Decided on a Blaze King stove last year...My thoughts...

[Northof49th]

First off, thank you to everyone who posted answers to my questions regarding wood stoves, this is a great community!
I had done more research than I'd like to admit, but I planned on using my stove often, and wanted the best choice for my situation. I had a few different options but decided on the Blaze King Sirocco 30.

First, some details: house was built in 1969, bungalow, a little drafty upstairs, downstairs, recently renovated where I spend most of my time, and that's where the stove went.
With the help of some friends, we installed it ourselves.

I love the simplicity of the stove, with the thermostat control. It's a nice even heat. I've experienced stoves that put out much more heat, but it's too uncomfortable, and the stove is out of wood in an hour or 2. The longest burn time I've had is probably close to 18-20 hours. I'm sure it could reach the 30 hour mark under ideal conditions.
The glass smokes up rather quickly in the corners, but I don't mind, the stove is for practical use.
Because of the age of the house, insulation, and other factors, etc, I can get away with not using my furnace for temperatures outside that reach down to minus 15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit). (Although I should mention that I turn the furnace on only if I'm upstairs for a long period of time. When we hit a cold spell of minus 40 for about 2 weeks straight, I ran the wood stove non-stop and didn't bother having my furnace on when I was in the basement, the stove kept the temps perfect.)
There is a little bit of a learning curve with running the stove, but it comes quickly.

My experience shopping for stoves was ok. The 2 other dealers for stoves I had checked out didn't recommend Blaze King. "Some people don't like the cat" "The version we sell is much better", etc. Even the Blaze King dealer I went to said take what salesmen's say with a grain of salt. (He actually told me whatever the manufacturer says of the burn time of all stoves, cut it in half and that is more reasonable).
Of course, the first 2 dealers didn't sell Blaze King stoves. The first dealer I went to eventually did, and of course now they recommend one!

The other thing I noticed about Blaze King stoves is this (and it's completely anecdotal):
Of all my research, which includes this site, FB, Youtube, it seems customer satisfaction with BK stoves are higher than any other brand. Every manufacturer of stove is going to get some gripes about their product, no matter how good it is. Even BK. No stove is perfect. But that being said, I found the BK community the most satisfied with their product.

Anyway, thanks again for all the help!

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Congrats on your new BK!

Like you, I have a Sirocco 30.2 and had it installed late spring, so didnt get to use it much. The shop I bought it from was trying to sell me on the 20.2, but I work long shifts and wanted the option to load it up, turn it down and get longer burns. They kept telling me at the shop that I'd heat myself out of the house with the 30.2, but that didn't make sense. Only difference isa larger firebox on the 30.2, and you can always load it less, but you can't load more than what they stove will hold if you go smaller. Thanks to the folks here on this site telling me go bigger. I've really been enjoying my Sirocco 30.2.

 

[stoveliker]

It is my experience that the burn times (measured as to when the cat drops out of the active range) is indeed 30 hrs. If course with that very low heat output. Not "cut in half" 15 hrs.

(In fact with a stove Tetris load of red oak without sapwood or bark, I got 36-37 hrs).

All depends on how you define burn time, and the install specs (draft). But I don't think BK inflated their numbers.

 

[BKVP]

First off, thank you to everyone who posted answers to my questions regarding wood stoves, this is a great community!
I had done more research than I'd like to admit, but I planned on using my stove often, and wanted the best choice for my situation. I had a few different options but decided on the Blaze King Sirocco 30.

First, some details: house was built in 1969, bungalow, a little drafty upstairs, downstairs, recently renovated where I spend most of my time, and that's where the stove went.
With the help of some friends, we installed it ourselves.

I love the simplicity of the stove, with the thermostat control. It's a nice even heat. I've experienced stoves that put out much more heat, but it's too uncomfortable, and the stove is out of wood in an hour or 2. The longest burn time I've had is probably close to 18-20 hours. I'm sure it could reach the 30 hour mark under ideal conditions.
The glass smokes up rather quickly in the corners, but I don't mind, the stove is for practical use.
Because of the age of the house, insulation, and other factors, etc, I can get away with not using my furnace for temperatures outside that reach down to minus 15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit). (Although I should mention that I turn the furnace on only if I'm upstairs for a long period of time. When we hit a cold spell of minus 40 for about 2 weeks straight, I ran the wood stove non-stop and didn't bother having my furnace on when I was in the basement, the stove kept the temps perfect.)
There is a little bit of a learning curve with running the stove, but it comes quickly.

