Blaze King Chinook 20 thoughts?

[yukonT]

First time poster here and have tried to search but can only really find information regarding the Chinook 30. We live in a 2000sqft home with upstairs living. It is an energy efficient home with R40 walls and R70 Ceiling and only electric baseboards and an HRV unit. The wood stove would have to be on the second floor where the main living is (about 1000sqft and open concept), as there is no room on the bottom floor. We dont like the house above 20C and regularly keep it at 19C while we are home and 16-17 C at night in the rooms when we sleep.

We are looking at the Chinook 20 and possibly the 30, but we dont really have the space for the 30. I like the size and burn time of the Chinook 30, but the location where we are thinking of putting it, the Chinook 30 just seems to big. for the space. The only other place we could put a stove is in a corner of the living room, but there are two big windows in the corner. The installers didn't like that location as they would want the stove out a considerable distance from the window.

What kind of real world burn times can one expect for the Chinook 20? Would the Chinook 20 be enough to heat that upstairs portion (and potentially use the recirculating option on the HRV to pump some downstairs) or would one go with the 30. I'm not concerned with stoking the fire often, but just want something practical for the space too.

Also is there any issues with a wood stove in an tight sealed home and what sort of things should I watch out for.

thanks a bunch

 

[MissMac]

i run my hrv pretty much continually throughout the winter while i'm burning in my BK Sirocco 30.1 to keep the air in my house clean and to help maintain positive pressure. i can tell you from my experience that the hrv isn't going to 'pump' any heat downstairs. you will have a tough time using forced air to move a significant amount of heat from an upper level to a lower level. some guys use box fans to redirect cooler air at the floor towards the stove to enhance natural air movement in the house on one level. don't count on your hrv to distribute the stove heat across both levels though.

as far as box size, if you can fit the 30, go for it. it's just like a bigger fuel tank - you can still turn it down for lower heat output. make sure that you follow BK's specs for chimney height, and don't undercut their minimum recommended height.

 

[ManitobaSky]

I would also point out that the 30 has closer clearances then the 20. With the clearances factored in the floor space needed is almost identical.

 

[Highbeam]

1000 sf is well within the capabilities of a 20 box. Especially if you don’t mind reloading often. The beauty of baseboard heat is that you can use it to just heat the downstairs while you use wood heat upstairs.

Of course, as required by law in Canada (I believe?) your well sealed and insulated home will need a sealed outside air connection to the stove so that you’re not burning inside air.

Upstairs stove location means that your chimney height will be a challenge. You need 15’ all vertical to meet minimum specs. If you add bends or if you are at altitude then even more.

I would opt for the 30 box if for no other reason than a larger firebox.

 

[stoveliker]

With the clearances code, and the heat output on their lowest setting very close (11342 vs 11999 BTUs per hr) there is no reason to go for the 20 box...

Data here:

Wood Stoves Archives - Blaze King

www.blazeking.com

 

[Highbeam]

With the clearances code, and the heat output on their lowest setting very close (11342 vs 11999 BTUs per hr) there is no reason to go for the 20 box...

Data here:

Wood Stoves Archives - Blaze King

www.blazeking.com

Unless it’s just really cheap or maybe you’re stuffing it in a small fireplace.

Some people chose the 20 box and I have to assume they have their reasons.

 

[stoveliker]

Unless it’s just really cheap or maybe you’re stuffing it in a small fireplace.

Some people chose the 20 box and I have to assume they have their reasons.

I agree, but the OP seems to be concerned about how low he or she can run. That doesn't make a meaningful difference here, imo.
Space does, but the 3" or so (increase in size minus decrease in clearance) does not make a huge difference.

 

[stoveliker]

Given that you have an efficient home, I would think you have thought about how many BTUs you need to heat it?
If so, you can compare it to the output range of the different stoves.

Also, the clearances are drawn in the brochures on the BK website. That would allow you to precisely measure whether it would fit.

Finally, if you do need elbows (two 45s), see that the first one would be 2 ft or more above the stove (in addition to the higher chimney you'd need as noted before). It's good to start with a two ft section straight up.

 

[Rickb]

Not sure if the chinnok is the same box and inerds of the sirocco but I love mine. I couldn't fit the 30 into my space and clearance wasn't an issue.(Its rock on top of cement board that is attached to metal framing with rock wool that is all on top of concrete)

Mine heats my 600 sqft basement family room and with some ducting to blow some of the upstairs air down gets enough heat to the main floor that the furnace does not run very often when I have the stove running.

When I pack it full it gets around 8-9 hours of really usable heat. I have had hot coals and enough to re-light off of 24-26 hours later and the stove was still warm, but not really enough to warm the room.