I am in the same boat as you (Upnort). https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-final-four-stove-bracket.203607/. This is my post similar to yours. I love the looks of the SoapStones but am going to go with a BK princess or Ashford 30. My dad has had a king(?) since the mid 80’s and swears by it. He has only bought 1 extra catalyst for it and swaps back and forth between the original and other one. He has an 8” flue and like you he goes up about20” to a 90, then into a 11” x(?)” masonry flue. Heats his 1800 sqft house great. We are in a milder climate than you though. He gets the fire going good and shuts it down through the cat. keeps the control toward the lower end. Nice deep fire box as well. He burns good dry locust wood, but I’m positive when I still lived at home we would cut wood in the summer and burn it toward the end of heatig season after year before wood was gone.
Wood Stove Sizing
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Like most have said, I think either Jotul would do the job, but think the F55 would be my preference, for 2 reasons. Maine is cold, and most of us tend to think of the ideal scenario, perfect drafting chimney, super dry wood, etc. But in reality, most of us are in the 50-75% of the perfect scenario, so the two stoves would do fine, but if you need a little extra horsepower, the F55 could still make up the heat needed. Weight of a stove has a lot to do with heat output (thermal mass), these two stoves are about 40-50 lbs apart in weight. Either Jotul would seemingly be a great choice to pick. Still, remember good dry seasoned wood is a must for any stove chosen. Stay warm.
Thank you! I think the only reason I question the f55 is because some have said (in a previous thread but mostly area dealers) it would be too much heat the majority of the time for the house (1375 sq ft). But also many have stated why it would be a good fit for the same reasons you give here. I guess I just didn't understand why some were so adamant I'd be blasted out of the house or that I'd not be able to burn cleanly as often as I should. I also don't fully understand why Jotul lists similar burn times for both stoves. I might be leaning toward the f45 since it seems a bit more efficient and the firebox is only a little smaller, but we have not purchased a new stove yet. All the feedback here has been awesome tho, and I truly appreciate it!
Can you give me an idea of what kind of cap? This is in the basement where the cleanout is (cleanout cast iron door is removed for photo). Stove pipe to chimney is one floor up on the first floor. Is this easy enough to do and a standard part? It's a six inch liner. I have no idea why the installer didn't add a cap. He retired right after install so I can't inquire about the job he did. But if it's easy enough to do, I want to fix it.
Imperial 6 in. D Galvanized steel Crimped Pipe End Cap - Ace Hardware
6" Galvanized End Cap (Crimped)Find the ENDCAP(SM END)GV 30GA 6 at Ace.
There have been discussions on here on whether running a stove is more of a science or an art. I’m in the camp that it’s more of an art based on science. Since every load of wood is going to burn a little different there can be an art to controlling the fire, burning cleanly, not cooking yourself out, etc.
We may be biased here because we are immersed in wood burning and will sit and spend the time to fine tune the running of a stove. This, and dry wood, may allow us to run a stove a bit larger than needed.
The average woodstove burner might not spend this time, be hampered by wet wood, etc.
In this case, a smaller stove will be able to run on a higher setting more often and may not need as many days of 1/8” incremental adjustments to the air control to get the stove tuned just right.
Experience dealing with calls about getting cooked out, hard to control fires, and such may push dealers to suggest running the smaller stove.
^^This^^ and the dealer may be more used to sizing based on Jotul's straight castiron stoves which are quite radiant. The buffering effect of the castiron jacket on their steel stoves (F35, F45, & F55) softens the heat.
So the consensus seems to be that either stove will do just fine. Oh dear. Well we haven't purchased one yet but are strongly leaning toward the f45. But I also want to say that we are very curious about a BK model but are not confident in the dealers here. The one you know about as far as their misinformation; the other we haven't checked out but they are incredibly busy. And we are concerned that our interior stove pipe would only just be about 2 ft before the turn into the chimney, but not any more than that and maybe an inch or so shy. And maybe sticking with the ease and low maintenance of the Jotul is the way to go.
