Circa 2000 Catalytic Jotul Firelight

[bobforsaken]

I've read a lot of good information about the Jotul line of stoves here.. After reading some reviews, however, I'm concerned with some of the older catalytic versions of the F600 fireview. (rear burn plate problems) I'm planning on Driving 5 hours one way to pick up one this weekend for $700 . I certainly don't want to buy a lemon, and I'd like to get the dirt on the stove before even embarking on the journey.


Can anyone offere some experience, good bad or indifferent, with the Catalytic F600 Firelight?

 

[begreen]

If the unit has been lightly used, it could be a real winner. Folks really liked the Firelight cat. Hopefully Summit will chime in about his rebuilding experience with this model. How much do you know from the owners? What condition are they reporting it is in? How much use? Can you get them to send some pictures in advance?

By all means check out the combuster package. If it needs replacement, ask them to drop the price a bit. Also examine the bottom grate and base surrounding the grate for problems. If you find any warping or cracks there, it could be that they were starting the stove with the ash pan door ajar.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/40244/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/54469/

 

[bobforsaken]

Thanks for the great advise RE. The Combuster and Grate. (I'll check out those threads) I have a pic of the front of the stove only, and it looks purdy.. but that doesn't tell me much. The best indication I have that it wasn't completely abused is that she mentioned it had been serviced in December 2009 and had the gaskets replaced etc, yet the stove tech didn't recommend replacing the cat.

 

[dznam]

If the unit has been lightly used, it could be a real winner. Folks really liked the Firelight cat. Hopefully Summit will chime in about his rebuilding experience with this model. How much do you know from the owners? What condition are they reporting it is in? How much use? Can you get them to send some pictures in advance?

By all means check out the combuster package. If it needs replacement, ask them to drop the price a bit. Also examine the bottom grate and base surrounding the grate for problems. If you find any warping or cracks there, it could be that they were starting the stove with the ash pan door ajar.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/40244/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/54469/

What BeGreen said...

We have two of these stoves installed in our house, including (the) one rebuilt (complete disassembly and rebuild) by Summit. The rebuild required a expensive new base casting as it had a small crack that was difficult to see. The burn pate in front of the catalytic combustor also has a reputation for cracking though we have never experienced this problem...hopefully Summit can provide more insight regarding what to look for.

I'm biased, but these are great stoves... large firebox, great top-loading, long burn times, good size ash pan and very precise burn control. We've been burning one of the stoves since the mid-late 90s (dark green enamel) and it still looks and operates like new. Folks with the Ivory Enamel have reported durability problems.

 

[semipro]

Ours was great. The top loading using the foot pedal to open the top made loading easy. You could really pack a lot of wood in also. It really burned cleanly and efficiently too. The ashpan works well but you need to clean the ash that accumulates under and behind it out.

We did overfire ours and cracked the ash pan housing. (I have two teenage sons) I intend to repair/rebuild the unit but for now we're using a new F500 in our former fireplace on the 1st floor. The Firelight would not fit there nor would top loading work for a hearth installation so we left it in the basement.

I'd advise never using the ashpan door for admitting additional air. I'd recommend using the front doors instead.

 

[polaris]

I've never used one so I can't comment on that aspect but I did help move one a few years back and as a result, I think my left one still hangs a bit lower than it's partner. That thing was heavyyyyy. Don't forget to take a couple of members of the local college defensive line with you.
Joe

 

[BrowningBAR]

I've read a lot of good information about the Jotul line of stoves here.. After reading some reviews, however, I'm concerned with some of the older catalytic versions of the F600 fireview. (rear burn plate problems) I'm planning on Driving 5 hours one way to pick up one this weekend for $700 . I certainly don't want to buy a lemon, and I'd like to get the dirt on the stove before even embarking on the journey.


Can anyone offere some experience, good bad or indifferent, with the Catalytic F600 Firelight?

It's not the white enamel one with the crack on the right panel that is located in CT, is it?

 

[bobforsaken]

No.. it was one in MA. I picked it up this weekend with my Father. A little help of a hand truck and an atv jack along with some ramps (to get it down from the elevated hearth), a two pulley system for a come-along and plenty of ratcheting straps and wooden blocks.. and it was no sweat. The driving on the other hand, was less fun. But I was having a fire in it by 7PM (just to test it of course.. I'll be testing it again tonight )

Sorry for the poor quality pics.

