First few fires

[Alexander L]

Okay... a bit of a delay before I could get to breaking in the Jotul F100.

First, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the members of this forum who have helped me with my questions about the installation of this stove. Begreen, bholler, hogwildz, and all others. Thank you!

Okay, so I finally had the inspector over to final the install. He took a quick glance at the manual, eyeballed the clearances, had a look outside at the chimney, and signed off. Easy.

On to the fire...
First fire - target 200 degrees. Went a bit higher... about 240 according to the Condar stovetop thermometer. No issues. No smoke leaks. Loved it! This is my first wood stove, so I was very stoked that everything worked... and that the cabin did not spontaneously combust.

Second fire - target 300 degrees. Oops, went to 420 degrees. Closed up the air intake, and the fire died down and temp reduced. The stove did start to smoke when the temp got up that high. I was worried that it was leaking smoke... but I think it was the paint curing, as the smell was chemical/paint fume rather than a wood smoke smell. I am new to stoves, so I was a little worried. All windows and front door were open during these breaking fires.

Third (last) break-in fire is delayed until this weekend. Will see if it smokes again when I get it up around 400-450 degrees. I suppose the paint will smoke the first handful of times I get it up to a new higher temp.

Here are some pics of the install, and my first fire. Again... big thank you to the members of Hearth.com!
The chimney does not look straight, but that is just the wide camera phone lens.

 

[Ashful]

Looking good. Yes, you will get curing paint smell, each time you hit a new high temperature, this is normal. Expect it to be pretty bad for the first few fires. Just part of breaking in a new stove.

 

[edyit]

looks real nice, enjoy the heat!

 

[KennyK]

Beautiful install! What's the hearth pad? Material? Homemade or purchased? R value or just ember protection? I like the simple look of it, which lets the focus be on the stove, stone tile work and mantel. I'm curious as I'm working on a new hearth pad set up right now myself.

 

[Simonkenton]

Well you are starting off on the right foot. You have a very good wood stove there, I am also a Jotul man, I have the bigger version.
That install looks very good and best of all, you can sweep the pipe yourself, standing on the ground. Very easy to sweep an install like that.

Get a big woodpile and get ready to burn, baby, burn next January!

You are in the mountains of California? Are those the Snowy Mountains, the Sierra Nevada? I hear it gets pretty cold over there.

 

[Alexander L]

Thank you, guys!
KennyK, the hearth pad is ember protection only. I had a metal supplier cut a sheet of 1/8" steel, and had a friend radius the corners & soften all edges in his metal fab shop. I then treated the metal with an acid dye solution that darkens the steel and gives a patina look.
Simon, I am in the Mt. Pinos area of the Los Padres forest in Southern California... at 6000 ft. Snows a little bit. Already spring here, but for some reason it did snow for a short while this morning. It will be back up to sunny 60s this weekend.

 

[gastone21]

Nice install and nice Wassily chairs.

 

[Simonkenton]

Is that the Sierra Nevada? How cold is it in January? Is that where the Donner party had their debacle?

 

[Alexander L]

No, Donner was Truckee CA, I believe. Up north. I’m east of Santa Barbara... much warmer than Sierras. Lows average 29 in January. Much warmer than the high up mountains.

 

[bens_igloo]

Looks great

Guess you wont need that in wall heater beside your stove anymore

 

[BrotherBart]

Beautiful. Enjoy that heater.

 

[Destructor]

nice, the F 100 is a nice little stove, we’ve had one at my father’s house for years, use it almost every day during the winter. It’s a very easy stove to use and heats the space very well. My father purposely bought a small stove so it can be run fairly hot without overheating the room. It’s perfect for a cool night where just scraps and small limbs are needed and can effectively heat on those zero degree days with the firebox full of hard wood.

 

[Alexander L]

Guys, I am a newbie to using a wood stove, so maybe I am being just a bit paranoid... but the third break-in fire resulted in more smoking. Got up to 460-ish degrees. I am assuming that this smoking is the paint curing. It looks like the paint gets semi-glossy at the higher temps. There is no smoke coming from the stove at the lower temps... but when I get it up to the higher temperature (called for in break-in procedure) it starts to smoke. It looks as if smoke is spilling from the top sides of the stove. It does not smell like smoky wood smell... but the house reeks of curing paint. Again all windows and door open to air out house.

I took a video of the smoke coming from the top/corners of stove. What do you think? Is this just smoke from curing paint? Or, do I have a problem here?

Thanks!

 

[Simonkenton]

That is normal.

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

Guys, I am a newbie to using a wood stove, so maybe I am being just a bit paranoid... but the third break-in fire resulted in more smoking. Got up to 460-ish degrees. I am assuming that this smoking is the paint curing. It looks like the paint gets semi-glossy at the higher temps. There is no smoke coming from the stove at the lower temps... but when I get it up to the higher temperature (called for in break-in procedure) it starts to smoke. It looks as if smoke is spilling from the top sides of the stove. It does not smell like smoky wood smell... but the house reeks of curing paint. Again all windows and door open to air out house.

I took a video of the smoke coming from the top/corners of stove. What do you think? Is this just smoke from curing paint? Or, do I have a problem here?

Thanks!

I'm going to second Simonkenton and say that's the paint curing. The way it's sort of wafting off of the stove is what I'd expect to see from the paint and you've got your sniff test and are only smelling the paint. It's pretty normal to be a bit "jumpy" with those break-in fires. You've got a big investment there and you want everything to go well and you don't want to see any problems

 

[Alexander L]

Yeah, just a bit jumpy. Thanks, guys.
I’ll give it a fourth burn-in today... get her up to 500-550 degrees. I’ve got some nice 2 inch splits of almond.

 

[begreen]

Take it up to 600-650F and be done with the breakin.

 

[Alexander L]

Will do. Thanks!

 

[Alexander L]

Take it up to 600-650F and be done with the breakin.

Cruising at 650 (according to Condar therm.) and there was only a very faint bit of smoke for a short while when it first got up to around 600. Nothing like yesterday. Still smells like curing paint. Will let it go out and consider this stove broken in.

Appreciate all of the responses!

 

[Simonkenton]

You will love it! Nothing like a good Norwegian wood stove on a cold winter day. My girlfriend likes my Jotul more than I do, I didn't think that was possible, she is an expert at lighting it and just loves to watch that Jotul burn. What a great fire view.

 

[Toomb]

Man, that is a beautiful set up! I am jealous.