Jotul F600 The Right Choice?

[Wolfetone]

Hello all,

I just bought a 3,100 Sq foot single family 2 story home in New England. It is currently running on oil heat, and I am looking to find a more economical and better? way to heat a home and add character. We love a fireplace in a home.

So below is the photo of the room, the room is 22x16 with 10 foot ceilings. There is a pretty openish floor plan on the 1st floor which holds the living room, kitchen, dining room and a smaller side room. There are no doors so the flow of heat should be good. There are two stairs up to the second floor, one to the left of the photo, and one to the right of the photo which also contains our hallway.

We wanted to know;

If the Jotul F600 is a good match for the home? ie should it be ok to heat a 3100 sq foot New England home.

Is it pretty efficient?....how many cords per year may be typical for this home

Should there be some economical savings also compared to oil alone? (and this I think from feedback already)
The home appears to be well insulated for the most part.

Does much heat escape up the chimney or will a lot of heat be lost by the SS liner in the chimney and not exposed? we thought having the flue exposed would look terrible. We are going to place the stove in front of the fireplace rather than in it to help distribute the heat......thoughts????

We were going to get a ceiling fan on the living room ceiling to help bring the hot air from the ceiling and distribute it out of the room under the doorway ledges which are about 2 feet below the ceiling.......would this help a lot??

Any other suggestions?

Also, the existing chimney is in immaculate condition, I already had it inspected. It does not have a SS liner so I need to install one. Also it has no damper behind the fireplace.

With the install is there anything to watch our for like how far to extend or how to seal in the damper area etc??

 

[begreen]

Welcome. The F600 is a good choice if all clearances can be met. If not, the mantel may need some modification or removal. The Quadrafire Isle Royale is another choice.

 

[Grisu]

Hello Wolfetone, welcome to the forum!

For that size home in MA you will need a large stove like the Jotul F600. It has many happy owners here and is certainly a good choice. If you want to consider alternatives there are the Quadrafire Isle Royale, as BG mentioned, and the Hearthstone Manchester as similar looking stoves. Should you like the look of a soapstone stove, check out the Hearthstone Mansfield and the Woodstock Progress Hybrid. For a modern looking steel stove, Woodstock's Ideal Steel would be an option. All can be rear-vented and have a firebox of about 3 cu ft. All of those stoves will make a serious dent in your oil heating bill, if not almost cancel it out.

Can you run the stove 24/7 during the winter? If that's your goal you may need about 5 to 6 cords. However, that wood needs to be dry with a moisture content of less than 20%. You have to split it and then stack it in a sunny and windy spot to get it there. Most firewood sold is still green. If you want to purchase "seasoned" wood ask how long it has been split and stacked. Depending on the species, firewood needs one to three years to get below 20% internal moisture. Get the wood lined up ASAP even before you install the stove. If you can get ash that would be your best option as it has a chance of being dry enough next winter. Stack it loosely in single rows, raised from the ground, with a top cover. Think also already about the wood supply for the winter after.

For the install: The hearth will need to be extended. You will have to drop a liner down the chimney, at best insulated for added safety and better draft. Stuff Roxul into the damper area and then add a block-off plate: https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/make-a-damper-sealing-block-off-plate/ That will keep the heat from going up the chimney. Adding a ceiling fan will not hurt but you may not necessarily need one. A small fan on the floor in the other room blowing cold air towards the stove room may get the heat out of there, too.

 

[Wolfetone]

Thanks for the info, particularly on the wood.

I plan to run it as much as I can during winter. Obviously it won't always be possible and at that point the oil will kick in but I want to be reliant on wood for the heat as much as feasible.

I'm hoping that two sets of stairs off this room leading to the 2nd floor should help spread the heat???

Next thing was the positioning of the stove I don't think we want or can place the stove in the hearth but on front of it, that should disperse more heat also....than have it lugged in the hearth

 

[Grisu]

I'm hoping that two sets of stairs off this room leading to the 2nd floor should help spread the heat???

Most likely. A small fan at the top of the stairs blowing cold air downwards can help but I guess it won't be needed.

Next thing was the positioning of the stove I don't think we want or can place the stove in the hearth but on front of it, that should disperse more heat also....than have it lugged in the hearth

You don't need to recess the stove in the fireplace if that is your goal. Just make sure to observe all clearances and that the floor is protected. Check section 4.1 in the manual for the hearth requirements. If you want to use the sidedoor for loading you will also need 18" of hearth on that side. Hearth needs to be a non-combustible material covering the floor.
When the stove is in front of the fireplace you will get more radiant heat. However, it looks like you have an interior fireplace. Thus, the total heat output will be very much the same even if the stove would be within the fireplace. It would warm the fireplace wall which over time will radiate the heat into the room. It may just take longer for the heat to end up in the room. I would also skip the blower if I would be you. A small desktop fan pointed at the stove will distribute the heat as fast, be cheaper and most likely be more quiet.

 

[weatherguy]

What's the size of the opening of your fireplace. That might narrow down what you can fit.

 

[Nick Mystic]

We bought and I installed a Jotul F600 a year ago last February and it has done a great job heating the upper level of our home, which is around 2000 sq. ft. I did the install in front of the fireplace like you are proposing, but in our case the stove sits up on a raised hearth instead of the floor like you will be doing. As mentioned earlier, plan on using the side door for loading since it is rather messy with ash spilling out if you use the front door for reloading. So, make sure your hearth protection is large enough to handle both the front and right side clearances of 18". I don't have anything bad to say about the stove and it is quite easy to burn and heats well. Here are a couple photos of our installation.



