Need help! Will a Blaze King Sirroco 20 or 30 be too Large for my place?

[Chamel]

Hi everyone. Hope everyone is well and getting ready for burning soon. I'll try to make this short. I am looking to purchase a new wood stove as my primary heat source and was hoping to get some of your help and opinions. I currently own a PE vista and it does a great job of heating the place. But the burn times are way too short and it puts out too much heat all at once. I'm tired of constantly reloading it, then after sleeping or getting back from work there is no coals left to restart the fire and the place is freezing cold. Lots of times a have to make two fires a day. It's such a challenge to heat a small place!

I think a stove that would be capable of putting out heat at a lower steadier rate and that had longer burn times would solve a lot of my problems. I researched and found that a catalytic stove would fit the bill. I also would need a tight clearance stove. After researching I'm really having my heart set on a Blaze King Sirocco 20 or 30. I'm a little intimidated because I've never owned a catalytic stove but I'm willing to learn. I was all set to get the Sirocco 20 when I saw that it only takes 16 logs max.(can anyone confirm that? Is that east to west or north to south? And can you load the other way?) All of my wood is a average of 16.5 to 18 inches. So I would have cut all the wood to 16. Will true 16 inch firewood be difficult to find? I don't want to have to go through the cords year after year cutting all the slightly oversized logs. Or do I get the Socorro 30, which can take 18 inch logs. My only problem with the Sirocco 30 is will it be too large for my small place? I'm worried that I'll never use it on the higher settings and have a lot more creosote build up. Any opinions appreciated as soon as possible before all the sales end.

Area I'm trying to heat is an insulated second floor of about 800sqft with 8ft ceilings. Below is a unheated and uninsulated garage. Above the second floor is small uninsulated attic. The stove would be in the 20x12 living room in the corner. I have about 15 1/2ft of chimney total. About 5 feet of DVL double wall from stove to the ceiling. The rest is insulated double wall class A. About 3ft resides in the attic and 7ft is outside the roof with no chase. I would probably need to get two 45 degrees DVL's to pull the stove a few more inches away from the corner to meet clearances.

Opinions? Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[tarzan]

The 30 would be better in every way.

Don't worry about creosote from burning low, this is where a cat stove shines and the 30 can burn at lower BTU's than the 20. And yes, burn times will amaze you!

 

[begreen]

Agreed. I'd get the 30. By the description this is a cold place with a lot of heat loss. Using double-wall stove pipe to connect to the chimney will keep the flue gases hotter, reducing the chance for creosote buildup. And burn fully seasoned wood.

 

[Chamel]

Thanks for your opinions! I mapped it out. It's a huge stove. I have a few questions about the clearances of the floor protection I need help with. The manual states that "If the stove sits on a combustible floor, a non-combustible shield must be used underneath the stove and extending 16" out from the front and 8" on either side of the fuel-loading door in the USA. I don't understand where the 8" is. Is it just to the side of the loading door opening or the running along the whole side depth of the stove? I don't see a letter that corresponds to it on the drawings. Also I'm assuming all these clearances are with double walled pipe? It doesn't really state that in the manual. Just want to make sure I get the clearances correct. Thanks for your help.

Here's the page from the manual:
Edit: picture might be too small to read.
Link to the manual: (broken link removed to http://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/manuals/OM-SC30-E.pdf)
It's on page 12 and 13.

 

[begreen]

All it needs is ember protection at the prescribed minimum dimensions or larger.

Ember protection shield (not required to have an insulation value) is to be listed under UL 1618-2009 (type 1) and must have a minimum size of:
In USA: 35” x 42 1/8” (889 x 1070 mm)
In Canada: 45 1/2” x 52 1/8” (1156 x 1324 mm)

 

[Chamel]

All it needs is ember protection at the prescribed minimum dimensions or larger.

