F55 Owners, Step Inside

[ToltingColtAcres]

What's your flue setup like? You definitely can control more by limiting the secondary air inlet. I have a magnet just in case I start getting more than 650.
I'm in hour 5 of the burn and just opened the air all the way. Temp is about 375.

I have about 6' of double-walled stove pipe with a 90 elbow into the wall. There it joins a Metalbestos cleanout T and is pretty much a straight shot (with a couple of small bends) about another 15' or so out the roof, tucked behind the house's regular chimney.

Last year I installed a flue pipe key to try and control the N/S loads. It didn't seem to make much difference. For example I can watch the flames, close the key, and I will see the flicker will slow down slightly, but not enough to really make a difference in the burn. As opposed to loading E/W, when I close the air intake and I will shift easily to nice lazy rolling flames.

Last nite before I went to bed at 11:30 I raked all my coals down even, and loaded the stove E/W. Waited until everything was engaged, rolling nicely, turned my air all the way down and had a nice burn going. Got up at 6:30 this morning and was down to coals, stovetop and flue temp was around 300.. I had enough coals I could just open the air, throw a log in, and watch her take off again. Some mornings depending on the wood species I'll have more ash and less coals, and then I have to rake things out a bit. I do find any significant ash accumulation seems to choke the airflow of the stove, especially when accumulated towards the front of the stove. This stove definitely loves to run N/S. I will use my small shove and push the ash and coals away from the front lip a little to give the air "room" to flow out, throw a few small splits N/S to facilitate air flow with a couple of larger logs E/W, and she'll get going again.

I definitely love the stove, she's an "easy keeper"

 

[Holzstapel]

Let that stove rip. What temps are you seeing on the griddle thermometer?

Here is my current situation after the weekend with a little background information first. One of our fires during the first weekend we had the stove got the flue pipe really hot - to the point that it was smoking. I now attribute this to the paint curing and me allowing the fire to rage too long with the air fully open. It scared my wife and made me hesitant to get the flue that hot again. The flue thermometer was positioned too low (about 12" above stove) so the temps there were getting high fast. I have since moved the flue thermometer to a better location, but I still don't think it's optimal. The manufacturer says to place it 18" above the connection. This is right where our stove pipe bends 90*.

I was turning down the air too soon because I was paying attention to the flue thermometer instead of the griddle thermometer. I didn't want the pipe to start smoking again. This weekend, after reading your post, I decided to let'r rip and paid more attention to the griddle therm. I got the stove up around 550 and the house was nice and warm - this even tossed heat down the hallway towards the bedroom which was a pleasant surprise! At this griddle temp, the flue temp was around 450. I feel much more confident after this weekend with getting the morning fire going and settling the stove down.

Thanks for posts regarding your burn times and ash. I didn't pull out any ash this weekend and was better with burning the coals down before reloading.

 

[ToltingColtAcres]

I was turning down the air too soon because I was paying attention to the flue thermometer instead of the griddle thermometer. I didn't want the pipe to start smoking again. This weekend, after reading your post, I decided to let'r rip and paid more attention to the griddle therm. I got the stove up around 550 and the house was nice and warm - this even tossed heat down the hallway towards the bedroom which was a pleasant surprise! At this griddle temp, the flue temp was around 450. I feel much more confident after this weekend with getting the morning fire going and settling the stove down.

What was your max flue temp during these cycles? My flue temps with the air wide open and the stove cranking will easily exceed that of the griddle temp, and will quickly rise to 1000+ (internal). The only time I see flue temps lower than my griddle temps is after the stove has outgassed a load a little and I can turn down the air lever to get a good roll from the secondaries. Have made the mistake of baking the paint on my double-wall stove pipe one too many times, now I really keep an eye on things when I have the air wide open.

 

[Holzstapel]

With the thermometer placed where shown in the photo, the temps never went into the red zone - so about 500-550?

 

[clark77]

Here is my current situation after the weekend with a little background information first. One of our fires during the first weekend we had the stove got the flue pipe really hot - to the point that it was smoking. I now attribute this to the paint curing and me allowing the fire to rage too long with the air fully open. It scared my wife and made me hesitant to get the flue that hot again. The flue thermometer was positioned too low (about 12" above stove) so the temps there were getting high fast. I have since moved the flue thermometer to a better location, but I still don't think it's optimal. The manufacturer says to place it 18" above the connection. This is right where our stove pipe bends 90*.

I was turning down the air too soon because I was paying attention to the flue thermometer instead of the griddle thermometer. I didn't want the pipe to start smoking again. This weekend, after reading your post, I decided to let'r rip and paid more attention to the griddle therm. I got the stove up around 550 and the house was nice and warm - this even tossed heat down the hallway towards the bedroom which was a pleasant surprise! At this griddle temp, the flue temp was around 450. I feel much more confident after this weekend with getting the morning fire going and settling the stove down.

