Heartbroken over a poor investment.

[WendyO]

I saved for 3 years to buy a wood stove insert this past November, thinking it would help keep my fuel costs down. I paid an arm and a leg for a Jotul, that claimed to put out 40,000 btu's for up to 1,300 sq. ft. It's the smallest insert of the 3 I looked at - but I live in a small house ( 1,400 sq. foot Cape. ) so I bought it. After burning through 1.5 cords of wood - and 100's of $ of bio bricks ( as we were told to try by retailer who sold us the stove ) and now on tank #2 of oil AND a kerosene heater in addition, I can honestly say that claim of 40,000 btu's is bull! I am so upset about this I can't tell you. After MANY phone calls to the retailer, a service tech FINALLY came to the house to check out the stove. He said the wood was a bit damp ( though it burns fine in our other fireplace ) and we weren't getting the stove hot enough. As a result, it wasn't putting out the heat. Duh. Really? So I bought a thermometer, and got the insert consistently up over 500 degrees. Still no great results. Now we're into end of January - and they tell us perhaps the chimney isn't drafting right. So... the service tech comes and extends the top of our center chimney by 3 feet because perhaps the draft wasn't working properly. It worked a bit better - but STILL not getting that " need to wear only a t-shirt " kind of heat. No where near it. Now it's March --- many many phone calls later and still no solution. I am so upset about this $3,800 investment that I am ready to go to the Better Business Bureau about Superior Hearth, Spa and Leisure in Southington, CT who could CARE LESS - and Jotul Corporate about their misrepresentation. Superior's solution?? Buy a bigger stove for an additional $800.00

Has anyone a suggestion for me? Am I doing something wrong? Please...

 

[Dix]

How seasoned is your firewood???

Damp ain't good Wendy.

The first year is usually the hardest, until you start to get ahead on your stacks.

 

[BrotherBart]

The lil Winterport insert firebox is only like 1.2 or 1.4 cubic feet of space. Good for heating a thousand square feet or so and maybe four or five hour burns.

 

[drewmo]

After something like 20 years with a smoke dragon, my folks ended up buying a Jotul free-standing, also with a very small fire box. I was concerned that the heat would not meet their expectations. Fortunately, it puts out enough heat for their purposes, so they're happy. But I notice that they never burn the stove hot enough (usually in the 300-350 range), so I played with it for an hour and sure enough I had my dad cursing that it was too hot up in the loft.

There is definitely a learning curve to wood stoves, especially if this is your first go at burning wood. Not sure of your history with inserts and stoves, Wendy, so if you're not having good luck with your dealer, find a neighbor, fellow Hearth member, anyone who has experience with burning wood and ask to show you the ropes. Jotul is a great and respected manufacturer and with the right knowledge, wood and air circulation, that stove should deliver.

 

[Dix]

Missed the part about the Bio Bricks. With those, you should have had some heat, barring crappy house layout / flow, and other hinderences. A smaller fire box is not going to help with the nasty winter we've had.

 

[velvetfoot]

Do you use the fan?

 

[GENECOP]

In most instances you want to get more stove and have the extra potential in reserve should you need it....your Stove is rated for 1300 SQFT, your Cape is 1400SQFT....Sq footage is usually just a guide line , how high are your ceilings, how well are you insulated, what type of windows etc etc....Like someone suggested work with some of the members here or find a friend or neighbor who has stove experience....as far as pursuing BBB and other agencies, I would pass on that, At the end of the day their posistion will be you chose the stove and it was undersized for your conditions....no real liability there....and it will just continue to upset you, just move on, work with it, you will figure it out and make it work, good luck....

 

[blacktail]

Still no great results.

STILL not getting that " need to wear only a t-shirt " kind of heat.

Stove rated "up to" 1300sf...
1400sf house...
cold northeast climate.

Maybe your expectations were too high.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I had a VC Dutchwest large wood/coal stove. Never got the house real hot even with the stove cranking at 800 to 1000 Deg F on top and the blower on! Sold it and got a wood pellet stove in the same spot and Bingo! No more oil used for heat and house will bake if turned up too high. Just my experience! House is 2200 sq ft. Also got a 2nd stove as a backup but do not need it.

 

[elmoleaf]

Good heating from wood is as much dependent upon the existing home conditions, the fuel and the installation details as it is upon the stove itself.
House: age, level of air sealing, height of flue, insulation levels, floor plan and location of stove in home, inside vs outside chimney, house location/elevation, etc.
Fuel: type of wood, moisture content, size of pieces.
Stove: epa, non-epa, fire-box size, method of operation, temperature, etc.
Installation: insulated flue, blockoff plate, stove accessories, cap, etc
Experienced eyes on the situation first hand would be helpful. Barring that, lots of photographs and descriptions.
Above is only a partial listing of variables ...there are many places to go wrong. Impossible to diagnose without more information.

 

[DougA]

Hopefully a member in CT will offer to help you. If an experienced member has a moisture meter and can spend a few hours there, it would correct the problems that your dealer should have. Remember that 40,000 BTU and 1,400 sq ft. is the maximum the stove is rated for in ideal conditions. That means perfect wood, perfect draft, perfect operator. It seems to be pretty common to take the mfg. numbers and cut them by 40 to 50% to get realistic, real world use. Even if you go up one size, that may not be enough. To be fair, this winter is the worst out of 30 that I have been using my wood stove.

