Jotul 550 or Osburn 2400

[NoobTube]

Hi All,

I finally talked my wife into a wood stove. Originally we had a free to us Quadrafire freestanding stove (but she put the brakes on that).

We've met with our rep in our area to close in on stove and witnessed the Jotul 500. She likes that stove because its flush faced. We tentatively agreed with our dealer that was the stove we would get, but I really want the 2400.

We have a 2200 colonial built in the 80's with an exposed chimney where the fireplace is in the right rear of the house. Not an optimal placement for a fireplace, but we have some good sized openings through the floor plan on the first floor to get heat around. This will be used for suplemental heating primarily. Not looking to completely stop my energy usage for heat, but it would be a bonus if I could.

I'm starting to have second thoughts. I like the Jotul, its really a nice stove, but I'm thinking the Osburn 2400 is the more appropriate selection. Its not a money thing either, although a somewhat large gap between the two. I've been reading a lot on both and no one here complains about the 2400 being lackluster in its performance, but many complain that the 500 just doesn't do a sufficient job.

I can fit either of them in my fireplace and will be going with an insulated liner all being installed by my dealer.

I want to keep my wife happy, but at the same time, I feel like if I buy this stove I'll feel like I just put a shiny object in there instead of sticking to my gut on this. Anyone have any observations regarding output on the 2400 vs 550? BTW i'm located in New Haven County, CT, and in some pretty harsh winters we see single digit temps and extended periods in the low teens.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Initially cost was not a consideration until we considered the fact we may not be happy with our choice. After narrowing down the stove options for our experiment we had initially decided on the Osburn 2400. It was our stove of choice for Btu output, fit , and construction. That was until we investigated another manufactures stove at a substantial savings.

 

[jatoxico]

Unless the room cannot accommodate it I would pick the stove that extends onto the hearth like the Osburn vs the Jotul 550.

 

[NoobTube]

Hi Thanks to both. Seeing as its an insert and cannot accommodate a free stander (I think that is what VirginiaIron is getting at) I like the Osburn. The 550 is a fine insert, certainly one of the best looking I've seen (I hear the VC Merrimack is very nice looking as well) but I do believe that I won't get the results I want from it.

 

[jatoxico]

My 550 puts out decent heat and I can keep the heat off in most of my pretty large house even when it gets quite cold but...you need to run the fans so if power cuts out it's not as effective and the shallow, smallish firebox cannot easily be loaded N/S.

 

[Sledhead00]

Not a direct comparison so take with a grain of salt but I had a Jotul 450 prior to the Osburn 2400 I have now.
The Jotul:Was a pain to try and control(I have very good draft however at 25') it went nuclear more than a few times. The air wash sucked on the 450, I like seeing the fire and I had to clean the glass a few times a week. I was unhappy with the fit and finish, after a yr the paint was coming off the door and fan grill. The fan itself was noisy and off balance which shook the shroud it was in no matter what I did with magnets
Osburn- Very easy to control, I love the simple look, the air wash is awesome I only wipe the glass maybe once or twice a yr and it's just a haze really the fan is quiet and balanced, the automatic thermostat is in a better spot than the 450(not great but better). Biggest thing was price, my 2400 which is almost twice the size of the 450 was also only about 1/2 the price of the 450!!

 

[VirginiaIron]

We removed a raised hearth to accommodate our present installation.

 

[NoobTube]

My 550 puts out decent heat and I can keep the heat off in most of my pretty large house even when it gets quite cold but...you need to run the fans so if power cuts out it's not as effective and the shallow, smallish firebox cannot easily be loaded N/S.

pardon my ignorance what does "N/S" mean? also someone in another thread used the term E/W. Any idea? lol sorry

 

[jatoxico]

N/S=North South meaning splits are loaded front to back. E/W is then of course loading with splits going side to side. N/S is handy since mostly splits will not fall on glass as the load burns down. Easier to pack the fire box full. Also E/W doesn't allow air to flow through the load front to back as easily, which can sometimes be used to advantage but all in it's better to have the option to load either way.

 

[jatoxico]

Now how 'bout CSS?

 

[VirginiaIron]

N/S stands for loading the firebox north to south front to rear, and E/W stands for loading the firebox east to west, right to left or left or right. I like The north-south fireboxes because the wood doesn't roll back onto the glass and present a problem when you open the door, but that is just my opinion. Also it seems I can negotiate the pieces of wood much more accurately on the north and south than trying to balance them in on an east to west. Sometimes I find that the secondaries on the stove burn more efficiently with an east west load, But I really haven't done enough experimentation to say definitely. The Quadra fire freestanding stove is a fine stove. We had I believe it was the 4100, and there was a tremendous amount of smoke and creosote reduction. With an increase of heat.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I prefer CYA. although that's funnier in my head. Laughing out loud

 

[NoobTube]

Oh mano. totally thought it was End Wood. Jease . ..
Going to talk to the wife tonight about the stove choice. again I'm not knocking the Jotul, but I think based on everything I've read about the 2400 it seems to be a great insert. thanks guys.

