 30 might look big, the existing stove has about same fire box size. 1.8 cu ft.
If I could dial down the burns in the stove I’d keep it for the season. But it so unpredictable. And mostly burns hot , unless I snuff out early. But then I’m sure I’m just building up creosote. The wood is 2 +year old white birch and some fir mixed in.

 

[Diabel]

30!
Go big or go home!

 

[jetsam]

With BK, I'd never tell someone to get the smaller stove unless it's a clearance thing. Get the big one, turn it down, reload less, have more capacity when you need it.

 

[fire slave]

Also wondering with my place being very tight , when starting a fire , I had to make sure the dryer or kitchen/ bathroom fans are not running. When the fire was established there were never problems. With lower burning temps of blaze kings , will my draft be strong enough to withstand the fans on?

 

[jetsam]

Also wondering with my place being very tight , when starting a fire , I had to make sure the dryer or kitchen/ bathroom fans are not running. When the fire was established there were never problems. With lower burning temps of blaze kings , will my draft be strong enough to withstand the fans on?

Save yourself a bunch of hassle and get an outside air kit.

 

[Highbeam]

30 of course. The 20 has a higher minimum burn rate so it is almost never the better choice. I don’t really know why they even have the 20 stoves.

I see in your photo that you’re stove is on the low point of your roof and single story. You’re going to have a really hard time getting the 15’ minimum chimney.

 

[fire slave]

It is on at the low point but I think I have close to 15. Maybe 14ft. I’ll try and measure.

 

[fire slave]

Will the stove not draft properly without the 15 feet? I guess I could always add more later if I need.

 

[Highbeam]

Will the stove not draft properly without the 15 feet? I guess I could always add more later if I need.

Especially with the ashford, these 30/20 box stoves need a good draft to avoid smoke spillage and stink. I would insist on 15’ of all vertical stack as a minimum on a 30 box.

The problem with just adding more pipe is that you need a brace on the roof for every 5 feet above the roof deck. Then you need to think about access to the cap for cleaning if you use a screen for some crazy reason.

Also, I find it unattractive to have a freaking radio tower sized pipe sticking up above the roof and that pipe will be up in the cold air.

It’s always better to run the majority of the stack in the heated part of the home including the attic. If need be, can you move the stove towards the ridge of the roof?

 

[fire slave]

No, I’m not moving the stove. The place is small and set up as is. 980 sq ft up. And 180 in the laundry. I think I have almost 15 ft. There’s 6 feet to my inside ceiling and there’s a a 48 inch and 18 inch piece of above the the flashing cap. And then the flash cap looks like it’s about 12-16” until the roof. Then another 12 16 inch in the vaulted ceiling.

 

[fire slave]

Worst case. I’ll just use this stove.
I’m having two fires a day every 12 hours , and burning only 2-3 chunks of wood plus kindling. I just hate having to start a fire every day. I had left over coals this morning after 9 hours. But it was too early to keep the fire going. My place holds the heat very well.

 

[Highbeam]

Sounds like you should have a roof brace already. Required at 5’ above the roofline.

Then you could chuck that 18” piece and put on a 3 or 4’ length to get a solid 15’.

Usually this isn’t so important but these bk stoves have such low flue temperatures that they need a tall stack to keep things moving. It’s very much worth the hassle if you can use a long burning stove. I reload once per day!

 

[AlbergSteve]

I would go with the 30. Bigger fuel tank , bigger door opening, and even though it's 3'' wider and 2'' deeper than the 20, clearance requirements are 2'' smaller for the 30 so it sits on a similar overall foot print to the 20.

 

[fire slave]

My other house i now rent has a princess. I enjoyed that stove. It was a bungalow with 1000 sq ft per floor with the stove on the basement. I usually ran 12 hour cycles in the winter. But I think in this place I’ll get 24 hours easily.
I do have a roof brace , maybe I’ll try it without the extra piece and see how the draft is.