Jotul F400 Fire box Size

[ckdeuce]

How big is the firebox? I could not find it in the manual I downloaded.... Thanks - C

 

[southbalto]

How big is the firebox? I could not find it in the manual I downloaded.... Thanks - C

Not certain but I believe it's around 1.7 cubic feet.

 

[mikepinto65]

1.5 CF

 

[cycloxer]

The Jotul F 400 firebox measures as follows:

width: 20.5"
depth: 12.7" (back wall to glass)
height: 11.6" (average, varies from 10.5-13.5" from floor to secondary ass'y)

This totals 1.75 cu. ft.

 

[mikepinto65]

im sticking with 1.5 as you cant stack wood to the glass nor should you stack wood to the point of touching the secondary tubes.

 

[cycloxer]

Why can't you stack wood to the glass or the secondaries? I do it all the time.

 

[mikepinto65]

You can but I guess your manual has it all wrong.

 

[Skier76]

I touch the secondaries in the rear from time to time. No problems as far as I can tell. I do avoid touching the glass though.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Why can't you stack wood to the glass or the secondaries? I do it all the time.

I do not have a Jotul, but I have read repeatedly around here and on manuals that having the wood burn while in contact with the glass greatly increases your chances of a crack in the glass forming. I have no information on secondary tubes. None of my stoves have them.

 

[cycloxer]

You can but I guess your manual has it all wrong.

How does the manual have it all wrong?

 

[mikepinto65]

You can but I guess your manual has it all wrong.

How does the manual have it all wrong?

From the manual:

IMPORTANT
NEVER BUILD OR ALLOW THE FIRE TO REST DIRECTLY ON THE GLASS. THE LOGS
SHOULD ALWAYS BE SPACED AT LEAST ONE INCH FROM THE GLASS TO ALLOW
FOR PROPER AIR FLOW WITHIN THE STOVE.

 

[mikepinto65]

I dont have access to the other two manuals right now, but if you read the other two, in the English section, it points out to stack wood up to the brick top....I dont always follow that one, but I do follow the recommendation of the glass. I actually tend to make sure I have at least a quarter inch space from my logs and the primary air housing.

 

[Skier76]

The glas I totally understand. Even in a non air wash stove, I'd still be nervous about the glass.

I scanned for info on the secondaries and wood touching them. I didn't see anything; although the key word is there is "scanned" aka: read really fast and could have missed things.

 

[cycloxer]

You can get pretty close to the glass without the wood touching. Same with the secondaries. It doesn't stay that way very long before it starts to burn down. If you measure every nook and cranny of the internal dimensions of the stove (I know because I have done it) it actually comes out more than 1.75 cu. ft. I don't know how you calculated your 1.5.

 

[mikepinto65]

The glas I totally understand. Even in a non air wash stove, I'd still be nervous about the glass.

I scanned for info on the secondaries and wood touching them. I didn't see anything; although the key word is there is "scanned" aka: read really fast and could have missed things.

It is in one of the other two manuals provided with the stove......it also recommends wood much smaller than the advertised max log length so take from it what you will. I, personally, try to leave at least an inch of space up at the tubes.

 

[mikepinto65]

You can get pretty close to the glass without the wood touching. Same with the secondaries. It doesn't stay that way very long before it starts to burn down. If you measure every nook and cranny of the internal dimensions of the stove (I know because I have done it) it actually comes out more than 1.75 cu. ft. I don't know how you calculated your 1.5.

Because you can not use every nook and cranny. If it makes you feel better to measure it that way, by all means do so....but you aren't getting 1.7cf of wood in it!

 

[cycloxer]

in the English section, it points out to stack wood up to the brick top.

That isn't in the F 400 manual. There are no exposed bricks in the firebox of the F 400 as there are in the F 500 - one of the things I really like about the F 400. The internal of the stove is all cast iron and the baffle is stainless steel.

I know the point you are trying to make: ie, the useable space is more like 1.5 cu. ft.

The point I am trying to make is that if you are trying to compare stove sizes, the only way to do this is to get out your tape measure and meaure them yourself. Then, you really have to look at the shape and consider the size of your firewood. Then you can make an educated judgement as to how much fuel you can load into the firebox.

 

[mikepinto65]

in the English section, it points out to stack wood up to the brick top.

That isn't in the F 400 manual. There are no exposed bricks in the firebox of the F 400. The internal of the stove is all cast iron and the baffle is stainless steel.

I know the point you are trying to make: ie, the useable space is more like 1.5 cu. ft.

The point I am trying to make is that if you are trying to compare stove sizes, the only way to do this is to get out your tape measure and meaure them yourself. Then, you really have to look at the shape and consider the size of your firewood. Then you can make an educated judgement as to how much fuel you can load into the firebox.