My experience shopping for stoves was ok. The 2 other dealers for stoves I had checked out didn't recommend Blaze King. "Some people don't like the cat" "The version we sell is much better", etc. Even the Blaze King dealer I went to said take what salesmen's say with a grain of salt. (He actually told me whatever the manufacturer says of the burn time of all stoves, cut it in half and that is more reasonable).
Of course, the first 2 dealers didn't sell Blaze King stoves. The first dealer I went to eventually did, and of course now they recommend one!

The other thing I noticed about Blaze King stoves is this (and it's completely anecdotal):
Of all my research, which includes this site, FB, Youtube, it seems customer satisfaction with BK stoves are higher than any other brand. Every manufacturer of stove is going to get some gripes about their product, no matter how good it is. Even BK. No stove is perfect. But that being said, I found the BK community the most satisfied with their product.

Anyway, thanks again for all the help!

View attachment 331032

We're glad you are enjoying it...But the neon sign is awesome!

BKVP

 

[Northof49th]

It is my experience that the burn times (measured as to when the cat drops out of the active range) is indeed 30 hrs. If course with that very low heat output. Not "cut in half" 15 hrs.

(In fact with a stove Tetris load of red oak without sapwood or bark, I got 36-37 hrs).

All depends on how you define burn time, and the install specs (draft). But I don't think BK inflated their numbers.

No, I don't think they inflated their numbers either, maybe the salesman was just referring to real-world usage? In my case, was closer to 12-15 hours. I also rarely have the thermostat below half. I'll tinker with a couple of things this winter, see if I can extend it.

 

[Northof49th]

Congrats on your new BK!

Like you, I have a Sirocco 30.2 and had it installed late spring, so didnt get to use it much. The shop I bought it from was trying to sell me on the 20.2, but I work long shifts and wanted the option to load it up, turn it down and get longer burns. They kept telling me at the shop that I'd heat myself out of the house with the 30.2, but that didn't make sense. Only difference isa larger firebox on the 30.2, and you can always load it less, but you can't load more than what they stove will hold if you go smaller. Thanks to the folks here on this site telling me go bigger. I've really been enjoying my Sirocco 30.2.

I agree with you, I also was looking at the 20, but decided to go larger..Maybe with a non-cat stove a 20 would make more sense? Either way, I'm happy with the larger stove.

 

[Northof49th]

We're glad you are enjoying it...But the neon sign is awesome!

BKVP

Thank you, it is!

 

[Tron]

No, I don't think they inflated their numbers either, maybe the salesman was just referring to real-world usage?

A lot of it depends on the wood. Of course BK wants the highest numbers possible, so for their tests they cram it to the brim with the densest wood they can find. Is that practical and real-life? Probably not. But it's not exaggerated, either.

We mostly have pine down here, and I'm not the guy to rummage through the firewood stack to find a piece that fits into the little void that's left (i.e, Tetris). And turned down, it easily lasts most of the day, depending on outside temperatures.

 

[BKVP]

A lot of it depends on the wood. Of course BK wants the highest numbers possible, so for their tests they cram it to the brim with the densest wood they can find. Is that practical and real-life? Probably not. But it's not exaggerated, either.

We mostly have pine down here, and I'm not the guy to rummage through the firewood stack to find a piece that fits into the little void that's left (i.e, Tetris). And turned down, it easily lasts most of the day, depending on outside temperatures.

Actually, we use Douglas Fir. Checking a specific gravity chart, there are far more dense fuels, oak, maple, hickory, locust, walnut, etc. We DO use large pieces to reduce surface area, but as you may have seen, some folks get longer burn times when they have access to "dense" fuels.

BKVP

 

[Northof49th]

Actually, we use Douglas Fir. Checking a specific gravity chart, there are far more dense fuels, oak, maple, hickory, locust, walnut, etc. We DO use large pieces to reduce surface area, but as you may have seen, some folks get longer burn times when they have access to "dense" fuels.

BKVP

I use a mix of Tamarack and Birch, and after the first load I'd try and put in full logs. I have access to a lot of 10x10 Spruce, going to cut them to size and see how long they burn for.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

A lot of it depends on the wood. Of course BK wants the highest numbers possible, so for their tests they cram it to the brim with the densest wood they can find. Is that practical and real-life? Probably not. But it's not exaggerated, either.

We mostly have pine down here, and I'm not the guy to rummage through the firewood stack to find a piece that fits into the little void that's left (i.e, Tetris). And turned down, it easily lasts most of the day, depending on outside temperatures.

