Jotul C350 And room temps.

Philipmumbles said:

We have a 1200sq ft house built in 1924. Single pane windows and not the best for insulation .Living room is a small 200 plus ft.
Just worried the 350 may not actaully keep us warm enough. We love Maine but need some warmth. We'd love to have a our living room in the high 70s and the first floor at least 70.

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That's a valid concern with poor insulation and single pane window (I have the same issue).

I would go with a larger stove. You instinct to go with the 550 is the correct way to go. If not the Jotul, then another stove.

Look at the Lopi Declaration, Pacific Energy T5 insert, Hampton HI300, and the Hearthstone Clydesdale.

I would not recommend the 350 for anyone looking for more than ambiance with just a little extra heat for the room its in. Very small fire box will mean you will have to stay near by and feed it. If you like the 550 and it wont fit look at the VC Montpelier its a little more forgiving and close to the same size firebox as the 550.
Cory

I was in the same spot that you were in earlier in the year. My wife and I had looked at as many different inserts as the dealers had on display plus every single brochure that was available. We decided to go with the Jotul and at first had wanted to go with the 550 like yourself, mainly because of the flush mounted look. However when we looked at all the measurements of the inside of the fireplace, we just couldn't make the thing fit. My wife only wanted a flush mounted unit so she wasn't pleased with the 450 at first and I didn't like the 350 since the firebox was pretty small like another poster pointed out. We ended up going with the 450 and it's a great unit. After some learning on this insert, and a lot of reading on this forum I realized how to get some good heat out of the insert. Now at first we had the insert pushed in as far as it would go to get the flush mounted look going, but now we realize that the further out it sticks out of the fireplace the better. Just like most inserts, the blower is essential in getting the heat out into the living space, but after losing power for a few days early in the winter, we realized that we had to really keep the thing blazing to get any sort of heat. So now knowing what I know, if I had to pick an insert all over again, I would say the hell with the flush mounted unit. I would have either gone with another insert with a larger firebox or possibly even put a stove in the fireplace to get more radiant heat. Take this info for what it's worth, but theres nothing like heating with wood especially with how the cost of oil continues to rise every year. Good luck with your choice, whatever it is, but make sure you go with a block off plate and insulated liner, I wished I knew that earlier in my decision making.

Can you post the dimensions of your fireplace? This info will get you many more specific suggestions. Personally, I would want a bigger insert than the 350

I had the c350 in a 21'x24'x15' room a few years back.
Good stove, throws heat well, but the box is small.
You'll be reloading every 2-2.5 hrs and on those cold nights, even more frequently.

If you really like the c550, I suggest that you have that extention box fabricated or select another stove of similar size.

After 1 season I moved up from the c350 to the c550 and never looked back.
Sure, I lost $ upgrading the stove after only 1 season, but my wife loves the look of the Jotul.
For us, the c550 throws enough heat to keep not just the 21'x24' room toasty, but it sufficiently heats our entire house (~2600sft) even during the coldest spells.

Good Luck with your decision. I hope Ive helped you out.

A little late to the game but here's my .02 cents. I have an Jotul C550 and a 2500 sq.ft colonial that I keep heated in the 68* - 70* temp range on the first floor (main living area) and in the low 60's upstairs where the bedrooms are located. The house is well insulated and all my windows are less than 4 y/o so I get a pretty good bang for my buck. My goal this winter was to not use any oil for heat (must use oil for the hot water furnace) and I have been able to accomplish this at a 95%+ rate of success - although it has been a mild winter to say the least.

I've always been in the camp that says "you can always make the big stove smaller but you can't make the small stove bigger." If you can somehow go a bit bigger, I would strongly suggest you do so. Even if you have to reconsider the brand of stove, I think you will be much less likely to have a case of buyers remorse.

I have the 450 heating a house similar in size to yours but with recent insulation and windows. My fireplace isn't perfectly located, but I make it work as a whole house heater anyway. I would like to get better overnight burns out of the firebox size I have, but that is getting better as I get better at burning and get better wood. I walked into the dealer wanting a 350 and am really glad she upsold me to a 450, and at times wish I had a 550 on the coldest nights when I can't keep up even with the fan blasting high. If I could do it all over and had a little more money or skill to just modify my ugly fireplace, I would have gone with something like an F50 stove that throws out better radiant heat with a longer burn time. But even with my current setup I have cut oil consumption by 75% or so which makes me feel good.

FrankMA said:

A little late to the game but here's my .02 cents. I have an Jotul C550 and a 2500 sq.ft colonial that I keep heated in the 68* - 70* temp range on the first floor (main living area) and in the low 60's upstairs where the bedrooms are located. The house is well insulated and all my windows are less than 4 y/o so I get a pretty good bang for my buck. My goal this winter was to not use any oil for heat (must use oil for the hot water furnace) and I have been able to accomplish this at a 95%+ rate of success - although it has been a mild winter to say the least.

I've always been in the camp that says "you can always make the big stove smaller but you can't make the small stove bigger." If you can somehow go a bit bigger, I would strongly suggest you do so. Even if you have to reconsider the brand of stove, I think you will be much less likely to have a case of buyers remorse.

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I agree with this.

I would go for the 550 or look for another brand. Hampton i300, Pacific Energy T5 or Enviro Boston 1700 come to mind. You'll appreciate not having to tend the fire constantly, and the extra firepower will help when it gets really cold.

FGZ said:

I have the 450 heating a house similar in size to yours but with recent insulation and windows. My fireplace isn't perfectly located, but I make it work as a whole house heater anyway. I would like to get better overnight burns out of the firebox size I have, but that is getting better as I get better at burning and get better wood. I walked into the dealer wanting a 350 and am really glad she upsold me to a 450, and at times wish I had a 550 on the coldest nights when I can't keep up even with the fan blasting high. If I could do it all over and had a little more money or skill to just modify my ugly fireplace, I would have gone with something like an F50 stove that throws out better radiant heat with a longer burn time. But even with my current setup I have cut oil consumption by 75% or so which makes me feel good.

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FGZ, I have the 450 as well and to be honest with you the best way to get some good burns out of it is to go with splits set north south instead of east west. You have to use some splits about 13 to max 14 inches. I have some small splits here and there in my pile and I wish I had more. I noticed with my setup that you have to close it off pretty early cause once it gets going it will heat up quickly, but the burn time is sometimes 2 more hours. I have also done a bottom row of n s splits tightly put in there and then some medium size splits e w on a hot bed of coals before i head to bed. I monitor it for a good 20 mins after its going and that works really well. With a 1800 sqft house and a partially open stair case I can keep the downstairs about 70 and the upstairs 74. I have gone from 750 gallons oil to about 450. Im pretty happy with it and hope to add a stove to the other end of the house as a primary heating source once we make some improvements to the house. With the price of oil now and what its going to be, wood heat is great.