Thanks for posts regarding your burn times and ash. I didn't pull out any ash this weekend and was better with burning the coals down before reloading.

glad the stove is working out for you. i shoveled some ash out this weekend but probably only a coffee can's worth. i really didn't need to but i wanted to have more room for wood.
last night i burned a real big load of wood and got to just about 700 on the corner of the griddle. at about 675, i placed my magnet over the secondary air just as a precaution. i ran it that way for a half hour or so then as i saw the temps drop, i removed the magnet and it crusied nicely between 550 and 600 degrees.
did i really need to place the magnet on the air inlet, i don't know but i just wanted to be safe and not go over 700. this stove really pumps heat out at those temps.
i wish i had gotten this stove at the beginning of the burning season verses now but i am very glad i got it. especially since these last two weeks have been the coldest its ever been before. definitely no regrets getting this stove.

 

[john84]

Lets see some pics of these beasts loaded up! I decided on this stove for an install sometime this year, this thread makes me think I'm making a good decision.

 

[Holzstapel]

Loaded up about 8:15.
Flue 400
Stove 530

 

[cybex]

Lets see some pics of these beasts loaded up! I decided on this stove for an install sometime this year, this thread makes me think I'm making a good decision.

At minus 9, it's loaded!

 

[clark77]

the stove was packed this morning (-7 out) and now is ripping 650-700 degrees. once again, I placed the magnet over the secondary inlet. before I did that, the center of the griddle was 900 and the corners were 700 and 675 each. after the magnet was put on, the center dropped to 850 and corners to 650. cruising nicely now.

 

[clark77]

Temps still dropping but secondaries are like little flame throwers.

 

[Holzstapel]

the stove was packed this morning (-7 out) and now is ripping 650-700 degrees. once again, I placed the magnet over the secondary inlet. before I did that, the center of the griddle was 900 and the corners were 700 and 675 each. after the magnet was put on, the center dropped to 850 and corners to 650. cruising nicely now.

That is hot! My IR gun only goes to 615*ish

Last night and this morning I kept the air fully open until the griddle temp reached 400. Then I cut the air to 1/2 open and kept an eye on the flue pipe, which was now around 450. The flue temp crept up to about 500-515 and the stove started to catch up. Once the corner of the griddle hit 500, I cut the air back to 1/3 open (this morning I loaded up at 5am and was at this stage by 5:25am). I let it linger here for a few and before I left the house the air was off and the secondaries were flying. I left the house at 6 and my wife watched the stove until she left around 730 and she reported that all was well.

I know it will vary form load to load since my wood is all mixed, but I can tell I'm getting a better feel for the stove.

Tonight I go to class (Carpentry) and the wife gets to stoke the fire. She has more wood stove experience than I do, so I'm not concerned, but I did tell her about not leaving the air fully open and walking away from the stove.

 

[clark77]

I'm at the top end of the optimum burning range as per jotul. so I'm comfortable at running it at those temps. of course, I'm cautious as to not go above 700 corner griddle temps. magnet on at 650-675 works well for my setup at keeping my temps within range.

 

[john84]

826 degrees on the center of the griddle is not something to worry about? As long as the corners stay within the max temp range?

 

[clark77]

826 degrees on the center of the griddle is not something to worry about? As long as the corners stay within the max temp range?

I'm not worried. Jotul wants it read in the corners so I'll keep the temps at the corners within the range. I would think that jotul knows that the center is hotter and have given the range to be safe for the whole stove.

 

[clark77]

i'll try to give Jotul a call tomorrow to get a good explanation on this.

 

[Setter Fan]

I have been looking at changing from an Insert to the F55 and was curious if others with this stove had done the same. Currently burn with a Jotul Rockland 550 (3 cubic foot firebox) rated at 1,800 square feet and 65,000 btu’s.

It seems the F55 is super easy to use, puts out a ton of heat and nearly everybody is incredibly pleased with the stove.

Again interested if others had switched from an Insert to this particular wood stove and if they could offer any feedback. I am not disappointed with the Rockland (it does what it is rated to do) but it really struggles in my center chimney 2,500 square foot home when the temps get below 30.

 

[clark77]

so last night I was looking for a contact number for Jotul North America and I found it along with their Facebook page. I sent them a message via facebook and sent the pictures that I showed above which shows my thermometer locations and my 826 degree center griddle temp. I asked them if the thermometers were in the proper locations and if 800+ temps in the center of the griddle is over firing. they wrote back this morning saying that the thermometer location and temps I'm running are perfect. so no worries, let you stove's rip!

