Jotul C350 Winterport - performance

[JennyB]

Hi All,

I ended up purchasing the Jotul C350 for my 1850 sq ft colonial in NE MA. I realize that the C350 is a bit undersized for my house but made the decision to go this route because of modest heat expectations and was one of two inserts that my wife was agreeable to, the other being the 550 but that would have required substantial modification to mantel and as a result was ruled out.

Anyway, temps have gotten down to 30's the last couple of nights so we've been burning the stove and it really isn't generating much in the way of heat output e.g. when I walk into the living room (22 x 14) where insert is located there is hardly a noticeable difference between temps there and rest of house. Frankly doesn't seem to kick off any more heat than the fireplace did - maybe less.

The C350 was installed with full SS liner (not insulated) and block off plate. Stove temps have been steady around 400 degrees, getting as high as 500 or a little over at times. I can feel decent heat coming out from immediate blower area but was really hoping that at least the living room area would get warmish.

Am I doing something wrong? Are my expectations off? Also, not clear from Jotul manual what the optimal burn temp is for c350 if anyone can shed light.

Thanks,
Oliver

 

[jqgs214]

What height ceilings in that room?? Is the block off plate sealed? How long has the insert been running at 500deg when you are comparing temps. What is the temp in that room? Other rooms?

 

[JennyB]

Ceiling height is approximately 7 - 7'6". I do not know if the block off plate is sealed, I paid for someone to do the install and was not present when work was performed. I came home to the stove installed. Wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't sealed.

Last night when I ran the insert it was at 500 degrees for approximately 30 minutes - hour I would guess. I closed the damper so that it wouldn't overfire. Not knowing what optimal temp to run stove (can't find in C350 operator manual) I didn't want to cause problems. I believe I read that the Jotul's like to run hot but am fearful of causing damage - the thermometer I have indicates 500 and above is over firing.

I don't know the temps in other rooms, just a feel. I'll try to get a thermometer and report back.

Thanks

 

[jqgs214]

I would get her up too 500+ for 3-4 hours and see if that makes a difference. I char up my wood with full air for 20-30 minutes then damper down. Temps climb from 400 up to sometimes 750 like last night. Ideally with my set-up its around 600-650. She will cruise over 500 for at least 4hrs though.

 

[Custerstove]

I have the 550 model and it puts out plenty of heat in my un-insulated home. I suspect, based on your description that you need to burn for longer periods of time. If it's 30 F outside you need to burn at 400 F and higher for at least four hours to warm a room to say 73 F. Keep that stove burning. . . . and let the heat build up. I'd be really surprized if you can burn all day long and the living room is still cold. I've also noticed that loading the stove with smaller pieces of wood can really get the stove cranking, but the larger logs burn longer. Keep trying, I really believe things will work out for you.

 

[JennyB]

Thanks all. Will stick with it. Plan on giving it a decent test this weekend when I have the opportunity to burn for an extended duration.

 

[JimmyMood]

Do you have a thermometer in the room? I have a similarly sized living room, that gets up to the low 70's on a 20 degree night. There is no thermometer on the stove, so I couldn't tell you what I'm burning that at. It does take a couple hours to heat up the room if I'm starting from 55 degrees.