Jotul 550 Rockland Comments

[Remdo]

Add a block off plate with rock wool above the plate. Add insulation to your attic if it's not quite R-49. I went from struggling to get the stove room to 74F when it was 15F outside, and now I maintained 74F in the stove room and it was -33F outside.

Yes I agree about the attic insulation as a matter of fact I've already contacted 4 spray foam insulation contractors to get some quotes for my attic. The house is drafty, very drafty I think and I hope, that once I insulate the attic and basement it will conserve the Heat and therefore burn less wood. Your thoughts?

 

[tadmaz]

Yes I agree about the attic insulation as a matter of fact I've already contacted 4 spray foam insulation contractors to get some quotes for my attic. The house is drafty, very drafty I think and I hope, that once I insulate the attic and basement it will conserve the Heat and therefore burn less wood. Your thoughts?

Insulation can only help!

 

[EJL923]

I always fix drafts first

 

[Jdowdle]

Hello,

I don't know if anybody is still monitoring this post, but I will add my two cents. Reason I signed up for hearth.com was to check out any postings regarding Rockland 550. I recently purchased one myself after reading a lot of good reviews. Never bothered to check the negative reviews. I must say I agree more with the author of this thread and others like him. I have well well seasoned wood. it's 5 years, if not more, seasoned Oak and Maple that's been covered dry as a bone, and although the unit did bring up the temperature of the house to around 70 degrees, it's not as efficient as my friends Napoleon 1101 which is a smaller unit but Heats his bigger house hotter than mine. Not to mention I go through about three times more wood than he does. I blocked off the top of the flue with rockwool insulation and the bottom. I have tried everything with this insert, burning it on wide-open oxygen and on fully closed and in between. 4 hours is all I get at most. I even brought few bundles of my friends wood, just to see if my wood was the problem. Nope, same outcome. His Napoleon 1101 has entire Firebox covered with refractory brick, whereas this unit as only few bricks along the sides and the back. I wonder if that makes a huge difference. I'm going to pull the unit out and add rockwool insulation behind it and on the sides. Maybe I'll even put a bit of it on top. I am with you about being dissatisfied with the results of this unit. What really gets me more than anything is how much wood I burn compared to my both of my friends.

R

This is my first season with this stove, so I'm still getting to know it, but if you've followed this thread you know I'm only moderately happy with it. On the plus side, it is really attractive, the view of the fire is really nice, and it seems to be very well made and sturdy. On the other hand, I think the blowers are seriously inadequate, and, as you noted, it consumes a lot of wood for the amount of heat you get from it. Mine improved significantly with the installation of a damper just above the stove, but I'm still disappointed with the the amount of heat I get for the amount of wood I burn. Not disappointed enough to seriously consider replacing the stove, but I might try further modifications to reduce the amount of air entering the stove. Not really happy with having to customize the stove to get it to work the way it seems like it ought to work anyway. Still, it effectively heated my house through these last really cold days (cold for around here, ~15f degrees at night), so I have to give credit where it is due. I expect this will be my stove for the foreseeable future.

 

[dtrykow]

So I also have one year under my belt running the Rockland 550. It’s in a 9 year old colonial with a full SS liner. My previous stove was a Lopi flush 2.9 cubic foot 73,300 BTU. Found a one foot crack in the firebox and the electrical needed some attention so I pitched it. Got 9 years out of it or about 36 cords. I burn hardwood slabs seasoned from a local mill. So the Jotul is a smaller stove. I knew that but wife wanted pretty this time thought the other one was ugly. But it Burns well and hot. Target stove temp is 500 Degrees.
1. Same two blowers as the Lopi but I don’t seem to get the high airflow out the top like the Lopi. Thinking the passages are different or something. The brick above the stove is also hotter than the other one too. Their noisy on any speed with a high pitch whine. On a good note, the auto fan control is perfect. I’ve set the speed and been going on and off on its own since it was installed.
2. As mentioned above the draft control is too small. Factory could easily put a small wooden handle on.
3. No secondary tube burning. I’ve got no visible “blow torches” at any draft setting. Lopi would have them to the point of vibrating the stove. Not sure why. Same wood. Maybe a deeper firebox? Or is the upper baffle isn’t right.
4. One door more smoke in the house. Just a comment. The Lopi had two doors so I used to open one and sneak the pieces in with no smoke.
Definitely could feel the difference with this smaller BTU stove. Narrower firebox so slabs tip forward more when burning down. Furnace cycles more especially on the second floor. Jotul keeps up with the thermostat setting but rarely goes above the setting on cold nights. So that’s the skinny on the Jotul. Rate it a “B+”. Should give me years of service. Respectfully submitted. Dave T.