I have measured the Oslo, Castine, and Firelight with a tape in a showroom just three weeks ago when stove shopping with my father. The castine is 1.5cf and my educated judgment is that I only care about the amount of wood it'll hold.

The firebrick must be a guide than for the Oslo in the other manual. But lets think about it here, if you should leave some space for the Oslo than its probably going to hold true for the Castine when you read the manual tonight. If not, oh well, but I think many here will say it is best to give some space for air.

 

[cycloxer]

Good points on the spacing. Here is what I have learned from actually burning this stove:

1.) It burns very good and your glass stays clean if you leave an air gap at the front and here and there on the sides. The top is less critical unless you are really packing tight.

2.) If you stack right up to the glass, you risk smashing if you aren't careful and the glass gets sooted more easily

3.) It is okay to cram the box full of wood, but you have to pay close attention to the stove temps and go easy w/ air

4.) The more wood you pack in, the more the load shifts as it burns down, often resulting in mid-burn adjustments w/ poker

In practice, I tend to load at about 2/3 full most of the time and I don't worry about filling every nook and cranny. I mean, bfd if I have to open the door and add a few more splits in an hour. To maximize my overnight burn, I will very carefully load right up to the baffle. The goal is to pack as much wood in there as I can, pack it tight, and try to minimize any load shifting. I run at 100% air until the inferno gets going and then I back the air way down to 'just above open' for the night.

 

[begreen]

I'm with Mike on this one. Owned and measured the F400 and measured the F500. It's a 1.5 cu ft stove. A stove isn't measured to the absolute theoretical max one can fit into it. We'd be all over marketing depts. if they did this.

 

[cycloxer]

I'm with Mike on this one. Owned and measured the F400 and measured the F500. It's a 1.5 cu ft stove. A stove isn't measured to the absolute theoretical max one can fit into it. We'd be all over marketing depts. if they did this.

Okay, as a comparison go measure a Hearthstone Shelburne and tell me what size it is then. I'll save you the effort. It measures exactly 2.0 cu. ft. w/ a tape and guess what size they publish in their brochure? How do you explain that one? Shouldn't they subtract some space for an air gap too? How much space do you subtract? 1", 1/2" 1" only to glass? Should you consider only a 2/3 full firebox? There is a lot left to interpretation here of what exactly constitutes the firebox.

I go by tape measure dimensions that I snap myself. If I can measure the dims w/ a tape, you can bet I can fit wood in there. Then you can go compare stoves apples-apples rather than relying on diff manuf definitions and brochure data of what they call the firebox.

 

[mikepinto65]

I'm with Mike on this one. Owned and measured the F400 and measured the F500. It's a 1.5 cu ft stove. A stove isn't measured to the absolute theoretical max one can fit into it. We'd be all over marketing depts. if they did this.

Okay, as a comparison go measure a Hearthstone Shelburne and tell me what size it is then. I'll save you the effort. It measures exactly 2.0 cu. ft. w/ a tape and guess what size they publish in their brochure? How do you explain that one? Shouldn't they subtract some space for an air gap too? How much space do you subtract? 1", 1/2" 1" only to glass? Should you consider only a 2/3 full firebox? There is a lot left to interpretation here of what exactly constitutes the firebox.

I go by tape measure dimensions that I snap myself. If I can measure the dims w/ a tape, you can bet I can fit wood in there. Then you can go compare stoves apples-apples rather than relying on diff manuf definitions and brochure data of what they call the firebox.

So what? The only firebox space the Castine has for holding wood measures 1.5CF (all the way up to the burn tubes!). The space in front of the glass does not count. What is your argument in comparing another stove and its advertised measurement???

 

[mikepinto65]

Jotul probably left the CF blank so people wouldnt argue with them, telling them there stoves are bigger than they are! LOL

 

[Skier76]

The glas I totally understand. Even in a non air wash stove, I'd still be nervous about the glass.

I scanned for info on the secondaries and wood touching them. I didn't see anything; although the key word is there is "scanned" aka: read really fast and could have missed things.

It is in one of the other two manuals provided with the stove......it also recommends wood much smaller than the advertised max log length so take from it what you will. I, personally, try to leave at least an inch of space up at the tubes.

Cool, I'll take a look at it this weekend. I really was amazed at the differences between the US manual and the one they have for Europe.

 

[cycloxer]

Here is what you get when you load the 1.75 cu. ft. firebox to the baffles with coals filling all the nooks and crannies - one hot box! I don't think I maintained the 1" gap to the glass. Oops.