New Jotul F55 Carrabassett

[ScottinNJ]

Time to replace our 20+ year old wood stove. I got tired of cleaning all the creosote out of the chimney. We had the chimney liner put in 2 years ago (8" insulated SS) so I should be good to go. The Jotul F55 should be here in a couple of weeks. I thought I would share the excitement! I hope it performs as good as our old stove did. I am using it as our main heat supplier as our old stove had no problem heating our 2700 sq. ft. home. It's going in our "Great Room" 22' x 23' with an "A" style ceiling 22' to the top. This is the stove being replaced. No name steel plate construction.

 

[Jerhurt]

You will love the F55 I have one its a great heater

 

[jeffesonm]

Another happy F55 owner. Where in NJ? I'm just outside Hopewell.

 

[weatherguy]

You should be happy the F55, what's the old stove?

 

[ScottinNJ]

jeffesonm: I am 15 mins west of you, on the river.

weatherguy: The old stove doesnt have any identifiable name on it. I could never figure out who made it. It is as big as a Fisher Grandpa Bear. It sure throws out a lot of heat!

 

[tarzan]

I've never owned a Jotul but am convinced they are some great heaters and not bad looking either.

Gotta ask though, did all that bling come on your old stove or was it added?

 

[ScottinNJ]

I added the round balls and the other finials were with it when I got it.

 

[BradleyW]

I had an F55 installed in August. We've had four or five fires in it over the last week or so and I am really excited about it too. My old stove (Quad 3100) was just a little too small. I got tired of getting up at 2:00 or 3:00 to load it overnight, and I can't believe how big the F55 is. You can fit a ton of wood in there.

 

[ScottinNJ]

I can't wait to be able to actually "see" a fire burning in the stove. The glass on this old one always gets blackened. This old stove is huge though, inside (26" wide inside firebrick to inside firebrick) and will hold a ton of wood. I never once had to get up in the middle of the night to put wood in it. I can't wait for my "Yodel" (like the snack cake) as my BIL calls it. I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!

 

[Wood Pirate]

I looked at these today. Nice stove. what areas are you guys heating with these? I will have an uninsulated basement install in a small house and am having trouble sizing. Smaller will do but I like the idea of the big fire box. I could always make a smaller fire??

 

[BradleyW]

I looked at these today. Nice stove. what areas are you guys heating with these? I will have an uninsulated basement install in a small house and am having trouble sizing. Smaller will do but I like the idea of the big fire box. I could always make a smaller fire??

I've never heard anyone say they wished they had a smaller stove.
We have an old cape-style farmhouse, about 1700 square feet plus basement. The stove is on the first floor. We bought the house two summers ago. Last year we had a small-ish stove (Quad 3100) where the F55 is now, plus a Fisher Mama Bear in the basement. I turned in the Fisher on a state voucher program to get about $750 towards the F55 and hope that it can take the place of both stoves. Last year I mostly used the Quad, but if it got any colder than 15 deg. I had to light up the Fisher also, which I never really got the hang of. I'm hoping with the larger box on the F55 I can both heat the house at colder temps and also not get up to load the stove in the middle of the night. Too early to report back yet, but early signs are promising.

 

[begreen]

This happens a few times a year here. Sometimes using a Mack truck to get the groceries gets cumbersome. It's hard to park.

 

[Wood Pirate]

So many choices. Anyone know approximate lead times on the f50 and f55?

 

[ScottinNJ]

Met up with "jeffesonm" this morning. He was kind enough to let my wife and I come over and look at his Carrabassett. He had it burning too! Throws out lots of heat. My wife was starting to sweat in his living room. Great stove! I can't wait to pick it up! Thanks for letting us look Jeff. A real nice young feller.

 

[begreen]

Jotul makes fine products. You're gonna like that stove.

 

[Grisu]

I got tired of cleaning all the creosote out of the chimney.

The glass on this old one always gets blackened.

That sounds like your wood is not quite dry. How long has it been split and stacked getting lots of wind and sun? For your new Jotul you will need wood with a moisture content below 20%.

 

[ScottinNJ]

My wood is stacked and covered. I dry my wood properly. The old stove does not air wash the glass at all. It blackens the glass right after I clean it, no matter how dry the wood is.

 

[begreen]

Yes. With no air wash, glass on a lot of old stoves was a joke.

 

[jeffesonm]

Nice to meet you and your wife. You will like the F55, shouldn't be long now

 

[ScottinNJ]

Picked up the Carrabassett on Sunday. Installed it and went through the break-in period exactly as the manual says. Took my time and burned it in slowly. Lots of smoke and yes the smoke alarms went off. I love the way this stove burns! I love this stove! I could not be happier.

 

[begreen]

Well done Scott. I think you're going to appreciate that stove and the nice view of the fire.

 

[jeffesonm]

The wait is over! Looks great.

 

[BradleyW]

I have a question for ScottinNJ and other new stove owners. When they installed our F55 in August, they told me that it would take a little while for the stove to burn really well. He said at first it would seem like I didn't know how to build a fire. He suggested that it was because of the moisture in the new stove making it hard to generate heat. It might be the power of suggestion, but my experience seems to match up with that. At first I thought maybe was wood wasn't dry, but after using the stove on and off for a couple of weeks it seems like it is burning wonderfully now. Anyone else have this experience?

 

[Grisu]

I have a question for ScottinNJ and other new stove owners. When they installed our F55 in August, they told me that it would take a little while for the stove to burn really well. He said at first it would seem like I didn't know how to build a fire. He suggested that it was because of the moisture in the new stove making it hard to generate heat. It might be the power of suggestion, but my experience seems to match up with that. At first I thought maybe was wood wasn't dry, but after using the stove on and off for a couple of weeks it seems like it is burning wonderfully now. Anyone else have this experience?

Yep, pretty common and not just with Jotul stoves. Firebricks contain moisture that needs to be driven out with the first fires. Is the stove burning ok now?

 

[BradleyW]

Yep, pretty common and not just with Jotul stoves. Firebricks contain moisture that needs to be driven out with the first fires. Is the stove burning ok now?

Yes, it's burning great now. Last night I loaded it not particularly full at 9:00. This morning at 7:00 I had a beautiful bed of very hot coals. I was never able to do that with my Quad. It just didn't hold enough wood.