Jotul Castine Not Heating 1000 sf

[tmaxjr]

Purchased 3 years ago. When outside temps below 40's, cannot get stove to heat family room / kitchen 900 sf area above 65 degrees. All else seems ok, e.g. draft, seasoned wood, stove top temp 400-500, ceiling fan. Stove is placed kitty corner in family room, about 12" clearance from combustables. Therefore, I have heat shield on rear of stove. appreciate advice on what problem could be.

tmaxjr

 

[adrpga498]

Have you tried getting the stove top up to 650* then cutting the air 1/2 way? I always load stove to the max also . This allows mine to cruise between 550 * 650.

 

[tmaxjr]

Yes. However, firebox size limits this option, somewhat.

 

[deedub]

Yes. However, firebox size limits this option, somewhat.

what option ?..getting it up to temp or loading it to the max ?

 

[tmaxjr]

I've had stove temp up to 650, cut air back, and room will heat up. However, as stove temp drops, room temp follows suit, very quickly. In other words, room temp does not maintain a consistent temperature. I'm considering removing the rear heat shield and placing a couple of small fans behind stove to move some of the heat out.

 

[DAKSY]

OK...the stove is three years old...
How old is your home?
How well is it insulated?
The 900 sqft area...Is it wide open or broken into smaller sections?
The Castine is rated for 55K BTU - input...
At 73% rated efficiency, it's gonna put out 40,150BTU...
If your house is an old un-insalted monster, 50BTU per square foot is about what you'd need -MINIMUM
So 900 sqft x 50 BTU/sqft = 45k
If your house has average insulation, 40 BTU/sqft is min
So 900 x 40 = 36K
Good Insulation 30 BTU
900 x 30 = 27K...
Which situation is yours?

 

[tmaxjr]

Home built in 1960. Insulation, 'fair' on side walls in family room - 500 sf, where stove is located. There is full basement under family room. Cathedral ceiling in family room, is recently updated and very well insulated. Family room is open to kitchen, which is 300 sf, with crawl space basment underneath. Answering your BTU ?, I would reply with the 45k answer.

 

[begreen]

The heat is getting lost and rapidly. Is there a large amount of glass in the family room/kitchen? What is the total sq ft of the home? Also perhaps the heat is trapped in the peak of the cathedral ceiling? Is there a ceiling fan in this room? Is the fan being run? (In reverse, winter mode, blowing upward is preferred.)

 

[tmaxjr]

There is 1250 sf on first floor, including 2 bedrooms of 115 sf each. The only area I'm trying to heat with stove is about 1000 sf family room and kitchen, which are open to each other. They both have lot of windows. Stove is located kitty corner in family room that has a cathedral ceiling with ceiling fan that I operate in reverse mode, when stove is on. There is an open stair case about 12 feet from stove, to 2nd floor, which is 625 sf. I'm not trying to heat 2nd floor with stove. Family room is about 500 sf, with full basement underneath. This part of home built in late 50's. Side walls have fair insulation. Ceiling has excellent insulation. Kitchen built in early 90's and has crawl basement.

 

[begreen]

Although you might not be trying to heat the rest of the house, the heat is probably naturally convecting up the staircase. As a temporary test, try stapling some 4 mil plastic completely across the stairway opening and close off the family room/kitchen from the rest of the house.

 

[dvellone]

I'm heating a drafty but well insulated cabin of 820 sq.' on piers in upstate ny with a lot of single pane glass, and the biggest problem with my castine is being able to load it for the night and keep the temp. below 80.

I have to agree that the heat is drafting up your staircase. My staircase is about 10' from the stove and when I stand on it without the ceiling fan on I can feel the heat blasting me in the face. Do you notice this kind of effect?

Now I don't have a cathedral ceiling so my much lower ceiling allows my ceiling fan to break that draft a bit. Is there any chance (if the warm air is drafting up the staircase) that you can hang a ceiling fan over the stairwell to counter the upward draft?