Thank you! I've seen some with a handle at the top too--maybe that might be convenient for when it needs to be removed for cleaning? And I just plop that on at the end of the liner or is it more involved than that? Thanks so much for posting that!Imperial 6 in. D Galvanized steel Crimped Pipe End Cap - Ace Hardware
6" Galvanized End Cap (Crimped)Find the ENDCAP(SM END)GV 30GA 6 at Ace.www.acehardware.com
I'm sorry but that is not what you want. The cap needs to be a stainless cap made to go onto a light wall liner with a band clamp to hold it in place. I would honestly have the liner install inspected by qualified professional because anyone who would terminate the bottom like that may have cut other corners as well.
gruesome
New Member
A few comments:
1) Neither Jotul stove qualifies for the 30% federal tax credit. Since the credit is on the complete installation cost, an initially more expensive stove that qualifies might come cheaper in the end (assuming you do have taxes to pay).
2) I'm confused by different versions of the user manual that seem to state different high output values. The lower values I found seem rather low (26k BTU/hr and 30k BTU/hr). In any case, for either stove there is a blower kit available to increase heat transfer to the room.
3) The liner cap should be the one that is part of this liner series, i.e. sold/produced by the liner manufacturer to go with this liner. You could also go the more expensive but not necessarily better route of installing an additional T (with two caps) down there, again from the same manufacturer and made to go with this particular liner, but in my view that makes cleaning more difficult. The only reason for the T I can see is if you wanted to put a stove down there; but I don't think you are allowed to run two stoves on the same chimney liner.
1) Neither Jotul stove qualifies for the 30% federal tax credit. Since the credit is on the complete installation cost, an initially more expensive stove that qualifies might come cheaper in the end (assuming you do have taxes to pay).
2) I'm confused by different versions of the user manual that seem to state different high output values. The lower values I found seem rather low (26k BTU/hr and 30k BTU/hr). In any case, for either stove there is a blower kit available to increase heat transfer to the room.
3) The liner cap should be the one that is part of this liner series, i.e. sold/produced by the liner manufacturer to go with this liner. You could also go the more expensive but not necessarily better route of installing an additional T (with two caps) down there, again from the same manufacturer and made to go with this particular liner, but in my view that makes cleaning more difficult. The only reason for the T I can see is if you wanted to put a stove down there; but I don't think you are allowed to run two stoves on the same chimney liner.
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Hi, thanks! We have explored the tax credit option but of those stoves we are only interested in a BK and I've written about that consideration (which we haven't excluded; we haven't purchased a new stove yet). Re: the liner, honestly I'm not certain what to do. The installer retired right after installing. He was an installer for 30 years and also a firemen and seemed to take code seriously. The liner goes all the way to the basement cleanout (woodstove with T is on first floor). The cleanout is at the very base of chimney in basement. (When I asked about this back when it was being installed and why it was lined to the bottom, he wrote simply, "the cleanout is the cleanout." I never thought to ask if a cap should go there because I didn't know one should.)
We got the liner because we wanted to be extra careful and have a well-insulated chimney. It was a clay-tile chimney in good condition. It is also center-located in the house. We've only had the cleanout door in the basement previously before the insulated metal liner was installed (with the clay tiles; they did not need to be broken out). And we only have the iron cleanout door now.
So there is a designated cap that comes with this chimney liner system? The liner installed is a HomeSaver UltraPro.
Thanks!
Ok, I called the folks at HomeSaver Chimney Relining Systems (the supplier), and they said that it's not unusual to not have a cap on the end of the liner when it's [the cleanout] below grade (in the basement interior, a floor below where the stove is installed). But he said a T cap can be placed over the bottom if we are concerned about any draft issues (which are probably unlikely, he said). So the cap Todd suggests should do fine. When we get our stove installed, we will have the installer also look at this, but honestly, we don't yet know which installer to go with here since everyone says different things and has different ideas. But hopefully we get our new stove before next winter! Leaning toward the Greenville but have not ruled out the F55, and might even talk to someone about a BK if we can get to the dealer who doesn't think BKs are only meant for Alaska. 🙃 But more than likely we will go with the ease of the Jotul. Who knows, by the time we select a Jotul, the version 3's of those stoves might be out. 
The bottom needs to be sealed in some way. I typically put a tee on the bottom then seal everything off with masonry around that. And use a gasketed door. The way yours is done is not right and doesn't meet the manufacturers requirements in their installation manual. Also if they didn't remove the liners how did they possibly have room for insulation as required for the listing of the liner and probably code
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