 

[VirginiaIron]

If you're looking for a gentle steady heat, 100k+ btus and you are not planning on doing any experimental cooking on the unit i'm sure the equinox 8000 would make a nice choice.

 

[NoobTube]

Not an insert. A free-standing stove isn't an option unfortunately.

 

[NW Pa Burner]

I'm on my second year burning with the Osburn 2400, the distance that is sits out onto the hearth is adjustable to some degree but it cannot be flush mounted and definitely protrudes some which help with heat transfer to the room. Last year and this year I have not been able to burn completely seasoned wood so I am still learning with it and I am currently on the 3 year plan for firewood to remedy that. The stove is a beast and with the fan on moves some heat. When it is running my 2400 SF is kept around 72(except the room on the far side of house) and the furnace does not kick on. Cannot really control the heat from it, load it, get it to temp, shut the air damper as far as possible, watch the secondarys dance and let it do its thing. The fan on low is not noticeable but you can hear it on high but we rarely run it on high except to warm up the house fast if it got cold. It will keep coals for 10 hours plus and after a full load the stove will cool down to the point the fan shuts off after about 8 to 9 hours. I have some Oak and Hard Maple seasoning for next year that I hope will extend the burn times a little bit. Great stove thus far.

 

[NoobTube]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Had my installer come by today. He is concerned with my clearances in a few areas. My lintel might interfere with the liner coming down so he recommended an offset box. Understandable. It will fit, he is confident about that, he just said its going to be a real PITA. to get in there. I'm wondering if I should do a little pre-work ahead of time and notch the lintel so it doesnt interfere. Anyone done that?

 

[begreen]

The lintel is usually supported by angle iron. I would not notch that. If there is a brick facade that drops below the supporting angle iron then it may be ok. Is this for the Osborn? Can you post pictures of the issue?

 

[NoobTube]

The lintel is usually supported by angle iron. I would not notch that. If there is a brick facade that drops below the supporting angle iron then it may be ok. Is this for the Osborn? Can you post pictures of the issue?

Disregard my comment. Stupidity overtook my brain which in turn controlled my fingers to type that out. I realized after I wrote that, its a bad idea. I think instead I'm going to trim back my damper assembly... Its a 6" opening, but I thought to help the installers out I should maybe make that a bit bigger for them.

I was initially worried about the lintel plate getting in the way even with the offset box being put in, but after verifying top height of the 2400 and adding in the 4.75" for the offset box, I still have roughly 1-2" of play between the lintel and the very highest portion of the offset box. Its going to add another $150 to install cost unfortunately, but I can't get around that unless a double wall liner is very flexible.

 

[begreen]

Double wall liner? Do you mean 2 ply?

What is the lintel height?

 

[NoobTube]

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimn...7l9fWcVTIrZdoNJkZTTckan4QrnjxoXtfcaAhFf8P8HAQ

Something like that. Double wall was again the wrong terminology. Please pardon my clear inexperience.

 

[begreen]

No problem. That is pre-insulated liner which should be fine. What is the current lintel height?

 

[NoobTube]

Opening of the Hearth is 28 1/4"

The Osburn is 23" high including the collar (22.5" without the collar) the Offset box is 4.75" High of which 1/2" to 3/4" of the collar will mate up to the 1/2" collar of the Osburn 2400 collar.

If my math is right... 23 +4.75 = 27.75. We should be golden and still provide enough offset for the installers to achieve the install. They will have 5" of clearance to get a drill into (which is enough) and even more at the union where the installed liner will be.

Will it be tight? Yeah. Will it be fun. Nope. But it should be doable, unless I'm missing something here.

Edited. Was wrong about actual lintel height before. Im not at home so I'm doign this from memory.

 

[NW Pa Burner]

I removed as much of my damper as I could and then had to notch the damper frame (I could not get it to move but served as the start of a block off plate) to help snake the 6" stainless flex liner to the stove. It worked without an offset box but I could not pull the stove much further out of the fireplace without causing the fittings to be flexed. I did not want the offset box and wanted as straight of a shot as possible out of the stove.

 

[NoobTube]

Ah cool thanks for the advice on that. I did a little project last night to just verify visually dimensions of the insert. Call me a little OCD, but I had to know what issues (if any) the installers would have when putting this in. I think yes, an offset box would be a wise investment, personally, I think they should try to put it in without it first, and if they cant get it in, then use it. Really there isnt anything in the way that I can see based on my clearances that would make this too tough for them. On my end, I don't have the minimum required ember protection in front of the insert, so I'll have to get a hearth extender in front of it. No biggie. So yeah. see below...


Hearth, nothing int it:


Here is a representative cube of what will be going in the hearth.


Clearance from lintel to top of insert: 5 inches


Clearance of smoke shelf behind the lintel to the insert: 9 inches


Back of insert distance:Bottom Roughly 6.25"


Top: Roughly 3.25"


And for kicks, the distance from front of insert case to end of hearth: 14"