Jotul 550 insert draw/cold air intake problem

Hello.

I have a few questions about my Jotul 550. Comparing to my buddies Jotul 350.

It seems my air intake and or draft is not up to par to his.

My setup:
Jotul 550 professionally installed.
Outside brick and Mortar chimney with terra-cotta liner.
17 ft stainless steel liner inside existing chimney.
15-17% moisture in my dry wood.

My buddies fire box has an outside cold air intake to the back of his existing firebox where his insert was installed. Mine does not. I was told by 2 installers the air intake on these Jotuls is in the front of the stove so an outside air intake line to the back side of the stove won't do any good because it draws from the front.

Anyone know if there is an non adjustable secondary air intake on the sides or back of these jotuls? If there is, the outside air to the back of he fire box could conceivably help.

My buddies jotul 350 insert draws in air so swiftly it actually fans his fire. When I load in wood, even after I have lots of red coals and a clean flame, I get smoke billowing in to the house if I open the door more then 3 inches. Conversely, my buddies stove can have the door open all the way and the smoke drafts up the chimney.

Now my house is an older 1970 house and my buddies is a 2010 custom build.

Do these jotuls have a secondary air intake in the sides or rear of the stove that can benefit from an outside cold air intake?

What's the deal with smoke exiting my stove and into my house every time I put on a few more splits of wood? If I hadn't just visited my buddy for New Years and added wood to his fire I'd have thought it was normal.

Thanks.
Mike

Sounds like a draft issue to me. What temp are you running your insert at?

It's at 300 now. 5 hours of burning with max air flow. Having a problems getting it really going. Comparing it to my buddies, my air flow; be it draw or some kind of air intake issue, is nowhere near his. I can hear like a jet engine when his takes off.

How did you take your measurement on the wood? from the outside or did you split it and take it from the inside? you could just need smaller splits to start and get that fire up over 400 before you consider shutting down the air.

Jotul guy,

How do I increase chimney draft?

I read a lot on these forums prior to purchasing the insert. I split a cut of my wood and measured the moisture with an electronic meter from the inside of a freshly cut open split.

Install insulation around the liner. Does your buddy have an insulated liner? What is his chimney setup? run thru the middle of the house? There are other ways also, but this is one thing you did not mention.

My buddy's chimney is unlined and an outside chimney as is mine. I suspect because he has 6 more feet on his chimney it's pulling harder. When he slides down his damper all the way, the fire barely stifles the flame down on his fire.

At 17 feet you are just over the minimum 15 feet specified in the owner's manual. If there is a 90 or 45 anywhere in that run then you have effectively reduced the draw on your chimney. I would suspect that adding some additional run to that flue would help with your draw, but I am by no means an expert on this but it would make sense to me.

Secondary air enters from the backside and is not adjustable. Someone on here is making it adjustable, member EL923 or something like that.

Are you burning in complete cycles? If the wood is down to coals, you shouldn't have much smoke left. If I reload too soon (like throwing a few more logs on before bed) I'll crack the door slightly to let the draft start pulling stronger, and then open all the way to load. Even then, I can get a little smoke spilling out. Maybe a video of your problem would help determine if there really is an issue.

I run a Rockland as well.

As remkel said, draft is your issue. My 550 has a 23' chimney, interior, uninsulated. I only wish draft was my issue. Yes, i made the adjustable secondary (on the back side). You need to find a way to get that exterior chimney up to temp. If cracking the door wont help, then you may need to insulate the liner. Almost forgot, if cracking the door doesn't help, try cracking a window or door nearest your stove. Your house may be too tight, though i don't think this is too common.