A new poster here and I first wanted to thank those who posted information they have found about the Jotul 550. I have searched and read many threads.
I had The 550 installed yesterday and have burned 2 small fires so far the last one bringing it up to 220 degrees. I have a non contact ir thermometer to read surface temps of 1" wide at 11" distance and there are large temp differences on the stove depending on where you read. The hottest spot on the front of the stove I can find is the cast iron strip on each side of the door. While that strip was 220 degrees, the spot over the door where you could fit a thermometer was around 130 degrees. As the temps changed that spot over the door was consistently 100 degrees cooler. The metal is thicker there and also that is where the air is drawn in for the primary keeping it cooler.
Seems like the best bet for temp reeding with these inserts may be the point and shoot ir thermometer. It is also a great tool to see how different rooms are heating.
Jotul Rockland 550
I had The 550 installed yesterday and have burned 2 small fires so far the last one bringing it up to 220 degrees. I have a non contact ir thermometer to read surface temps of 1" wide at 11" distance and there are large temp differences on the stove depending on where you read. The hottest spot on the front of the stove I can find is the cast iron strip on each side of the door. While that strip was 220 degrees, the spot over the door where you could fit a thermometer was around 130 degrees. As the temps changed that spot over the door was consistently 100 degrees cooler. The metal is thicker there and also that is where the air is drawn in for the primary keeping it cooler.
Seems like the best bet for temp reeding with these inserts may be the point and shoot ir thermometer. It is also a great tool to see how different rooms are heating.
Jotul Rockland 550