Blaze king sirocco/princess vs lopi endeavor

[Sim]

I need to make a decision asap and can't decide between the blaze king vs lopi. The cost is similar for me. I will only be burning well seasoned ponderosa pine. I like the look of the lopi better and id like to watch a fire sometimes which i don't believe the blaze king does, its mostly a black box, but the blaze king seems like it will be easier to operate and require less reloads.

I do have radiant heat as another heat source but hope to use wood as much as possible

Also I've read and talked to a few people that with ponderosa pine, because of the large amounts of pitch it has, when loading a full firebox there are chances of overfiring your typical stove. With the blaze king apparently there are no overfire concerns, is that true?

 

[begreen]

The BK Sirocco is worth a comparison. It will provide a fireview unless turned down low and very slow. With pine, it will provide the longest burn times.

 

[Highbeam]

You can have all the flames you want with the BK, but at that high burn rate it won’t burn for as long as at lower burn rates. You choose what you want and can switch after you get the flame fix if desired.

I burn very pitchy Doug fir and the BK thermostat maintains control.

I had a Lopi and they make nice stoves but are way behind on performance compared to a BK.

 

[Sim]

The BK Sirocco is worth a comparison. It will provide a fireview unless turned down low and very slow. With pine, it will provide the longest burn times.

The BK Sirocco is worth a comparison. It will provide a fireview unless turned down low and very slow. With pine, it will provide the longest burn times.

I was kind of thinking the same that since pine burns fast, blaze king will help extend that out longer. What do you think of the cast iron jacketed ashford vs the steel princess/sirocco? I like the look of the ashford but im worried about the cast iron jacket. Ive read a few people saying they arnt happy with the heat output, but then ive also heard many say it heats a lot. Dont know what to make of that.

 

[Sim]

You can have all the flames you want with the BK, but at that high burn rate it won’t burn for as long as at lower burn rates. You choose what you want and can switch after you get the flame fix if desired.

I burn very pitchy Doug fir and the BK thermostat maintains control.

I had a Lopi and they make nice stoves but are way behind on performance compared to a BK.

Cool, thank you so much for your input. Thats awesome that youve had experience with both and prefer BK. Im leaning that way now. What do you think of the ashford with the cast iron jacket? I like the look much better but worried about a few negative reviews ive read about the heat output. However, it seems overally most are satisifed and say it has plenty so not sure what to make of it.

 

[Highbeam]

Cool, thank you so much for your input. Thats awesome that youve had experience with both and prefer BK. Im leaning that way now. What do you think of the ashford with the cast iron jacket? I like the look much better but worried about a few negative reviews ive read about the heat output. However, it seems overally most are satisifed and say it has plenty so not sure what to make of it.

The ashford30 was made to make an ugly stove line look nice. I have the ugly princess that performs a little bit better and has that nice deep ash belly but lots of people prefer the look of the similar performing ashford. Underneath, the ashford30 is the same 30 box stove as the sirroco and chinook, the difference is exterior decorative cladding. Whether any of these stoves make enough heat depends on your home's needs. It's not the stove's fault that you live in a mansion or a leaky old farmhouse. If your home is appropriately matched to the stove output then the ashford will make plenty of heat. Heck I run my princess on low 95% of the time and enjoy the 24 hour burn cycles like yesterday with bigleaf maple. It's colder in CO but my house is from 1963. When we're in single digits with wind I need to increase the burn rate and throw a few more logs in at the 12 hour point.

The thing about the ashford is the ASS. The Ashford Smoke Smell. You need to be especially certain that your chimney meets the manual's requirements for the chimney. If it's not an excellent chimney system then I'd skip the ashford. All stoves do best on an excellent chimney but it's pretty much required on the ashford.

Skip the 20 box BK stoves, focus on king, princess, and the 30 box freestanding variants.

For purely looks, the hearthstone cast iron stoves look really nice too.

 

[EbS-P]

Ashford 30 for a classic look chinook 30 for a modern look.

 

[begreen]

Ashford 30 for a classic look chinook 30 for a modern look.

And the BK Sirocco for a traditional black steel stove look.

 

[Murray01]

If you’re considering the BK King keep in mind it requires an 8” flue/chimney, depending on your home construction it might be a challenge to adhere to clearance requirements.