Looking at a Jotul F600

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Redbear86

Member
Jun 30, 2011
149
SE Idaho
Im looking at buying a brand new wood stove and am pretty much sold on the jotul f600 i think, i've never used a cast stove before and was wondering with proper use and care how often rebuilds could be expected, this is my only concern with buying this stove.
 
It will depend somewhat on how much the stove is used and cared for, but with normal winter use and good care you could go 15-20 years before a rebuild. Expect to replace the door gasket sooner, maybe every 5-8 years? The rebuild should be a fairly simple process as compared to the Acclaim.
 
Yea I picked the acclaim up dirt cheap and read a couple post on the rebuild and decided to sell it this fall, I love the way it looks but between the all the refractory peices being so high and the split size needed to top load I've changed my mind, it never got hooked up.
 
Got a non-cat Firelight in 99. Wasn't called the F600 then, but it is the same basic stove. We heat 2K square feet with it as our sole heat source when we're at home in the winter. We had to change the top baffle/burn plate after every two to three seasons of very hard burning, owing to gradual warpage. It was a very east job. On year-five, we modified (non-approved by Jotul) the stove to use a firebrick top plate, and it's been fine ever since. Now, I think Jotul has re-engineered the top plate in the newer F600s to cure that minor issue. After 12 seasons, the secondary burn assembly needed replacement. That is a good life-span for a heavily-used tube assembly, and it was very easily done with hand tools. The tube-manifold is easily accessed by removing the top exterior of the stove -- either the entire top, or the "lid" plate (which was used as a top-loading lid for the old cat. version of the stove.). I take the entire top off every year for a more thorough cleaning and better inspection anyway, as I'm a 20/7 burner.

Anyway, the rest of the stove was fine. The maintenance described, in my opinion, constitutes normal wear and tear, and in no way are "rebuilds". I fully expect another 12 years before something needs repair; I can't really think of anything to "go wrong". It's a wonderful, long-cycle, ferocious heater, and I would buy another in a heartbeat.
 
Thanks for your experience Peter, in my opinion there aren't a lot of nice looking stoves at the 3 cu ft mark, the jotul seems to be pretty well liked, the only complaint I've heard is a air leaks from the factory which doesn't seem like a big deal to me . I know at 3cu ft and larger its utility is more important but I'm glad jotul made somthing that could be a centerpiece of my basement .
 
The issue of air leak from the factory is an issue I experienced. It was a relatively quick fix, but I will see how that fix holds up. I also had to bring someone in tod do some work on the top plate- a little grinding to get a better seat for the top plate.

That being said, I am very happy with the Jotul. The stove throws monster heat and I am able to heat most of my house wit it place in the basement just letting the heat rise up the stairway. I plan on having one room further insulated and that should allow me to heat the last 360 sq feet of the 2360 sq ft house (this does not include the basement, which is another 1000 sq feet or so). Great stove, easy to use, beautiful to view.
 
Four years in with the F-600's smaller brother, the F-500, and I've had to do nothing other than clean it . . . hoping for many more years of trouble-free heating.
 
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