Problems with new Jotul C550

Here is the pic of the 3" gap on the right side of the insert. The left side is the same.

You are missing the bottom trim piece. See page 13 of the manual.

I took the bottom trim piece off so that I could show where the 3" gap is, on both sides of the insert. The bottom trim piece would just lay on the hearth if I didn't put little blocks underneath it in order to make it flush up against the unit. This is yet another one of those installation things that added to the schlock job and handling of this unit by the recommended installer and local company that sold it to me.

Looks like your hearth is not flush with the firebox? If so, you will have a gap below the trim. I believe that gap you are referring to is normal, trim piece covers it. There are 2 bolts that hold the trim piece in place, you should not have to use blocks.

OK. Thanks! I'll look into it.

My 2 cents on this... I have the same approximate 3" gap. It should not affect operation of the insert in any way. The insert is self contained. I will say that installer did a hack job if they just propped that lower trim piece up with blocks. There should be 2 cast pieces that make up the trim piece. They are held together by a 20"-24" piece of stamped metal. There are 2 slots\gates that line up with 2 studs with bolts on either side of the switch housing.

The installer just left the lower trim piece off and laying underneath without even attempting to put it in the right way. I found the only way to get it up and to stay where it is supposed too is to prop it up with little wood blocks. I will try to set it up right when I get a chance later this week. Thanks for the info.

If I could get my house up to 73 degrees, I would. It used to be that way with my old insert, consistently 72-78. Now with this one, I feel fortunate and do a dance when the house temp hits 69. It gets to 68 and stays right there. With the temps in the low 30s and at night in the mid 20s right now, the house is OK and I can live with the house temp in the upper 60s. But even with these warmer outside temps, and with the uber dry wood I am using (oak, ash, maple), the house temp still never get up there like I was told and assured and expected, based on the insert I got rid of and my last 5 years of experience with an insert.

Some of the tips and suggestions I have received from this group have been very very helpful and made a difference in overall burn issues, but again, the main issue of this unit not heating my house as it should and keeping my house temps 5-10 degrees colder all the time than accustomed too is what makes this unit worthless.

An email last Sunday to the original sales guy has produced no response, an email from one rep to another rep last Sunday has produced no response. I am waiting and hanging in there, but I would be surprised if there is any follow through customer service and care wise with Jotul. Thankfully I am not holding my breath. Maybe waiting a week is expecting too much?

Now the latest...after searching all over for the stamped metal part that makes up part of the trim piece and is supposed to be attach to the lower trim piece in order for it to be able to hook it up to the insert as part of the surround, it is no where to be found. Back to the system where I prop it up with two little pieces of wood so that it "looks" relatively OK.

Have I said how much of a pile of junk this unit is?

Your dealer should be taking care of this for you. If they don't, call Jotul directly. When was it installed? Did you pay with a credit card? Get them involved if your dealer refuses to help.
This "pile of junk" has heated my 2K square foot home for the last 2 winters. Probably just about paid for itself, with heating oil prices where they are. I am not trying to minimize what you are going through, but it sounds like they are mostly dealer issues, not stove issues. There is a reason the 550 is an extremely popular unit.

Thanks but this is a dealer and stove issue. As stated in an earlier post, it was installed in early December. When I couldn't get any initial assistance from the dealer, I contacted Jotul directly, as was put through to the area rep. Left a message on his VM. That person never got back with me, and then cancelled an appointment to come out to my house to check it out twice. Again, thanks for your help and input. I am glad you are getting great results from this unit. This just isn't warming up my 1100 SqFt open plan ranch style house adequately.

Just giving a big thank you to Jotulguy for getting the Jotul rep in my area to finally contact me and set up a time to come check the unit I am having such problems with.

Been a while but here is the update after meeting with the Jotul area rep this afternoon. I am losing too much heat up my chimney, even though at the top where the cap is, it is sealed off by a flat plate the last inches of the stove pipe run through and cap sits on. Plus, being an old outside chimney, the old ash clean out door needs to be sealed up, even though the ash dump door in the firebox has been sealed for years. When I started converting over to solely wood heat about 6 years ago, I had to cut out the damper/flue in the chimney to get the stove pipe through. With this unit, I have to shut all that excess space off so that the heat from this unit is not mixing so much with the cold air in the chimney and I am not wasting so much heat up the column of the chimney and more will be kept where it is supposed to be...heating my house. Sealing this opening off with Rock Wool or Stone Wool insulation should do the trick, and is what the Jotul rep recommended. Once I take care of those two items, all should be good to go since the unit itself is firing just fine and everything on it is working just fine. The wood I am using is more than seasoned, and moisture meter testing indicates 15% or less, and probably on average 9% of what we checked today. Why this couldn't have been solved earlier in the burn season, misunderstanding and miscommunication happen on the other end. The confidence is high that taking care of and making these adjustments will produce the expected results and all the issues will be gone. Why the meaurer/installer guy never caught any of this is beyond all three of our comprehension, but at least I know where to start from to get this thing right from now on.

Thanks again everyone!...

Stay tuned til next burning season, unless I can get things sealed up in the next week or so and do some decent burning. Winter is hanging on tough this month and maybe into the first week of April.

I have the Jotul C550 and it has heated my home well. I have an outside chimney and I can heat a 1200 sq ft. area up to 80 degrees in no time. The one problem I have is the reostat does not last more than two years. Th blower just stopped this last time(3rd reostat), I changed it and still nothing. I have it set to manual since the auto has never worked. I can bring it up to 650 degrees and it will not click on. Any idea on what would cause the blower to stop? Remember, I just put in a new reostat.

Thanks for this! I will look into it more and probably make one for my needs. I like what I see and read so far about this type of system!

I really hope that this works, but in my opinion, I just think your expectations are more than the stove can handle. Please let me know your findings, I'm having the same issues as you are.

I'll keep everyone posted. FYI...my expectations for this unit were what was pushed by the salesman, as well as now the factory rep. Rest assured that if this isn't the fix to the substandard quality of performance I am getting now, I will be letting everyone know. Actually, I will let everyone know one way or another. Sorry you are having the same troubles I am, and I hope you get it all straightened out.