Jotul c550 Rockland tips thread

[jatoxico]

Could be they limited travel even more over time but may also be explained by simple minor casting differences. I didn't measure the travel limit on mine from 2011 but was about the same as the pics give or take. It's so sad to see those poor air controls not being able to live up to their full potential.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

So I called the dealer and they checked a few other units that they've had on display; and they told me they all close exactly like what I have shown.

From jatoxico other thread - sounds like this is common place with the 550; and even those that customized it don't shut it down all the way. I'll probably just leave it as is and enjoy the burn.

We’re it me, I’d go to the dealer myself and see what their showroom stove does in terms of the air control. Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t trust that I’m getting the straight scoop when profit motive is involved. And i imagine that potentially fixing something for them is money out of someone’s pocket other than your own.

 

[jatoxico]

FWIW this is an easy job that I would rather do sooner than later since the more time (burns) goes by the more likely it will be a more difficult and dirty job. Couple bolts and a hand file.

 

[jatoxico]

Today was a good day around here to run the Soot Eater. My notes say I did it last year on 12/30 and got about the same amount (1 1/2-2 cups) of brown creosote with a small amount of shiny flakes coming from a few feet away from the cap.

Biggest PITA is getting the baffle assembly and tubes down. Its strength is it's weakness when it comes to cleaning. 7 1/2 years later and all components are still in just about perfect shape. But those hefty cast sections are a tight fit and an awkward reach.

This is my slide travel;

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Regarding stove top temp, do you guys basically notice that when I have my rockland on lowest settings, you see the highest temps? Not sure if it’s just me or if this common thing.

 

[jatoxico]

Nice burn going, top right at 525-550.

Regarding stove top temp, do you guys basically notice that when I have my rockland on lowest settings, you see the highest temps? Not sure if it’s just me or if this common thing.

That's normal. Less air in, less air out = the heated gases have more time to transfer heat to the box. Add to that, that the secondaries fire more freely and burn more completely at higher temp and you get those nice stove top temps.

Downside is of course the more heat you "steal" so to speak from what's available the less there is to keep the chimney warm.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Nice burn going, top right at 525-550.

That's normal. Less air in, less air out = the heated gases have more time to transfer heat to the box. Add to that, that the secondaries fire more freely and burn more completely at higher temp and you get those nice stove top temps.

Downside is of course the more heat you "steal" so to speak from what's available the less there is to keep the chimney warm.

I have been experimenting with being on lowest setting as a rule in the last few weeks and have had temps nearing 800, so I want to back away from that. Currently have about a 3/4 load of dry ash in there with air 3/4 closed and cruising nicely at 700, as opposed to seeing that temp keep peaking with ferocious secondaries.
I’m also going to replace door gasket in a couple days, as I can spot some air leakage on lower part of door under the handle ( buildup on inside of door and glass).

 

[jatoxico]

Shutting the air a little earlier and more aggressively can help keep your peak temps down. On a cold start I don't generally cut the air until I'm about at 500 STT but will start shutting long before that on a reload.

But its a dynamic process and can always find an exception that proves the rule. Sometimes you can keep it in check for 30-45 min but eventually the load outgasses and burns down without much control.

This was a common problem I had until I was able to shut the primary that much more as discussed above. At some point if you limit the air going in enough you're able to burn with more control. So that doesn't happen to me really anymore.

Also bigger splits can help with the problem. Just like a load of kindling will easily burn out of control, big splits are easier to manage but of course they have to be dry or you'll just have a cold, smoldering annoying mess.

 

[EJL923]

When I did check, yes it can get that high. Now I load, forget, and load again when it’s gone. I learned quickly the 550’s a beast and when comparing with people on here, it just burns that way

 

[Ctwoodtick]

So this talk about air modification got me thinking. This is a pic of where the doghouse air enters bottom of firebox. I’ve been hearing that there are supposed to be 2 holes. However I see two small holes and a large hole in between the 2 smaller holes. Do this look like everyone else’s?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Regarding having a stove top thermometer on this insert where the warm air blows out- are folks putting the thermometer in the center or off to side like most other Jotul stoves?

 

[jatoxico]

Mine is just an inch or two right of center. No particular reason, just easy to see while adjusting the air.

 

[Holderjc]

I’ve been looking at inserts for a while now. The joyul c550 and the BK Sirocco or princess are on the table as well. Trying to figure out what the best bang for the buck is and what will adequately heat my 2000 sq/ft ranch home! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jatoxico]

The 550 is a low maintenance high quality unit. You can expect burns times around 6 hrs perhaps a bit more.

As a flush unit it depends on the fans to get the heat out. If you have the hearth room and clearance a stove that projects onto the hearth will have some advantages as far as heating without power and overall heat transfer.

You can expect to have the ability to get longer burn times with a cat stove like BK. At the same time the fire view wont be the best, something the 550 excels at.

Jotul also makes the 350 and 450 one of which can be extended onto the hearth.

 

[Soundchasm]

Can anybody find the sticky on blockoff plates? I couldn't find it. I promise I'll bookmark it this time! ;-)

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Well, I’m doing my last couple of fires for the year. The front face of my Jotul Rockland has been slightly warped for a while. I have experience higher than desired temps as a result. I have replaced gasket, which worked out for a couple months with getting temps back into a good range. When that seemed to stop working, I put a few screws in the doghouse air holes in bottom inside of stove. Worked for a bit but definitely not a long term solution, as I’m again struggling to keep reloads from approach 800 degree stove top temp.
Looking for some advice. I know they sell the cast front face of this insert but I think it’s like 1000 bucks before install. If you all had a slightly warped stove face that was causing an air leak like this, what would you do? What repairs would you try. I would hate to fork over a bunch of money for anything more stove related, but I also don’t want to hurt the liner (2yr old homesaver heavywall) by temps that are hotter than recommended. Last time I checked the liner by removing the stove surround, the liner appeared to have the expected discoloration that I have read as being common on this site, no more no less. Thoughts?

