Jotul c550 Rockland tips thread

[jadm]

Thanks for the input and ideas! I spoke with the dealer today, and he is pretty insistent that there is nothing wrong with the unit or the installation. Considering the unit has never operated as advertised with the door closed, I don't think anyone can really say for sure the unit and installation is 100% without physically double checking and then actually get it to operate correctly. He's now doing some research and is going to get back to me.

CT Jotul - Another thing struck me this morning while building my first fire of the day. I use 2"-3" splits to make a grate on the top of my ash/coal bed. I place them in the front to back position and then place my small kindling on top going side to side. This allows for air to flow underneath the wood. If I do not do this my wood just sits there and smokes.

I use just 2 pieces of the 2"-3" splits and they are each about 9" long. I cut them to fit the firebox width and place one behind each andiron.

Another question for you. You said you had no problem with your break in fires. What are you doing differently now? THe fires you are trying to build now are just bigger than the ones you did for break ins. Should work ok too. Maybe just go back to a small fire like you did build and slowly keep adding splits to it and see what happens. :coolhmm:

P.S. Just thought I might add that you did buy a very good product from a very good company that, in MHO, knows what they are doing and have been doing it for over 100 years. ;-)

 

[Custerstove]

- Test with DRY wood. The folks in this forum recommended I try some cut up 2x4. After letting the unit run for 3 days to heat up the chimney, I built up a 2in layer of hot red embers, then layed the 2x4 chunks on top. With the door cracked open, I let the wood char up with a nice flame, then shut the door with air full open. After about 1 minute, the flames go out. Wood dryness shouldn't be the issue as far as I can tell.
- Increase air pressure inside by cracking open a window (recommended by the dealer). Didn't work.
- Placed Condar ChimGard thermometer on the left/front of the unit, opposite the air control lever. The wood stove place I bought it from said the temp should show about half what it actually is inside. I've been keeping it running between 200 and 300, which should translate to 400-600. I can't get it any higher than that, possibly because I can only keep it running with the door cracked, allowing too much heat up the chimney.

Wow, CT. I'm nearly out of ideas. It seems that if dry 2x4's won't burn either perhaps you're not getting any air thru the air intake - I'm not sure how you would check this out? Maybe there's a blockage?

In my mind, it can't be draft, because you're getting draft and good flames with the stove door open.

If you keep the doors shut for a half hour or longer, does the firebox appear to be full of smoke? Is your chimney puffing out plumes of smoke when the door is shut?

Anyway, I noticed you have the thermometer on the door - have you tried moving it to the stove's top surface within the vent where the heated air comes out (above and near the center of the door)? That is the preferred place for the thermometer and you should get readings of 450-550 F on average, perhaps 750 F for a really hot stove.

 

[HopWallop]

Finally found the time to download pics. This is the final install less the left fan, which should be replaced next week.

 

[88steve]

looks great , i also have a bad left side fan, the shop told me to try wd40 on it, worked about a half hour then froze up again. will have to get a new one as well.any problems getting the fire to get going with the door closed?

 

[Fortunate Son]

Hi all, new to the forum but have had a Jotul Rockland since Dec. 07. What a great insert! I self-installed this insert (wow is it heavy) along with a 20' flexible stainless liner. As some have said, I had to "ovalize" the liner to get it through the damper area. The liner has an "S" bend to hook up to the stove, super difficult as the liner is very limited in it's flexibility. Was concerned that this would be the hot spot in the liner (inside curve of the first bend, but this 6" liner was intalled in my 12x12 flue. Figured since my flue is in great shape (house is two years old, my father in law and I built the chimney) it would not matter. 20' seems to draft well and I have the top capped, so not much cold air rushing down inside the flue around the liner.

I too cannot get 7-8 hour burns. Usually loaded up at midnight, 1 am and go to bed, close down the air to "almost" closed, blower on about medium. I will try lowering the blower speed as I have read on this forum. In the am (8 am) I will have to stoke the coals and can still have a warm bed, and can usually rekindle the fire. The blower shuts off at 5-6 am.

I love this insert and am very happy I spent the money. Sometimes I will get vibration/noise from the fans but will move the removeable grate, or adjust the speed slightly. May have to do with thermal expansion etc.

