1980 jotul 118B

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BlackBetty06

New Member
Jan 27, 2018
35
SE PA
Hi guys! new here and first post. I fell into an unbelievable deal this week. A friend of mine contacted me about an older couple he knew that was moving into a retirement home. He said they have a Jotul stove they are giving away to anyone who wants it. So I figured it would be an old burned out stove. So I drive an hour and a half a come to find a Jotul 118 from February of 1980. They used this stove ONE YEAR and never burned it again. This thing looks brand new! There is not a chip in the green enamel, there are barely signs inside that the stove was ever even burned. I was extremely excited and almost felt bad that they gave me the little bugger for nothing!!! So my question is in the chimney connector. They had it hooked to the side of the stove and I want to rear vent it. I switched all the little panels around to rear vent it (screws came out like butter its been used so little). The problem I am having is the connector is hitting the top lip of the stove since it is a hair wide out the back of the stove. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong or does the 118 have to be side mounted vent?
 

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I’m thinking I will extend it with a short piece of 5” pipe and some furnace cement since the Jotul outlet isn’t a true 5”. I would have thought there was a way to do it without any other pieces besides the factory flue outlet and flue increaser.
 
So I hooked the little stove up to my basement chimney and am on my second break in fire. Approx 300 degrees. I have noticed some white spots showing up on the enamel finish. Is this normal or is something bad happening here?
 

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Is this the first break in fire? If so, I would let it cool down. I've never seen this happen. It almost looks like moisture build up behind the enamel.
 
its the second break in fire. I didnt take notice to it last night. Im going by what I found from Jotul. 200 first fire, then 300, then 400, with complete cool down in between. Hope im not screwed. Once its cooled Im going to try and wipe it off. Stove is currently out and down to 150
 
That is odd. Does the finish look normal when it cools down? I would expect the stove to functionally ok regardless.
 
the stove is cooled to room temperature basically. (90 degrees) I tried wiping the spots off and while they are wet it looks ok but as soon as they dry they come back. The spots arent glossy like the rest of the stove. They feel coarse. Looks like the finish is trashed. Probably be a pretty ugly looking thing by the time its all said and done. So much for the good find. Im going to fire it to 400 now and see how much worse it gets
 
Fired to 400, got a little worse but not much. I dont know what caused this. I tried a little glass stove top cleaner on it and that didnt work either. Im going to call a couple local fireplace dealers today to see if they recommend anything also
 
Well it’s another season and I fired the little 118 back up. I wiped it down with a rag and water at the end of last season. It sat until a few weeks ago when I lit back up. Almost all the marks are gone now... very happy but don’t understand what or how this may have happened. Either way, I got it up to 650 degrees on the stove top with some good dry ash and cherry. Extremely impressed with the amount of heat this stove throws. It’s a little hungry but when it’s packed full and draft set just right she really rips! Very happy with this stove (now that I calmed down over the spots). This thing puts out as much heat as my big Hitzer 50-93 coal stove ( but on a medium burn) but still impressive none the less for its size. I’ve yet to burn a new jotul but this old 118 and our Combi Fire 4 up at the hunting camp are heating beasts. Another thing to I like is they will happily chew up whatever you stuff in them as long as it’s not dripping wet although the smoke can get a little heavy..... lol
 
Oh and I figured out the lady wiped it down with pine sol before I picked it up but doubt that would do anything to an enamel finish
 
Well it’s another season and I fired the little 118 back up. I wiped it down with a rag and water at the end of last season. It sat until a few weeks ago when I lit back up. Almost all the marks are gone now... very happy but don’t understand what or how this may have happened. Either way, I got it up to 650 degrees on the stove top with some good dry ash and cherry. Extremely impressed with the amount of heat this stove throws. It’s a little hungry but when it’s packed full and draft set just right she really rips! Very happy with this stove (now that I calmed down over the spots). This thing puts out as much heat as my big Hitzer 50-93 coal stove ( but on a medium burn) but still impressive none the less for its size. I’ve yet to burn a new jotul but this old 118 and our Combi Fire 4 up at the hunting camp are heating beasts. Another thing to I like is they will happily chew up whatever you stuff in them as long as it’s not dripping wet although the smoke can get a little heavy..... lol
We have the same stove. You're correct, it really does throw off some good heat. Has no problem heating the 1500 sq ft we have above ground. Ours was built in 1979 I believe, was used for over 30 years in our home before we bought it, and still looks damn close to brand new. Built well I guess?

