Hi all, long time lurker, First post. First, a little background. I've heated with wood full time for approximately 45 years and prefer it over all others. In the house that I'm currently in which is a cape cod style built in 1996 approximately 1600 square feet we heated with a lopi m520 circa 1983 for 23 years and now heat with a blaze king ashford 30 and absolutely love it. what's not to love? It gives long burn times always plenty of coals for a quick restart after adding new wood, catalyst stays in the active zone, the house stays a more even consistent heat with way less work, etc. So, onto the question. I'm in the process of adding a 20'x16' addition, mostly glass exept for a 5' section of wall behind the wood stove, 9' to 12' sloped ceiling adjoined to our dining room with a set of french doors. As the wood stove is a main feature of the room, I was torn between a blaze king sirocco 20/30 or a soapstone stove so in the end I opted for a hearthstone castleton. We are far enough along that I've been using the stove for about 6 weeks as I continue to finish the room. It has a pretty fire, burns well, but the adding of wood often drops the cat out of active, then takes to long to return to active and just consumes to much of my time with the shorter burn cycles and restarts. From that little experiment what I miss most and realize what I want most is 12 hour active catalyst times where we have an active cat and plenty of coals for quicker restarts. My main question is will the sirocco 20 give me legit 12 hour active cat and coals or do I need the 30?
Blaze King Sirocco 20 or 30?
- Thread starter TmanBKAsh30
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The 20 should be able to give you 20 hrs of burn time (as the 30 can do 30).
Of course whether that meets your needs depends on how much heat output you need for the room to be comfortable.
So, the stove is capable, but we can't judge whether that would result in a comfortable room from here.
On the other hand, the lowest output of the 20 and 30 boxes is similar, so why not take the 30 and just have a larger fuel tank?
Of course whether that meets your needs depends on how much heat output you need for the room to be comfortable.
So, the stove is capable, but we can't judge whether that would result in a comfortable room from here.
On the other hand, the lowest output of the 20 and 30 boxes is similar, so why not take the 30 and just have a larger fuel tank?
I appreciate those thoughts. That's pretty much how I'm leaning. I can always put a smaller fire in a bigger stove, but can only go so big in a smaller stove. 
Ha, you should mention that that's based on ideal conditions.
Wood with less density than oak (like our pine)? Lower time.
Larger splits with more room between them? Lower time.
Reload on a bed of hot coals that take up 1/3 of the firebox? Lower time.
These three often come together in my case, which usually gives me 12h of burn time on low heat. Which is totally acceptable for me, but I wouldn't have wanted the smaller firebox.
And as it has been mentioned, the output on low is nearly identical. Unlike on a non-cat, size with a BK corresponds more to "fuel tank size" than heat output.
@TmanBKAsh30, yes, get the 30.
That said, since your extension with a lot of glass sounds like a rather modern style, have you considered the Chinook? I really love that style...
Everything depends on circumstances,. particularly flue and fuel.
Bk tests them with Doug fir though, I believe the numbers are based on that...
I've gone 28 hours on pitch pine, the splits of which were not amenable to getting a nicely tetrised firebox load.
Bk tests them with Doug fir though, I believe the numbers are based on that...
I've gone 28 hours on pitch pine, the splits of which were not amenable to getting a nicely tetrised firebox load.
Thanks Tron. I see you both actually have the chinook. I'm sure any of the blaze kings mentioned would function well and look good in the room. I had a long conversation with Greg V at avon stove and said that if you could take the ashford and install cast iron with soapstone insets in place of the cast iron panels the ashford uses then you'd have the best of both worlds, the beauty of soapstone with the incredible burn of a blaze kin., BKVP, Greg said he might like to talk with you about that, If so, you heard it here first. Love my ashford 30, I run it how it's convenient for me with reload times instead of like many stoves that dictate to you and ultimately run you. If I can figure out adding pics, I'll try to add some of the room and the stoves.
I do have one, yes.
From a functionality standpoint, all 30's stoves are (nearly) identical, all of them will run well.
Aesthetically, it will depend a bit on the room it's in and how that's furnished. If you have an ultra-modern interior design, an Ashford might look a bit out-of-place. As would a Chinook in a traditional farmhouse style home, for example.
