Turbocharged Jotul

[Skier76]

I've noticed that this stove needs a bit of extra air when initially starting a fire. This seems to be an issue with other EPA Jotul stoves and some other brands of EPA stoves as well. Compounding this issue, is our exterior metalbestos 8" chimney. Furthermore, I'm usually starting a fire on a Friday night...after the stove has been cold all week.

I've tried the hairdyer and propane torch which both worked OK...I had better results with the propane torch. I needed something warm up the firebox while I built the fire...and maybe help get the fire going. So here's what I did...

I bought the Jotul OAK (Outside Air Kit). For $20 or so...it ain't much. I honestly think you could probably build your own out of some thick flashing, some tin snips and a few rivets. However, this thing fits and installation took about 45 seconds. I took more time taking pics of it.

Next, I bought some semi rigid 3" duct. You'll find this wherever your local big box store has the dryer venting/hvac ducting. I think it was about $10? If you want to keep this permanently attached to your stove, a hoseclamp will do the trick. I opted to not use a clamp, and I found it easy to slip on and slip off the duct to and from the OAK.

I already had the hairdryer. I just bought the cheapest one I could find at Wal Mart...I think it was $10? I call it the "Wal-Blow"....

 

[Skier76]

Duct hooked up....

Wal-Blow on and doing it's thing.

 

[Skier76]

The fire:

Just started---

and after a couple of minutes. Both the ash pan door and firebox door are shut tight. The wal-blow is providing the extra air.

 

[Skier76]

After a few minutes, I shut off the wal-blow and removed the ducting. Obviously, you need to do this before the stove gets up in temp unless you feel like burning yourself. I NEVER left the stove un attended! Grab a beer and park yourself near the stove.

This thing actually worked better than I expected. After about 5 minutes or so, the inside of the firebox was fairly warm. I wasn't sure if the hairdryer had enough "horsepower" to throw enough heat down the duct and into the stove. Amazingly, it did.

You could totally bypass leaving the setup on when you light the fire. However, to get things going, I either had to use the ash pan door (big no no) or crack the firebox door. The wal-blow provided the extra air needed to get the fire to a point where the fire could get going on it's own.

 

[semipro]

Nice documentation! I appreciate the idea and it certainly works but I'd be worried about 2 things:

-- Heating up the stove too fast. Cast iron is by nature brittle and it can crack when its heated fast and/or unevenly. Like you I would love to get my stove going faster but not at the risk of damaging my stove.

-- These stoves are called "airtight" but they're not. They are not meant to be pressurized and are instead engineered to work on the vacuum exerted on them by a hot flue. I realize you're not really creating much pressure with a hair drier but you could be forcing combustion gases like carbon monoxide into your living space if the vacuum created by the flue is not higher than the pressure created by the hair drier.

I like the creativeness and experimentation but urge you to be careful with this.

 

[karri0n]

It seems really unnecessary to me, but I've got a 30 ft fully lined interior masonry chimney and never had to deal with the startup draft issues of an exterior metal tube for a chimney.

 

[Skier76]

Nice documentation! I appreciate the idea and it certainly works but I'd be worried about 2 things:

-- Heating up the stove too fast. Cast iron is by nature brittle and it can crack when its heated fast and/or unevenly. Like you I would love to get my stove going faster but not at the risk of damaging my stove.

-- These stoves are called "airtight" but they're not. They are not meant to be pressurized and are instead engineered to work on the vacuum exerted on them by a hot flue. I realize you're not really creating much pressure with a hair drier but you could be forcing combustion gases like carbon monoxide into your living space if the vacuum created by the flue is not higher than the pressure created by the hair drier.

I like the creativeness and experimentation but urge you to be careful with this.

Thanks for the feedback!

I did watch the stovetop thermometer and didn't notice the temp going up faster than usual. I'd say this extra air is probably like leaving the front door cracked open a bit. I'd say it's much much much less intense than opening the ash pan door.
It more or less keeps the fire going...without having to open the door to get more air.

I hear you on the non air tightness! I've lit a fire two times without properly reversing the draft. Not only did smoke come out of the intake...it aslo came out of the area where the air control handle is.

I'll probably just use this for getting the draft reversed and be mindful of using it once the fire has been lit.

Again, I appreciate the feedback!

 

[meathead]

What about just pointing the hair dryer over the baffles for a minute or two to get the draft going? Seems like more work and needs to be monitored just as closely as leaving the door open a crack.


That being said....you used an OAK and a hair dryer to improve your stove performance...sweet

 

[grommal]

Nice documentation! I appreciate the idea and it certainly works but I'd be worried about 2 things:

-- Heating up the stove too fast. Cast iron is by nature brittle and it can crack when its heated fast and/or unevenly. Like you I would love to get my stove going faster but not at the risk of damaging my stove.

-- These stoves are called "airtight" but they're not. They are not meant to be pressurized and are instead engineered to work on the vacuum exerted on them by a hot flue. I realize you're not really creating much pressure with a hair drier but you could be forcing combustion gases like carbon monoxide into your living space if the vacuum created by the flue is not higher than the pressure created by the hair drier.

I like the creativeness and experimentation but urge you to be careful with this.

Indeed. The OP runs the risk of pushing CO into his living space by pressurizing the stove. This is extremely hazardous. His technique is fine for establishing the draft before lighting the fire, but should not be used when the stove is burning.

 

[cmonSTART]

Excellent. Now you just need some ground effects, some sweet rims, and a killer stereo and you can go racing!

 

[Wet1]

Excellent. Now you just need some ground effects, some sweet rims, and a killer stereo and you can go racing!

You forgot glowy lights and stickers.

 

[Skier76]

I'm going to put in a really nice subwoofer before I get the rims and lowprofile tires. :lol:

What about just pointing the hair dryer over the baffles for a minute or two to get the draft going? Seems like more work and needs to be monitored just as closely as leaving the door open a crack.


That being said....you used an OAK and a hair dryer to improve your stove performance...sweet

I did try that...it took awhile and didn't really heat things up too well. With this setup, it blows hot air into the entire firebox for a few minutes. I think that helps heat things up more evenly and ensure the draft is going in a favorable direction.

I appreciate all the feedback guys! I'll probably just run this to heat up the firebox, then let the intake or the front door supply the air once I light the fire.