Clearances on a Jotul Firelight Model 12

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adkhunter

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Aug 20, 2012
21
Hey all I am wondering what I need for clearances for installing a Jotul Firelight Model 12? My fiancé and mother went down to a wood stove shop the other day and the guy there didnt seem to know anything about Jotul and told them it needs to be 36inches away from the walls because it's old and doesn't meet EPA requirements or something? I seem to think this guy is full of it as 36inches sounds like a extremely long ways off the wall. I would have liked to talk to the guy myself but I drive truck over the road and couldn't make it. I found this website of a PDF and on page 11 it lists clearance figures which are all ALOT less than 36inches. So am I reading correct info or is the guy at the wood stove shop correct? And what regulations is he referring to that this stove does not meet?

Thanks for any help!
 
I thought it was UL who did the testing for clearances, not the EPA. In any case, he is wrong about it not being an EPA stove, but 36" is indeed the standard clearance to unprotected combustables defined for any stove that has not been tested and approved for less. As you have already found, Jotul did have this stove tested and approved for lower clearances.

I'm not sure what manual you're looking at, but in both of my Firelight manuals, the clearances are on page 9. Here's an online copy: http://www.jotul.com/FileArchive/Files/USA/Old products/Old Stoves and inserts manuals/Jotul_12_Firelight_0910.PDF

Note this stove is NOT approved for use in an alcove, but it does have "ember only" requirements for the floor, which is nice. The manual does make mention of a "bottom heat shield required in US only," and I've never been able to figure out what that's all about. I've looked at dozens (hundreds?) of photos of Jotul Firelight 12's, and never seen any bottom heat shield. That includes the two I own. Maybe the ash pan is the heat shield?

Out of curiousity, what did you pay, and in what condition is the stove? I see there's one on ebay at the moment, sitting close to $400. MUCH less than what I just paid for my second Firelight 12.
 
Thanks for your reply. Yes he may have been referring to the UL rating. I was getting this info through my fiancé who really has no idea about stoves or anything lol. What does ember only mean for the floor? Sorry I'm new to most of this stuff. Been trying to read up on as much as I can. Have used wood stoves my entire life but never installed one.

I didn't pay a dime for it. My parents bought a house recently and this stove was in the living room. It's white and my mother wants a black one. Me and my fiancé are building a house on their property since they have a good amount of land. And they offered us the stove for nothing to save us some money on the build. I made a previous post a few weeks back asking some info about this stove and added 2 pics of it. Here's the link to it. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/taking-ownership-of-a-jotul-firelight-model-12.89174/

The stove is in excellent condition. Not a single thing wrong with it at all. The guy at the store my fiancé visited also told her that this jotul is very inefficient and will burn alot of wood. Is this true? From what I've read an heard its supposed to be quite efficient and burn well.

Thanks for the help!!
 
The guy you are dealing with is one of two things... an idiot or a liar. That catalytic Jotul is likely more efficient than any of the newer non-cat's he's trying to sell today. Jotul is and has long been one of the most coveted stove manufacturers in the business.

They (Jotul) discontinued making catalytic stoves not for reasons of efficiency, but because the end-user support on their catalytic stoves was costing them money. To summarize what Jotul tech support told me, "a lot of people can't follow simple instructions." Their newer non-cat designs are more forgiving of people burning things they should not (painted wood, treated wood, improperly seasoned wood, magazines, etc.).

Mind the caveats I and others listed in your previous threads. You have a fantastic stove. I just bought myself a second, and it wasn't because it was free or cheap!

PS - If you're new to catalytic burning, and you're not confident your catalyst is good, you might want to go ahead and replace it. That will make learning how to burn this stove much less frustrating. They can be had for $160 from Jotul, or you can upgrade to a steel cat for about $190. Avoid the Condar ceramic cat for Jotul, as it has an expanding gasket on it that can damage your refractory when it expands (DAMHIKT).
 
Thanks joful! I figured the guy was a idiot and full of it and just trying to sell my fiancé something new. She may not know anything about these things but she knows better than to listen everything a salesman says or make any decisions without informing me and letting me make the final decision. She's a good girl lol.

Last time I was home I gave the cat a pretty good look and everything looks fine. It's not clogged up or showing any signs of damage or extensive wear and tear. I plan on getting it moved over into my house next month when I'm home so we can get it piped out and the builder can box in the pipe up the side of the house and the next time I'm back the house should be in the finishing stages with just paint and trim work and little things left to do so I'll get a fire lit in it then and see how it burns. If it looks like the cat needs replacing I'll go ahead and get it done immediately. I can't wait! Lol. First ever house I've ever built so it's pretty exciting. The wife sure is happy to have her dream house lol. Will be having 12 cord of seasoned split hardwood delivered next month as well since we just don't have time this year to cut and split or let it season. Will be getting off the road in January and getting a local driving job so I'll be home everyday so I'll have plenty of time to start cutting and splitting o get ready for next year.

I really appreciate the help guys. You all have been extremely helpful!
 
Glad to hear it looks good. Maybe it didn't see a whole lot of use, or maybe the previous owner replaced it recently. Then again, I wonder if you can tell when the heavy metals on a cat are truly depleted by visual inspection. You'll know once you get her up and running.

With building a house, I'm sure you have more important things to think about than the stove, but please... make sure you remove the cat before moving the stove! As you probably already noticed when doing your inspection, the cat is held in a somewhat delicate refractory housing. Moving the stove with the relatively heavy cat installed could potentially damage the small rabbets in the refractory housing on which the cat is supported.

The housing is fully replaceable (just replaced my 19-year old housing last year, after a squirrel got down the flue and shredded the refractory), but it's a PITA, and it costs $250. That refractory cat housing should last 20+ years with proper care.
 
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