"ultimate" woodstove

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Never heard of them before now. Looks like the Ultimate has a huge firebox of 3.9 cu ft, the BTU number must be a misprint? Wonder how they got away with a 6" flue for such a large stove?
I like the looks of that Mystere stove, it has a very unique look.

http://www.ujr.ca/en/ja_roby_stoves.htm
 
I bought the Ultimate stove by J.A. Roby from Kent for my cabin after having a small Vermont Castings stove that I did not like and got rid of(too small and too fiddly). Like trucks and some appendages, you can't have too much wood-stove, so I got this one. Biggest on the market. 3600sq.ft., it heats. It is very big and works very well and needs little clearance. It seems basic but robust in its manufacturing. I dealt with the manufacturer for a couple of questions on brick placement, and they were excellent. It is heavy and you will have to take out the bricks to move it. Compared to my brother in laws Pacific Energy, it is not as technically nice. The top bricks just lay on top of the breather tubes with some rock wool and steel over the tops versus the complicted fancy piece of steel over the bricks in a PE stove. It does work well though and the smoke burns over the wood just like nothern lights when it gets going and it is turned down. I also bought the fan, which is reasonably quiet (axial type fans - 2 of them in the kit) but the thermostat seems to kick in at too high a temp. I have to ask the company about that. The glass seems to stay reasonably clean, but needs to be wiped every weekend to get the full effect. The glass is huge so it is better than a fireplace in that regard. I love that I can block the firebox with big two foot long = junks of soft-wood, turn it down, and not have to fool with it for HOURS

Overall I am delighted.
 
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I want that darn wood furnace!
 
BrotherBart said:
I want that darn wood furnace!

Yuck, that has to be one of the ugliest wood furnaces I have seen. No doubt it will heat, but the blower at 460 cfms seems undersized for tying into most duct systems.
But its design inside the firebox is basically the design of our furnace. Nice to see other furnaces that have a design for good secondary combustion. Still I can't get over how ugly the thing is.
 
More info from manufacturer:

"To warm up the whole house!

Here is another challenge that the company J.A.Roby accepted when it created the biggest, most powerful and advanced combustion stove in North America. Its principal characteristic is its depth. In fact, the ULTIMATE possess a combustion room of 4pi³ and its exterior dimension are 33 ½†high by 27 ½†wide by 37†depth and it easily accepts wood logs of 25â€. It can easily warm up a house with a dimension up to 3600 pi². Its strengthen design on its top eliminates every risk of buckling. As a result of a sophisticated device created by J.A. Roby, the multi-position adjustment for the door would never have been that easy. It permits to adjust the door pressure in order to get it more airtight, adjust its angles or even adjust it horizontally or vertically in no time or effort. Fans are also available as an option. The ULTIMATE is offered in every specialized retailers and the best hardware stores."

Voila!
 
I would like to try one out for the fun of it, love the 25 inch log thing.
 
Beetle-Kill said:
I liked the "Mystere". A better name might have been "Bandersnatch". Just something about it.

Was that you that said the Elm stove had an Alice in Wonderland look?

Yes, I was thinking about adding that one with the oven to my stove wish-list, but I'd end up with two stoves in one room, which even I recognize is excessive . . .
 
How is it that exterior dem. is 43" deep but inside for logs depth is 25"? Whats going on back there? Says it weights 480lbs. Doesn't really seem all that heavy for the demensions. I'm sure its a powerhouse of a stove though.
 
I'm curious too, but at this stage we have yet to see or have report of one in actual use.
 
Man that is one huge stove! I like that it is a convection stove as well! I was really sold on convection when I bought this stove way back when and still like that feature.. My dad used to heat his house with a home made steel box stove from the 70's and I remember feeling like I was going to burn up from all the radiant heat that thing put out! Man I really hated that on fire feeling so convection was for me.. My dad still has that stove and uses it occasionally but he is so unstable he can barely walk without falling down so he burns very little thankfully.. I wonder how true convection stoves are being made today?

Ray
 
I work at a dealer in nova scotia where we sell ja roby products including the ultimate, the mystere and that monstrosity of a stove/furnace, the atf 727, and there have been a few issues, if you look inside the ultimate you will notice a steel structure that would resemble a log holder of sorts, this structure draws a tremendous amount of air through, resulting in two instances of this structure completely melting!! this large plume of secondary air has also caused the tubes responsible for the reburn element of the stove to warp and fall into the firebox. JA is excellent in resolving customer issues, but until this issue is resolved id be cautious in purchasing this stove
 
Sounds like a canadian only thing.
 
Damn us Canadians. However, we do know a thing or two about wood stoves / cold / snow / blackflies / hockey / hunting / fishing / Santa Claus and snow forts.

Be careful with new stoves from smaller companies. Ensure they are UL / CSA approved.

ANdrew
 
robar44 said:
if you look inside the ultimate you will notice a steel structure that would resemble a log holder of sorts, this structure draws a tremendous amount of air through, resulting in two instances of this structure completely melting!! this large plume of secondary air has also caused the tubes responsible for the reburn element of the stove to warp and fall into the firebox. JA is excellent in resolving customer issues, but until this issue is resolved id be cautious in purchasing this stove


Hmmm. So you think this is a common problem with the Ultimate? Our Home Hardware has it going on sale next week and hubby really likes the size. I will certainly get him to read this review. Too bad we can't actually see the stove before buying/ordering but our local store has none in stock.
Does this occur only when it is used for larger fires often? Our plan for this is as secondary or back up heat and will generally only have small fires in it. Not sure if that would make any difference or not.
 
Have to say that you are on your own here if you choose this stove. That doesn't mean it will turn out badly, we just don't have much good feedback on this line of stoves. If you get one please don't be a stranger. What you learn will help others.

PS: and welcome to the forums.
 
Wow,,they should have called that the Kenworth,,,,does it come with a airhorn???? Huge.... :bug:
 
nineislandboy said:
I bought the Ultimate stove by J.A. Roby from Kent for my cabin after having a small Vermont Castings stove that I did not like and got rid of(too small and too fiddly). Like trucks and some appendages, you can't have too much wood-stove, so I got this one. Biggest on the market. 3600sq.ft., it heats. It is very big and works very well and needs little clearance. It seems basic but robust in its manufacturing. I dealt with the manufacturer for a couple of questions on brick placement, and they were excellent. It is heavy and you will have to take out the bricks to move it. Compared to my brother in laws Pacific Energy, it is not as technically nice. The top bricks just lay on top of the breather tubes with some rock wool and steel over the tops versus the complicted fancy piece of steel over the bricks in a PE stove. It does work well though and the smoke burns over the wood just like nothern lights when it gets going and it is turned down. I also bought the fan, which is reasonably quiet (axial type fans - 2 of them in the kit) but the thermostat seems to kick in at too high a temp. I have to ask the company about that. The glass seems to stay reasonably clean, but needs to be wiped every weekend to get the full effect. The glass is huge so it is better than a fireplace in that regard. I love that I can block the firebox with big two foot long = junks of soft-wood, turn it down, and not have to fool with it for HOURS

Overall I am delighted.

What a nicely done review!
 
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