# Jotul propane consumption



## azs (Oct 2, 2012)

I recently moved into a house with a jotul direct vent gas stove, probably Allagash.  We turned the stove on for about 2 hours the other day. We checked the propane the day before and two days after we turned on the stove. Six gallons of propane (5 percent of a 120 gallon tank) was gone. Is this normal?  If not, what could be the problem?  The stove is controlled by a thermostat, so we just set it to 65 and then back to 50, when the house was warm enough.


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## DAKSY (Oct 2, 2012)

azs said:


> I recently moved into a house with a jotul direct vent gas stove, probably Allagash. We turned the stove on for about 2 hours the other day. We checked the propane the day before and two days after we turned on the stove. Six gallons of propane (5 percent of a 120 gallon tank) was gone. Is this normal? If not, what could be the problem? The stove is controlled by a thermostat, so we just set it to 65 and then back to 50, when the house was warm enough.


 
No Jotul stove will burn 6 gallons in two hours. The largest is the GF600 Firelight & that's a 40K BTU stove. Two hours (80K) on that will use less than ONE gallon (92K) of LP. The Allagash is a 26K BTU stove. That should take about 21 hours to burn 6 gallons...You have a leak in the system, or your gauge isn't reading correctly.


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## trafick (Oct 3, 2012)

Wow, I feel sorry for you propane guys. I'm paying .93 a therm (100,000 BTU's) for Nat gas. I can run my Allagash for over 4hrs on high for about a buck. I guess that's why I don't mind running the pilot all winter. I agree with DAKSY though, no way an Allagash will burn 3gal/hr unless something's wrong.


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## azs (Oct 9, 2012)

We will be replacing this stove with a Castine wood stove ASAP.  

We got the propane tank refilled and then didn't run the stove and there was very little change in the propane after it was refilled. Tonight we checked the propane, then ran the stove for exactly 2 hours and then checked the propane again. The stove burned between 1.4-1.8 gallons.  I found out that the stove is a Firelight and is probably about 10 years old.  Should I still be worried about a gas leak somewhere or is this older version of the stove just incredibly inefficient? Could lack of maintenance, adjustments or cleaning cause it to be less efficient than it should be?


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## DAKSY (Oct 9, 2012)

Did you have your LP guy check the system? If there's a leak It should be evident, & show up when they test it. Is your model one of the older Majestic units with the vertical tubes ainside the rear of the firebox? If not, what do the flames look like? Do you know if the unit was correctly converted to LP. All of the Jotul gas units come from the factory set up for NG. If the burner orifice is STILL NG & you're running LP thru the burner, your flames should be GINORMOUS...


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## WellSeasoned (Oct 9, 2012)

Obviously have your guy check your propane stove. But if you get a woodstove, make sure you do your research on what stove will work best for your heating needs. The castine is a perfect stove for our application. Start getting your wood NOW, so its ready for next year, except oak; 2-3 years). Good luck.


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## azs (Oct 9, 2012)

There is a screen on the bottom and then a row of embers that look like french fries, then a row of blue like a camping stove with yellow on top.  The yellow is about 4 inches tall.  Then there is a log, with another log resting on top and going diagonally back towards a log in the back.  There are some yellow flames that come up between the front and back log.  At the top of the firebox, there are 2 fuzzy white circles.  At the back, there are 2 hole the same size with metal plates covering half.  No vertical tubes, no ginormous flames.


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## DAKSY (Oct 9, 2012)

azs said:


> There is a screen on the bottom and then a row of embers that look like french fries, then a row of blue like a camping stove with yellow on top. The yellow is about 4 inches tall. Then there is a log, with another log resting on top and going diagonally back towards a log in the back. There are some yellow flames that come up between the front and back log. At the top of the firebox, there are 2 fuzzy white circles. At the back, there are 2 hole the same size with metal plates covering half. No vertical tubes, no ginormous flames.


 
Seems to be running correctly. I think I'd have the LP company check the external connections. That is a 40K BTU INPUT stove...  2hr x 40 = 80K. 80K / 92K per Gal = .86 or 86% of ONE Gallon.
No way it should burn DOUBLE that amount.


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## azs (Oct 9, 2012)

I called the propane company and they said they checked everything before they filled the tank the first time.  So maybe they missed something. But does it make sense that the extra fuel only goes out when we turn on the stove?  Does that indicate where the leak is?


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## DAKSY (Oct 10, 2012)

Did they check with the stove running?
Was the gas line open all the way to the stove or is there an in-line shut-off?
Did they check the pressure at the valve?
Maybe you  can check the NFI web site to see if there is a local
Gas Certified Tech who can help you out...The usage is not normal for that unit...


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