Jotul alcove. Can this be right?

[flusher17]

I am debating whether I should get a Jotul F500 Oslo or the F400 Castine, which is one step smaller.

According to the Jotul manuals, the larger F500 has: "6. Minimum ceiling height in an unprotected installation, off the top of the stove is 41”(1041 mm). The minimum ceiling height off the top of the stove in a protected ceiling installation is 15”(380mm). "

But the smaller Castine is: "6. Minimum ceiling height in an unprotected installation, off the top of the stove is 58”(148 cm). The minimum ceiling height off the top of the stove in a protected ceiling installation is 36" (91.5 cm). "

Can this be right? 15" above the larger stove and 36" for the smaller one. I am planning on putting this stove part way into an alcove that is 48" high with protected ceiling and walls. Both of these stoves are approximately the same height. But if these numbers are correct than I can't do this with the Castine, while the Oslo will have more than enough clearance to the alcove ceiling.

If this is correct, does anyone know why? The house is about 1800sf, one story log ranch with 12 foot cathedral ceilings in the living room where the stove will go, and 8 foot everywhere else. Open floor plan for main living area, but hallway to the bedrooms. Northern New York mountain climate. Do you think the Oslo is too big?

You can see some pics at "Destroyed hearth"

Thanks

 

[begreen]

My understanding is that the specs are as they certified the stove in testing.

Go for the Oslo for sure. I guarantee you it won't be too big. A ceiling fan will help heat circulation, but you may need help getting the far end of the hallway rooms warm. For this place a fan at the far end of the hallway, on the floor blowing toward the stove.

 

[flusher17]

I don't really mind cool bedrooms anyway. It is good for sleeping, but I don't want to get cooked in the living room. I have a ceiling fan in the center of the living room up on the ridge of the cathedral ceiling, so that should help. I will just make smaller fires or damp them down a bit if I am too hot.

I was just confused about why a smaller stove would have such a higher ceiling clearance. Does not seem right? Thanks for the input. I think I am leaning toward the Oslo now.

Thanks

 

[grommal]

I think BG is right. It just comes down to the parameters of the testing to get certification. Basically, they can't endorse tighter clearances than the smallest used in a successful test. I guess the real question is why they seem to have chosen to test the Oslo with tighter clearances than they chose to test the Castine.

 

[flusher17]

I am just hoping it is not a typo or some sort of error. My alcove is 4 feet high and that will give me 20 inches of clearance to the ceiling. Although the majority of the stove and all of the firebox will be out in front of the alcove. The ceiling of the alcove will be slanted to reflect the most heat out, too. I think it should be fine and the inspector goes with what is in the manual.

 

[firefighterjake]

I can't answer your question as to why the disparity in the clearances.

However, I think I can safely say the Oslo would be the better pick for you. I'm heating a 1,800 2-story Cape in Maine with 7 foot ceilings and the Oslo is working great. Your own set up would of course be a bit different as it is a single story with the same square footage and you have 12 foot cathedral ceilings in the living area.

I would not worry about being "cooked" in the room with the stove for several reasons:

-- You have those high ceilings and of course heat rises. If anything you'll want to use your ceiling fan to move the heat back down to the living area.

-- You may have the same size home as me, but it's spread out more . . . and so, if anything you'll most likely find it to be much cooler in the rooms farthest away from the stove . . . even if you use fans.

-- You will soon learn to control your heat output by the amount of wood you load into the firebox (full load vs. partial load), the type of wood (softwood vs. hardwood or more dense wood vs. less dense wood which can give you more or less BTUs) and by how often you reload the stove (less often vs. more often.) For example, in the Spring and Fall when I need just a bit of heat to take the chill out of the air on a damp day I may do a single (or two) patial loads of softwood slabs or some "junk" wood like poplar . . . whereas in middle of January with the temps below the donut I'll be loading more frequently, doing full firebox loads and looking to use my "good" wood of sugar maple, beech or similar wood.

Incidentally, you mention damping down . . . this may work for a cat stove . . . or one of the old stoves . . . but on the secondary burn stoves to get more heat out of the stove you actually want to turn down the air which almost seems counter-intuitive before you realize that less air flowing through the stove actually gives you more heat as less is pushed out of the chimney.

 

[Fsappo]

I agree with the statements that the Oslo is a better choice and that clearances are not at all defined by the size of the stove, but how each stove reacted during testing. If you really want to know, ask your Jotul dealer to contact tech support to verify. Any dealer should be able to get an answer on a questions like that from any manufacturer within 1-2 business days.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I agree with the statements that the Oslo is a better choice and that clearances are not at all defined by the size of the stove, but how each stove reacted during testing. If you really want to know, ask your Jotul dealer to contact tech support to verify. Any dealer should be able to get an answer on a questions like that from any manufacturer within 1-2 business days.

agreed, your dealer should be helpful here

 

[flusher17]

FirefighterJake,

Thanks for the reply. I am leaning pretty heavily toward the Oslo now. I am sure it will be a learning experience to get to know the new stove and how to get the heat I want out of it. But, I think that is the fun part and am looking forward to that. I already have my wood stacked by species, so that should help me with using the low BTU stuff at the right times and saving the good stuff for the heart of winter. I'll be looking forward to winter once I get the stove in and the surround done.

I have a dealer who is in the process of looking into the clearances with Jotul. He just hasn't gotten back to me, yet.

 

[firefighterjake]

FirefighterJake,

Thanks for the reply. I am leaning pretty heavily toward the Oslo now. I am sure it will be a learning experience to get to know the new stove and how to get the heat I want out of it. But, I think that is the fun part and am looking forward to that. I already have my wood stacked by species, so that should help me with using the low BTU stuff at the right times and saving the good stuff for the heart of winter. I'll be looking forward to winter once I get the stove in and the surround done.

I have a dealer who is in the process of looking into the clearances with Jotul. He just hasn't gotten back to me, yet.

No problem . . . it's all about paying it forward . . . or maybe it's paying it back . . . I don't know which . . . all I know is that when I was looking into burning wood the good folks here at hearth.com were incredibly helpful as I learned the importance of getting wood seasoned as soon as possible, how to run the stove, what stoves folks liked and disliked, how to build a hearth, etc. . . . and rather than just take off once I had the answers I needed I stuck around and now this site is one of my favorite sites to visit . . . and I'm still learning new things here thanks to the collective expertise of folks.

And yes . . . the first year is a learning experience . . . I know there was a huge difference in the way I ran my stove at the start of the first year to the end of the year . . . by year's end I was able to get fires going faster, getting more heat, longer burns and finally learned how my stove worked . . . it is a learning experience, but a fun learning experience . . . and yes . . . it makes winter fun . . . sometimes you may find yourself doing like I do . . . on those winter nights when the snow is coming down you may turn off the TV and simply watch the fire for a half hour or so and contemplate life.