 

[jatoxico]

No secondary tube burning. I’ve got no visible “blow torches” at any draft setting. Lopi would have them to the point of vibrating the stove. Not sure why.

Not sure why either. I'm able to get very good secondary burn. If you're sure the wood is up to snuff maybe your draft is poor. Depending on where you're taking the reading 500 is somewhat on the low side too, if that's peak anyway.

 

[dtrykow]

I’m thinking it’s my slabs are very dry. I get 1 cord bundles of 25% oak and the rest birch, beech, and maples. Stove is hot. I am running it 500-600 degrees. So not much unburnt gasses. Dave T.

 

[Jdowdle]

I’m thinking it’s my slabs are very dry. I get 1 cord bundles of 25% oak and the rest birch, beech, and maples. Stove is hot. I am running it 500-600 degrees. So not much unburnt gasses. Dave T.

I've found that slab wood is not necessarily the best wood. Being slab it is cut off the outside of the tree and is mostly sapwood. When the tree is alive the sapwood has the most water in it, and when you dry that wood it is generally lighter and less dense than heartwood. Less dense equates directly with less heat density. I've found that slab burns hot but burns very quickly, resulting in reduced burn times.

Concerning smoke, I never have any at all from my stove when I open the door, even if I forget to open the damper, so i'm thinking your draft may be insufficient.

 

[captlancemurdock]

Signed up to respond to this thread and thank jdowdle for this post. Thank you jdowdle!

My experience is identical to jdowdle’s. I have the bronze color Jotul Rockland 550 and aesthetically this unit is gorgeous, the fire is mesmerizing. This unit replaced a 70s era Country Hearth unit. Compared to that, the Jotul does not come close to the same heat output.

I followed all the comments on wood moisture content. This is not something I’ve ever monitored as my stove always ran quite well. I bought a moisture meter from Amazon. I have a few different sources of wood that will likely have varying moisture content. I’ll burn the different varieties and comment here if I notice a significant difference in stove performance with the different moisture levels.

Regarding draft and installing a damper, I will inquire about this and have my draft measured when I have some chimney repair work done this spring. If anything comes from that I will post here.

If anyone is looking into buying a Jotul 550 Rockland - do it for the aesthetics, not the heat output.

 

[bholler]

Signed up to respond to this thread and thank jdowdle for this post. Thank you jdowdle!

My experience is identical to jdowdle’s. I have the bronze color Jotul Rockland 550 and aesthetically this unit is gorgeous, the fire is mesmerizing. This unit replaced a 70s era Country Hearth unit. Compared to that, the Jotul does not come close to the same heat output.

I followed all the comments on wood moisture content. This is not something I’ve ever monitored as my stove always ran quite well. I bought a moisture meter from Amazon. I have a few different sources of wood that will likely have varying moisture content. I’ll burn the different varieties and comment here if I notice a significant difference in stove performance with the different moisture levels.

Regarding draft and installing a damper, I will inquire about this and have my draft measured when I have some chimney repair work done this spring. If anything comes from that I will post here.

If anyone is looking into buying a Jotul 550 Rockland - do it for the aesthetics, not the heat output.

What moisture content is your wood? In order to measure draft you need a fire in the stove. So generally it is difficult to measure draft when other chimney work is being done.

 

[captlancemurdock]

What moisture content is your wood? In order to measure draft you need a fire in the stove. So generally it is difficult to measure draft when other chimney work is being done.

Don’t know the moisture content but I will next week once the gauge arrives.

Ah good point on the draft measurement requiring an active fire. I’m going to ask for the draft to be measured when they come out to do the quote for the work. Don’t worry I won’t have a fire going while they’re repairing the masonry! Thank you!

When I bought this unit the sales guy never said a thing about moisture content in the wood impacting the performance. Neither did the installer. If it’s this critical, it seems like they could toss in a $30 moisture meter with a $3800 stove. I know, I know, I should have done my research.

 

[begreen]

Capt Lance, how tall is the liner on the insert? Is the insert installed in an exterior wall fireplace? Is there an insulated block-off plate installed in the damper area above the insert?

 

[Jdowdle]

What moisture content is your wood? In order to measure draft you need a fire in the stove. So generally it is difficult to measure draft when other chimney work is being done.

Through 30+ years of heating with wood and three previous stoves, I've never much worried about moisture content. If the wood was cut and split and stacked in the winter and seasoned through the spring, summer and fall, it always burned well. This is the first stove that seems really sensitive to the moisture content. I have some wood that is two years old and it definitely burns better, although it burns up a lot faster. I found that mixing one- and two-year-old wood seems to works best for me.

An update on the damper, it works great and significantly increased the heat output of the stove. Also, the wood lasts significantly longer, all things you would expect from a damper. I also like being able to open it before I open the door of the stove, which lets any smoke clear the stove first. There is a reason stoves have had dampers from the dawn of time.

