Overhauling a Jotul 118

[saturnmorning]

Greetings All,
I'm new to the forum here...

I recently purchased a used Jotul 118. It's not the fancy "Cross-Flow" Black Bear. Just the old school 118 with the round shutter on the front door.
Any tips on rebuilding this stove? I don't trust the Lowe's cement mortar (much like many of their other products - total crap).
All of the components to this stove are in very good shape - no cracks, oxidation, evidence of abuse/overfiring.

I've seen tips on this forum about sourcing the cement (Hearthstone, Rutland etc.)
Any tips on what to look out for during reassembly?
Do you ever use 1/4" rope-style gaskets in the horizontal seams?

Figurin',
Saturnmorning
--

 

[KP Matt]

There are rope gaskets sealing the top on mine - something I will have to replace soon if I don't replace the stove. Also the door is sealed with such gaskets. I don't know what the diameter is.

Someone posted a .pdf version of a manual in the last few weeks, run a search.

How are the side baffles? Mine are looking sad, and I suspect they are home-made.

As for the cement, I'm interested in what kind of answers you get for that question.

 

[Gooserider]

Greetings All,
I'm new to the forum here...

I recently purchased a used Jotul 118. It's not the fancy "Cross-Flow" Black Bear. Just the old school 118 with the round shutter on the front door.
Any tips on rebuilding this stove? I don't trust the Lowe's cement mortar (much like many of their other products - total crap).
All of the components to this stove are in very good shape - no cracks, oxidation, evidence of abuse/overfiring.

I've seen tips on this forum about sourcing the cement (Hearthstone, Rutland etc.)
Any tips on what to look out for during reassembly?
Do you ever use 1/4" rope-style gaskets in the horizontal seams?

Figurin',
Saturnmorning
--

You should be able to find a parts manual somewhere, maybe an overhaul manual, use whatever the manuals call for... In terms of the cement, I would go with Rutland, it seems to work OK for me.

Gooserider

 

[begreen]

Howdy Saturn. I used Rutland cement in the caulking tube when I rebuilt the 602. If the 118 is built like the 602, this should be an easy rebuild. All you really need is a blowup parts diagram. And if you have one with the inner baffles in great shape, you have been living a good life.

I had expected it to take all day long to do the rebuild and it was done in an easy morning. The biggest challenge will be broken bolt and screw heads. But just prepare yourself ahead of time. Get a few drill bits and a tap for the common bolt size (#8?) used in the stove. And have about 10 metric replacement bolts ready to put in. (My bolts came from the local True Value.) Dry fit pieces together temporarily so that you are sure how it assembles. Then reassemble with caulk. Excluding the legs, door and inner baffles, there were only 6 or 7 parts in the 602 if I remember right. Let it cure for 24 hrs. Then do small breakin fires.

 

[elkimmeg]

I would light test the stove first to see if it needs rebuilding

 

[begreen]

That's a good suggestion. Note, Jotul box stoves have an L joint at the corners and inner baffles that might block light. Not sure.

 

[saturnmorning]

Thanks for the advice guys.
I'm curious about how to do a light test. This would take place outdoors correct? With like an 8' vertical length of pipe to create a slight draw in the stove? I'm looking for leaks: signs of escaping light and smoke.
The overhaul is going very well. No cracked bolts or banged up knuckles. I completed the assembly of the lower fire box with surprising ease. The mortar cement was pliant and oozed out like an oreo under pressure. took a trowel and cleaned up the excess.

And now for the big question I hope you guys can help me with:
I have no manual for this stove. It is a Jotul 118 copy in cast steel.
It was marketed under the brand name "Double Star"... no UL plates on the back but there are rivets which would suggest that there was once a UL plate. No telling though.
Is there any hope that I can get this stove past inspection without a manual? Does UL have lists of approved wood stove products? I've seen the EPA lists on wood stoves but no UL lists.

Am I now the proud owner of a $350 cast steel Chiminia?

Hoping not,
saturn morning
--
ps - Around here in North Georgia Lowe's carries the steel plate Century stoves which seem pretty good for $463.00 entry level which includes the manual and EPA/UL approvals.

 

[Gooserider]

Thanks for the advice guys.
I'm curious about how to do a light test. This would take place outdoors correct? With like an 8' vertical length of pipe to create a slight draw in the stove? I'm looking for leaks: signs of escaping light and smoke.
The overhaul is going very well. No cracked bolts or banged up knuckles. I completed the assembly of the lower fire box with surprising ease. The mortar cement was pliant and oozed out like an oreo under pressure. took a trowel and cleaned up the excess.

The light test is usually done indoors, but it can be done outside. Essentially it consists of dropping a bright trouble light inside the firebox and looking around the outside for any traces of light that shouldn't be there - i.e. coming through leaks in seams or gaskets, cracks in plates, etc.

And now for the big question I hope you guys can help me with:
I have no manual for this stove. It is a Jotul 118 copy in cast steel.
It was marketed under the brand name "Double Star"... no UL plates on the back but there are rivets which would suggest that there was once a UL plate. No telling though.
Is there any hope that I can get this stove past inspection without a manual? Does UL have lists of approved wood stove products? I've seen the EPA lists on wood stoves but no UL lists.

I believer there are lists of UL stoves, but I'm not sure how likely you are to get anywhere without a UL listing plate on the back to prove that the stove on your hearth is the same as the one on the list... W/ no manual, and no label, it is unlikely that an inspector will pass it. I know when I just got my stoves inspected, the inspector was very much happier that I had some kind of manual for it.

This sounds like one of many cheap Asian source imitations of Jotul and other reputable stoves that were imported back in the 70's and 80's, usually their quality was pretty abysmal, I suspect that many here would make a strong argument that even with the manual and a certification tag, the stove was not worth the effort, and basically not a safe unit to burn, even when new.

Am I now the proud owner of a $350 cast steel Chiminia?
Hoping not,
saturn morning
--
ps - Around here in North Georgia Lowe's carries the steel plate Century stoves which seem pretty good for $463.00 entry level which includes the manual and EPA/UL approvals.

That's one way to look at it... Do a search on "Brother Bart smoker" for one alternative use proposal....

The Century stoves have a pretty decent reputation here for a "value price" stove BTW, They seem to be built reasonably well, and function properly, w/ no significant trouble reported. I think you'd be far better off with one of them than trying to rebuild the thing you have...

Gooserider

 

[begreen]

*sigh* Agreed, it sounds like a Taiwan knockoff. I suspect this stove will never perform like a Jotul 118. Wish you had mentioned the Double Star designation earlier.