Replacing an older "larger" Jotul from the late 90's with a BK?

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slowandlowburn

New Member
May 13, 2024
34
california
Hello to All,

We have a late 90's Jotul (f500 ish size with the side and front door). It was installed in the home by the original builder in the late 90's prior to our purchase in 2017. Absolutely have loved this stove and we have learned how to use it.

We burn at times 6 to 8 weeeks on end, usually filling it before bed and once when waking up ( for a total of 10 "ish" ) hours of burn time per load while just allowing it to smolder as we don't need / require much more temp than that.

We had someone come out approx 4 months ago and install all new seals and really give the stove a once over (even though we've never had an issue with it). Since then, we've had countless amounts of mulitple week burns with zero issues.

Our chimney / piping is always clean, as I do it many times per year.

Well, our last two burns got out of control, spiking our temp guage and quite frankly giving us a good scare. We quit using it after this however greatly miss our nightly fires.

All this being said, our confidence in our Jotul has declined and with four small children and loving our home, we have zero desire to risk another burn with a fire hazard.

I don't blame the Jotul (approx 30 years) of use and that's just fine with me. We love it so much, I was just going to call the dealer and have them bring the newest version of the same stove out and install it.

Then....of course, I started researching and poof, here I am. I can't help after doing some research, to think a stove like a BK (any of the 30.2) sizing would be a better fit for us as it appears to be the top dog in the low burn temp and duration of burn which is what we care most about.

It sounds like it would be able to cut my wood usage down by a significant amount coupled with less trips to the wood pile, and give us that nice even low temp burn we like.

We live in CA (i know, i know) near the ocean. So our days are usually quite nice however the evening marine layer gets down right cool (we aren't dealing with sub zero temps here, we are talking cold for CA which is mid 40's).

Please please don't think i'm saying anything bad about our Jotul, as it's been a dream. And if your suggestions say my BK research isn't quite what i've deducted, we will just stick with a Jotul. However, can you please give me some guidance? We really just love having a burn goign in the evenings heating our house (well the main living room, dining room, kitchen). It really doesn't travel through our home well with the layout.

Thank you for your input and time:
 
A BK stove like the Ashford 30, or a modern Jotul F45, or a PE Alderlea T5 would all get the job done. All of these stoves are steel stove inside which means less concerns over seam leakage over time.
 
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A BK stove like the Ashford 30, or a modern Jotul F45, or a PE Alderlea T5 would all get the job done. All of these stoves are steel stove inside which means less concerns over seam leakage over time.
Thank you. If we prefer the "appearance" of another BK over the Ashford, will this alter the build (or seem leakage) over time as you mentioned? Is the Ashford just a step above the others?
 
I agree that this seems to be an ideal case for a BK (or a Kuuma - but that may be insert only?).
I do note that at low outputs, the BK does not have any flame.
At higher ("normal") output it has flame similar to other stoves, but be aware that running it low there's not much to look at other than some glowing.


Is your chimney lined with a steel liner? Is that liner insulated (or does it meet clearances outside of the stone)?
What is the height of the chimney from stove top to cap?

And note that these modern stoves really need dry wood, as in <20%, to be operating nice (and have happy owners).
 
I agree that this seems to be an ideal case for a BK (or a Kuuma - but that may be insert only?).
I do note that at low outputs, the BK does not have any flame.
At higher ("normal") output it has flame similar to other stoves, but be aware that running it low there's not much to look at other than some glowing.


Is your chimney lined with a steel liner? Is that liner insulated (or does it meet clearances outside of the stone)?
What is the height of the chimney from stove top to cap?

And note that these modern stoves really need dry wood, as in <20%, to be operating nice (and have happy owners).
Our Jotul doesn't have flames through the glass either when we choke it way down, just soot all over the glass. When we burn hot again, it mostly burns off, so this is not an issue for us. Mostly about the warm temps.
Our chimney is approx 15ft of just pipe in the house (tall ceilings) till it enters the ceiling, then another i'd guess 10 "ish" feet until it exits the roof line into the "chimney".
I spoke to the local dealer already (same dealer has Jotul and BK) about the wood i've been using and he suggested changing that over as well to oak wood.
 
Thank you. If we prefer the "appearance" of another BK over the Ashford, will this alter the build (or seem leakage) over time as you mentioned? Is the Ashford just a step above the others?
No, some have the same firebox with different cladding. The BK Princess is another option which has the advantage of a deeper belly which can result in less frequent ash clean outs.

I spoke to the local dealer already (same dealer has Jotul and BK) about the wood i've been using and he suggested changing that over as well to oak wood.
What has been currently burning?
 
No, some have the same firebox with different cladding. The BK Princess is another option which has the advantage of a deeper belly which can result in less frequent ash clean outs.
we really like the princess and the sicorro (whichever word that is)....just that basic appearance we like
What has been currently burning?
around these parts, most use eucalyptus. However, the oil content is quite high requiring more frequent clean ups
 
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The chimney height sounds good.

Oak or other (natural, dried, no additions) wood makes no difference.
Many folks burn solely pine. In fact BK is located in coniferous tree country.
I have burned a few cords of the appropriately named Pitch Pine...