The 30 hours is not under ideal conditions. It’s normal stuff. Doug fir even. People that burn oak have gotten way more than 30 hours under ideal conditions.
But yes, always get the 30. Very few times in oddball situations does the 20 sort of get a little bit closer to okay. Price might be cheaper because the dealer can’t move it for example.
But yes, always get the 30. Very few times in oddball situations does the 20 sort of get a little bit closer to okay. Price might be cheaper because the dealer can’t move it for example.
GG Woody
Feeling the Heat
I went with the Ashford 20 for its smaller footprint (and a 30% discount from the store), and because I have a small house (~1200 sqf). I routinely get 12-15 hour burns with the thermostat set to 3:30 or so, depending on outside temp. Yes, I could extend those burns with the 30, but frankly I don't care.
If you do care about maximizing your burn times, yes, go for the 30. Given you're heating 1600 sqf, the larger 30 makes more sense for you anyway. But there is a lot of hate for the 20 fireboxes when its burn times are frankly better than any other non-BK stove and more than suitable for most people.
If you do care about maximizing your burn times, yes, go for the 30. Given you're heating 1600 sqf, the larger 30 makes more sense for you anyway. But there is a lot of hate for the 20 fireboxes when its burn times are frankly better than any other non-BK stove and more than suitable for most people.
Thanks Freak Tractor for the input on the ashford 20. My original post was a little long winded but to recap I heat my 1600 sq ft cape style home with an ashford 30 since 2021 and love it and know what it will do. I'm not thrilled with the amount of time I'm spending and the shorter burn times I'm getting out of a hearthstone castleton in an addition I'm adding to my home. The addition is 320 sq ft, mostly glass and you've confirmed what I suspect that either size will work for the little extra heat I need and still get 12 hour burns and easy relights. I did get an 8 hour burn out of the castleton last night but am spoiled by the set it and forget it simplicity and flexibility of my blazeking.
Sorry, I didn't read your post closely. Yes, 20 firebox will be great for you, I think, especially since it sounds like you'll be running it on low mostly. After my typical 14 hour burns on medium, the cat is still well into the active range and there are plenty of coals for a relight. Sixteen-hour burns are not unheard of when the weather is in the 30s or 40s outside, still with an active cat and coals. If you're running yours on low most of the time, I think you'll easily get 18+ hour burns no problem.
I agree that the 20 box should be more than adequate for your needs. I wonder if you'd be annoyed by having to cut wood shorter for it, however, especially if you're already running a 30 in another part of the house. I'd prefer not to have to have different lengths of wood for different stoves.
Different cats too.
The footprint is no smaller because though the physical stove size is a couple inches less, the 20 has greater clearance requirements.
More firebox space for activities.
Well DG it is less than ideal but also something I am be ok with if it meant having a stove I love in that space versus just another efficient heater. Which is how I ended up with the Castleton. What's not to love about an efficient wood heater but, like many, I've always wanted a soapstone stove and figured after some research that the addition would be the perfect spot for one. The one thing I knew for sure when I purchased that stove was that I would have to cut wood separately for it. I cut 17-19" pieces for the Ashford but the little Castleton prefers a max length of 13". being that I cut , split, then stack into IBC totes , and then can move and stack the totes as needed it's not really an issue. I am still working with the Castleton as I need to get this figured out by tuesday in order to move ahead with completing my project. Yesterday afternoon I tried a top down cold start and that was a vast improvement in the Castleton and then with less than ideal firewood I got my first 10-11 hr overnight burn with reasonable reload this morning, so there may still be hope for the soapstone stove. Conversely I tried a load of my 13" wood in the Ashford just to see how it would burn and what would be left in the morning and as expected the Ashford performed flawlessly.
I'm interested in more of this stove comparison. I have a Hearthstone Craftsbury and while it heats my house fine, the tiny firebox means constant attention and if I stuff the stove full I need to use multiple key dampers to tame the high draft. My possible options for replacement are the Ashford 20,30 or the Castleton. But I haven't found a place near me that stocks any of these stoves. How has the rest of this burn season treated you with these stoves?
It looks like the original poster hasn't signed in in a couple of months. I wonder if it would be worth starting a new thread on your situation so that it would get more attention.
