I have a Jotul Allagash 3DVII that was installed by the previous house owner in 2000. It works fine but does not heat the space quickly because it has no blower. I looked at a new Jotul GF200 Lillihammer ($2300 installed) then found out I could get a blower kit installed on the Allagash for about $400. I saw that Jotul offers an extended 25-year warranty on its new stoves -- which is far longer than my own life expectancy at age 64! I cannot decide whether to get the new stove, or just put the blower on the old one. Any recommendations or feedback on whether a 20-year-old stove could last another 10-15 years, or what might wear out on the old stove and not be replaceable? Many thanks!
Jotul Allagash life expectancy
- Thread starter VTCAT
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
If you have the know how, pull everything out of the firebox & take a look at the insides.
If there is rust in the firebox, sand it & paint it with hi temp paint..
If the logs look like they're ready to start crumbling from the heat, you might want
to see if a replacement set is available & get it now. In the future it might NOT be.
Look closely at the burner. If you have a tube burner, & it fails, a good welder can fabricate a new one.
If you have the stainless steel pan burner, it can also fail & it used to have a lifetime warranty, IIRC.
A gas valve can last 20+ years & is not that hard to change out if it fails.
Thermocouples & thermopiles are readily available, but having a couple of each
on hand is probably a good idea. Gaskets are also readily available.
That Allagash is a good stove & should last a another decade or more, if it's maintained.
I wouldn't buy the Lillehammer, as it has no heat exchanger & is a smaller unit than the Allagash.
If you need warmed air moved around, ceiling fans or box fans are a lot less than $400 & will do
what you want quite adequately.
Hope this helped.
If there is rust in the firebox, sand it & paint it with hi temp paint..
If the logs look like they're ready to start crumbling from the heat, you might want
to see if a replacement set is available & get it now. In the future it might NOT be.
Look closely at the burner. If you have a tube burner, & it fails, a good welder can fabricate a new one.
If you have the stainless steel pan burner, it can also fail & it used to have a lifetime warranty, IIRC.
A gas valve can last 20+ years & is not that hard to change out if it fails.
Thermocouples & thermopiles are readily available, but having a couple of each
on hand is probably a good idea. Gaskets are also readily available.
That Allagash is a good stove & should last a another decade or more, if it's maintained.
I wouldn't buy the Lillehammer, as it has no heat exchanger & is a smaller unit than the Allagash.
If you need warmed air moved around, ceiling fans or box fans are a lot less than $400 & will do
what you want quite adequately.
Hope this helped.
