Jotul c550 Rockland tips thread

[jatoxico]

That

Having lived with the C550 for a month now and reading through this thread twice I do have a question. I get wildly different readings from my ir gun and stove top thermometer. Stovetop thermometer is a Condar Inferno Stove Top Meter (100* to 900*) and my Ir gun is a Kintrex with laser targeting (-76* to 932*). Inferno will read 800* to 900* and the Kintrex will read 600* to 700* with me taking the temp right next to the Condar. Condar is placed in the blower slot upfront just left of center. I have been going by the reading of the Kintrex but figure I would double check.

Is there a better spot for the Condar? Going a few inches in with the Kintrex the temp drops 50*-75* so it looks like it might be at the hottest part of the stove.

Do I believe the Kintrex over the Condar?

Just want to make sure I am not doing any damage to the lovely Jotul.

Thanks!

I expect most stove top thermos to be off but that is quite a difference. At 800-900 I might expect to see some glowing so I tend to believe your IR. You might want to turn off the lights and look around for glowing stove parts in case the Condor is giving a true reading. Also, it's hard to get a straight shot at the top w/ the IR but my IR and stove top thermo agree pretty good.

So here's what I would do. Put your stove top thermo in the oven and set the temp to 450-500 or so (if you have on oven or meat thermometer to double check even better) and see if the Condor is calibrated/reading correctly. As you take out the Condor shoot the oven w/ the IR so you can get an idea if that's in the ballpark too.

 

[Soundchasm]

Having lived with the C550 for a month now and reading through this thread twice I do have a question. I get wildly different readings from my ir gun and stove top thermometer. Stovetop thermometer is a Condar Inferno Stove Top Meter (100* to 900*) and my Ir gun is a Kintrex with laser targeting (-76* to 932*). Inferno will read 800* to 900* and the Kintrex will read 600* to 700* with me taking the temp right next to the Condar. Condar is placed in the blower slot upfront just left of center. I have been going by the reading of the Kintrex but figure I would double check.

Is there a better spot for the Condar? Going a few inches in with the Kintrex the temp drops 50*-75* so it looks like it might be at the hottest part of the stove.

Do I believe the Kintrex over the Condar?

Just want to make sure I am not doing any damage to the lovely Jotul.

Thanks!

I'd definitely believe the Kintrex over the Condar. My question of the magnet units is whether or not the number of degrees off is a fixed amount? Back in the restaurant days, the little probes we used could be calibrated by sticking them in ice water and adjusting the needle to 32 degrees. If my therm was reading 42 degrees in ice water, even if i couldn't adjust the needle, it was 10 degrees off, but still completely "accurate".

I'd like to see somebody use a skillet, the IR gun and a magnet to see if the delta is linear. But no shortening, because that stuff is bad for you.

My IR experience on the Jotul is that the air exhaust (stovetop(?)) temps vary a lot over a few inches.

 

[hamsey]

Jatoxio, Did not see anything glowing. If I am to believe the st thermo I can get my c550 up to 500* with 4 to 6 pieces of kindling and 3 2" splits 16" long and a couple of 2" shorties on the bottom. This is from a cold start. Will do the oven test next time it is on.

Sound, I agree about getting different readings just a few inches apart on the Jotul. I just go with the highest temp I get. Try to get it cruising between 600* - 700*

 

[AK13]

So, after 3 years of solid service (or has it been 4?) I am thinking it is time to break down my Rockland and give it a thorough cleaning this summer. Has anyone done something like this?

Part of this will be cleaning all the dust and cob webs from under the unit and cleaning the fan. Not sure what if anything should be done inside the firebox though.

 

[Soundchasm]

So, after 3 years of solid service (or has it been 4?) I am thinking it is time to break down my Rockland and give it a thorough cleaning this summer. Has anyone done something like this?

Part of this will be cleaning all the dust and cob webs from under the unit and cleaning the fan. Not sure what if anything should be done inside the firebox though.

Jatoxico did a very thorough synopsis that was just short of pulling the thing out! ;-) If you can search his posts, it ought to turn up.

 

[jatoxico]

If you open the door you can pop the front grate off. Then you can vacuum out the area that houses the fans. Fans are easy to remove and can be given a good cleaning.
To clean the upper part of the firebox remove the skamol bricks then the air tubes and baffles. I usually find all kinds of wonderful and crunchy things up there.

 

[Stoneseller]

First post, I just found this site and I'm enjoying reading this 550 discussion.
I had my insert installed four years ago in December. It does a nice job warming a family room with a two story ceiling and a whole wall of glass. Overall I am very happy with the unit.
Except. Yeh, there is always one of those.

My first gripe comes from my wife. She is very bothered by the sound of the fans at anything over very low speed. Last year one fan began a rattle that even bothers me.

Second issue is the big reason I signed up here. I just replaced the cast iron floor "hearth" in my unit. It had warped and cracked in the center from front to back. I'll attempt to attach pictures. Almost $300.00 before tax, and one heck of a lot of work to R&R. The dealer I bought from was not about to get me a no cost or discounted replacement.

So I am wondering if I could possibly be the only one with this problem?