 

[BrowningBAR]

No.. it was one in MA. I picked it up this weekend with my Father. A little help of a hand truck and an atv jack along with some ramps (to get it down from the elevated hearth), a two pulley system for a come-along and plenty of ratcheting straps and wooden blocks.. and it was no sweat. The driving on the other hand, was less fun. But I was having a fire in it by 7PM (just to test it of course.. I'll be testing it again tonight )

Sorry for the poor quality pics.

Great score!

 

[bobforsaken]

Some better pics of the install.. Someday I'll get the chimney photographed too. As you can see, I have a drop ceiling and had to get creative.

 

[bobforsaken]

No.. it was one in MA. I picked it up this weekend with my Father. A little help of a hand truck and an atv jack along with some ramps (to get it down from the elevated hearth), a two pulley system for a come-along and plenty of ratcheting straps and wooden blocks.. and it was no sweat. The driving on the other hand, was less fun. But I was having a fire in it by 7PM (just to test it of course.. I'll be testing it again tonight )

Sorry for the poor quality pics.

Great score!

Thanks Browning... The Cat is in good shape... the only thing wrong with it is the rear burn plate is cracked. Not sure if I need to replace it yet. I have this posted in another thread but here are the pics of the crack.

 

[Todd]

Nice stove. I'd prolly just go ahead and buy the new part so you don't have to worry about it later.

 

[begreen]

Answered in the other thread, but I agree. Get the replacement plate now. But I would try a temporary repair too. Who knows how long it might last?

Looks like a nice find bob. I think it will do you well.

PS: I love the way your shepherd jumps into the picture. That's a handsome dog.

 

[bobforsaken]

Answered in the other thread, but I agree. Get the replacement plate now. But I would try a temporary repair too. Who knows how long it might last?

Looks like a nice find bob. I think it will do you well.

PS: I love the way your shepherd jumps into the picture. That's a handsome dog.

Thanks.. Its not so much that he's a ham.. as much as I was by the door and he was trying to put on his Halo so I'd be convinced to play frisbee with him.

 

[polaris]

As BG said I think that is totally repairable. Nice stove.
Joe

 

[bobforsaken]

Well I have a spare now. I ended up getting it from Summit's stove shop. They had them in stock. Not a good sign for how problematic those burn plates are, but I knew that going in.

 

[firefighterjake]

Well I have a spare now. I ended up getting it from Summit's stove shop. They had them in stock. Not a good sign for how problematic those burn plates are, but I knew that going in.

Where is Summit's stove shop? I've wondered about that for a while . . . never think to ask though.

 

[begreen]

Well I have a spare now. I ended up getting it from Summit's stove shop. They had them in stock. Not a good sign for how problematic those burn plates are, but I knew that going in.

By the color of the cast, it looks like it might be burning extra hot in the area of the crack. I'm not sure if this is normal burn pattern or a possible air leak. Check the back base carefully for an air leak or crack there. If you find one, stuff it with furnace cement. Also be sure the ash pan door gasket is in good condition and sealing well.

The back of the older F602s could burn out too if one wasn't careful. I'd be tempted to put an 1/8" thick steel plate patch across the new piece too, covering its full width and maybe up about 9". Let that be sacrificed instead. It could be held slightly off of the cast back plate with a couple washers or a nut. I put in a similar plate in the back of my 602 and it has worked great in reducing the stove back temp. No warping of the steel plate so far.

 

[summit]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

 

[firefighterjake]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

Summit is Rockys?

 

[summit]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

Summit is Rockys?

yup.

 

[firefighterjake]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

Summit is Rockys?

yup.

No kidding . . . I bought my stove from you guys . . . great people, great price and great service. Unfortunately since you sold me a Jotul Oslo I haven't had any need to come back to the store!

Incidentally, I appreciated the good advice you gave me at the time . . . although perhaps you should have really suggested I wait and buy an Oslo with the blue black finish instead one of the matte black ones you had in stock.

 

[summit]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

Summit is Rockys?

yup.

No kidding . . . I bought my stove from you guys . . . great people, great price and great service. Unfortunately since you sold me a Jotul Oslo I haven't had any need to come back to the store!

Incidentally, I appreciated the good advice you gave me at the time . . . although perhaps you should have really suggested I wait and buy an Oslo with the blue black finish instead one of the matte black ones you had in stock.

