1. I self-installed the entire deal with no experience whatsoever and it wasn't too hard. The local stove shop that I ordered the stove through would have charged me $400. I was lucky in that I got a new roof installed just as I was ready to install the stove so the roofer installed the flashing. My installation was pretty simple - straight up from the top of the stove all the way through the roof with no bends at all, through about 70 inches of attic space and then a solid 40 inches above the roof line. I think I have a pretty good draft but I have no experience so that is just a guess.
2. Used Selkirk Supervent doublewall stovepipe and chimney, which I bought at Lowe's (of course they had to order some pieces but I was in no hurry and I am pretty sure I saved some decent money over practically any other source). Lowe's has a "kit" that includes the stove pipe adapter, ceiling support, attic insulation shield, roof flashing and rain cap all in one big box.
3. I bought a "stove board" from Lowe's for $50 and it has worked just fine. I was really worried about whether it would protect my wood floor adequately from the heat (it is very thin) but my stove shop assured me it was fine and sure enough the F100 with its bottom heat shield hardly warms the stove board up at all. Obviously it is there more for protection against hot embers falling out. The wall behind the stove does not get hot either - at all. Very reassuring as that was a big worry for me going in.
4. The only glitch in installation occurred when I tried to mate the stovepipe to the Jotul flue collar. It didn't match up at all, the pipe wouldn't slip over the collar. I called Selkirk and they were very helpful, directed me to an adaptor piece which they said was often needed for certain large flue collars. Ordered it online and a week later we got it and it worked fine.
5. Have been burning for a few days now. Went through the break-in procedure recommended by Jotul (3 small fires, each a little hotter). The third fire caused some smoke and fumes from the curing process as we passed the 400 degree F mark which really freaked me out (set off our smoke detectors in house and I couldn't tell exactly where the smoke was coming from but now I know it was just the surface of the stove - it did not smell like wood smoke, just fumey). The Jotul manual assured me this was normal and subsequent burning has been much better - less smelly and no more smoke.
6. We are having a hard time getting the stove to warm up hotter than 450 degrees (per the Jotul stove top thermometer). As a result the glass is getting very, very smoky. We are burning seasoned, split wood. We are leaving the air wide open most of the time (have played with it a little bit to see if choking it down a little would heat it up - no luck there).
7. Even though we aren't getting the stove very hot (the manual says peak performance/efficiency is in the 400-600 degree F range), it is doing a very good job heating our house (100 sq ft, not an open floorplan). We are running our "fan only" setting for our central heat/air at times to spread the heat around, but mainly placing a pedastal fan at the doorway to the hall which leads to the two rooms farthest from the stove and that does the trick.
It was a high of about 30 degrees today in OKC (from a low of -5 in the morning). Our gas furnace has not come on AT ALL from mid-morning until as I write here at 9:15 (19 degrees). Partner I am impressed. (On a side note we had an all time record low in Oklahoma this morning of -31 degrees in the northern reaches of the sooner state...it is pretty rare for the the temp to fall below zero around here a single time all winter).
8. I am concerned that my neighbors may be ticked off about the smoke which can get pretty noticeable outside - we'll see.
9. I split some western red cedar scrap lumber for kindling and it works absolutely great - starting the stove from cold was another big concern of mine but with those little cedar splits it is no problemo.
10. My biggest concern of all was a smoky house from opening the door of the stove to start it/refill it and to be honest my concerns were justified on this one. It doesn't really smoke up the house per se but it sure can get smoke on your hands/face/clothes if you don't open and fill and close door just right - and quickly.
I have followed the recommendations from Jotul and on this board concerning this issue (have air lever all the way open, open door slightly and wait a few seconds then slowly more just enough to refill) and all I can say is that it is a problem, which frustrates me a bit because everyone I talked to who had any experience with a stove said they had "no problem" with smoke. Oh heck no, they said, smoke was not a problem. Unless you don't mind smelling like a campfire all day every day, it IS a problem. I am hoping that with practice I can figure out a way to minimize this issue.
2. Used Selkirk Supervent doublewall stovepipe and chimney, which I bought at Lowe's (of course they had to order some pieces but I was in no hurry and I am pretty sure I saved some decent money over practically any other source). Lowe's has a "kit" that includes the stove pipe adapter, ceiling support, attic insulation shield, roof flashing and rain cap all in one big box.
3. I bought a "stove board" from Lowe's for $50 and it has worked just fine. I was really worried about whether it would protect my wood floor adequately from the heat (it is very thin) but my stove shop assured me it was fine and sure enough the F100 with its bottom heat shield hardly warms the stove board up at all. Obviously it is there more for protection against hot embers falling out. The wall behind the stove does not get hot either - at all. Very reassuring as that was a big worry for me going in.
4. The only glitch in installation occurred when I tried to mate the stovepipe to the Jotul flue collar. It didn't match up at all, the pipe wouldn't slip over the collar. I called Selkirk and they were very helpful, directed me to an adaptor piece which they said was often needed for certain large flue collars. Ordered it online and a week later we got it and it worked fine.
5. Have been burning for a few days now. Went through the break-in procedure recommended by Jotul (3 small fires, each a little hotter). The third fire caused some smoke and fumes from the curing process as we passed the 400 degree F mark which really freaked me out (set off our smoke detectors in house and I couldn't tell exactly where the smoke was coming from but now I know it was just the surface of the stove - it did not smell like wood smoke, just fumey). The Jotul manual assured me this was normal and subsequent burning has been much better - less smelly and no more smoke.
6. We are having a hard time getting the stove to warm up hotter than 450 degrees (per the Jotul stove top thermometer). As a result the glass is getting very, very smoky. We are burning seasoned, split wood. We are leaving the air wide open most of the time (have played with it a little bit to see if choking it down a little would heat it up - no luck there).
7. Even though we aren't getting the stove very hot (the manual says peak performance/efficiency is in the 400-600 degree F range), it is doing a very good job heating our house (100 sq ft, not an open floorplan). We are running our "fan only" setting for our central heat/air at times to spread the heat around, but mainly placing a pedastal fan at the doorway to the hall which leads to the two rooms farthest from the stove and that does the trick.
It was a high of about 30 degrees today in OKC (from a low of -5 in the morning). Our gas furnace has not come on AT ALL from mid-morning until as I write here at 9:15 (19 degrees). Partner I am impressed. (On a side note we had an all time record low in Oklahoma this morning of -31 degrees in the northern reaches of the sooner state...it is pretty rare for the the temp to fall below zero around here a single time all winter).
8. I am concerned that my neighbors may be ticked off about the smoke which can get pretty noticeable outside - we'll see.
9. I split some western red cedar scrap lumber for kindling and it works absolutely great - starting the stove from cold was another big concern of mine but with those little cedar splits it is no problemo.
10. My biggest concern of all was a smoky house from opening the door of the stove to start it/refill it and to be honest my concerns were justified on this one. It doesn't really smoke up the house per se but it sure can get smoke on your hands/face/clothes if you don't open and fill and close door just right - and quickly.
I have followed the recommendations from Jotul and on this board concerning this issue (have air lever all the way open, open door slightly and wait a few seconds then slowly more just enough to refill) and all I can say is that it is a problem, which frustrates me a bit because everyone I talked to who had any experience with a stove said they had "no problem" with smoke. Oh heck no, they said, smoke was not a problem. Unless you don't mind smelling like a campfire all day every day, it IS a problem. I am hoping that with practice I can figure out a way to minimize this issue.