Ember protection shield (not required to have an insulation value) is to be listed under UL 1618-2009 (type 1) and must have a minimum size of:
In USA: 35” x 42 1/8” (889 x 1070 mm)
In Canada: 45 1/2” x 52 1/8” (1156 x 1324 mm)

Thanks Begree I understand it now. I have one more question. I'm doing a corner installation. What is considered the corner of the stove?
I circled the areas in the picture. Red or blue circle?

 

[begreen]

Corner dimension "E" is measured from the blue circle in the documentation. Of course it doesn't hurt to exceed these specs.

 

[dh1989]

The 20 or 30 will be fine. They both have about the same low burn output but the 30 has the larger firebox, meaning longer burn times. I have the Sirocco 20 heating a little over 900 sqft of my upstairs. For shoulder season burns I just ran small loads on low and let it go out. The house holds heat to the next day. During deep winter when it was in the teens outside I filled it up and never had the thermostat higher than half way.

I would have gone with the 30 but my space was limited (see my avatar picture).

 

[Chamel]

Thanks guys for the opinions and help. It's so stressful buying a new stove. Maybe I'm overthinking it. I went out to look at some dealers to see the sirocco 30 in person. Gosh its big compared to the PE vista! A lot of the dealers said it would be too large for my apartment. I keep thinking that too. Here's a more detailed layout of my place. Also I'm concerned of the amount of chimney exposed to the outside and the creosote potential. With the vista I did get a little papery brown creosote underneath the cap and top 1 foot of chimney. Nothing major though. Maybe I should look for a smaller catalytic stove. Are there any other catalytic stoves with good burn times and low output? I was looking at woodstocks too, but they seem awfully heavy for a second floor.

Here's pics of what I'm trying to heat, chimney, and my lame mock-up of sirocco with cardboard. I know I would have to make the hearth pad a bit larger for the sirocco

 

[begreen]

What is important is the BTU output on a low setting. In this case the additional firebox size does not necessarily mean more heat, it means more reserve capacity. It will only provide more heat if the thermostat is turned up and more air is delivered to the fire. Unlike the Vista the BK will burn at a low steady state continually. But if you want to compromise and space is tight get the smaller Sirocco 20.

 

[Highbeam]

Be careful on to check clearances between the 20 and 30. One member reported that larger clearance requirements on the 20 means the smaller 20 actually took up more space.

Oh and don't expect the dealer to understand how bk stoves burn. They are salesmen and probably have never run a bk.

 

[dh1989]

What helped me a lot was to use the clearances in the stove manual to make a mock hearthpad out of craft paper. You could align your mock stove with it and have a good idea of where you stand. The great thing about these stoves is that they only require an ember pad, which sits nice and flush with your existing floor. If your existing hearth is too small for the clearances and floor space is a concern you could get an 1/8" steel pad that sits virtually flush with the floor and isn't a trip hazard.

 

[Chamel]

Ok I'm feeling more convinced to get the sirocco 30. The 20 would basically take the stove out to the same area because of larger corner clearances for it. So basically the difference between these two is the capacity for long burn time. Thanks for the all info and suggestions. Does anyone know how hot the stovetop is on low? Does the whole stove get similar temperature or does it just get hot where the cat is? I'm just trying to get the idea of how much heat this will put out on low. Thanks everyone for all your help.

 

[tarzan]

If I remember right, about 12,000 btu's on low. On low the cat will be doing most of the work so the area just above the cat will be the hottest. In my experience with the Princess (same size stove, a little different design) it is hard to get this area bellow 600F for the first few hours of a burn with a new cat. This is do to an overactive cat mixed with the off gassing of a fresh load. In time, the cat will settle in and temps of about 400F just above the cat should be doable.

Keep in mind though, this is a hot spot just above the cat when your running on low. The rest of the stove will be signifantly cooler. 12,000 btu's is pretty much electric space heater territory.

 

[Highbeam]

The 20 would basically take the stove out to the same area because of larger corner clearances for it. So basically the difference between these two is the capacity for long burn time.