As to the fans, they are still the biggest disappointment. They don't move enough air for one. Worse, as the winter has gone on, they have gotten progressively louder. I'm thinking it is because they inevitably suck in ash, since the folks at Jotul foolishly decided to leave off any kind of functional ash lip. I try to be tidy, but when the stove burns for days at a time, ash is going to get sucked in. Anyway, I expect the fans are suffering from this. Also, I noticed when the stove was being installed that the fans are very loosely mounted, held in place by a single screw. I mentioned at the time that I expected they would rattle, and they do. And because there are two fans, which unavoidably turn at slightly different speeds, they get a harmonic vibration going between them that makes its own rattle. Really annoying.

I expect over the summer I will try to find a powerful well-made single squirrel-cage blower that will fit the space. I'll let folks know if that works out.

 

[begreen]

I'm thinking it is because they inevitably suck in ash, since the folks at Jotul foolishly decided to leave off any kind of functional ash lip.

This is by market aesthetic demand for a flush look and why I don't like flush inserts. The best thing one can do is turn off the blower before opening the door and cleaning up the hearth in front of the insert before turning the blower back on.

 

[captlancemurdock]

Capt Lance, how tall is the liner on the insert? Is the insert installed in an exterior wall fireplace? Is there an insulated block-off plate installed in the damper area above the insert?

The liner is 17’ long. It’s installed in the center of the gable end exterior wall.

Not sure about the insulated block off plate. I checked the install bill and it says 6” UP/P 13” x 13” collar/plate ($45.80) I can ask the installer tomorrow when they open.

 

[captlancemurdock]

Through 30+ years of heating with wood and three previous stoves, I've never much worried about moisture content. If the wood was cut and split and stacked in the winter and seasoned through the spring, summer and fall, it always burned well. This is the first stove that seems really sensitive to the moisture content. I have some wood that is two years old and it definitely burns better, although it burns up a lot faster. I found that mixing one- and two-year-old wood seems to works best for me.

An update on the damper, it works great and significantly increased the heat output of the stove. Also, the wood lasts significantly longer, all things you would expect from a damper. I also like being able to open it before I open the door of the stove, which lets any smoke clear the stove first. There is a reason stoves have had dampers from the dawn of time.

As to the fans, they are still the biggest disappointment. They don't move enough air for one. Worse, as the winter has gone on, they have gotten progressively louder. I'm thinking it is because they inevitably suck in ash, since the folks at Jotul foolishly decided to leave off any kind of functional ash lip. I try to be tidy, but when the stove burns for days at a time, ash is going to get sucked in. Anyway, I expect the fans are suffering from this. Also, I noticed when the stove was being installed that the fans are very loosely mounted, held in place by a single screw. I mentioned at the time that I expected they would rattle, and they do. And because there are two fans, which unavoidably turn at slightly different speeds, they get a harmonic vibration going between them that makes its own rattle. Really annoying.

I expect over the summer I will try to find a powerful well-made single squirrel-cage blower that will fit the space. I'll let folks know if that works out.

Really interested in this damper idea but scared to install it myself. Is this something a contractor could do? Either way I’ll see how the wood moisture testing pans out first.

The fans on this thing are bad. They rattle and whine and seem really underpowered compared to my old unit. They are spring mounted and I found wedging some stainless nuts under the base that each fan rests on helps cut down on the noise quite a bit. Still a little irritating though.

 

[begreen]

The liner is 17’ long. It’s installed in the center of the gable end exterior wall.

Not sure about the insulated block off plate. I checked the install bill and it says 6” UP/P 13” x 13” collar/plate ($45.80) I can ask the installer tomorrow when they open.

With a 17' liner I doubt there is any need for a damper. The 13 x 13 plate is probably the top cap. My guess is that the insert is losing a lot of heat to he exterior masonry. The remedy is to install an insulated block-off plate at the damper area and some insulation behind the insert. That should make a notable improvement in heat output.

 

[Jdowdle]

Really interested in this damper idea but scared to install it myself. Is this something a contractor could do? Either way I’ll see how the wood moisture testing pans out first.

The fans on this thing are bad. They rattle and whine and seem really underpowered compared to my old unit. They are spring mounted and I found wedging some stainless nuts under the base that each fan rests on helps cut down on the noise quite a bit. Still a little irritating though.

The damper was pretty simple, but also a bit tricky. I'm a pretty tool-oriented guy and I have a whole shop full of automotive and motorcycle tools, so I had what I needed. First, the damper needs to be installed in rigid pipe, not in the flex line. I found that on my installation the drawdown adapter which connects between the stove and the flex was about 8" tall, and had room to accommodate the damper just above the outlet of the stove. Once I figured that out the rest was just tool stuff. The standard 6" damper comes with a short handle. I cut it off and welded a long rod onto it to extend it. The damper is oriented so that the rod comes straight out toward the front of the stove. Then I drilled a similar-sized hole through the center of the keystone in the cast iron surround. The rod protrudes through that hole about an inch. I threaded it and found a nice oil-rubbed bronze t-handle at Lowes. I drilled it to match the threads on the end of the rod, screwed it on, and locked it in place with a jam nut behind it. I oriented it so that when the handle is vertical the damper is open, horizontal, closed.

Yeah, I wound up putting some wedges under mine which helped a bit. You just kind of expect on a stove that costs this much, from a company with Jotul's reputation, that they would have done a better job with the fans.

 

[Jdowdle]

If anyone is looking into buying a Jotul 550 Rockland - do it for the aesthetics, not the heat output.

I live in Central North Carolina. An average winter here has lots of days with lows in the 20's, and maybe a week or two with lows in the teens. Most days in Dec. - Feb. have highs in the 30's - 40's. In this climate, once I got familiar with the stove, I find that it provides sufficient heat for the 1800sf I'm heating with it. On a few days in the low teens I use a propane space heater for some additional heat at night, because of the short burn time of this stove.

Even with the best wood and the damper in place, with a full load and established coals, I get about three hours of good heat before it starts falling off, and by 4-5 hours the heat output is down by 2/3's. Gotta get up in the middle of the night and put more wood in if I want a warm house in the morning, and don't want to burn kilowatts or propane, which for me is kind of the whole point of heating with wood.

I guess all that is to say that in this climate, I'm reasonably happy with the stove. If I lived in a colder climate I don't think I would be.

 

[begreen]

It has a medium-sized firebox. There is only so much one can do with a ~2 cu ft wood load. If the fireplace has room one is going to get better heating with a 3 cu ft insert, preferably not flush and with a N/S firebox to facilitate fuller loadings.

 

[captlancemurdock]

With a 17' liner I doubt there is any need for a damper. The 13 x 13 plate is probably the top cap. My guess is that the insert is losing a lot of heat to he exterior masonry. The remedy is to install an insulated block-off plate at the damper area and some insulation behind the insert. That should make a notable improvement in heat output.

Thanks! I will ask about this tomorrow. Appreciate the help!

 

[dtrykow]

I’m going to tinker with the fans. No getting the air circulation out the top even on hi. And there noisy. Not Jotul brand but they spec them out and installed them. As I said before my bricks directly above the stove are hot. IF reading is 135deg.
Who knows. I enjoy burning wood and I get 4 cords a year for free. Can’t complain too much. Dave T.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I have only had the Jotul 550 as a wood burning unit, so I have nothing to compare to. It has heated the main floor and upstairs nicely this is about 1600 sq ft of space overall. No blockoff plate. It seems to me we get great heat from this thing without using the electric heat. Wood is a variety of hard and softwood dried for avg of about a bit over a year. I’m sure results will vary amongst users.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

This is my first season with this stove, so I'm still getting to know it, but if you've followed this thread you know I'm only moderately happy with it. On the plus side, it is really attractive, the view of the fire is really nice, and it seems to be very well made and sturdy. On the other hand, I think the blowers are seriously inadequate, and, as you noted, it consumes a lot of wood for the amount of heat you get from it. Mine improved significantly with the installation of a damper just above the stove, but I'm still disappointed with the the amount of heat I get for the amount of wood I burn. Not disappointed enough to seriously consider replacing the stove, but I might try further modifications to reduce the amount of air entering the stove. Not really happy with having to customize the stove to get it to work the way it seems like it ought to work anyway. Still, it effectively heated my house through these last really cold days (cold for around here, ~15f degrees at night), so I have to give credit where it is due. I expect this will be my stove for the foreseeable future.

Hi. If you are still unhappy with your stoves performance, even after adding the damper, I would suggest that you take the advice offered earlier and get yourself a manometer so that you can quantitatively measure your draft. Otherwise, your just guessing about what changes you need to make...

Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

 

[captlancemurdock]

OK so I just received the moisture meter and have a couple of temperature sensors with data logging capability. Let’s run an experiment. My plan is to use my own regular firewood vs some very dry wood that a friend has had in his garage for years. I’m planning to weigh out enough wood to pack my stove and burn that to completion, tracking the inside and outside temperature throughout the entire burn. Then repeat the process with a moisture-adjusted weight of dry wood. This should tell me if I get a lot more heat out of dry wood or not. I’ll completely clean out the stove before each burn.

I can’t control for wood type. I will try and burn on days with similar temperature, and start the burn at the same time each day. Not sure what other variables are important here. Curious to hear any feedback you all might have.

Will share the graphs when I have them. Should be a fun experiment.