 

[jatoxico]

Finally trying to repair the lower valance that the installers broke way back when. I didn't notice until I tried to adjust it. They tightened the bolt too much and it broke on either side of the bolt hole. Without the support provided by the extension the ends sag and cause the middle to bow up and contact the grate which in turn starts to rattle.

Using JB Weld. Yesterday I simply joined the two pieces. Today reinforced with a filed down washer and buttered it up. Can't butter the backside at all.

 

[dtrykow]

Wood tick: what did you do with your warped front face? Hard to believe that piece would warp. Dave T.

 

[MinM]

Hi All, new owner of the Rockland. With evening temps in the high 30s (central MA), I've been running it regularly in the early mornings and evenings all week. Yesterday evening however, I ran into a problem- I think my air damper is stuck in the closed position. The slide switch works fine- slides left and right without any problems, but no matter where the slider is now, as soon as I shut the door, I extinguish the flames inside of two minutes. I called my installer and sent them an email, but no response (they're probably closed for Covid-19). I'm thinking this is something that might be an easy fix- maybe if I can find it, I can unstick it? Or maybe the slider has detached from the damper? Can anyone help? To pre- answer the wet wood question- I'm burning oak that was cut, split and stacked and stored under tarp and on top of pallets in a relatively sunny spot in 2014. All week, it's been burning fine- until last night. Greatly appreciate for any help.

 

[EJL923]

For some reason i cant access the jotul site, but unless there was some big design change, the lever you touch is one big piece of cast iron, all it does is slide left and right as one piece. I doubt that is broken. Look at your manual, you will see it. all it does is block holes. The air comes into the stove right above the door, take a look with it open. The air comes through that slider, in above the door and curls down to the bottom of the stove. it acts as an air wash to keep your glass clean. My money is on draft with the wet weather. I have never had a problem with draft myself, 24' of interior chimney. Also, i have had oak seasoned for 3 years still wet, though 2014 is a long time. Does it sizzle at all when it starts to burn?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Sorry if this a question that’s been addressed before with the Rockland. Do people tend to have difficulty with keeping stove room clean? I am pretty attentive to cleaning/ash vacuuming the hearth area, but still struggle with wiping up some black dust when wiping furniture and things. This stove is flush with no ash lip,so it seems that every time you open the door, you putting ash in the air to some degree. I’ve had this stove for 7 yrs. it heats our house well so no complaints here about that. I would have gone with something different had I known more about stove functionality back then. Does anyone else notice these issues with the 550?
I recently had a freestanding stove installed at our camp. Night and day in relation to the above. The draft is better there, so that could be a part of it.
Sorry to complain a bit- just curious about others experience.

 

[jatoxico]

Do people tend to have difficulty with keeping stove room clean? I am pretty attentive to cleaning/ash vacuuming the hearth area, but still struggle with wiping up some black dust when wiping furniture and things.

A couple threads running on possibility of particulate peaks when loading stoves of all types so kinda timely topic. I'll give you my thoughts for what they're worth;

I have a white painted mantel with white shelf around 1/2 the perimeter of the room. If I was getting ash from the stove I think I would see it but it all stays clean. I do get some smoke smell when the draft is slow at startup or otherwise sluggish but usually not any problem. I take some time to slowly open the door and let the draft start pulling good before fully opening. As you rightly said I think the majority of the concern for particulates is mainly about draft quality.

Now if you're blowing ash around the room with the fans that's another story. First, it's true that the lack of an ash lip doesn't help but another thing anyone considering the 550 should know is that it is an essentially dedicated E/W loading box. To me this somewhat limits the full use of the firebox since if you try to fully stuff it, logs and ash tends to get on the door as the load burns down instead of settling to the sides as you tend to get loading N/S. If you do get ash spill that can go right into the fans if you're not careful (I have blown hots embers into the room, it's exciting ). On the other hand I've seen others get the same result using different stoves regardless so there's a personal habit aspect to it as well.

 

[dtrykow]

We definitely have more dust/ash with the stove running in the winter. My wife calls it mount vesuvius. Not much I can do. Very careful loading and cleaning it. Dave T.

 

[Brookwood]

Yes, plenty of ash in the room. I open door slowly with fans off. Just bringing the wood in creates dust and dirt.

 

[Markan]

Insufficient draft.
I installed a 550 in a masonry fireplace in my grandson's house about 3 months ago. I put a stove top thermometer in the vent about 2 or 3 inches behind the front cast iron plate. I can barely get it to 300 degrees with the draft control fully open, not getting much if any secondary burn. I leave the door ajar until I get a good fire going and the chimney is warmed up. I used a 6" fully insulated chimney liner, 13' total chimney length ( Jotul says 15' min). The wood is well seasoned Douglass fir ( it burns fine in my stove). The house is 1800 sq. feet and not very tight. We have 2 other free standing stoves in the family with the same (+/- 1') chimney length working fine. I could add another 2' of insulated pipe to the top of the chimney liner but I am not sure if that would help much since I get good draft and no smoke into the room with the door slightly ajar. Besides, it would look weird with 3' of pipe above the masonry chimney. I don't know if there is a safe way to increase the primary air supply in these stoves. Perhaps I just have too big of a stove for the chimney length and need to pull it out and find something different.