Just bought a new house with a Jotul F3 in the livingroom. The house is 1200 sq feet, 1 floor and I'm not happy with the heat output or the burn time. My last house had a wood/coal stove insert (massive firebox) and a blower. Not only could it pump 300* of heat out into the house but it would burn for 10 hours without touching it. Fast forward to this new house, I'm contending with this small Jotul stove that is not up to my family's standards. I've tried the fan placement method and can only bump the thermostat about 4 degrees after 2-3 hours of constant feeding and damper wide open. The stove temp is constantly hovering around 500-600 but can never hold that heat for more than 30 minutes. All in all, I hate the stove and I hate having to feed 2 small logs at a time into the firebox every 1-2 hours. In the garage of the new house there is a Jotul 400 series that doesn't get used at all. Is it worth my time and effort to bring that unit inside and replace the F3? I've been spoiled for 14 years by my old insert with blower and I can't find anything that can pump heat like that. What are my options and what would you do if you were me? Thanks, Dan
Jotul F3 vs F400 or wasting my time?
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Yup for sure. I upgraded fron a 1984 jotul 3 to a jotul f400. The larger firebox of the f400 is a big improvement over the jotul 3.
That said the f400 may still not be "up to your families standards". In fact i bet it won't. but you already have it and it should be an easy switch.
The f400 is still quite a bit smaller than your previous stove.
If you want to sell the f400 let me know.
That said the f400 may still not be "up to your families standards". In fact i bet it won't. but you already have it and it should be an easy switch.
The f400 is still quite a bit smaller than your previous stove.
If you want to sell the f400 let me know.
Thanks for the reply. I'll make the switch this week and let you know my thoughts. Is there is a Jotul stove that accepts a fan blower kit? I looked into the F400 and no kit is available. To me a stove without a blower is like driving a car with no power steering, once you have it you will never go back... if you've never had one you don't know what you're missing. Standby
We've had both in our house. The F3CB was a chill chaser with a 2-4 hr burn tim. The Jotul F400 was a major step up and a good stove... but, it's an E/W loader, and only had a 4 hr burn time in very cold weather when pushed for heat. Otherwise we loved it. It's a real beauty and better built than the F3CB. I would try it. You should get 6-8 hrs burns in a smaller area. We were heating a space almost twice as large. You can always use a table fan to move the heat.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I have one of these. It sits behind the stove and blow up. (In my fireplace with blockoff plate. ).
It works really well. And silent in setting 3 and lower.
AC Infinity AIRBLAZE T10, Universal Fireplace Blower Fan Kit 10" with Temperature and Speed Controller, Compatible with Lennox, Hearth Glo, Majestic, Rotom Fireplaces, for Home Heat Circulation https://a.co/d/f6ejR4g
It works really well. And silent in setting 3 and lower.
AC Infinity AIRBLAZE T10, Universal Fireplace Blower Fan Kit 10" with Temperature and Speed Controller, Compatible with Lennox, Hearth Glo, Majestic, Rotom Fireplaces, for Home Heat Circulation https://a.co/d/f6ejR4g
is it really silent? that's the thing i'm not so happy about with my air purifier used to blow cold air around the stove here. Silent would be great.
The other 10" 12" fan i also use is fairly quiet, but not silent.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Yes at speed 3 or lower. If the house is really quiet and I’m next to the stove I can hear it step from speed 2 -3 but take a step back and you can’t hear it running on 3.
The controller is OK you set he max speed on the “on” settings and the high temp on temp in another mode. Any change the speed takes like 8 button presses and then I do it 9 times
When set temp is reached it has a slow ramp up to set speed.
It has an external temp sensor that you can play with where it’s mounted. I forget the max temp mine won’t get over 155 where it’s at.
I have no experience with the wireless controller.
Not all of these fans are silent. I have a tangential blower like this that I bought for an old insert and it whines at high speed and is noticeable at medium. The price is very good. The eBay ad says $24.95 which is 1/4 of what I paid 20 yrs ago.
Looks like this is smaller than the one I got from Graingers which is about 15". This one is 10". $10 shipping for me, but it is close enough that I could pick it up in person.