 

[clark77]

I have been looking at changing from an Insert to the F55 and was curious if others with this stove had done the same. Currently burn with a Jotul Rockland 550 (3 cubic foot firebox) rated at 1,800 square feet and 65,000 btu’s.

It seems the F55 is super easy to use, puts out a ton of heat and nearly everybody is incredibly pleased with the stove.

Again interested if others had switched from an Insert to this particular wood stove and if they could offer any feedback. I am not disappointed with the Rockland (it does what it is rated to do) but it really struggles in my center chimney 2,500 square foot home when the temps get below 30.

this is exactly what I did 2 weeks ago. I had/have a regency i2400 which has a btu rating of 75,000, rated for 2000 sq/ft and has a 2.3 cu/ft fire box. I've been burning that 24/7 since 2006 and it did ok. when temps were in the 30's and 40's, the stove would keep up fine. from 20-30 degrees, I had to run it full tilt to keep up and from 20 and below, it just wouldn't keep up. so every year we had a week that was near 0 degrees and each year for the last few, I kept saying I'm going to get something else. well this year I said it again, but finally acted on it and got the F55. I am so glad I did. one concern I had was getting heated out of the 19' x 15' room my stove is in but that is not a problem. we've had the coldest temps I've ever seen here in NJ over the last 2 weeks and the F55 hasn't disappointed.
the space I'm heating is approximately 2500 sq/ft with a interior chimney. granted, my setup isn't ideal for heating with a wood stove (I wish I had an open floor plan), but this stove heats so much better than the insert did. this stove heats the house at single digit degree outside temps like my insert heated at 35-40 degrees. you will not be disappointed when you switch. i wish i did sooner.

 

[Setter Fan]

Thanks Clark!

That is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Love my Jotul but when the temperature dips I have to run it really hard and the furnace still kicks on. The constant sound of the fan running is also a small annoyance.

This is a great thread and very informative.

 

[clark77]

Nice reminder on the fan. It's so nice not to have any fan noise now. So much better that it's quiet. I did not go with the fan option and I don't feel like it's needed after burning the stove in sub zero temps these past two weeks.

 

[Grisu]

I have been looking at changing from an Insert to the F55 and was curious if others with this stove had done the same. Currently burn with a Jotul Rockland 550 (3 cubic foot firebox) rated at 1,800 square feet and 65,000 btu’s.

It seems the F55 is super easy to use, puts out a ton of heat and nearly everybody is incredibly pleased with the stove.

Again interested if others had switched from an Insert to this particular wood stove and if they could offer any feedback. I am not disappointed with the Rockland (it does what it is rated to do) but it really struggles in my center chimney 2,500 square foot home when the temps get below 30.

Have you actually measured the firebox dimensions? It looks like the firebox of the C550 is quite a bit smaller than 3 cu ft. If not than the F55 would not help that much and you need to go larger.

Do you have a block-off plate? https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/make-a-damper-sealing-block-off-plate/

 

[Setter Fan]

Have you actually measured the firebox dimensions? It looks like the firebox of the C550 is quite a bit smaller than 3 cu ft. If not than the F55 would not help that much and you need to go larger.

Do you have a block-off plate? https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/make-a-damper-sealing-block-off-plate/

Never measured the height of the firebox however it is approximately 24" wide by 12" back to front which makes for mostly East/West loading. My dealer and others on the forum have said the 550 was approximately 3 cubic feet. Will measure again in the morning when the stove is cooler.

Yes, the installer put in a block off plate have a center chimney and wood at or below 20%.

Should I be discounting the Jotul website BTU and square footage notes on both stoves? Just look at firebox size?

 

[Grisu]

Should I be discounting the Jotul website BTU and square footage notes on both stoves? Just look at firebox size?

Yes. Firebox size is the best predictor of the real-world heating capability of a stove. The more fuel you can put in the more heat you will get out. If the C550 is truly 3 cu ft, switching it out for a 3 cu ft stove will only give you a minimal gain. You will need to look for a stove with a 4 cu ft firebox or a second stove then.

 

[Setter Fan]

Called a CT dealer to clarify and he said the Rockland had a 2.1 cubic foot firebox and is realistically rated to heat between 1,500 to 1,800 square feet. He also said the F55 has a much bigger and more usable firebox and would heat significantly more.

 

[Knots]

I was on a trip for work last week, so the stove was stone cold today when I got up. I took that opportunity to take a look in the chimney.

I've burned about 1.25 cord of dry wood. Mostly soft maple, with black birch and white birch making up the rest.

The picture quality is bad, but I'll tell you this: I put it back together without cleaning anything. There was just a very thin coating of light brown stuff.

Looking up:



Looking down: