Jotul Rockland Thermometer Question

[HopWallop]

Our Jotul 550 gets installed on Monday. I bought a therm. today and was wondering where it would work best. This info. along with what I have read on this website has been extremely helpful in getting an idea as to what I should expect.

I have one of those heatilaters that was built in to my 25 year old fireplace. It does throws off some heat but not sure if it is enough to keep? We would like to make the unattractive vents go away and replace them with stone to match the rest of the wall. I also used the power feed to the existing fans to create a jumper for the stove. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[labrador]

hopwallop, welcome to the forum. Much great info here. Congratulations on your install of the 55o. You will get penty of heat from it. Are youa newbie to wood heating? You may get some heat from the liner inside your chimney. All of the heat comes form the fan. Send a photo after it is installed. What do you mean by a jumper for the insert? I have a 550 in the fireplace upstairs and a VC vigilant in a separate flue downstairs. Hoope you have enough wood for the season.

 

[bdog]

If it were me, I would leave the heatilator in for now and see if it helps. I love trying to squeeze every bit of heat I can ot of a load of wood. You can always pull it out at some future time, but I would give it the winter to see what happens in the really cold weather.

Your are going to love the 550. We could not be happier with the unit and its looks and performance.

 

[HopWallop]

Labrador - Thank you. It is nice to hear all of the positive feedback on the 550. I am new to heating with wood. I have a brother and sis in-law who have been very helpful, but they do not have an insert. So the info/tips I have been able to pick up on the site has been huge. As you know, I needed 110 power for the stove and did not want it to be visable, so I drilled a hole in the front corner of the fireplace and dropped a 12/2 jumper down to the heatilator cavity below the firelplace. Then I tapped in to the power feeding the heatilator fans. I have about 3 seasoned full cords, a neighbor who has offered a shed full and 5 acres with a variety of standing dead and fallen. I should be ok for this season, but have to get out and start working for next year.

bdog - I will take your advise and see what it gives me. The fans on the heatilater are a little loud. I will have to split the power feed so I can operate the stove with or without the heatilator. I am looking forward to getting it going. Is there anything you guys can offer on stove break-in. I have heard some talk about it but do not know how to. I was going to ask the installer. I love hearing what you are saying about its performance. I have a fairly open space on the stove floor and a cathedral ceiling and a ceiling fan above the stove. The ceiling slopes toward a wide open area on the second floor in the center of the house. It all looks good on paper

I have a 6" x 30 ' 316T liner kit coming with the stove. The chimney goes straight up and is only 25 foot. Am I ok with the 550 and this liner?

 

[FrankMA]

Welcome HopWallop: Read your manual regarding breaking in your new insert. It is very informative on how best to use and maintain your new 550. I got mine this past summer and am just getting started myself. So far so good - my family and I are very pleased with our 550.

Good luck!

 

[Custerstove]

Sounds like a great plan. Your stove and liner should work out just fine - 25ft is plenty of draft even if you have an external chimney. To season your stove, my installers suggested low temperatures of 200 F for the first fire and hotter for subsequent fires. Unfortunately, I had my thermometer on the door and consequently was probably over heating my stove during the seasoning period, but everything worked out fine, no problems. I think you just don't want to go over board as that could crack the cast iron inside the stove. You may notice some of the paint smoking a bit. On my stove I could see fumes coming out the blower vent but only for a short while. In fact I let my friends smoke in the house that day, and that smelt worse than the stove. However, I now know the door temperature can be 250 F while the vent temperature can go up to 700 F. Looking back, I burned for about 4-5 hours maybe longer during those break-in fires. If you're concerned about that new stove smell, just let it burn for several hours and it will be fine before you know it.

The Jotul manual says to use kindling for the first fires to season it and there is no mention of temperatures. That's basically what I did but I burned each fire for 4-5 hours before letting it cool down.

 

[HopWallop]

Good stuff. I will read the manual and now feel good with the liner. It is also nice to know up front about the smell. Definatley would have been viewed as a problem. Hopefully the first few fires will stay in line with the manual. I have better odds now that I know where to place the thermometer.