As far as auto mode not working, I too had this problem. I found that the "thermostat/thermocouple" is called as "Snap-stat" by Jotul. It is mounted in sheet metal at the bottom of the ash pan above your blowers. I thought it was not coming on fast enough, and I ended up "tweaking" the sheetmetal where it was mounted. This was a one-handed, gentle operation. Moved the snapstat slightly closer to the fire box (simply by pushing it up a bit). The blower now comes on much sooner and stays on longer, much as I expected it should.

Also, on (broken link removed) I located "thermal switches" for sale, I believe I paid appx. $2 for a two-pack. They are of the exact design as the snapstat, mounting holes and 1/4" terminals. I planned on using one of these thinking my original was bad the but the "tweak" worked instead. These are rated at 57 degree celsius by the way.

Will continue to check this great forum and thread!

 

[HopWallop]

Welcome Fortunate Son.

Hi 88Steve - No problems with the door shut. Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I did have some problems until I started using the firestarter. I did read in a thread for a different Jotul stove of a similar issue. One of the replies mentioned the removal of a inspection label and the use of a mirror to see if there is a obstruciton or problem with the air intake. Someone else talked about how the baffles have to be put back in a certain order in order to get proper air flow. I do not know much about how this goes together, but I am sure someone in here does. Different from any of the other possibilities I had read about

The stove guy hooked the bad fan up to the right side and it had the same problem. I feel like I am wasting wood with only half of a stove. Hopefully, I will be 100% Monday or Tuesday.

 

[gibson]

Have been burning with this stove for a week now, and I must say that I am very impressed. The stove is running great and drafting well. I have not really pushed it with running her hot and I do not have a thermometer yet. But my glass has remained relatively clean so that is a good sign. Longest burn has been 5-6 hrs. Was able to start up from coals today that were 9+ hrs old. I think that my learning curve is all that is holding this stove back. Very happy thus far.

 

[firebug360]

Hi everyone, I have an update on my issue. I got the dealer out to check things out. Turned out there was a HUGE gap (about 8 inches) between the drawdown adapter and the SS flue liner. I was amazed the thing even worked and we didn't get smoked out! Somehow the tubes got disconnected, but are back together now with a good draft. We used a draft meter (not sure what measurement it uses) at the bottom of the pipe above the stove and it read 7. I now have my chemgard thermometer sitting inside the airvent (dealer recommended) with a reading of 500 after about 2hrs of burning. I'm sure we'll be able to get it even hotter with some playing around. What temps do you guys use for good long daytime burning?

88Steve - if you can get your hands on a draft meter or have a dealer check it, it may be worth your time if you are still having issues. How are you making out?

 

[FrankMA]

CTJotul550: Glad to hear you finally got your problem resolved! It became obvious to many that there had to be some kind of problem after all the fixes that were suggested and tried. Your going to love it.

My cruising temp's are between 450* & 550* F with the damper about 3/4 closed. The stove will maintain this tempurature as long I keep feeding it a good size split every couple of hours or so. My wife and I like to keep the house in the 68* range but sometimes this is difficult to regulate with any accuracy - I'm getting better at it all the time though. I have a 2,000 sq. ft. colonial and it usually keeps the downstairs around 70ish and the upstairs (where the bedrooms are) around the mid 60's.

You can now change your avitar to a "Happy Face"!

 

[Custerstove]

Nice job CT, sounds like you solved your problems. I've been wondering about the acceptable stove temperatures myself. I often burn around 500-600F, but when the weather is really cold I crank the stove up to 750F for several hours without any problems. Does anyone know if 800F is too hot - I think I reached this a few times. For overnight burns, it's hard to get above 600F because of the large logs and tight packing of the wood.

 

[FrankMA]

CT: A "Happy Dance" works just as well!

 

[88steve]

hi, ct jotul, glad your issue is resolved. the store has to send out a service man to check out the bad fan ill have him check the whole stove out then, when i first start a fire the door must be open even if i use a wax type firestarter, i can have a roaring fire going with small kindling/ splits and if i close the door it will die out and smolder within 2 min. when the fire does take off and i can have the door closed it runs good, im still not sure what the heat output should be or how hot i can get this stove, i usually have 3 or 4 medium splits in it when it is up to speed, dont know if this is too much or not enough. it may be an installation problem the installers had a hard time putting it in it took about 7 hours to complete with the 2 guys and myself helping out to speed things along,they used a 6 inch liner full length up the masonary chimney, no block off plate on bottom just at the top. the damper was removed from the chimney to give clearance to the liner . i will have the service man pull the baffles out and check the down draft adapter as well , hopefully it is something simple, i feel im not getting the full potential out of this stove . also i did notice that one of the firebrick was glowing where the lit end of a log was resting against it anyone know if this is normal. any help/input is appreciated as usual, its very frustrating being a total noob to the stove world. thanks, steve.

 

[firebug360]

Hi 88Steve,

I've heard that a lot of people need to keep the door cracked when starting. If it's running fine after it gets started, maybe you just have a weak draft while the chimney is still warming up and the heat begins to build. I recommend you ask the installer to bring a draft tester to see what reading he gets and if he feels the draft is adequate. With the fire going for about 20 minutes, I got a reading of 7. Also with a window or sliding door cracked open, it seemed to give it a boost.. you may want to give that a try. Another thing you may want to check is for places in your house that would be creating a negative draft (i.e., the air is going out a hole or crack somewhere else in the house rather than the chimney). Seal off any airconditioner window units, make sure you don't have a lot of air leaving through an oven/stove fan, improperly shut windows, attic door, etc. I still have some sealing to do, and I think it may help improve things. The temperature here today was nearly 60, so I wasn't running in the best of conditions. When things cool down again I expect better performance. Try testing when it is really cold out.

Regarding operating temperatures, I have a lot to learn in this area... but you may want to pick one of these up (see below). I got mine for about 15 bucks and placed it in the left side of the air vent. Today while running the stove for about 2hrs full open, I had a temp of 550. I have to play around with this some more.

http://www.amazon.com/ChimGard®-Woodstove-Thermometer-porcelain-temperatures/dp/B000IZTA4O

BTW, if you take off the surround assembly (pretty easy to pop off), you may get a better glimpse of any flue liner connection problems. My installer didn't take the baffles apart. Just took the surround out and after seeing the problem slid the entire stove out to reseat everything.

Keep us posted on your troubleshooting efforts.

 

[88steve]

thanks, will do, steve.

 

[bbeals]

Hi 88Steve,

I've heard that a lot of people need to keep the door cracked when starting. If it's running fine after it gets started, maybe you just have a weak draft while the chimney is still warming up and the heat begins to build. I recommend you ask the installer to bring a draft tester to see what reading he gets and if he feels the draft is adequate. With the fire going for about 20 minutes, I got a reading of 7. Also with a window or sliding door cracked open, it seemed to give it a boost.. you may want to give that a try. Another thing you may want to check is for places in your house that would be creating a negative draft (i.e., the air is going out a hole or crack somewhere else in the house rather than the chimney). Seal off any airconditioner window units, make sure you don't have a lot of air leaving through an oven/stove fan, improperly shut windows, attic door, etc. I still have some sealing to do, and I think it may help improve things. The temperature here today was nearly 60, so I wasn't running in the best of conditions. When things cool down again I expect better performance. Try testing when it is really cold out.

Regarding operating temperatures, I have a lot to learn in this area... but you may want to pick one of these up (see below). I got mine for about 15 bucks and placed it in the left side of the air vent. Today while running the stove for about 2hrs full open, I had a temp of 550. I have to play around with this some more.

http://www.amazon.com/ChimGard®-Woodstove-Thermometer-porcelain-temperatures/dp/B000IZTA4O

BTW, if you take off the surround assembly (pretty easy to pop off), you may get a better glimpse of any flue liner connection problems. My installer didn't take the baffles apart. Just took the surround out and after seeing the problem slid the entire stove out to reseat everything.

Keep us posted on your troubleshooting efforts.

Never have to open or crack the door to light our 550. Only time we open the door is to feed it. If you are having to feed that much air, the maybe you might need a little dryer wood? Just a thought....

 

[gibson]

Nice job CT, sounds like you solved your problems. I've been wondering about the acceptable stove temperatures myself. I often burn around 500-600F, but when the weather is really cold I crank the stove up to 750F for several hours without any problems. Does anyone know if 800F is too hot - I think I reached this a few times. For overnight burns, it's hard to get above 600F because of the large logs and tight packing of the wood.

Sounds like me. I have been using for a week. But this is my normal fire before bed and we at 700*. I wouldnt be afraid to go to 800* on appearances. Had coals after seven hours overnight to restart. That was a small fire. Havin fun.

 

[mcollect]

I must be doing something awfully wrong. I cant get my stove above 250* reading at the damper adjuster, where are you reading 500* +? I have an IR thermometer and the front glass reads 450* I am still figuring this stove out and the damper adjusting thing is driving me crazy, when to close it and how that effects heat output, any hints? The house is comfortable but it is only in the 20*s outside.

 

[Custerstove]

mcollect, there is a thread somewhere about placing the thermometer in the vent where the hot air comes out of the stove. This way the thermometer is on top of the stove - not on the door. Mine is in the vent above the center of the door.

Also, as you noticed, the lever for the air intake should be a cool spot becuase that's where the cool air enters the stove.

 

[jadm]

I must be doing something awfully wrong. I cant get my stove above 250* reading at the damper adjuster, where are you reading 500* +? I have an IR thermometer and the front glass reads 450* I am still figuring this stove out and the damper adjusting thing is driving me crazy, when to close it and how that effects heat output, any hints? The house is comfortable but it is only in the 20*s outside.

I have a magnetic therm. and place it in the top center of the door. It does not reflect the true temp. of the stove - I only use it as a 'visual quick read from across the room to get a general idea if the internal temp. is holding, rising or falling.

To get a more accurate read I have to get up from whatever I am doing and use my IR therm. I aim it about 2 - 3" into the blower air slot above the door making sure I am reading the top of the stove and not the cast iron directly in front of it - fiddle with this and you will see what I mean. If I am not hitting the stove top the temp. reads quite a bit lower and I know I'm hitting the front cast iron.

I would guess that if you are picking up a temp. o 250* where you currently have your therm. that the 'true' temp. is probably around 500*.

I still have to fiddle a lot with the primary air control and, yes, I too get frustrated but I keep on learning more and the frustration is lessoning.

From a reload it takes about 1/2 hour to get the air to where I want it to be. I shut it down in 1/4 increments - in other words - to get it down to 1/4 open takes me 3 adjustments. FIrst I go to 3/4ths and let it settle in - then 1/2 and repeat. I have trouble with getting it to 1/4. I can get it there but I will begin to get smoke out of my chimney again which means it's not getting enough air.

I do know mine works best at about 600*-700*. This insert can handle high temps. nicely.

I also know it burns differently on a regular basis depending on the weather we are having which means I am beginning to relax a bit with the mysteries of wood burning and I am totally enjoying the heat and beauty of this insert.

I am very grateful for all the info. I get here when I run into another snag. :coolsmile:

 

[gibson]

mcollect, there is a thread somewhere about placing the thermometer in the vent where the hot air comes out of the stove. This way the thermometer is on top of the stove - not on the door. Mine is in the vent above the center of the door.

Also, as you noticed, the lever for the air intake should be a cool spot becuase that's where the cool air enters the stove.

That is where my thermometer is...inside the blower vent. I put it a few inches in. Just peek at it with a flashlight to read. Temp tops out at 700*

 

[MikeC]

I was wondering if anyone has cleaned out their Jotul insert? If so, did you have to move it out?

 

[HopWallop]

Hi mkek - what are you cleaning?

 

[MikeC]

Hi mkek - what are you cleaning?

Hi HopWallop,

I ordered the Jotul c550. I was wondering if cleaning the unit is a DIY when the time comes? I read other posts that other inserts need to be pulled out. Not sure if this pertains to the c550.

 

[Custerstove]

Cleaning out the stove will depend on how it's installed. If you have a liner to the top of the chimney, it should be easy enough to clean the stove by removing the baffles. If you have no liner (called direct connect) then you should pull the entire stove out - I have a neighbor with direct connect and he said it's easy to pull the stove out. I personally prefer to have a chimney sweep because they have all the proper tools and you can always learn from their methods.

 

[HopWallop]

The manual under General Maintenance does call for it to be removed for inspection and cleaning of the flue connector, liner and chimney. In looking at it I don't see why it would have to come all of the way out. Maybe a little so you could get the surround panel off. I am also going to let the chimney sweep take care of it. I just want to make sure he puts it back together correctly. I am wondering how often I should have it cleaned. I was ok with once a year with the fireplace, but I am burning everyday now.