Hearthstone Phoenix vs Jotul Carrabasset

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There are some F55-specific threads around here if you search.

How thick are your walls?

I have 1400 sq ft ranch with 2x8 expanded foam walls. R39 (soon the be R47) in the attic. 4" of foam board around the foundation. I heat from the walk-out basement.

I have a 25 ft straight shot steel chimney that is mostly inside the house. I get a heck of a draft.

I had to tape over most of the secondary air inlet and when the fire is cooking, I have the pipe damper closed. This summer I hope to install the OAK.

All of that said, the stove performs well, and I didn't even need to clean the chimney after 2.5 cords of dry wood last year.
 
I am so beyond frustrated right now. It is -20c outside, and barely 18c 10 feet away from the stove. The flue is reading 700 and the stove top is 275. This straight up sucks. On a positive note the electric base boards are working just fine. Can't wait to see my hydro bill!

If anyone wants a nice fancy Jotul I'll make a good price. Going back to a cheap Home Depot stove that I can actually get some f-ing heat from.
 
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Without rehashing everything and going through every thread . . . what happens when you slowly dial back the air at those temps . . . say decrease the air by 1/4 say to the 3/4 mark, wait 10 minutes or so and see what happens with the temps?
 
Some days I can dial it down slowly and it works just fine. But the temperatures don't change and I'm not getting any better heat out of the stove.

Today as I'm dialing it down all it's doing is reducing the flame in the stove. Temp still don't change any. The amount of heat coming from the stove itself still sucks.
 
What I can't figure out is the actual problem. I get snotsickles hanging off the top of the chimney.

I don't know if it's because of the bends in the stack or if it's because most of the stack is in the cold attic space or what.

What I do know is that after 30 years of Burning wood I've come to expect a certain level of heat coming off of the stove it self and in this new house with this new stove it's just not happening.

I really need to get this dialed in before I end up in the poorhouse after getting the Hydro bills
 
Hey everyone, sorry for the mini rant. So as an experiment I put a second damper in my short test section of single wall pipe and that made a HUGE difference. I have been able to maintain a stove top temp of 400 with flue temps at 600. Much better!
 
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Wow! And I thought I had a strong draft!
 
I forgot to mention that I also have a fridge magnet covering the secondary air supply.

So yeah.. lots of draft!

The pic is my test set up.
 

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Here's my secondary air inlet:
IMG_0492.JPG
Actually, I think it may even be a smaller slit than that...:confused:
 
czydrm said:
I forgot to mention that I also have a fridge magnet covering the secondary air supply.
So yeah.. lots of draft!
The pic is my test set up.
Click to expand...
That is strong draft. Double-dampering sometimes is an alternative. Note that it may be more beneficial to restrict primary air than secondary. Have you tried that? Also, metal tape is not rated for flue temps.
 
cptoneleg said:
Pretty Much ??
Click to expand...
Still seems like you're having some sort of problem. I have an f55 and I'm heating a 2700 square foot house with it. When that stove gets rocking and I have the air open I can get it above 700 stove top easily. Overnight burns with the air throttled back keeps the house warm and I have a nice bed of coals in the morning , with a stove top of 300 degrees.

I'll also add that my wood is not optimally seasoned - I'm burning red oak that is only one year seasoned and not that dry. The stove seems to me to be very tolerant of no optimally seasoned wood. When I put black birch in its an inferno. Easily could overcome the stove if I don't watch the air. I save that for the real cold days

Are you getting the good classic secondary burn? When my secondaries kick in it almost looks air holes in the secondary air baffle are a propane burner!
 
Jsd245 said:
Still seems like you're having some sort of problem. I have an f55 and I'm heating a 2700 square foot house with it. When that stove gets rocking and I have the air open I can get it above 700 stove top easily. Overnight burns with the air throttled back keeps the house warm and I have a nice bed of coals in the morning , with a stove top of 300 degrees.

I'll also add that my wood is not optimally seasoned - I'm burning red oak that is only one year seasoned and not that dry. The stove seems to me to be very tolerant of no optimally seasoned wood. When I put black birch in its an inferno. Easily could overcome the stove if I don't watch the air. I save that for the real cold days

Are you getting the good classic secondary burn? When my secondaries kick in it almost looks air holes in the secondary air baffle are a propane burner!
Click to expand...
Wow, 700f on the top? I haven't dared take my f55 above 550.
 
jzinckgra said:
Wow, 700f on the top? I haven't dared take my f55 above 550.
Click to expand...
Had it at 700 many times with no ill effects. Doesn't take long to get there when it's loaded and the air is open. 550 - 600 is where it cruises after I shut the air down
 
jzinckgra said:
Wow, 700f on the top? I haven't dared take my f55 above 550.
Click to expand...
The owners manual for the F55 states that 700F is the max recommended operating temperature, so it is safe. I have had mine at some unknown temperature above that a couple times when the stove got loaded (perhaps by my wife..) and got left unattended - no damage done. It's a tough stove
 
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iluvjazznjava said:
The owners manual for the F55 states that 700F is the max recommended operating temperature, so it is safe. I have had mine at some unknown temperature above that a couple times when the stove got loaded (perhaps by my wife..) and got left unattended - no damage done. It's a tough stove
Click to expand...
At 700, I'd think pipe temps are 850+. Seems pretty hot.
 
Our stove regularly goes up to 650-700F for a brief spell before settling in at around 650F. Peak flue temp while starting may go up to 800F unless I space out closing down the air. Flue temp once the air is closed down and the stove settles into cruising temp is about 50-100F less than the flue temp measured with a probe thermometer. If the stove is burning efficiently that's what I would expect with the F55 too. This is with the blower off. With the blower on flue and stove top temps are closer.
 
Like others have said, 700 is listed as a cruising temp in the manual. I exceeded 700 a couple of times for short stints last year while I was sorting out my strong draft issue.

Most burns this year I cruise at 550-650.
 
begreen said:
That is strong draft. Double-dampering sometimes is an alternative. Note that it may be more beneficial to restrict primary air than secondary. Have you tried that? Also, metal tape is not rated for flue temps.
Click to expand...
I did try restricting the primary but it didn't work. My plan is to get or make a much better damper for the double wall pipe and hopefully be able to use both air supplies.
 
Jsd245 said:
Still seems like you're having some sort of problem. I have an f55 and I'm heating a 2700 square foot house with it. When that stove gets rocking and I have the air open I can get it above 700 stove top easily. Overnight burns with the air throttled back keeps the house warm and I have a nice bed of coals in the morning , with a stove top of 300 degrees.

I'll also add that my wood is not optimally seasoned - I'm burning red oak that is only one year seasoned and not that dry. The stove seems to me to be very tolerant of no optimally seasoned wood. When I put black birch in its an inferno. Easily could overcome the stove if I don't watch the air. I save that for the real cold days

Are you getting the good classic secondary burn? When my secondaries kick in it almost looks air holes in the secondary air baffle are a propane burner!
Click to expand...
Yes I am able to get a good secondary burn. There is still a lot of draft though so I don't have it all dialed in just yet. The biggest challenge was just figuring out what the actual problem was. I'm looking forward to 500+ temps!!
 
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