Jotul Kennebec vs Harmon Oakwood

[jjbaer]

Agreed. I hadn't considered that there is no need to, size the stove for the coldest day of the year. Unlike a central heating system. Thank you for opening my eyes about that.

James

No problem. I learned something too...you said 2 F and I'm thinking NW CT, no way. Well, the temps can get well below even that! If you want to size it for the worst minimums, even 2 F is not low enough but at that point, most don't expect their stoves to carry all the load so they use some average. The 35,000 BTU/hr I stated works out to be about 12 F which for an average temp is REALLY cold.

Also, I have since seen the posters layout description and again, it seems as though it will still be a heat distribution problem regardless of which unit they get. My comment would be that an insert looks best in a hearth....just my 2 cents BUT the firebox on the Oakwood is 3 cu ft and I measure my Jotul at 2.1 cu ft so the Oakwook holds much more wood.

One final comment: I think it was BB (?) who posted a comment a year or so ago about stoves and it went (paraphrase) like this: find the one your wife likes and buy it.....LOL.....

Thanks

 

[jjbaer]

the room the fireplace is in is about 240 sq feet so ill probably heat myself out of that room whichever i choose. there are two doors on the room , one that leads to the kitchen on the same floor and the other door just offset the opposite wall of the fireplace that leads to a drafty foyer that centers the upstairs bedrooms. heres an attachment of the hearth. the other problem is that wood mantle will have to go if i choose the oakwood (and im assuming perhaps the kennebec as well) i suppose a bullnosed piece of bluestone to match the hearth would be a good replacement ... sounds like ill have a weekend project...

There's a heat shield available with the C450 that reduces clearances to wood mantles. Depends on how far your stepped wood mantle protrudes out and at what height above the floor. Here's the mantle specs:

http://www.jotul.com/FileArchive/Technical%20Documentation/Wood%20inserts%20(USA)/Jøtul%20C%20450%20Kennebec/Manual_C_450_011005.pdf

Edited to add: I have the C450 with the heat shield and although they said I needed it (and I do have it installed), even the shield doesn't get hot....... but they say you have to have it if you don't meet height standards.......

 

[Youngblood]

thanks to all, sounds like the kennebec it is! ill post pics when completed ... one last question though any suggestions on how to BEST distribute the heat, i understand heating the home is impossible but i do have a central air intake in the room ... or would i be better off with fans in each of the two doors when it gets too hot, (maybe one off the kitchen doorway on the floor facing the hearth to get cold air in and the other facing out of the room to the foyer and ultimately the bedrooms? maybe a convection type set up for the room?)

 

[jjbaer]

Okay, I ran my numbers, and came up with a total cubic footage of 2.254 cu/ft.

Numbers based on the following:
Main area is 21" wide by 15" deep by 12" high (12 being the average height of 11 in the back and 13 in the front)... which gives us a cubic footage of 1.75x1.25x1, or 2.1875.

Then I did the side shelves. I combined them into one volume, for simplicity. Width is 2.5 inches (1.25 inch wide brick times 2), average height of 2.75 (4.5 high in front, 1.0 high in back), and depth of 13 inches, giving a cubic footage of 0.208x0.229x1.08, or 0.0514.

Then, I did the back shelf. 1.25 deep, 1 high, and 21 wide, giving a cubic footage of 0.104x0.083x1.75, or 0.0151.

Therefore, total cubic footage inside the firebox should be 2.1875+0.0514+0.0151, or 2.254cu/ft.

Math checkers, begin...

-- Mike

Cast, You running it with these numbers?

-- Mike

Mike,

Yes. Math checks out. I did mine in the dark this morning with triangles since that's what the lower front, the two top sides and the top are. I want to double check tonight the front triangle area because I may have mis-measured the front triangle height. But you est looks good. People seem to be getting 2.1-2.2

 

[jjbaer]

My wife wants the insert (based solely on looks), i want the freestanding oakwood because i think it will heat more (we have about 3000 sq ft thats NOT much of an open floor plan) ... for the sake of not getting a divorce i may just give in to the insert ... now here's the question , am i making a big mistake for the amount of space i would like to heat? i know the kennebec is only rated for about 1600 sp feet, but being as hot air rises i should still get somewhat of a temperature rise in the bedrooms no? (directed to all the kennebec owners out there). The fact that my childhood stomping grounds of Strong Island have this guy Mike Wilson who seems to love the kennebec might make this a little easier to stomach if i go with the insert. thanks for all the great info, really beneficial site to all those just getting into wood heating/supplementing.

Here's what they look like (hope I got the correct Oakwood...the large one: Also, note that my calculations were for a well insulated house. Even then, you're basically goining to be heating one large room and accept any spill-over you get into the adjacent rooms.

Edited to add the correct stove (thanks Titan)

PS now that I have the correct stove, why is there any discussion at all about which stove to get (the Jotul of course).......this Oakwood cast iron wood stove is only 10% larger than the Jotul (2.3 cu ft stove vs the Jotuls 2.1 cu ft) and the Jotul is rated at 55,000 BTU/hr but the Oakwood stove is only rated at 42,000 BTU/hr...........so why is there any discussion at all about which to get......am I missing something here???? So...not only is the Jotul better looking (it's an insert for a hearth vs a free-stander on the hearth) but the Jotul also puts out more heat.......

 

[titan]

Cast, the 1st pic is of the TL300;here is the Oakwood: