No heat from Stove ( Jotul )

[Jack0]

Hello , I’ve got a Jotul 3 and despite running well with plenty of draw , no smoke from chimney it just doesn’t heat the room . it produces a very disappointing amount of heat ( well seasoned wood etc ) I’ve had two installers come and look and one said that the stove was too big for the fireplace opening and doesn’t have enough room to breathe ….but considering the fire is performing so well I’m not sure I understand that ? Even if you put your hand around the burner when it’s going full pelt it doesn’t seem to really radiate heat ….you shouldn’t be able to get you hand into the opening once going ? 
I think I’m going to have to admit defeat and sell it . Does anybody know what they sell for ? I’ve seen them on EBay for £800 but not sure if that’s realistic ? It’s the enamelled multi fuel version and in good condition . A friend has just had a cheap £650 stove fitted which she says is amazing . I don’t want to spend a huge amount of money …I can’t justify it at the moment , plus it’s not my only form if heating , just adds ambience to the room so only have it on at night . I know you usually get what you pay for , but my expensive well made Jotul isn’t working so think I’ll go down the cheaper route ?? 
 

[GarethM]

It's rated at 6kw, not the greatest efficiency.

 

But I would have thought the retro fitted installation was the problem, minimal air flow will not naturally circulate to the room.

 

To confirm my assumption, get a desktop fan and point it either under the stove or down the sides.

Edited March 24, 2023 by GarethM

[Peasgood]

Has it been refurbed and fitted with taller thicker firebricks?

[neiln]

My logic is jotul, excellent brand, it might be a bit old and not the most efficient but it'll be built like a perverbial brick outhouse and will be an excellent heater.  At 6kW nominal it must be about  9 or more max output, that's a lot of heat.  Is that a flue thermometer I see in the second photo?  If not get one.  Put so close to the stove, safe max would be over 300C.  Can you run it at 350-400C for half an hour and does it still not get hot?  If you can't do that there's something wrong with either the stove draw or the wood, if you can and it doesn't get the stove hot then we need to work out where the heat is going.  Is there a register plate?  You might be losing heat up the chimney if not.  

The room fan idea is good for testing the 'heat trapped in the fireplace ' idea.  I doubt it's that though.

[difflock]

Like the absence of any fat baastards in Belsen, which is my standard riposte to those who claim "its their metabolism", as an excuse for being obese. 

Dry firewood=Calories in = heat out or stored fat. No iffs or butts.

I can only therefore imagine this stove is being lit from stone cold, and takes time to warm up, and guessing being a Jotul, heavy section cast iron and firebrick, ergo an effective  heat sink/store.

Based on the image provided of a roaring fire burning merrily in the grate, the heat generated  is going somewhere or being stored somewhere.

Or the room is shocking draughty.

Or somthing.

And our 5kW stove heats about 750 sq ft to 25+ deg with ease, despite only moderate levels of insulation and draughts from various sources.

But lit each morning about 06:00 and burns till about 21:00

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by difflock

[Squaredy]

On 24/03/2023 at 08:11, Jack0 said:

Hello , I’ve got a Jotul 3 and despite running well with plenty of draw , no smoke from chimney it just doesn’t heat the room . it produces a very disappointing amount of heat ( well seasoned wood etc ) I’ve had two installers come and look and one said that the stove was too big for the fireplace opening and doesn’t have enough room to breathe ….but considering the fire is performing so well I’m not sure I understand that ? Even if you put your hand around the burner when it’s going full pelt it doesn’t seem to really radiate heat ….you shouldn’t be able to get you hand into the opening once going ? 
I think I’m going to have to admit defeat and sell it . Does anybody know what they sell for ? I’ve seen them on EBay for £800 but not sure if that’s realistic ? It’s the enamelled multi fuel version and in good condition . A friend has just had a cheap £650 stove fitted which she says is amazing . I don’t want to spend a huge amount of money …I can’t justify it at the moment , plus it’s not my only form if heating , just adds ambience to the room so only have it on at night . I know you usually get what you pay for , but my expensive well made Jotul isn’t working so think I’ll go down the cheaper route ?? 
 

I think what difflock says is right.  The video seems to show a very hot fire burning well.  I suspect the chimney is not lined and that most of the heat is disappearing up it.  Which is the same problem with an open fire.  
 

And if it is a large draughty room that won’t help.  
 

Did you have the stove installed or was it in the house when you moved in?

[Dan Maynard]

On 24/03/2023 at 08:11, Jack0 said:

doesn’t have enough room to breathe ….but considering the fire is performing so well I’m not sure I understand that ? Even if you put your hand around the burner when it’s going full pelt it doesn’t seem to really radiate heat ….you shouldn’t be able to get you hand into the opening once going ? 

 

Like difflock says energy in = energy out. If the heat is coming out of the sides of the firebox but not being taken away from the gap by convection of air then the firebox will get even hotter. Doesn't sound to me like the recess is really the problem.

 

On my stove the thin flue pipe gets hot within minutes but to properly get the whole thing warmed is probably an hour or two and it's not a nice cast one like yours. My money is either time, or as peasgood says above if it's had too thick bricks retrofitted then these will be reducing the heat flow.

 

It's an awful lot cheaper to change the bricks than the whole stove so I'd definitely do that before selling it.

[neiln]

AHH I'd not seen them video.  Right. That flue thermometer might be way off, they are cheap and easy to get so might be worth trying another. It's also attached to the sweeping access which probably has a large circular 'felt' gasket behind so it'll read a bit low , try it on the side of the pipe.

Stick a few more logs in and if it doesn't get round to 'too hot' then the wood isn't dry.  It does look a nice hot burn though, hence I don't believe the thermometer.

The installation looks a frig. I can't really be sure but I think the flue pipe and the spigot on the stove have been played about with, possibly to get the sweep access where it is.  If it has been b*ggered about then I'd question what the rest of the install is like.  

[Dan Maynard]

My limited experience of flue thermometer (my one) it's rubbish - there is nothing wrong with my wood, the ash is all melted down below the fire and nice blue orange flames so everything nice and hot and clean burning - yet the thermometer tells me it's too cold.

 

That fire looks fine to me, there's plenty of heat energy in the firebox.

[neiln]

Tend to agree, it looks to be burning lovely.

 

, I've only viewed on my phone but I think the stove has no spigot and the flue pipe has been cemented directly into the stove. Either because the spigot was lost or broken or because the installer wanted the sweep access visible and cut the bottom from the pipe to get it to fit there.. So no reduced diameter male bit to fit the spigot. A right frig.  The key damper is not ideal either but if the flue has a strong draw I can see why it's fitted.  These things don't affect the heat, but it makes me think the rest of the install might have some more 'special features'.