Jotul Model 12 question

[Arlo.]

So I have 6 seasons on my Model 12 which I picked up from a freshly built Mcmansion 6 years ago. It was New-Old stock that the contractor put in the house. The people who had purchased the house did not realize what they had and sold it to me for 300.00 with a screen, kettle and full set of black and brass irons. The stove was fired once and the wife of the poor chap demanded they get a gas stove. Long story short, I was the lucky SOB who was the first caller from craigslist 6 years ago.

Now to my questions:

1. I was going to do a full rebuild, but the more I tore it down, the less it needed. So I purchased a new Burnplate from stove world, rope, cement and a Cat. The Burn plate is a Jotul but I noticed the replacement is missing the two little tabs at the bottom that sit in a groove in the base of the stove. I called the supplier and they pulled another one from stock and it was the same way. The original one in my stove has two little tabs on the bottom that help hold it tight. The new one does not, although it seems pretty tight with just the bolt holding it in place. One thing I noticed with the original plate was that it warped and cracked and it appears perhaps the two tabs that held it in place caused the warping to be more extreme...not sure if this something Jotul corrected in a redesign or not? If anyone has any knowledge or experience on that, it would be appreciated.
   
2. I brought what I though was an original Jotul Cat from an ebay seller. Turns out it is from what I can tell a Firecat (Applied ceramics?) or a Condar (see pic below) .....from what I have read and word of mouth, the Condars use a expanding heat sensitive gasket between the cat element and the metal wrap. When heated this gasket expands. I guess Condar also sells additional gasket which you can wrap around the outside of the metal cat assembly. The idea from what I understand is to fill in the gaps for stoves that may have gaps. For the model 12, there is very little wiggle room and I have read that using this Condar Cat will crack the the catalyst chamber. Is this with or without the extra gasket that is recommended to use with it? After furhter investigation, Jotul now longer makes replacement Cats, so owners are now dependent on aftermarket! Blah....help
3. My grate appears to be warped a little as well, can't remember if it is supposed to be perfectly flat or sightly convex?

Good news is the exterior looks like new, gotta love that enamel coating. The interior is also in really good shape, no cracks anywhere and no leaks. Some of the seem cement looks like it could use to be replaced though. Any brand that you can recommend would be appreciated and any tips for areas that should be re cemented.

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[webby3650]

You got a great deal on that!
No stove manufacturers made their own cats that I know of. They just offered it as a replacement part to make it easier, but they got it from Condar or applied cerimacs, etc.
The cement that you see that's appears to need redone is just overflow from when the stove was assembled. Unless it's been severely abused it shouldn't need any rebuilding. Apart from the fireback and cat. The iron seams should be good for 20 years or so.

 

[Arlo.]

Thanks. I agree, fantastic deal. Very lucky.

Anyway, I looked into it a little more. Turns out the CAT is a Fire Cat which still uses the expandable gasket. So I pushed out the gasket with a putty knife and coated the side of the CAT with some refractory cement good to 3000 degrees, then pushed the steel band down around it like a cookie cutter on some wax paper and scraped the excess away with a putty knife. I think it will work....I will keep the forum posted if works.

The refractory shelf in the chamber was worn away and caused the cat to sit at slant and made it difficult to close the chamber up with the cover. So I ordered some refractory board on line and created a wedge to sit in there and correct the angle.

Finally, I used some refractory cement to reseal the corners under the lid of the top of the stove and the interior seams. I also replaced the gasket around the diverter shaft that exits the stove housing to the pedal linkage.

All in all, all looks good. However I am still concerned about the no tabs on the burn plate. Havent heard back from the retailer yet via email and voice mail.