I'm starting to look at stoves to install in a back ell of my house. This stove wouldn't be used as my primary heat, but rather for weekends and (on occasion) evenings. The ell is about 1000 sq.ft. total of old 19th c. farm house (i.e. leaky) but I'm tightening it up as I work away on it. I've been looking online at the Jotul Black Bear and am curious what owners think of them. I'm curious about the cu.ft of the fire box and what size rounds can be fit into it. Any insight on performance, burn time, likes/dislikes, etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Any Jotul Black Bear owners out there?
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Hello,
I am new to wood burning this year. I started burning beginning of December, and it has been my only source of heat in my 1 1/2 story log home, with lots of huge windows and not that tight, etc. 900 square feet.
My stove is the black bear, and let me say that I am very happy with it. I don't have any basis for comparison sake as far as other wood stoves, but let's just say that I read this excellent site a lot!
I would estimate the usable firebox size to be between 1 and 1 1/4 sq. feet, slightly bigger at the front because the baffle slopes downward slightly from front to back; This is important to know and understand when you load the stove, so you don't try to stuff it only to find out that you can't fit that last split in and it's caught fire. You can fit up to 24" pieces in according to Jotul I believe, however I'm using 16" pieces. During very cold times, I reload it in the middle of night, sometimes even more than once, but I get up anyway so it's no problem. With burn times, I guess it depends on how you measure that. With the right wood and load, there may be embers several (4-8 ?) hours later. I've noticed I don't really need to worry about overfiring this stove. If I want, I'll load it real nice and it generally will go up to 550 or 600. If I load it medium, it might go up to 500 or 530 or so. Also, I can get it from cold to 500 in 45 minutes or so. Blah blah I could go on and on, just let me know if you have any follow up questions. Hope this helps.
Jeff
I am new to wood burning this year. I started burning beginning of December, and it has been my only source of heat in my 1 1/2 story log home, with lots of huge windows and not that tight, etc. 900 square feet.
My stove is the black bear, and let me say that I am very happy with it. I don't have any basis for comparison sake as far as other wood stoves, but let's just say that I read this excellent site a lot!
I would estimate the usable firebox size to be between 1 and 1 1/4 sq. feet, slightly bigger at the front because the baffle slopes downward slightly from front to back; This is important to know and understand when you load the stove, so you don't try to stuff it only to find out that you can't fit that last split in and it's caught fire. You can fit up to 24" pieces in according to Jotul I believe, however I'm using 16" pieces. During very cold times, I reload it in the middle of night, sometimes even more than once, but I get up anyway so it's no problem. With burn times, I guess it depends on how you measure that. With the right wood and load, there may be embers several (4-8 ?) hours later. I've noticed I don't really need to worry about overfiring this stove. If I want, I'll load it real nice and it generally will go up to 550 or 600. If I load it medium, it might go up to 500 or 530 or so. Also, I can get it from cold to 500 in 45 minutes or so. Blah blah I could go on and on, just let me know if you have any follow up questions. Hope this helps.
Jeff
i do not have this stove but it was my second choice, the only thing i see wrong with it is that there is not much fire view, not really wrong but if u want a good view of fire something with more glass could be a little better. but i love the black bear i say its one of the nicest stoves ever made. id say youd be very pleased.
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