Creeping Jotul F50-TL Specs

[MoBar65]

After researching this wonderful forum for some time I placed an order for the above model. It's replacing a 1979 Scandia 315D Taiwanese knock-off of the VC Defiant, with a cracked firebox and no gaskets left (came with the house). Still, it kept me warm the few times I dared firing it last season. Got $300 for recycling it thanks to the Jotul change-out program.

I'm curious regarding the steady increase of spec'ed performance for the F50-TL over the past 5 years. In 2010, it was advertised for 1,600 sq.-ft. capacity and 70,000 BTU output. Now it claims 2,500 and 83,000, respectively. Is this just playing with numbers or did Jotul really tweaked the stove's design over the years.

Regardless, it will be the primary heater for my 1,600 sq.-ft. finished basement (at 6,500 ft. elevation), with hopefully enough oomph to send some BTUs to the main floor (Propane heated) through the centrally located spiral stairs.

 

[Grisu]

Welcome to the forum!

I would ignore those numbers. There is no clear definition for the sqft. rating and how can there be? They would have to cover everything from horribly insulated house in Alaska to a well insulated open floorplan home in the Southeast. There are just too many variables to be a reliable guide. And the BTU rating is the maximum BTU for a short period of time while stoking the stove like a locomotive (©BrotherBart). You will rarely if ever burn the stove like that. The best predictor of heating capacity is the firebox size. More room for fuel means more wood can be burnt which will result in more BTU ending up in your home. That said the Rangeley should be able to heat 1600 sqft of insulated basement and maybe a bit more than that provided you feed it a steady diet of dry wood (less than 20% moisture content). Are you getting the wintergrill with it? I assume you also need to downsize the flue.

If you have burned in it a bit it would be great to get a little review about the stove. I have not seen too many owners of a Rangeley here yet. I would be particularly interested to know how the top-loading mechanism from Jotul works.

 

[BrotherBart]

while stoking the stove like a locomotive.

Attribution?

 

[MoBar65]

Yes Minister, Will do Minister.

The install won't happen till next week. The stack is a fairly recently installed 8" Class A pre-fab, 17-ft high, all outside the house envelope. Initially I will use an adapter to switch to a double-walled 6" stove pipe and see how it works. The stove manual says 6"-8" flue is OK, though it was referring to a clay liner: "A round fireclay liner must have a minimum inside diameter of 6" (15 cm) and maximum inside diameter of 8" (20 cm)."

The free WinterGrill form will be posted tomorrow. There will be several firsts for me with this stove: indoor grilling in the dead of winter, top-down fire-starting, a stove-top steamer, and hopefully, a healthy cut back on my $2,500-$3,000 annual propane bill.

MoBar

 

[BrotherBart]

Yes Minister, Will do Minister.

 

[Grisu]

Attribution?

Yes Minister, Will do Minister.

That's the right attitude.

The stack is a fairly recently installed 8" Class A pre-fab, 17-ft high, all outside the house envelope. Initially I will use an adapter to switch to a double-walled 6" stove pipe and see how it works. The stove manual says 6"-8" flue is OK, though it was referring to a clay liner: "A round fireclay liner must have a minimum inside diameter of 6" (15 cm) and maximum inside diameter of 8" (20 cm)."

If anything insulated class A should work better than a clay liner. However, oversized chimney at your elevation with a 90-degree turn in there and not that tall... Try it, but don't be surprised if it does not work too well.

 

[BrotherBart]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/big-house-cold-climate-6-x-25-chimney.46819/#post-587029

 

[Grisu]

That thread is older than I am even member here. Dunno where I caught that phrase but just in case I edited my post.