As you can see in the photos our stove has the Mojolica brown porcelain enamel finish, which is very nice and care free for the most part. The stove sits outside the fireplace opening except for the rear protrusion that sticks back inside the fireplace. I did not insulate my ss flex liner since we have that massive thermal mass chimney centrally located in the house. I did install an insulated block off plate and also insulated the top five feet of the outside chimney above the roof line. Good luck with your installation and welcome to the forum.

 

[Wolfetone]

Sounds great! I dont know of any complaints with the model and pretty much all positive replies.

Wondering if we should buy and install now or if the price may come down in July or so??

Must get my wood supply and storage shed up and running

 

[begreen]

Measure first before buying! Make sure the rear vent will clear the lintel with a little wiggle room. And check the clearances to combustibles. I suspect the mantel may need to go.

The price may come down later or maybe not. It may be a moot point if there is a price increase in the next few months. I bought our last two Jotuls over the phone. Called about 6 shops each time until I found a floor model that they were eager to move and had a good price. The prices ranged between list+ to a very good discount.

 

[jotulguy]

There is a $200 off coupon on (broken link removed to http://www.jotul.us) right now. It's good until the end of May.

 

[Wolfetone]

Thanks for the heads up on the coupon, yeh I was wondering if I should go with that or if people think there may be a summer sale or better pricing in summer???

 

[Wolfetone]

So....

I have to get rid of the wooden mantle, we are thinking of replacing it with marble. It seems salvaged marble fireplaces they want $2,000 while new is $1350....makes no sense...or maybe I'm missing something

The hearth needs to be expanded, I'm thinking of placing brick tile over cement board, so it'll look like real brick ...thoughts????


Lastly, the F600 needs 31.5" clearance at the rear, the bottom of the brick lintel is at 29 5/8".
This i need help or suggestions on, I looked behind the brick top horizontal band and I think I can get to 31.5" if I just cut off some brick of about 2" with a power tool to get that clearance, also I could drop the hearth, it's currently over an inch above the floor..

What mortar should I use for the brick hearth?

 

[begreen]

Think about the lintel clearance carefully. The F600 is a good stove but not the only choice is you are flue height constrained. The lintel is usually supported by a steel angle frame that you may be cutting through. That would be a bad idea without replacing or heightening the frame. It would be a good idea to consult with a professional mason before cutting any brick.

 

[avsmusic1]

I would be a little surprised if you could fit the 8" liner in your current setup and I'm not sure how you feel about soapstone stoves, but I'm thinking the Hearthstone Equinox would clear the lintel and it's certainly sized right for this size home.

I don't know your other measurements or if you're open to an insert, but the Lopi large flush insert may be worth looking into also (broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/product-detail.aspx?model=422#inst-tab)

 

[Grisu]

[quote="Wolfetone, post: 1721665, member: 35736"
Lastly, the F600 needs 31.5" clearance at the rear, the bottom of the brick lintel is at 29 5/8".[/quote]

If your plan of adjusting the lintel does not work, the Hearthstone Manchester is also a cast iron stove and requires less than 29" lintel height. Another option would be to put an insert in if the fireplace is large enough. You may not even need to remove the mantel then. Since it is an interior fireplace you would not lose any heat compared with a stove. It just make take a bit longer to heat the room from a cold start.

 

[stovelark]

Hi Wolf- Lintel heights are sometimes an issue with the Firelight. Unless you are dead set toward one, consider the Oslo F500, another slightly smaller Jotul that is immensely popular with fireplaces, with short leg kit, its height can be reduced to 26.25 inches, it lends itself to fireplaces quite nicely. Still a 2000 sqft heater too, loads from the left side (facing) as opposed to firelights right side (facing).
Prices- they are stable now, we are at 2625 on the firelight in matte black and 2299 on the Oslo. That's about 200 below retail, along with the 200 coupon, Jotuls are even a better value at this time. Good luck.

 

[rsilvers]

I don't see any chance at all that an F600 would work unless you built or bought a massive hearth pad that was elevated over your floor and extending out into the room approximately 3.5-4 feet and was 5.5 feet wide (if you wanted the stove centered).

The F600 requires 18 inches in front and 18 inches to the side.

(broken link removed to http://www.jotul.com/FileArchive/Technical%20Documentation/Wood%20Stoves/J%C3%B8tul%20F%20600%20Firelight%20CB/Manual_F_600_USA_10024516_P09_211112.pdf)

I want an F600 but the Progress Hybrid only requires 8 inches on the front (if you have tall legs and the ash lip).

 

[begreen]

In this case the rear clearance is moot as the fireplace is non-combustible. To align the flue collar, the stove should be set as far back into the fireplace as is possible while still allowing side door access. That will reduce hearth projection. It only needs ember protection so it could be set into the floor as an extension of the existing hearth. In the clearance chart there is special guidance for fireplace installation listing mantel clearances. Pulling the side trim reduces this clearance down to 11" if 1" thick or less (12" for the F500). If that is not achievable then perhaps a strip of cement board can replace the drywall sides then tiled over for an nice custom look. I would either raise or replace the simple top of mantel with a non-combustible material or maybe just continue the tile over the top.

 

[rsilvers]

Assuming that you can buy cord wood for $200 per cord, and assuming oil is $3.40 per gallon, then wood will provide 2.25 as much heat for the same dollars. If wood is cheaper than $200 and/or oil is more than $3.40, then you will save even more.

For every $1000 you spend on wood, you saved $1240 overall. So after you burn your first 15 cords of wood, you broke even on the purchase. If you can do three cords per year, then that is a five year payback.

Other alternative energy, such as Geothermal or Photovoltaic solar, is more like a 20 year payoff. So wood is a no-brainer if you are open to the work of keeping it burning.