Jotul f50

I was considering an F50. Then I decided on the F55 because it is the same size but has a larger firebox. The larger firebox will give you longer burn times. It is my first year burning 1 year swasoned hickory and I can say I'm getting 12hr burn times.

I load up the stove at 7p after dinner. The stove will have the house at ~70 at 7am the next morning even with 25° F lows. I throw another load in when I'm on my way out the door to work. It lights off of the large coals before I'm done loading. The F55 has been fantastic. The wife absolutely loves it too!

I think the F50 has a 2.1 cu/ft firebox. The F55 is 2.9 cu/ft. The F55 does not have the Wintergrill option. It also is front loading only. I came to prefer the simplicity of the F55's design. I thought the extra cu/ft as a trade off for some of the nifty features the F55 was a great trade off.

1800 sq/ft, single floor.

Millrrr said:

Is the 55 at its limit? Or do u think it could handle 2500sq/ft?...thanks tom

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Funny you should ask. Our house has another unfinished 2nd floor that is 800 sq/ft. Sometimes my wife opens the door to the upstairs at the top of the stairs and it heats everything up there too. She's enjoyed doing her various DIY projects up there in short sleeves this Winter. So in all honesty it's heating 2,600 sq/ft effortlessly whenever we want it to. When we finish the 2nd floor and it has insulation and isn't drafty like it is now I have no doubt the F55 can handle all 2,600 sq/ft.

7acres said:

It is my first year burning 1 year swasoned hickory and I can say I'm getting 12hr burn times.

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Can you give me an idea of what your chimney set-up is like and what size splits you're burning?

I have a straight-shot, 25 foot Class A chimney and I'm burning soft maple, with the splits probably on the small side. I'm having a tough time getting more than a few hours out of it.

Hickory is awesome...

Knots said:

Can you give me an idea of what your chimney set-up is like and what size splits you're burning?

I have a straight-shot, 25 foot Class A chimney and I'm burning soft maple, with the splits probably on the small side. I'm having a tough time getting more than a few hours out of it.

Hickory is awesome...

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Chimney is 19' from flue to chimney cap with all but the last 4' inside. Duravent double wall pipe. The draft is nice and strong.

So what does your wood look like after burning for 4 hours. Completely down to fine ashes? Or does the fire just peter out? Also, how much of your chimney is outside?

After 4 hours everything in the front is coals. There might be a log in the back that's still in the shape of a log, but it's coals too. Stove top between 300 and 350.

Chimney runs through the center of house. Punches through the roof near the peak, so there's 3-4 feet outside.

My draft is very strong. The stove doesn't skip a beat when I close the flue damper.

Do you load higher than the fire bricks?

Knots said:

After 4 hours everything in the front is coals. There might be a log in the back that's still in the shape of a log, but it's coals too. Stove top between 300 and 350.

Chimney runs through the center of house. Punches through the roof near the peak, so there's 3-4 feet outside.

My draft is very strong. The stove doesn't skip a beat when I close the flue damper.

Do you load higher than the fire bricks?

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Any chance your wood is above 20% on the MM? Sounds like you have an ideal chimney setup like me.

Yes I load all the way full till I hit the baffle and can't put any more in.

I'm curious, do you leave the air 100% open till the load is rip roaring before pulling back on the air lever? I do, and I think that is key.

7acres said:

Any chance your wood is above 20% on the MM? Sounds like you have an ideal chimney setup like me.

Yes I load all the way full till I hit the baffle and can't put any more in.

I'm curious, do you leave the air 100% open till the load is rip roaring before pulling back on the air lever? I do, and I think that is key.

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I don't have a MM. The maple got cut and split in Dec. 2013. It's split on the small side. Sat stacked in the sun and wind this summer. The past month it sat in the basement with the dehumidifier on.

I leave the air 100% open until the secondaries light. Usually less than 5 minutes. Then I'm progressively shutting down the air and the damper until they're both shut.

I just started a fire at 4:30. One layer of average sized maple splits. It's 8:00 now and the stove is at 300 and almost ready to get loaded again. The tell tale on the thermometer says it hit 550. Maybe the short time is due to the softer wood. I dunno.

Here's a pic of that fire at 500. Keep in mind that the air and the damper are "closed":

Knots said:

I don't have a MM. The maple got cut and split in Dec. 2013. It's split on the small side. Sat stacked in the sun and wind this summer. The past month it sat in the basement with the dehumidifier on.

I leave the air 100% open until the secondaries light. Usually less than 5 minutes. Then I'm progressively shutting down the air and the damper until they're both shut.

I just started a fire at 4:30. One layer of average sized maple splits. It's 8:00 now and the stove is at 300 and almost ready to get loaded again. The tell tale on the thermometer says it hit 550. Maybe the short time is due to the softer wood. I dunno.

Here's a pic of that fire at 500. Keep in mind that the air and the damper are "closed":
View attachment 149171

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Thanks for the photo. The nice thing about the F55 is you can load wood E/W like you do; and you can load N/S like I do. Jotul seems to pride their stoves for their N/S "cigar burn."

Think about your oxygen flow as you put your wood in. N/S loading on an air wash stove promotes straight back and up air flow. Oxygen flows past the whole load front to back.

E/W loading creates a wind break of sorts. Makes sense that your load looks like you described after 4hrs. Try N/S loading. I bet you'll see a much better burn.

I had kind of abandoned the N/S loading since it seemed too eager to burn that way. The E/W seems to slow it down a little - and anything I can do to slow this puppy down is a good thing.

My last N/S load, loaded in two layers and nearly full, marched past 600, 700, 750 and probably saw 800. This was after being "shut down" at 500, having a fan blowing on it, a screw driver holding the damper at 90 degrees, and pots of cold water on top to give it something to work against. I'm leery of trying that again until I talk to Jotul.

I've read your posts about filling the stove, firing it up, and then leaving the air at 1/3 and going to bed. Boggles my mind...

Millrrr said:

newbie here..looking at f50 as first stove purchase. just wondering size of the f50 firebox?...and if I can get a 10 hr burn time with this stove...I love the look and grill option but would like to load at night and not have to worry about reloading Before I get up. No big deal if it wold be just hot embers. Just want to be able to put wood in to fire back up in the morn. More of a secondary source of heat. Thanks Tom

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What is your floor layout, ceiling height, and overall placement? More importantly... how well insulated is this house?

The F50 will push out some serious heat it asked. I normally ping my to around 500, then cut it back. I have been able to get around 8 hours at best out of mine... but at that point, due to the room it is located in and my overall plan... the house may be cold (stove is shoved in a room that is literally like 80% window with a 14'[ cathedral ceiling). In a house with all normal height ceilings, and good insulation... I see no reason why 10 hours of consistent heat in the house isn't achievable.

This stove is a great combination of radiant and convective heat. There is very little head that protrudes from the sides and back (back especially with the metal guards that the stove ships from the factory with). From in between these guards and the back of the stove, you get rolling convective heat like crazy. Even if the stove is only at 200*, you can really feel the warm air still being pushed through. No blower here.

I have found that with the F50, the burn times are longer with the N/S orientation for sure. If Jotul made this stove, but added in a catalytic convertor so it had both reburn technologies, they would have a perfect stove. I have loaded wood through the top once... only use it for the wintergrill now.

Here's a pic of the install. It's in the basement of a 1-story ranch. It's in the center of a 1400 sq ft house. Basement is smaller due to garage under.

The foundation has 4" of foam all the way around. The upstairs walls are 2x8 with icynene and another 3/4" layer of foam under the drywall to insulate the studs. Triple pane, high end windows. R47 in the attic.

I stopped burning at 8:00 last night and the upstairs only lost 3 degrees overnight.

I love how the stove operates. Not a wisp of smoke from the chimney and burns great. I'm thinking I just have too much draft.

I hope I haven't hi-jacked this thread too bad. I really appreciate all the input.

To the OP... yes, you should have some workable coals at the 10 hour mark. I was referring to actual heat.

Millrrr said:

Would a damper in the stove pipe above stove help with longer burn times?..

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The Jotul manual mentions that some installations might need one.

I've got one and I run it full closed!

Millrrr said:

Would a damper in the stove pipe above stove help with longer burn times?..

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I think what you need to do is reduce draft but not with the damper. On the bottom of the stove in the back middle is where the air enters. It's a rectangle hole about 1" X 4" in size. Reduce the opening by 25% and see if that helps. I bet it will. Tune that opening so you can run your stove more like I do.

Search hearth.com for "Florida Bungalow" and you'll find a good explanation of how the EPA designed the certification testing around a 15' chimney. Most people don't have a stack that short.