 

[velvetfoot]

Again...fan?

 

[rdust]

Please explain the chimney that is being used from the stove up.(diameter, height etc) Can you take us through how you're running the stove?

As BrotherBart said above that's a small firebox. If you're wanting to heat primarily with wood successfully a stove in the 2+cubic ft range will be needed.(most of us end up in the 3 cubic ft range) Remember you can build a small fire in a big stove, it's hard(impossible) to build a big fire in a small stove. It's not uncommon to miss on the first stove purchase, I did!

 

[dznam]

I saved for 3 years to buy a wood stove insert this past November, thinking it would help keep my fuel costs down. I paid an arm and a leg for a Jotul, that claimed to put out 40,000 btu's for up to 1,300 sq. ft. It's the smallest insert of the 3 I looked at - but I live in a small house ( 1,400 sq. foot Cape. ) so I bought it. After burning through 1.5 cords of wood - and 100's of $ of bio bricks ( as we were told to try by retailer who sold us the stove ) and now on tank #2 of oil AND a kerosene heater in addition, I can honestly say that claim of 40,000 btu's is bull! I am so upset about this I can't tell you. After MANY phone calls to the retailer, a service tech FINALLY came to the house to check out the stove. He said the wood was a bit damp ( though it burns fine in our other fireplace ) and we weren't getting the stove hot enough. As a result, it wasn't putting out the heat. Duh. Really? So I bought a thermometer, and got the insert consistently up over 500 degrees. Still no great results. Now we're into end of January - and they tell us perhaps the chimney isn't drafting right. So... the service tech comes and extends the top of our center chimney by 3 feet because perhaps the draft wasn't working properly. It worked a bit better - but STILL not getting that " need to wear only a t-shirt " kind of heat. No where near it. Now it's March --- many many phone calls later and still no solution. I am so upset about this $3,800 investment that I am ready to go to the Better Business Bureau about Superior Hearth, Spa and Leisure in Southington, CT who could CARE LESS - and Jotul Corporate about their misrepresentation. Superior's solution?? Buy a bigger stove for an additional $800.00

Has anyone a suggestion for me? Am I doing something wrong? Please...

Your insert is too small to live up to your expectations and undersized for your climate and square footage no matter how well seasoned your wood is. Take the Superior offer and upsize - you'll be much happier.

 

[webby3650]

Hello
I had a VC Dutchwest large wood/coal stove. Never got the house real hot even with the stove cranking at 800 to 1000 Deg F on top and the blower on! Sold it and got a wood pellet stove in the same spot and Bingo! No more oil used for heat and house will bake if turned up too high. Just my experience! House is 2200 sq ft. Also got a 2nd stove as a backup but do not need it.

A pellet stove is hardly the answer here. It's simply undersized and being used with under seasoned wood.

 

[webby3650]

This is a tiny insert, its undersized for the house. But, it should still be contributing to the houses heat demand. I'm guessing the house has vaulted ceilings? Old windows? All these things play a part in the amount of heat needed. That's why most Jotul stoves are rated for cubic footage, not square footage.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Wow..... Where do we start.... You need to answer alot of questions in order to get help and a few pics of the room would help......you may need to upgrade to the biggest insert possible, 1 size up won't cut it.....
What type of wood are you burning?
How long has it been split and stacked? What is the MC?
Do you run your stove fully open?
How much wood do you burn at a time?
At what speed do you run your fan?
How cold is it outside?
How many windows do you have? Are they single pane?
What's your insulation like?
How big of a space are you trying to heat?
Are you burning 24/7 or do you cold start everyday?

I will stop there........

 

[Don2222]

A pellet stove is hardly the answer here. It's simply undersized and being used with under seasoned wood.

A pellet stove is an option but the proper size stove and dry wood or dry wood pellets is most important!

 

[webby3650]

A pellet stove is an option but the proper size stove and dry wood or dry wood pellets is most important!

The OP said they were struggling to heat, how's a pellet stove gonna help with that? (Joke)

 

[weatherguy]

A bigger stove, drier wood and a block off plate (if you don't have one) would probably solve problems.
If the dealer is offering you a bigger stove for just the price difference, jump on it. This is a long term investment and will pay off down the line.

 

[tarzan]

We heat our fairly well insulated 1500sf home in WV with a 2.1cf stove rated for "up to" 2,000sf and it struggles when temps drop to near or below 0f

 

[HotCoals]

A bigger stove, drier wood and a block off plate (if you don't have one) would probably solve problems.
If the dealer is offering you a bigger stove for just the price difference, jump on it. This is a long term investment and will pay off down the line.

x2

 

[Don2222]

The OP said they were struggling to heat, how's a pellet stove gonna help with that? (Joke)

A second stove of any type for more heat could help alot to get off those fossil fuels.

 

[WendyO]

Thank God I knocked on Hearth's door. I sooooo appreciate all this feedback. I will get answers to all questions pending and post back.
Thanks to all.

 

[Dix]

Thank God I knocked on Hearth's door. I sooooo appreciate all this feedback. I will get answers to all questions pending and post back.
Thanks to all.

Get cracking, we're waiting

Oh, and welcome to the forums, and Da Sistahood!