Jotul F500 vs Blaze King princess insert

[Erie Snowbelt]

Hello everyone, I am new here but have visited here before to read. What I have now is a Jotul F500 I bought in 2016.
This sits just outside the fireplace on the stone hearth. The exhaust pipe goes out the back then up thru the chimney.
Fully lined and insulated 6 inch diameter. It is a interior chimney with stove on the first floor going up thru the roof of a two story house.
What I want to ask all of you is what will I gain by going to a Blaze king princess insert? My house is 2400 sq ft built in 1978 with normal insulation.
I have oil fired boiler as my other heat source. Thank you for the help.

 

[John Lehet]

I have a different Jotul and never had a Blaze King, but I will venture to guess that the difference will be the Blaze King will hold a fire much better and also do better at low and slow burning while being much easier to control overall with probably a bit more efficiency.

The Jotul, on the other hand, in my opinion, will look better.

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

Thanks John, I just am wondering if there is enough of a difference in convenience and/or efficiency for me to spend a lot of money.
Is the burn time really that much better with enough heat for my house? Will I get almost the same burn time as the Jotul for the heat I require? In the shoulder seasons I would think the Blaze king would work better.

 

[stoveliker]

Would "low and slow" BTU output work for you?
If you're going to have to burn harder (more BTUs needed), the BK won't be much advantageous - other than its larger firebox so longer burns simply because of that.

I would say that if you are happy with your Jotul, why spend a. lot of money on another stove.
If not happy, what's the problem you're trying to solve?

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

I was thinking I would not gain much for the money. I am attaching pictures. I was hoping for longer burns but I realize this stove has been good. The picture for the back of the stove is a little blurry. It is a tee with a clean out at the bottom.

 

[stoveliker]

While you can sell the jotul, if the burn time now doesn't make your life impossible, I'd say it's not worth it to change.

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

The dealer is willing to give me $1500 for the Jotul but charging $4800 for the insert.

 

[John Lehet]

You might be able to get more for the Oslo on Craigslist depending on your area. Older Jotuls seem a bit inflated right now, at least in my area. Smaller older Jotuls, like my 3CB have asking prices about that high in northern New England.

 

[EbS-P]

I’d spend the money on other upgrades, Like a heat pump more insulation. The F500 is going to much more radiant than the BK. But if are wanting to 8-12 hour reloads and don’t mind the blower noise you can’t go wrong with a BK.

Do you have a damper on the current setup. 20’+ feet of insulated liner really must draw.

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

John, I imagine it is just like trading a car in. You don't get as much money as selling it outright.

EbS-P I have considered more insulation in the ceiling. Walls would be difficult. They already have fiberglass in them. Some windows upgraded. No damper and I think the chimney might be close to 30 ft because it sticks out of the roof about 5 ft.

 

[bigealta]

Blower noise from inserts can be more annoying than you may think, especially if you spend a lot of time close to the stove.
It looks like the set up for the f500 is about as good as you can get it. No fans needed. Good for power out days. And that is a very good stove. If you want longer burns concentrate on perfecting your wood and wood loading and air settings. That stove is definitely worth more than $1,500.

If you do sell it ping me. I'd be interested.

 

[EbS-P]

John, I imagine it is just like trading a car in. You don't get as much money as selling it outright.

EbS-P I have considered more insulation in the ceiling. Walls would be difficult. They already have fiberglass in them. Some windows upgraded. No damper and I think the chimney might be close to 30 ft because it sticks out of the roof about 5 ft.

I don’t know how that’s not over drafting. How long does a full load last?

Air sealing and extra attic insulation are cheap. Or save it for an AC/heatpump upgrade

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

bigealta One of the reasons I went with the Jotul was no fan noise. I am leaning toward keeping it.​

EbS-P I believe about 6 hrs. I have been loading it smaller because it fits more with my sleeping habits. But I plan on trying some different things. Maybe a damper?​

When it gets below 30, I have to run the boiler.

 

[stoveliker]

Add a flue thermometer to see what your flue temps are.
And likely you'll need to add a key damper indeed at 30 ft.
That may give you significant more heat in the room (and thus lower burn rates, and longer burns).
A flue probe is $35, and a key damper is $25 or so?

Worth it imo.

Did you air seal where the liner enters the chimney?

 

[bigealta]

I think someone mentioned, Longer burn times means less high heat output. So if your boiler is turning on at 30F, A longer burn time will not help, but actually hurt you during peak season which is substantial in your location.

Shoulder season is much easier to handle with just smaller and less frequent loads.

I'd want to get the most from my stove when i need it the most. Which is December, January, February, and March at the least.
Quite a long time of running it hard.

 

[bigealta]

30 ft is a very tall chimney and i second the idea of a damper.
What setting do you usually have you draft set at?

 

[stoveliker]

I think someone mentioned, Longer burn times means less high heat output. So if your boiler is turning on at 30F, A longer burn time will not help, but actually hurt you during peak season which is substantial in your location.

Shoulder season is much easier to handle with just smaller and less frequent loads.

I'd want to get the most from my stove when i need it the most. Which is December, January, February, and March at the least.
Quite a long time of running it hard.

Of course one can run a BK hard too...
A BK does not HAVE to run low and long.

 

[bigealta]

Of course one can run a BK hard too...
A BK does not HAVE to run low and long.

Yes but that's not going to help for most of his burning requirements. So for the small gain of shoulder season only convince me thinks it's not worth it at all.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes but that's not going to help for most of his burning requirements. So for the small gain of shoulder season only convince me thinks it's not worth it at all.

absolutely correct imo

 

[bigealta]

The simplest way to get more heat out of your stove is to burn the driest and best wood available.
That's like Locust, White Oak, Osage orange i think you have out there, hickory, etc. All seasoned 3 years or more for the absolute best burning.

And also controlling the draft with the stove's draft bar and in your case probably a damper.

It seems to me if anything you are short on heat output.
I would hope your boiler would not turn on till you are in at least single digits.

 

[stovelark]

2400 sq ft is asking a lot from any stove, but sounds like its doing supplemental heating very well. The Oslo is a beautiful stove, if you're happy with it, I can't see changing it out. Unless you want a new stove. I had one here for about 1500 sqft, it did great. I'm sure the insert would be good too. Good luck.

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Yes there is a block off below the old smoke chamber on the fire place that seals it off from the house.
I will get a probe and get a damper. I would like to check how much draft I have. I have come to the same conclusion about it not being worth it to change stoves. It would be different if I had a bad stove. Thanks again.

 

[Erie Snowbelt]

Something I forgot to mention that is important. In a normal winter I only burn one tank of oil. I do keep the upper floor bedrooms in the low 60's. Only two of us now in the house.

 

[BKVP]

I'm of the opinion that a freestanding stove, being entirely in the living space, makes for a better heater than an insert.

The PI29 does sit out on the hearth, making such units better for heat transference than say a flush insert.

The PI29 has a single 55 cfm axial fan. We opted for more FBV over fans.

If you have a block off plate great, if not, I'd add it now.

BKVP

BTW, Merry Christmas to all.

 

[Todd]

What’s your floor plan look like? The Jotul is more radiant heater and would be better for an open floor plan and high ceilings. An insert is more convective and you really need a blower to move the heat. Lowers can also be noisy.

For a longer burn time in the F500 try filling up the ash pan. There are a couple unrestricted air holes in the ash pan housing that can make this stove run hot. Pipe damper will work as well for your tall chimney.