Jamestown J1000

[RyanF]

Hello All,

Just thought I'd post a review of Jamestown pellet stoves, doesn't seem to be much good information out there. I've owned my stove now for 4 years, the stove is (as marketed) quite small compared to other models. It has no ash drawer so frequent cleaning is required. Routine vacuuming works for quick cleaning, however eventually I found that even thoroughly cleaning ash traps does not restore efficiency, only technique I found was to use the leaf blower method, not too inconvenient if you can access the vent easily.

The bay window is nice immediately following a cleaning but side windows blacken after the first fire, I've tried all different types of fuel and damper settings. The stove always smells of smoke, I tried everything as I think I am sensitive to the odour. I understand that 'in theory' the chamber should be under negative pressure but I think the glass wash vents leak smoke. The burn pot builds up hardened ash deposits regardless of fuel used and requires frequent scraping. The hopper is also not tapered enough and the stove will go out overnight when the pellets hang up on the side. I've tried the tricks posted on this forum but due to the compact size I think the slope is insufficient to deliver the pellets.

I originally intended on using a thermostat to control the temperature, however the unavoidable hardened ash deposits prevents proper ignition and I had a couple smoke explosions before I abandoned the idea of thermostat control. The burn pot must be scraped prior to each lighting so automatic control is not recommended.

Reliability is also questionable. First, the stove exhaust fan started to rattle LOUDLY just out of warranty. I thought it was a bearing but the manufacturer informed me that a batch of faulty motors was used, they weren't crimped properly. I tried to crimp the motor (twice) but the bearings failed afterwards.I ordered the replacement, (which, according to Jamestown, is from the same batch of defective motors) and they offer no warranty! I searched high and low to cross reference the assembly but even Fasco had no direct replacement, so you are stuck with proprietary, defective replacement parts. The ignitor failed last week and its the same situation, premium cost for replacement parts, plus shipping costs and no warranty. [Edit: Jamestown just replied that they will provide a 6 month warranty on the igniter after I told them I'd post a review here].

Moral of the story, purchase a reputable stove with local support. Pellets stoves have many moving parts and sensors that will eventually need replacement. I like the look of the stove, and the compact size was what sold me on it. In hindsight, a regular stove would have fit and I'd probably have less issues with replacement parts.

 

[Lake Girl]

Do you still get warranty on the igniter if they don't like the review

 

[midfielder]

Hi RyanF - I'll try to answer a few of your questions if I can. I've been using an older ('00) J1kB for the last three years and really like it; however, I hear your issues.

Ash storage is certainly an issue in these stoves. Mine has the as drawer and I wouldn't want it gone. I don't find that I have to do the full deep cleaning every time I empty ashes to restore efficiency. Just clearing the burn pot area and scrubbing the heat exchangers seems to do it. Jamestown recommends cleaning out the vertical traps every ton. For me they are pretty full (mostly the inside ones) by then, but the stove heats fine if I ignore them for that long.

Combined issues - combustion blower noise/leaf blower-style clean out. The J1kb is small and light so there's not a lot of dampening for sound. Anything that starts to buzz or rattle is going to be amplified by the case. My wife is hyper sensitive to sound so I've been all over the thing installing rubber bushings - especially convection blower, and auger motor mount so those motors are completely isolated from the shell by rubber. I also have rubber damper strips on the case where it stays cool and acoustic paneling on the walls behind the stove.
The main thing though was the combustion blower, which are pretty loud even when operating correctly on a lot of stoves I've heard. I know this isn't for everyone, but I got the stove used for a song, and was happy to bring it back to condition and mod it. My solution was to build a custom exhaust unit on the top of my short stack outside the house and remove the stock blower completely - this is a through-the-wall installation. I run an in-line speed control on it, so with that and the manual draft, I have full control of air flow through the stove. The sound the stove produces now is very low. The blower is a high-temp 100cfm squirrel cage blower from Grainger. I clean the vanes on the blower about every ton but probably don't need to. At the end of the stack it doesn't get nasty very quickly. When I shut the stove down to empty the ash (every 4 - 7 days, depending on how much fuel I've had to burn), I turn the speed control up to full - it acts like a mini-leaf blower and gives the insides a pretty good clean (obviously not what a powerful leaf blower would do, but good enough that I don't have to do that except at season's end). It also induces enough draft through the stove that I don't get fly ash in the house while emptying the ash. I don't use a vacuum except about every 60 bags or so for a deep clean.
The end-of-stack combustion blower means that the entire exhaust line is negative pressure, so there are no smoke leaks from the pipe to worry about. With a blower on a stove body, everything behind it is negative all the way back to the draft and including the airwash - the entire case of the stove - so I doubt your airwash is leaking smoke, unless your door seals or something are bad. More likely it's after the blower, which is all positive pressure, so blower housing gasket and pipe section seals would be prime suspects.
For me, deposits in the burn pot are all about pellet quality and air. Some pellets do tend to leave some deposits, but nothing like the nasty "clinkers" I see reported commonly here on the forums. The J1kb pots are high quality cast iron (at least mine is) that seem built to last a lifetime and hold heat very well. Strangely, for me, some of the highest btu pellets are the most likely to deposit, but not always. It seems to be about finding the right air supply for feed rate for a given pellet. I do run my fuel trims on full so I get a lot of heat out of the little stove and use quite a lot of air. Mostly, deposits aren't a problem.
The hopper angles aren't that steep - true. Another design limitation of the unit's small size, I guess. FWIW, the pellets that I have trouble with slumping are the softwoods that have a lot of resin and tend to be sticky. I've noticed that with Vermonts and Curran softies, for example. They also tend to gum up the warmer surfaces of the hopper further inhibiting slide so I tend to stay away from them in favor of the hotter hardwoods which tend to be harder, dryer and more slippery both on the hopper walls and each other. Of the cheapies, FSUs are dry and small and spill well for me.

 

[RyanF]

Thanks for the detailed response. I've considered the external combustion blower in the past. I would have done the mod this time around if it wasn't so cold out. I think it is an inherently better design since it keeps the whole stove and exhaust piping under negative pressure, its easier to clean and best of all quiet. I think there is only one commercially available external blower though, I didn't have the time to research options to build my own. I like your idea of isolation bushings, my unit does have some rubber mounts but there are still metal rattles / noises that could be further dampened. I really don't know what causes the smoky smell with my stove, I tried everything to look for the source. When I removed the combustion blower last time I noticed that the fiber gaskets were all discoloured and it looked like gas was escaping in a few locations. Jamestown claims that these gaskets are not for sealing though, just to dampen sound. I still used rubber rtv sealant when I replaced the blower, noticed some improvement but not much. Perhaps it is due to weather, maybe the smoke is making its way in through windows etc into the house. My exhaust is through the wall and up about 5', installed according to code but I still question if I should vent up through the roof.

 

[dave2112]

I really like that combustion blower idea Midfielder. How do you connect the blower to the stack pipe? Did you build a box or something. Or do they make special fans for this. Cool idea.

 

[midfielder]

I used a stainless pipe cap I had from a former wood stove installation. It has a flat on it that let me screw the blower housing to it. Used some aluminum flashing to give it a little side protection. Then a 3" to 5" galvanized expander to make the connection to the pipe. Pretty hacky . . .