 

[Stoneseller]

Pictures

 

[jatoxico]

First post, I just found this site and I'm enjoying reading this 550 discussion.
I had my insert installed four years ago in December. It does a nice job warming a family room with a two story ceiling and a whole wall of glass. Overall I am very happy with the unit.
Except. Yeh, there is always one of those.

My first gripe comes from my wife. She is very bothered by the sound of the fans at anything over very low speed. Last year one fan began a rattle that even bothers me.

Second issue is the big reason I signed up here. I just replaced the cast iron floor "hearth" in my unit. It had warped and cracked in the center from front to back. I'll attempt to attach pictures. Almost $300.00 before tax, and one heck of a lot of work to R&R. The dealer I bought from was not about to get me a no cost or discounted replacement.

So I am wondering if I could possibly be the only one with this problem?

Hi Stoneseller,
Can't help you w/ your warped floor, first I've heard of it. You can often quiet the fans though. Pop off the front grate and you will see they just clip in. Either reposition them or add something to insulate them floor the mounting surface.

 

[elevatorman]

Question for u jotul rockland guys I bought a used c550 over the weekend. Got it for 1750.00 with all parts minus a peice of insulation part number 20 in the manual. I looked at the stove but don't see where this peice would even go. It's the peice that mounts between fire box and the fan compartment.

 

[EJL923]

part 20 would go underneath the cast iron bottom of the stove, where the wood would sit. I tried taking that out once before because i was curious and love taking things apart, but it wouldnt budge. I dont ever see a need to take it out unless something weird happens like the warping the other guy in this thread has. Which, now that i mention that i have no idea how that would happen, unless someone tried burning coal.

 

[benking]

Pictures

Stonesetter, my cast iron base cracked in its third year of use. It was replaced under warranty but I was charged labor ($300). Anyone have a source for reasonably priced replacement fans? My left fan has been lubed but still squeaks like crazy.

 

[EJL923]

I havent found a good place for fans. Some stove sites will list that fan around $200, i mean ridiculous. Do you know what it is thats squeaking? The ball bearing or the bronze bushing?

 

[EJL923]

Finding a replacement fan might be a good question to throw out on a new forum. Someone might know where to fins cheap jotul parts

 

[benking]

I havent found a good place for fans. Some stove sites will list that fan around $200, i mean ridiculous. Do you know what it is thats squeaking? The ball bearing or the bronze bushing?

From what I can tell its the bearing... I'm only finding prices in the $180 - $200 range which seems really expensive. I was successfully able to lube the other fan but the left one is done I think.

 

[EJL923]

Interesting, how old is the fan? Mine are 5yrs old, i have only lubed the bronze bushing. Last time i took it apart, i did take a picture of the roller bearings, you should be able to find those online.

 

[hamsey]

Do anyone know how thick the plate steel of the firebox is?

 

[Stoneseller]

It looks to be 1/4" thick steel plate.
If you click on my first picture above, then zoom in, you can see the thickness of the left side quite clearly.

 

[pigc]

Wow, 21 pages of reading pleasure over the past few days. Installed my Rockland last weekend and so far so good (except melted power cord). If you install an outlet on the inside of the firebox to conceal the blower cord make sure it does NOT touch the side of the stove! Must have shifted as we were pushing it into position.

Other than that the unit heats extremely well. Even the auto fan seems to work well (knock on wood). I think the block off plate with insulation makes a huge difference. I've even got some 8-10 hour burns thanks to all the advice of previous posts.

Look forward to learning the ins and outs of this sexy insert this winter! I really like the clean face look and wide viewing glass.
(break in fire)


Matt

 

[OhioBurner©]

Looks nice pigc!

Well I'm happy to report I got my first real good overnight burn of the season. My wood supply was sorely lacking this year (long story) all I got besides some left over scraps is some standing dead ash I cut down in September and still working on splitting it. When I started splitting it I chucked the drier feeling pieces into a different pile and have been stacking them on the porch and inside by the stoves to help dry quicker. I just got a new moisture meter and most of the drier ones are measuring between 20-25%. They have been burning but not ideal, takes a little more air, and usually long out by the time I get up in the morning. In fact sometimes I was surprised there was a some pretty large coals in the morning, only to find out later my wife got up and loaded it at 4am. lol

I picked up a ton of eco-bricks to help suppliment my ~1 cord of semi-dry ash, and have been experimenting mixing a few in and such.

Fast forward to last night. It was a bit before midnight and I had a bed of coals that probably burnt down a little too much. But I loaded 2 big splits e-w, and had one other small-medium split on top with 1 eco brick shoved behind it. Then since my splits were only 18" or so I had some room on the end I packed with 3 eco bricks. Took a bit to get it going, and it was mainly the eco brick end that got gong well, the other side really didn't have hardly any flame at all. But I got it up to around 500 fully closed down and went to bed about 1am with some good secondary action on the right side of the firebox.
I wasn't expecting a whole lot and was very surprised to see great big chunks of coals still going when I got up a little before 9am.

[ATTAC]148102[/ATTACH]
After about 9hrs from loading.


Temp about 9 hrs from loading.


I stirred up the coals and it took off again.



Climbed back up over 400.