I agree, I can't imagine getting a 30 hour burn with my 30.2, but it does last me long enough to leave from the house for 14+ hours, easily. I leave at 9:00am and get back home at 10:45-11:00pm. My house is still warm with coals going strong and the CAT still in the active zone. I'm also burning juniper though, which does burn hot, but it's not the easiest to load the stove super full. For sure there are voids because of the shape of juniper splits that are all over the place. I could load smaller splits, but guessing they'd burn faster or try to load as many larger pieces with more potential voids. Six and one half, a dozen theater I guess, but still no complaints and been very happy.

 

[Tron]

I could load smaller splits, but guessing they'd burn faster

In a conventional stove, they would. In a cat stove, the thermostat regulates burn rate by adjusting oxygen flow.
The smaller splits might off-gas a little faster in the beginning of the cycle, but later on it doesn't matter.

But of course larger splits contain less "air" in between them, leading to a fire box loaded with more wood by weight, and thus more fuel.

 

[stoveliker]

In a conventional stove, they would. In a cat stove, the thermostat regulates burn rate by adjusting oxygen flow.

I believe that is only in a BK cat stove - and I think there is one other with a thermostat.
That is not a common (or necessary) feature of cat stoves.

 

[Tron]

I believe that is only in a BK cat stove - and I think there is one other with a thermostat.
That is not a common (or necessary) feature of cat stoves.

Of course.
I admit I only know my BK, so I didn't know other cat stoves don't have one.

 

[Highbeam]

I believe that is only in a BK cat stove - and I think there is one other with a thermostat.
That is not a common (or necessary) feature of cat stoves.

From what I recall, no others have a functional thermostat that regulates stove temperature. There was/is a VC that had a thermostat type control on the primary air only.

 

[GerryM]

I had my chimney cleaned last year and the guy worked for the Blaze King dealer. I have a Napoleon 1400 that I am very satisfied with. He used to have one, but bought a Blaze King and never looked back. I asked about the burn time and efficiency and he advised it was true, especially the claim of using much less wood.
I keep my gaskets up to date and can get an overnight or all day burn of 10-12 hours. But 24 would be amazing. Maybe when I feel the need to upgrade...... Attached a pic of the place taken last weekend also, on a lake 2 1/2 hours from my house. I spend alot of time there.....

 

[stoveliker]

As long as the stove you have does what you need it to do, it's not worth getting any other stove. Dream on and keep your $$ in your pocket

 

[Tron]

As long as the stove you have does what you need it to do, it's not worth getting any other stove. Dream on and keep your $$ in your pocket

But you know, the worst enemy of a good thing is a better thing ;-)

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm on my 11th season with my princess and this year seems to be the best year so far, difference? I started splitting big, I have a lot of dead ash and cherry by me, 3 years ago I started cutting things down as they fell or broke off, kept the split big, like 6-8" thick, most of the cherry just stayed in log form, as well as the smaller diameter ash and ash branches, they sat in my woodshed for 2 full summers, its dry and burning them is quite a pleasure, I can fit 2 big logs and then 1 or 2 smaller splits of hickory, we had 2 cold snaps so far with temps in the teens at night, (this morning its 12) house is very warm.
In total for the 10 years I've replaced my cat 3 times, my normal burn season is 24/7 Nov - April, the stoves variable controls help, call for big heat and have a normal 8-9 hour burn, warmer conditions get 18-24hrs a burn by turning it down, the stove works for me, when its time to replace the stove, I'll upgrade to a King (bigger fuel tank)

 

[all night moe]

I'm on my 11th season with my princess and this year seems to be the best year so far, difference? I started splitting big, I have a lot of dead ash and cherry by me, 3 years ago I started cutting things down as they fell or broke off, kept the split big, like 6-8" thick, most of the cherry just stayed in log form, as well as the smaller diameter ash and ash branches, they sat in my woodshed for 2 full summers, its dry and burning them is quite a pleasure, I can fit 2 big logs and then 1 or 2 smaller splits of hickory, we had 2 cold snaps so far with temps in the teens at night, (this morning its 12) house is very warm.
In total for the 10 years I've replaced my cat 3 times, my normal burn season is 24/7 Nov - April, the stoves variable controls help, call for big heat and have a normal 8-9 hour burn, warmer conditions get 18-24hrs a burn by turning it down, the stove works for me, when its time to replace the stove, I'll upgrade to a King (bigger fuel tank)

Love those Princess stoves