I'm glad you were able to see the clearance oddity with the 20. Smaller stove but bigger clearance requirements mean it's actually not smaller.

Not only that but the 30 box has a lower minimum burn rate, a much higher max burn rate, and 50% longer burn time at any given output rate.

I really think the 20 was a mistake. They should have spent that time making a 40!

 

[dh1989]

Ok I'm feeling more convinced to get the sirocco 30. The 20 would basically take the stove out to the same area because of larger corner clearances for it. So basically the difference between these two is the capacity for long burn time. Thanks for the all info and suggestions. Does anyone know how hot the stovetop is on low? Does the whole stove get similar temperature or does it just get hot where the cat is? I'm just trying to get the idea of how much heat this will put out on low. Thanks everyone for all your help.

On low mine is about 400F right over the cat:
(broken link removed)
(broken link removed)

 

[Chamel]

I really think the 20 was a mistake. They should have spent that time making a 40!

Hehe! That would be a monster stove! But the burn times would be amazing! I wonder If they'll come out with one in the future. Having a small stove I now realize how important burn time really is if you don't have time to slave over the stove all day.

On low mine is about 400F right over the cat

Wow nice thermal images! Thanks for posting these! I was thinking the whole stove would be the same temp. So on low the cat is doing most of the work.

Sorry, more questions. Apparently if you buy Sirocco 20 or 30 by September 30th you get a free blower kit. Does anyone have pictures of the sirocco blowers with the convection deck? Can they be taken off and on? I was quoted a price last week. The dealer took off the price for the fans but didn't take off the price for the convection deck. Shouldn't that be included with the kit? The fans can't be used without the convection deck.

 

[Poindexter]

Get the fans and the convection deck, on sale or not.

They make an enormous difference on my ashford 30, at all tstat settings.

 

[chance04]

On low mine is about 400F right over the cat:
(broken link removed)
(broken link removed)

Can I rent your flir? Lol

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Chamel]

Get the fans and the convection deck, on sale or not.

They make an enormous difference on my ashford 30, at all tstat settings.

Thanks for letting me know that they work well. I think I will include them. I can always take them off it they don't work well for me.

Another question before I purchase. Does anyone know if the sirocco comes without that plate cut out in the bottom of the stove body for the ash dump? I would prefer no cutout in the stove body. Is there a choice? For example, can I just order the legs without the cut out for the ash dump. The reason I'm asking is that I had problems with some air leaks in the PE Vista with it. Sometimes it would get jammed with coals etc. Sometimes it would leak air even when it wasn't jammed. I rather just scoop out the ashes with a shovel into a ash bucket. Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

[begreen]

The ash drawer is an option on the leg version of the Sirocco. If you get the pedestal and never use the ash plug, it will not get jammed up with ash or coals.

 

[Poindexter]

On a scirocco would an eco-fan work almst as good as convection deck and fans for less money?

 

[Rickb]

I have the 20 and the ash drawer is useless for me. Just easier to shovel it out. But the convection deck and fan are must haves. I almost never burn higher then low, and the fan is turned down to where I can barley hear it. Low my stove BTW. The 30 would not have fit my opening.

 

[Chamel]

Thanks again for everyone's help! I ended up getting the sirocco 30. I got a free free fan kit and convection deck from the blaze king promotion that they had going on too. Wasn't sure whether to get the legs or pedestal, but they had one already in stock at their store with the legs so I took it. I'm so excited! Longer burn times and lower and slower heat outputs were my goals. This stove seems to fit the bill. Those of you with this stove. How does the DVL stove adapter fit? https://www.northlineexpress.com/6-dvl-adapter-section-no-damper-6dvl-ad-6733.html Does the convection deck get in the way of the pipe fitting all the way down into the stove collar?

 

[Rickb]

Make sure they give you the longer cat probe for the convection deck.(Least I needed it for the 20.)