What does make the difference is whether the wood is dry.
 
The chimney height sounds good.

Oak or other (natural, dried, no additions) wood makes no difference.
Many folks burn solely pine. In fact BK is located in coniferous tree country.
I have burned a few cords of the appropriately named Pitch Pine...

What does make the difference is whether the wood is dry.
that makes sense...from reading through this forum i have seen over and over the collective agreement is properly seasoned wood makes all the differnce in the world
 
Our chimney is approx 15ft of just pipe in the house (tall ceilings) till it enters the ceiling, then another i'd guess 10 "ish" feet until it exits the roof line into the "chimney".
Is the stovepipe (the part in the house) double-wall? It should be, especially for a BK stove due to generally cooler flue temps.
 
slight update since starting this thread.
I spoke with the local dealer/shop. He was wonderful (i don't feel upselling) and told me for my wants, desires, size, and more, that we should just pull the trigger and get the king 40
so......i asked for an OTD quote including all new pipe (including labor for install) being its going to require an 8" pipe vs our current 6".

We are not some super uber rich family, but we have enough to get anything we choose on this topic, as it's a multi multi multi year member of the family (i mean we see it every single day right...)

i'll keep you posted if anybody is interested.

the other option was the same stove i have but newer and also now having a catalytic......but it's smaller and only 900 bucks less.......so that's not what we ended up finalizing on.
 
It sounds like upsell to me. The King 40 requires 8" chimney pipe. That is going to greatly increase costs and in your climate, the gain is not worth it, imo. All it provides is a larger fuel tank.
 
How big is your home and what it's layout?

8" pipe is Expensive... With a capital E.
 
Way overkill.
 
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Wish i was closer, i'd make a deal with you for the f500.
 
I really like the heat pump secondary combustion (no catalyst) combination. I like to see my flames. I start a fire too down sometimes twice a day. I just don’t like the looks of the king or princess. The king is the ultimate up sell.

Again look at the PE T5, jotul F45, (they both come in larger sizes too the T6 and F55 if you thought the F500 didn’t burn long enough.).
 
slight update since starting this thread.
I spoke with the local dealer/shop. He was wonderful (i don't feel upselling) and told me for my wants, desires, size, and more, that we should just pull the trigger and get the king 40
so......i asked for an OTD quote including all new pipe (including labor for install) being its going to require an 8" pipe vs our current 6".

We are not some super uber rich family, but we have enough to get anything we choose on this topic, as it's a multi multi multi year member of the family (i mean we see it every single day right...)

i'll keep you posted if anybody is interested.

the other option was the same stove i have but newer and also now having a catalytic......but it's smaller and only 900 bucks less.......so that's not what we ended up finalizing on.
The king is definitely overkill. Another option would be just to rebuild the jotul
 
Is the stovepipe (the part in the house) double-wall? It should be, especially for a BK stove due to generally cooler flue temps.
spoke to the dealer about this...regardless of BK we chose to go with.....they have said their company will not just attach a new stove to a 6" pipe we have existing (since the mid 90's).....it must meet the stoves requirements which are double lined/walled
 
It sounds like upsell to me. The King 40 requires 8" chimney pipe. That is going to greatly increase costs and in your climate, the gain is not worth it, imo. All it provides is a larger fuel tank.
something i left off....the WE thinks the stove looks too small for the wall/room it's in. So, the larger the stove the better the cosmetic appearance....and we aren't stuck on something for THIS particular project to a budget. To each their own, this just happens to fall into something we are okay spending what it takes to get the job done WE think is best
 
The chimney height sounds good.

Oak or other (natural, dried, no additions) wood makes no difference.
Many folks burn solely pine. In fact BK is located in coniferous tree country.
I have burned a few cords of the appropriately named Pitch Pine...

What does make the difference is whether the wood is dry.
i specifcally asked my rep to ask the BK rep they deal with about my particular variety of wood.. PER that conversation, it's fine to burn (if seasonsed correctly)
 
It sounds like upsell to me. The King 40 requires 8" chimney pipe. That is going to greatly increase costs and in your climate, the gain is not worth it, imo. All it provides is a larger fuel tank.
either way they have to replace the piple to meet the requirements of my 1995 "ish" pipe vs the 2024 BK double wall requirments...sidenote...the piping is approx 3500 in the esimtate...have to love CA
 
How big is your home and what it's layout?

8" pipe is Expensive... With a capital E.
our home is a single story "country ish" home. single story
the main living area will ONLY be warmed by the stove. we use space heaters for the rest.
propane is expensive...so we don't use our cental heat.
we have 55 solar panels, so anything electic is "free".
its CA...i get it y'all...i wanna move too..but wife says no
 
Way overkill.
can't exactly disagree...but i'm stuggling to find the downside minus original costs........and quite frankly, and i'm sure this is going to ruffle feathers, but who cares about the cost of something that will be there 30 ish years....like...this isn't a car that's going to break.....its a central part of the home...lasts "forever"......why budget on this...i don't get it
 
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