Thanks, jake, glad it worked out for you! too bad I missed the blue black add-on!
I don't put up who i work for in my sig, just being cautious: I've had some discussions that got pretty heated (from CAT vs. non-cat in the hearth room, to fed income tax rates in the ashcan) and actually had some folks say they wouldn't do biz w/ me because I didn't prefer their particular stove. I'd just rather avoid a confusing phone call at the shop from some one trying to jack me up because of an argument online (although i know 99% of people would not do this, but you never know who is on the other 'puter screen typing atcha!). I am not that hard to find, however, several posters on these forums have figured it out and found me at the shop... dznam actually came in and straight up asked me "are you summit?" which blew me away!

 

[semipro]

Well I have a spare now. I ended up getting it from Summit's stove shop. They had them in stock. Not a good sign for how problematic those burn plates are, but I knew that going in.

By the color of the cast, it looks like it might be burning extra hot in the area of the crack. I'm not sure if this is normal burn pattern or a possible air leak. Check the back base carefully for an air leak or crack there. If you find one, stuff it with furnace cement. Also be sure the ash pan door gasket is in good condition and sealing well.

The back of the older F602s could burn out too if one wasn't careful. I'd be tempted to put an 1/8" thick steel plate patch across the new piece too, covering its full width and maybe up about 9". Let that be sacrificed instead. It could be held slightly off of the cast back plate with a couple washers or a nut. I put in a similar plate in the back of my 602 and it has worked great in reducing the stove back temp. No warping of the steel plate so far.

Sounds like good advice. Our Firelight's burn plate looks like this and I think its because it was run to often with the ash pan door slightly open.

If you'll also drill a small hole (e.g. 1/8")at the end of the crack it may stop it from elongating. This will allow the stress that's now concentrated on a very small area to be distributed over a larger area.

 

[firefighterjake]

getting into this thread a little late, sorry, the season is starting to pick up!

Good score on the firelight! 700 bucks is a good number for that unit. Most of you probably know that I am not a big fan of Cat units, but the F600 cat is okay in my book because of how easy it is to disassemble/clean the rear chamber. Bob: the crack on the plate you have now is manageable. I'd leave 'er in and let her finish breaking, then replace it w/ the new one you got. Make sure you do a couple break in fires when you do put in the new part to cure the new casting. Replacing that plate is just a part of owning that stove, unfortunatley. I think you'll find the benifit to that particular unit's design outweighs the cost of replacing a fireback (easilly removed and reinstalled w/ the hex head wrench on the door handle, btw) every few yrs.
Jake: the shop in Augusta.

Summit is Rockys?

yup.

No kidding . . . I bought my stove from you guys . . . great people, great price and great service. Unfortunately since you sold me a Jotul Oslo I haven't had any need to come back to the store!

Incidentally, I appreciated the good advice you gave me at the time . . . although perhaps you should have really suggested I wait and buy an Oslo with the blue black finish instead one of the matte black ones you had in stock.

Thanks, jake, glad it worked out for you! too bad I missed the blue black add-on!
I don't put up who i work for in my sig, just being cautious: I've had some discussions that got pretty heated (from CAT vs. non-cat in the hearth room, to fed income tax rates in the ashcan) and actually had some folks say they wouldn't do biz w/ me because I didn't prefer their particular stove. I'd just rather avoid a confusing phone call at the shop from some one trying to jack me up because of an argument online (although i know 99% of people would not do this, but you never know who is on the other 'puter screen typing atcha!). I am not that hard to find, however, several posters on these forums have figured it out and found me at the shop... dznam actually came in and straight up asked me "are you summit?" which blew me away!

HehHeh . . . "heated discussions" in a woodstove forum . . . who woulda thunk. My own feeling is that folks in the stove business are just like us . . . we all have our own biases, beliefs, etc. and I wouldn't discredit or fault anyone who didn't think exactly like me . . . the world is better off with a bunch of folks who have different ideas -- otherwise it would be pretty darn boring if everyone thought the way I did . . . well that and the world would probably implode.

Of course you now realize the next time I am in the area I've got to stop and say hi at least . . .

On a personal note, I don't know if it was you or someone else, but I will say the one thing that impressed me about Rockys was that the store had a very easy opportunity to make some extra change when I asked about buying a blower and the person I spoke with said a) most folks don't buy the blowers and find they don't need them and b) if I wanted to get a blower after a year of burning it would be an easy task to add it on to the stove. It may sound stupid, but I was impressed by the fact that this person didn't feel compelled to build up the sale . . . all in all it was very low-key.

The other thing that impressed me was the fact that you folks knew what you were talking about and knew your product lines . . . a few places I went to did not impress me at all . . . including one place (now out of business) which had some PEs in stock, but they were still in their crates and not on the showroom floor even though there was plenty of space and every time I went there employees were just milling around.