The only thing I dont love about the stove is that metal flap that hangs there in the stove opening once you open the door. I feel like it would be substantially easier for me to load the firebox full if that wasn't there. Before I go try to remove this, is there anyone here can tell me if this is a bad idea? Does it serve some purpose besides annoying me that I'm not aware of? Thanks!
 
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Happy weekend to everybody; thought I’d bump my question to see if anybody has any thoughts on whether this would be safe to remove. Pics below. It’s a metal flap that makes loading the stove to the brim almost impossible; maybe that’s by design? If I load the wood too high and this plate can’t come back down, it restricts the air flow to the top chamber and draft is crappy. I’ve lifted the top and looked in, place is secured with two easily removable bolts. Any advice/ thoughts?

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That is the flameout plate. It directs the flame path to make the 180º turn past the long baffle and prevent it from coming out the door. Will the stove function properly without the plate? IDK.
 
That is the flameout plate. It directs the flame path to make the 180º turn past the long baffle and prevent it from coming out the door. Will the stove function properly without the plate? IDK.

Hmmm ok thanks begreen, I think I’m gonna try it out and then just reinstall if it doesn’t work out. By coming out the door do you mean coming out the door while the door is open? I’m assuming that while the door is closed this would be a moot point?


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So I removed the flame out plate. Doesn’t seem to have affected anything; stove runs as it always has. Substantially easier to load the stove now.

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Funny, I would have guessed it was to keep smoke from spilling back into the room on a stove with a poor draft.
 
Funny, I would have guessed it was to keep smoke from spilling back into the room on a stove with a poor draft.

That actually was what I guessed its purpose was as well


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Its been awhile since Ive been on the forum. DUG what I think that piece that is hanging down is somebodys hillbilly attempt at replacing what originally came in the stove. From what I have learned, that plate is there to help slow down the flue gases and allow a more efficient burn by reducing the heat up the chimney. My stove has the original piece in it and can not been seen at all from the load door and does not interfere at all when loading.
 
The part, 101619 is listed as the Jotul Flameout Plate. It's #26 in this diagram. I'm sure it helps reduce smoke spillage too. It may be most effective in cases where draft is weak.
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Its been awhile since Ive been on the forum. DUG what I think that piece that is hanging down is somebodys hillbilly attempt at replacing what originally came in the stove. From what I have learned, that plate is there to help slow down the flue gases and allow a more efficient burn by reducing the heat up the chimney. My stove has the original piece in it and can not been seen at all from the load door and does not interfere at all when loading.

Hey Betty,

Just saw this. The part that I have looks exactly like part number 26 in the diagram that begreen posted; it definitely wasn’t an after market install. If your stove has it but you can’t see it when the door is open, then I am confused? That would mean it’s either not there or stuck pushed up against the baffle. When it’s pushed up into the stove it blocks most of the path that air would take up through the baffle into the upper chamber.

I’ve had it removed for several months now and have noticed no difference in smoke spillage, burn times, etc etc... I do have good draft so maybe that helps. Removing that piece has made loading the stove substantially easier for me with no downside that I have seen yet.


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Ill take some pictures for you when I get home. I can assure you its there and swings freely. Im still thinking yours is not a real original. Ill put a tape measure next to it for you
 
Mine swung freely too! It was just a pain with loading as you couldn’t stuff the firebox full towards the door as the piece would become pushed up inside the stove against the baffle blocking air flow.

All of the houses on our street were built with these stoves. I’ve been In several of our neighbors homes and they all have the same swinging hinged part we’re discussing. Not trying to be argumentative, I just think maybe we’re not understanding each other? Our stove was also built in 1979. Not sure when yours was built. It’s possible the part is slightly different looking if they were built in different years

Please do post some pics I'm curious to see what yours looks like.


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Mine swung freely too! It was just a pain with loading as you couldn’t stuff the firebox full towards the door as the piece would become pushed up inside the stove against the baffle blocking air flow.

All of the houses on our street were built with these stoves. I’ve been In several of our neighbors homes and they all have the same swinging hinged part we’re discussing. Not trying to be argumentative, I just think maybe we’re not understanding each other? Our stove was also built in 1979. Not sure when yours was built. It’s possible the part is slightly different looking if they were built in different years

Please do post some pics I'm curious to see what yours looks like.


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My stove has basically the same thing. I wear forge gloves when I load the stove and just hold the flap towards the outside while I load. I usually don't have to add much wood between full loads, so it's generally a non issue. It just makes a lot of noise.