Advice please.

[TK-421]

We have just a small backdraft on occasion now. It requires lighting it up and quickly closing the door. Less than three minutes and there's enough draft to pull the smoke. I then crack the door for five minutes while it takes off.

Sadly this front room is the only place to put the stove and I can only get about 16' without it getting crazy outside in height. Right now I have about 7' exposed. Enough to clear the ridge and have my horizontal clearance. I don't really want to have to go higher. I think I'll add sections later if needed.

 

[leeave96]

We finally settled on the Jotul f600. This stove just seemed to meet all of our needs.

The dealer agreed to $2195 to we are happy we got the best price we could. I now ordering new 6" pipe and getting ready to redo the chimney setup.

How much draft do you think I'll lose by putting in a "T" coming right off the stove? I only have a 15' chimney so I'm not working with much anyway. Will the 90 kill the draft much?

I plan to use a cap on the bottom and make that my clean out. My wife wants a chase for the pipe since its a cathedral living room and we'll have 8-9' of pipe exposed. If I put in a T I can make the chase come straight down and not worry about clearances as much since it won't be an alcove installation.

I'd rather have it go straight up of the stove but the T seems to work better with the chase setup.

Great stove selection with the F600. I don't think the "T" will effect your draft by introducing a 90 degree. On the Woodstock Fireview, only rear exit is available, so in those installations, several folks have done the same thing you are doing with the "T" in order to get a convient cleanout.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

We finally settled on the Jotul f600.

Congratulations! I was wondering how you made out...

 

[TK-421]

Thanks guys. This is 95% or more of our main heat. Can't afford the propane. We had to take the extra time to make sure we picked the correct stove for us. I think the t will be fine too. I just now cranked up the stove and had just minimal smoke. Like I said, only a few seconds of backdraft. Ten minutes and my little VC resolute is already up to 300. Had her up to 800 yesterday. Oops. Glad we have the thermometer finally. I guess we've been really over firing all these years and never knew it.

I am ordering all the chimney parts today from efireplace.com. Great prices. I'm being quoted prices from local dealers of $250 for one 4' section of dura tech SS. On efireplace it's only $127. Can't argue with that.

It's 430 am and 32 outside and snowing in eastern CT. The house dipped down to 60 downstairs and probably 55 in the bedrooms. The heating season for us has officially started. Yay!

 

[firefighterjake]

Welcome to the Jotul family . . . there are a lot of happy F-600 owners.

 

[TK-421]

As an admin on a Star Wars forum I always like it when members not only take but actually give back to the forum.

I had every intention of going to get the jotul. I stood at the Preston Trading post ready to buy when I got cold feet.

Two months later our CEO announced major layoffs and we knew better. The company would be shutting down for good. Thank goodness I went with my gut. Money in the bank is always good right before unemployment.

All of 2012 was crisis mode preparing for the worst and trying to save and pay off bills.

Fast forward to this past January. My prediction came true. We had several cracks on our VC Resolute. I knew it was too small for our house and our over firing finally caught up with us. It's still usable as its only the inner rear wall but we have issues with the damper not staying closed and the glass panes keep falling in. I rigged the glass pains to last us through this winter and we "rigged" the damper to stay closed when needed.

I saw a sale at Preston Trading Post and wanting to save money I planned to go grab the jotul 600. While I was there I looked at all of the stoves trying to see if I could save some more money than jotul 600. I came across the newer F55 Carrabbassett. I spent a few weeks reading up on it and reading reviews. Well, the Carrbbassett is now sitting in our living room right next to the old VC Resolute. I'll hook it up later this summer.

My first impression is wow!

Pros

It's several hundred dollars cheaper than the 600. With the tax breaks and current sale I walked out paying $1900 shipped.
The look is great and my wife likes it better than your standard steel stove. It's a steel box stove with cast iron panels attached to the sides. The top is also cast iron. It's a very nice looking stove.
Nice big front door. And only one door vs the two on the jotul.
Huge unobstructed window vs the more cluttered view of the 600.
Only ember protection for the floor.
Reduced clearance as it came with a rear heat shield.
Boasts an impressive 83000 BTUs vs the 600 at 81000. I know those numbers can vary and are sometimes off but it will be much better than our underpowered VC Resolute that only had 30000 BTUs. This stove will more than heat our house.

Cons

No side door.
Maximum 18" logs.


Overall I'm very impressed with this stove. I'm eager for next fall when I can fire it up. Next year midwinter I'll be sure to give you all a review of my new Jotul Carrabbassett.

We also looked at the F50 TL. We love top load stoves because you can really pack them and its easier not having to bend down. The F50 IMHO is a waste. The opening is incredibly small. You can top load but the hole is so small you'll never pack it full. I'd guess the opening was about 6" by 18-20". The 6" is just ridiculously small. Plus the reviews were a bit shaky with the added parts. There's a side lever you must move first. The side lever rotates the baffles from the top to the back of the stove. It just seems like a poor design and waste.

As for the job. I'm still here and we're limping along. Seniority has its advantages. If I'm lucky I'll get to the end of the year. That's probably not going to happen but I can hope. If anyone has an "in" at the airlines for pilot positions I'm ready to go. Hopefully my review next winter will be an airline review as well.

To those that helped me with the decision, thank you again. Even though I went with another stove, you all gave me a lot of info to think about and in the end that helped me pick the Carrbbassett.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a solid decision TX. Best of luck with the job. Hopefully you will at least get a good severance package. Let us know if you need any more help.

PS: what is the url for the Star Wars forum?

 

[TK-421]

Severance?? LOL

I'm luke skywalker on ImperialRoyalArms.com a custom lightsaber building forum.

 

[begreen]

May the force be with you.

 

[TK-421]

Here's my thank you thread to those that gave me all the great advice.

Love the Carrabassett. First burn is done with 2 to go. This is going to be a great winter. :D

 

[TK-421]

So far this has been a great stove. We can get an easy 10 hour burn. Everyday we pack it at bedtime around 9:30-10. Getting up around 6-7 we have a huge bed of coals that easily starts a new batch with no need fr kindling. I haven't had to start a fire since October. Morning stovetop temps average around 250.

Overall its a great stove.

 

[Dave K]

So far this has been a great stove. We can get an easy 10 hour burn. Everyday we pack it at bedtime around 9:30-10. Getting up around 6-7 we have a huge bed of coals that easily starts a new batch with no need fr kindling. I haven't had to start a fire since October. Morning stovetop temps average around 250.

Overall its a great stove.

I just read this entire thread and learned a lot! Its nice to read a thread that has an update!