Jotul 450 Kennebec experiences...

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AndrewInCT

New Member
Dec 19, 2011
14
Oxford,CT
Hi

I had a jotul 450 Kennebec installed about a month ago and have been using it regularly, so I thought I'd post my experiences with it so far.

In my old house, I had a pellet stove we used for heat for the last 3 years. We moved into a 2500sq ft colonial in October and once the weather started to get cold, I quickly realized that having my oil furnace @ 62 degrees just sucked.

I decided to go with a wood stove this time since I have plenty of downed trees on the property. We wanted an insert - with the design of the house and the hearths, we thought this would be the best option. The fireplaces are a bit odd in shape (very tall openings, not deep though). The Kennebec seemed to be our best option while achieving the correct clearances, etc.. The main floor is about 1600 or so sq ft, with the upstairs at about 900 sq ft, so I was a bit concerned that it would be under powered.

We've had one or two 20 degree days, and a fair amount of nights in that temperature range - so far I am very impressed with the stove. (I should mention that for this year I am burning bio bricks since my wood needs to season). Even when it was 20 degrees outside, the stove kept the main floor at around 70 and the upstairs at around 68.
I have a thermometer on top of the stove (just behind the door but still in sight) which I don't believe has ever gotten above 700 degrees. I should note that the automatic blower is almost always set to high.
At its peak so far, I burned two packages of bio bricks a day. Most of the 35-45 degree days I burned closer to 1 - 1.5 packages (each package I think holds about 20 bricks).
Once the fan kicks in, I usually damp down to about 50-60%.

Next year I think I'll still get 2 pallets of bio bricks, and hope to have about 3-4 cord of seasoned wood to burn. Probably would get the stove going and hot with the bio bricks and then run the cord wood.

Anyone with a jotul or any expertise have any concerns about how I'm running? Seems ok to me but all my experience was with pellets so I'm new to wood.

Thanks
 
I should mention that I have a goooooooood floorplan for this setup, which I'm sure helps a great deal
 
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