New Jotul F500 too hot with small fire <300f

[mikerino]

Hi all. Day 4 of first wood stove. The only way I can keep my house under 80 degrees F is to have a fire that is less than 300 degrees. I know that the fire should be hotter to avoid creosote buildup. I have read the stories about the ash pan air leakage and I have started leaving the ash pan full and shoveling out the ash. I don't think I have air leakage because the fire dies down nicely when I shut off the damper. I am starting to worry that I should have bought a smaller stove. Small house, about 1000 square feet. It is about 32 degrees outside. All thoughts appreciated.

 

[DAKSY]

You should have bought a smaller unit.

 

[Dan Freeman]

You're going to have to open the windows or burn smaller fires. You bought a stove that will easily heat 2300 sqft and your house is only 1000 sqft.

 

[nunyabinis]

Stove is way too big. Open windows and/or doors if needed. With my F500 I have to open windows or doors if it's too warm outside and I'm heating over 2k sq ft.

I have a heat shield blocking the radiant heat off my Man Chair and I prop a semi-heat shield (perforated sheet of aluminum) on the front lip where the air control is so that my hounds can lay in front of it without overheating.

 

[EbS-P]

Burn low btu soft wood like pine. Smaller splits do t pack it full or tight. Half a firebox. Light top down.

Don’t give up yet. It will take time to figure out. Add a fan blowing cold air to the stove can help even out the temps. But it’s a highly radiant stove.

 

[mikerino]

Thanks for the info. The place where I bought the stove was too busy to do a site survey, I just thought I was buying the best stove.

 

[SpaceBus]

Hi all. Day 4 of first wood stove. The only way I can keep my house under 80 degrees F is to have a fire that is less than 300 degrees. I know that the fire should be hotter to avoid creosote buildup. I have read the stories about the ash pan air leakage and I have started leaving the ash pan full and shoveling out the ash. I don't think I have air leakage because the fire dies down nicely when I shut off the damper. I am starting to worry that I should have bought a smaller stove. Small house, about 1000 square feet. It is about 32 degrees outside. All thoughts appreciated.

Let it run. I'll echo other sentiments and say to loosely load it with softwood like fir and poplar. Just let it burn hot and fast and then let it go out. There will be more cold starts, but you will be more comfortable.

 

[BK's_ghost]

Let the house get as cool as you are comfortable with between firings. All that thermal mass heating back up will buffer the overpowered stove. Experiment with letting the house get a little colder than you are comfortable with between firings. You might get used to it, and there is no feeling quite as nice as radiant heat warming you in an otherwise cool room.

If you have a good drawing internal chimney, and a working CO detector near the stove, consider piling the coals and covering with ash at the end of your burn. They will stay hot for a re-light indefinitely, or at least 12 hours, that way. This will allow you to let the stove idle without having to always do a cold start.

Just about everyone has an overpowered stove for at least part of the year.

 

[Todd]

Maybe the dealer will swap it out for a smaller unit like a Jotul F35?

 

[Prometeo]

Maybe the dealer will swap it out for a smaller unit like a Jotul F35?

F35 has much more btu according to epagov site, in this case it would be necessary maybe a regular cat stove, with damper

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the info. The place where I bought the stove was too busy to do a site survey, I just thought I was buying the best stove.

Ask if you can return it for a smaller stove like the F35 if wanting 24/7 heat. If it's just for nights and weekends, then the F602CB v2 would suffice.

 

[bigealta]

Thanks for the info. The place where I bought the stove was too busy to do a site survey, I just thought I was buying the best stove.

To bad you are in NH. If u were in Utah my buddy would probably buy it from you.

 

[bigealta]

Agree with others. Smaller fires that still burn hot, but let them go out. And letting the house cool more than usual before lighting a fire will also help.