Sirocco 20 review

[Rickb]

I did not feel right about doing a review till I got some burn time in so that said it is time.....

Before buying this stove I did a lot of research including posting here. So here is the skinny.


Stove is pretty compact, looks good with the leg kit. It is in a area that is around 720sqft and can take it from 68F to 78F in about 10 minutes. It can also cruise and hold the temp in that room around 75F. I can have a roaring fire going and turn it down to embers in minutes. Stove is very very controllable. I have loaded wood in way before I should have and it is almost the same as loading cold other then it is already at temp. I got the optional blowers. They make a huge difference. I only run them when I go to bed or it will make the room too hot. I need to look at better ways to get air movement.

I also got the ash pan kit. I have not installed it yet. I wanted to make sure I knew how the stove ran normally so I would be able to tell if there was a problem with air leaks in the pan. I will install it sometime over the next 12 months.


My only complaint is the fire box is a little small. I can only fit 5-6 small to medium splits in it. That said those 5-6 splits burn for around 10 - 12 hours. At 12 hours usually the cat is even still in the active range and the stove is hot. If I stacked them in tighter I could prob get longer but for us that is enough.

I will update this once I install the ash pan.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the review Rick. Sounds like the beginning of a wonderful friendship.

 

[HotCoals]

You should have no probs with that size house or even a little bigger.
12 hour loads are nice and convenient.
Course in the deep cold morning and before bed work well.

 

[rdust]

My only complaint is the fire box is a little small. I can only fit 5-6 small to medium splits in it. That said those 5-6 splits burn for around 10 - 12 hours. At 12 hours usually the cat is even still in the active range and the stove is hot. If I stacked them in tighter I could prob get longer but for us that is enough.

Not sure that can be a complaint, can't expect too much from a sub 2 cubic foot stove. You mentioned it was compact and seemed to be a good thing, hard to be compact with a large firebox.

Thanks for the review, sounds like that little 1.8 cubic foot stove is doing a nice job for your space!

 

[Todd]

Thanks for the review. I'm waiting for the Ashford 20 to come out which is the same fire box as the Sirocco. The BK t-stat gives you so much control over the burn its a real winner.

 

[daleeper]

My only complaint is the fire box is a little small. I can only fit 5-6 small to medium splits in it. That said those 5-6 splits burn for around 10 - 12 hours. At 12 hours usually the cat is even still in the active range and the stove is hot. If I stacked them in tighter I could prob get longer but for us that is enough.

That's why they make the Sirocco 30, and the King.

Great review of the stove. I have an earlier version of their 2 cu ft stove, and worried quite a bit about whether it would be big enough, it works well on all but the coldest of days. Once you get used to a long burn, you start seeking the holy grail, and will be rebuilding a king to set in its spot. I'll be finding out if it is too much stove.

 

[webby3650]

I also got the ash pan kit. I have not installed it yet. I wanted to make sure I knew how the stove ran normally so I would be able to tell if there was a problem with air leaks in the pan. I will install it sometime over the next 12 months.

You won't see any air leaks with this design. I'm a big fan of the plug in the floor style ashpans, not only are you in control of how much ash is in the stove but you aren't relying on a single gasket. Ashpan door are the number 1 stove killer in my opinion. Lots of wrecked stoves out there because the door seal was bad!

 

[Highbeam]

An odd thing I noticed about these small BKs is that they don't have much of a belly to hold ash before it starts coming out the door. Isn't only about 2 inches deep vs. 6 or 9 on the old BKs?

 

[Rickb]

An odd thing I noticed about these small BKs is that they don't have much of a belly to hold ash before it starts coming out the door. Isn't only about 2 inches deep vs. 6 or 9 on the old BKs?

Its close to 4 inches. I ran it for about a week and a half and still have plenty of room for ash. Thats part of the reason I was not in a hurry to install it.


Webby - Thanks for that info. I was not sure how the ash pan worked in this but I did not want to mess the stove up with it like I have read about on other brands.

 

[Huntindog1]

12 hours is plenty.