need help on flame realism for Jotul Allagash

[dandy777]

So, I bought a Jotul Allagsh Direct Vent stove from a guy on craigslist for $950, it was brand new and had never been installed. I studied the installation instructions for a few days, bought the Simpson Duravent pipe, ran the gas pipe and voila! I love this thing! Now I have heat, and I saved a good chunk of cash.

My only issue is the flame realism... it's pretty darn good but it bothers me that the right side of the firebox has a larger flame (higher than the rest). Is this normal? I tried adjusting the air shutter (doesn't seem to make much of a difference), also tried moving the ceramic embers around, which seems to make a slight difference.

My next effort will be to remove the ceramic logs and embers from the firebox and then fire her up with nothing in the firebox. If the flame is higher on the right side then I guess that's just the design of the burner... Am I right?

 

[jtp10181]

Air shutter adjusts fuel to air mix, it wont effect flame height from one side to the other. You should set that back where it belongs so you don't create a sooty flame. Too much air will make the flame very yellow and sooty.

Check the ember placement and the logs, both are critical to the flame height and a balanced flame. A log even 1/4" out of placement can change the overall flame height. Once the logs heat up the sort of propel the flame higher. You want the flames to roll up the sides of the logs but not really hit them too much (called impingement) which can cause sooting.

 

[dandy777]

How do I know when I have the air shutter at the right setting? I read the instructions but it doesn't seem to change the color of the flame. Maybe I'll just set it in the center position. It seems like the air shutter is only adjustable by about 1 inch.

Ahh, I can see that my right log is on top of the flame, I will move it over and see if this lowers the flame height of that side. I will post a pic when I am done.

 

[jtp10181]

The air shutter is usually set right from the factory. I always look for the paint silhouette and line it up that way. For NG usually the air setting is on the low side like 1/8" - 3/8" and for LP its usually 1/2" - Fully Open. Depends on the stove and how it was tested and engineered. We have a cheat sheet (80 pages) for the main brand we service that has the air shutter settings for every model ever made. For the log setup, check the manual and follow the directions to a T. Look from the top down if you can get your head in there and try to line them up with the burner ports. Usually you can see where the log is supposed to go because the burner ports will sort of follow the edge of the logs.

FYI I have never worked on a Jotul before so this is all from experience on other units.

 

[dandy777]

I've got the logs so that the flames are just barely touching the sides of logs. I still have a bigger flame on the right side. I took photos with the laptop's built in camera, so the image is reversed, the big flames are on the left side of the photos. I'm getting the feeling that this is just the way the stove is designed. I'm gonna remove all the logs and embers from the firebox and then run the stove to see how evenly distributed the flames are. What do you think?

 

[philaphire]

is there a jotul dealer near you? I would see if they have one on display that you could judge to see. I had a Jotul Sebago and I can't quite remember exactly how it looked, but it was definitely uneven and I think that made it look more real/natural. I'll look if I have pics of it burning and then post...

 

[dandy777]

That's a great idea, I'll go see another Jotul in person. Thanks!. And thank you Pyro Extraordinaire, your expertise on stoves has been very helpful!

 

[Fire Bug]

Hi Dandy,
I believe this is the way the flame is suppose to be to give the unit a more realistic flame as noted in the above post.
Also, if you look at the burner ports where the high flame is located, I would imagine that they should be bigger in diameter to let more gas escape for a higher flame. I may be wrong on this.
John