Well i can deffinately say that i am not happy with my Jotul kennebec after my first season with it. It does not put out the heat that i want, and the burn times are overrated. i get a maximum of five hours burning three year seasoned red oak. i originally wanted a freestanding stove, but got talked out of it. i was use to my father burning his defiant as a whole house heater. my house is only 1100 sq ft, and a single story. I have a full ss liner with block off plate. I love the looks of this stove, but want something to keep my house warm when i am at work. kennebec out going to put a oslo in. What do you think i can get for a hardly used kennebec.
Not happy with my kennebec
- Thread starter jotul 36
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Don't know, but a new one in the crate sold here last spring for $700. I started to buy it when it stayed on craigslist for a long time and the price kept coming down but changed my mind. I am up to my ears in wood stoves.
Something sounds seriously wrong if that thing won't heat your house though. People come here talking about kicking a lot of heat out of those suckers. My unfinished basement is only 100 sq. ft. smaller than your house and I can heat it with the little F100. Have to feed it every three hours but still...
Something sounds seriously wrong if that thing won't heat your house though. People come here talking about kicking a lot of heat out of those suckers. My unfinished basement is only 100 sq. ft. smaller than your house and I can heat it with the little F100. Have to feed it every three hours but still...
Something doesn't sound right. Did you check your door gasket? Where are you located? The problem with selling a used stove now is with the Fed tax rebate in effect, you can get a new one with 30% off.
Dang it BB, I wish I could find a deal like that, I'd jump all over it.
Dang it BB, I wish I could find a deal like that, I'd jump all over it.
Definitely something is amuck. That stove should be able to drive you out of the house unless it is uninsulated and located north of Yellowknife. More details needed here.
Somethings not right. I can cook myself out of a 1400 sq. foot ranch house with mine, as can my next door neighbor with his.
First question - What do you mean by "seasoned" red oak. When exactly was it split and stacked?
Second question - Where are you located?
Third and final question (depending on location) - How much do ya want for it?
First question - What do you mean by "seasoned" red oak. When exactly was it split and stacked?
Second question - Where are you located?
Third and final question (depending on location) - How much do ya want for it?
Did you do a full 6" liner? How tall/long? You said there was a block off plate. Is that up above on top of the chimeny or down below where the fireplace damper was removed? Was your wood stacked out in the open or under a tree up against a building? Got a stover thermometer on it? If you do, have you had it crankin up around 600 to 650? Something isn't adding up. Our house is about 1100 sq. ft. up. Has about the same sq. ft. downstairs with walkout that isn't heated. Our furnace almost never kicks on and our windows are single pane with aluminum storms screwed onto the outside. Since that junker doesn't heat your house tell me where your located at. Maybe I'll give you a few hundred bucks for the stove.
What size splits are you burning. Even though I have a smaller Jotul, I have noticed it pumps out a lot more heat from smaller splits. anything bigger than what I can pickup by the end with one hand does not burn as well.
If you were looking for a stove that would still have coals 2 inches deep 8 hours later when you get home, then the Kennebec isn't going to do it. I often have to restart from kindling in mine. That is not to say it won't heat your home - it needs to be tended. I have great luck with mine, and have heated our 1200sqft 2 storey on approx 3 cords of wood this winter.
Things I learned early were that it needs to get hot to give of heat - a truism I know, but hot for me is a stove top temp at or above 700*F. If I do that, I can warm the house 4* F in an hour when I get home from work.
Also - real picky eater - needs dry wood - 25% moisture or less - otherwise, no heat.
A thought for you Jotul 36 - assuming you have it burning hot and dry, I would expect you have trouble warming parts of the house given the 1100sqft one florr layout - without fans to move the cold air back to the stove from the cold parts of the house, it will seem too hot in the room with the stove, and cold elsewhere.
If you are still open to getting the Kennebec working, give the fire starting link in my signature a read and a try - it will get the heat going in your Kennebec.
good luck.
Things I learned early were that it needs to get hot to give of heat - a truism I know, but hot for me is a stove top temp at or above 700*F. If I do that, I can warm the house 4* F in an hour when I get home from work.
Also - real picky eater - needs dry wood - 25% moisture or less - otherwise, no heat.
A thought for you Jotul 36 - assuming you have it burning hot and dry, I would expect you have trouble warming parts of the house given the 1100sqft one florr layout - without fans to move the cold air back to the stove from the cold parts of the house, it will seem too hot in the room with the stove, and cold elsewhere.
If you are still open to getting the Kennebec working, give the fire starting link in my signature a read and a try - it will get the heat going in your Kennebec.
good luck.
I think you will find that folks with this same issue, no matter the stove, either have some wet wood or are not loading that thing to the gills and burning hot enough - especially when it is really cold out - or a combination of those.
Jotul 36, I can easily heat my 1700 sf brick ranch with mine in a 800 s.f basement rec room. I also can get a good eight hours of decent heat out of a fairly good load of wood with a good bed for restart. When you say you have a block off plate are you talking about the top of the chimney only? You need one at the bottom also, regardless of what anyone tells you. Others on this site have been ready to get rid of their inserts untill they tried a lower block off plate. There are many satisfied users on here with tons of good information on the use of this stove, but they will need answers to the questions they are asking to help.
I can't imagine not being happy with a Kennebec. I like them fried the best, but boiled with fresh chives is equally as good. Pontiac Reds win out for potato salad or mashed, but otherwise Kennebecs are the greatest!
They sure do, mashed potatoes is the ultimate comfort food. Yukon Gold wins out here, but we like the Pontiac Reds a lot too. Fresh from the garden, they're hard to beat.
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