When it was all said and done I reloaded it at 10:30am at 370F. I do believe the Ash that wasn't really burning yet on the left side did smoulder a bit, I have a bit of black soot on the left side of the glass. A combination of slightly high moisture in the ash, but high temps from the eco bricks probably had the air down quicker than the ash would have liked. But still maintained some decent temps I into the morning.

My reload at 10:30 is another test run with eco's. I'm trying to small-medium splits and a big load of 8 bricks.

Not sure if anyone has used eco's much in this stove, but I'll report back with how they are doing. Though this load might not burn as long as I'd like, it already got a little away from me before I shut it down!

 

[elevatorman]

Well here it is February and I finally got the part number 20 from jotul took one month to come in. If anyone has there c550 cooled down which I'm sure they don't givin the cold snap we are having could they look at the following? How is the insulating peice mounted in the stove? I have a angle peice of steel the is directly under the primary air hole in the fire box. See attached pic. Also if that were out of the way what holds it in place? Silicone stove glue? Thanks for the help

 

[Stoneseller]

elevatorman,

Replacing part #20 requires removing the entire front face of the stove (part 59). There are eight bolts total and two cast iron brackets (part 38). Part 20 lays on the floor inside the stove, underneath the Firebox Grate Plate (part19). This is a pretty significant procedure.

Unless your part 19 is severely warped and/or cracked as mine was, disassembling the entire front of the stove seems rather unnecessary.
I'm curious as to why you think it needs replacing?
Part 20 is not attached in any way.
Should I ever need to replace part 19 again, I would be sure to do part 20 at the same time. Mine was only very slightly degraded after 3 or 4 years of operation.

 

[elevatorman]

elevatorman,

Replacing part #20 requires removing the entire front face of the stove (part 59). There are eight bolts total and two cast iron brackets (part 38). Part 20 lays on the floor inside the stove, underneath the Firebox Grate Plate (part19). This is a pretty significant procedure.

Unless your part 19 is severely warped and/or cracked as mine was, disassembling the entire front of the stove seems rather unnecessary.
I'm curious as to why you think it needs replacing?
Part 20 is not attached in any way.
View attachment 154453 View attachment 154454 Should I ever need to replace part 19 again, I would be sure to do part 20 at the same time. Mine was only very slightly degraded after 3 or 4 years of operation.

Stoneseller,

Thank you for clarifying. attached is my parts list view that caused my confusion. To back up the story some I bought the stove off craigslist the guy i bought it from said it was a floor model from a stove dealer in the area(never burned). He could not use the unit because his chimney was over 33'. Before i bought it I looked over the parts manual to verify that i was not missing any parts. When i looked at the parts list i discovered it part #20 was missing. The bottom plate shown in the image is where the fans mount. next the insulator part #20. In reality from what stoneseller is saying is that the 1/4 plate steel and the cast iron fire box piece sandwich the insulator part #20. So the print is really not right... I have a 100.00 part i do not need to my dismay.

Im still ahead because i paid 1600.00 for a new stove.


So thank you very much stoneseller for your great response.

 

[Stoneseller]

I can see why you would be confused. Save your part for that day in the future when you have to replace Part 19.

You did get one heck of a good deal on your stove. Do you plan to install it yourself?

My chimney is on the exterior of my house, and is about 35' high. It is sometimes difficult to get the initial draw up the chimney when starting on a cold day. Once the unit is hot I have no problems. Very dry wood is very helpful in getting a smoke free burn.
The SS pipe for mine is simply snaked through the opening where the damper used to be. Installers had to completely remove the damper, and also chisel out some masonry to get the flue to fit. They did not install a sheet metal block off plate in the fire box. They did pack the area with insulation, and put a blockoff plate at the top of the chimney. I believe I would net a lot more heat in the house with a lower blockoff. Maybe some year i will add one. Overall I am very happy with the unit.

 

[elevatorman]

ok so you say that I will have to replace it someday? seems like your the second person to replace part #19. cast iron cracks or burns out from what ive read. still not a deal breaker.

I did the install on my stove back in Oct. The install was pretty straight forward went with ss full flex liner and a top block of plate/cap. I did fabricate a bottom block off plate from some scrap steel I had. I did not Roxul the damper area/block off plate yet because I cannot find a small bag of it around these parts. I can buy a whole big bale of it though. Maybe something worth buying and using else where.

Here is my C550 run down


I have been heating aprox. 2200 square foot house with it. The house needs re insulated and is not a super open floor plan.
I have a Rutland mag stove thermo attached to top left of stove bellow air output vent Im only getting 200-250 degree range at the part of the stove. Others have told me mounting in that location cuts the accutal temp in half. If that is true Im only running 400 to 500 back of stove temps. I feel as though im always trying to get things adusted right but, my last insert took me two years to really burn right and understand.




overall Im well pleased with the unit. The build quality is far superior to the VC merrimack i had previous. This stove has a much better door design and there is more cast iron in this unit.


stove 1600.00
linner SS flex king 550.00 with top cap.
lower block off plate Free
rutland mag thermo 14.00
the mysterious part # 20 100 bucks
with these prices who could really complain about the stove...