cooking on a Jotul

[woodstove cook]

I've been doing most of my winter cooking on a Jotul 602 B (N), which provides most of the heat for our 1200 sq foot weekend house in Virginia. It's a good fit for the space. And I love cooking on it! But now the stove needs work, and I'm looking for a possible upgrade that I can cook on but that has a bigger fire viewing area and maybe will take longer logs (though that's not too important.) We have a Jotul F 3 CB in the basement that we thought we'd use more, but really only a few times yearly on the coldest nights (below 20 F). So here are some options, from cheapest to most expensive:
1) Switch the F3 CB with the 602, vent from the back, and use the smoke outlet cover to cook on
2) Do #1, but see if it's possible to replace the top plate and smoke cover with another top that has a cooking plate
3)take the old 602 apart, replace the burn plates, give her a tune up (hard to get husband excited about helping me with this project, though he's the one with the know-how and brawn)
4) order a new Jotul V2 (which will do the job except it won't have the larger viewing area)
5) get some other stove that solves all these issues (considered the Vermont Castings Intrepid before hearing about the new owners of the company, parts made in China, decline in quality)

I read on the forum that the cooking plate heats more because there's no insulation underneath it. A stove rep who we trust said that all cast iron stoves can be used for cooking, but I'm skeptical. I even use a camp oven sometimes on top of the 602 and can get it to 350 F - yay, corn bread and roasted veggies! Don't want to lose the functionality, but it would be nice to have a better fire to look at. I'm also concerned about fuel efficiency, but the old Jotuls seem good on that score and I can't get info on whether a newer stove would help the planet any more than getting more life out of an old Jotul. Anybody know about cooking options on stoves?

 

[SpaceBus]

There aren't many smaller stoves with a nice window. The F3 is probably your best bet, and you may be able to find the parts you need to convert it to a rear vent from a stove dealer.

 

[EbS-P]

How about a cook stove??

Wood Burning Cook Stove | Outback Chef | Drolet

The Outback Chef wood-burning cook stove is the essential for unmatched cooking of your food. Modern and timeless, its competitive price will charm you.

www.drolet.ca

 

[woodstove cook]

There aren't many smaller stoves with a nice window. The F3 is probably your best bet, and you may be able to find the parts you need to convert it to a rear vent from a stove dealer.

Thanks. I think it's easy to rear vent it. It doesn't have a cooking plate, though, and I wonder if anyone who owns one has cooked on it. I'm going to test the top with a thermometer and see how it compares to the 602.

 

[woodstove cook]

Th

How about a cook stove??

Wood Burning Cook Stove | Outback Chef | Drolet

The Outback Chef wood-burning cook stove is the essential for unmatched cooking of your food. Modern and timeless, its competitive price will charm you.

www.drolet.ca

Thanks for the suggestion. This looks like a good stove, but the site also says: "The Atlas gives off heat, but its design makes it primarily a cooking appliance. So when the stove is on, you will heat the room, but you will not benefit from slow combustion heat like a high efficiency wood stove." We are using the 602 as our primary heat source and also prefer cast iron over steel. Appreciate your response.

 

[begreen]

You could cook on the F3CB. The main issue with it is the short burn. It gets hot, around 550-650º, and then declines steadily over 2-3 hrs before the next reload. Take a look at the Pacific Energy Alderlea T4. It will have a longer burntime and the swing-away trivet top is ideal for cooking. It affords a wide range of temps for slow cooking while providing easy access to the larger hot stovetop for faster high temp cooking.

 

[woodstove cook]

You could cook on the F3CB. The main issue with it is the short burn. It gets hot, around 550-650º, and then declines steadily over 2-3 hrs before the next reload. Take a look at the Pacific Energy Alderlea T4. It will have a longer burntime and the swing-away trivet top is ideal for cooking. It affords a wide range of temps for slow cooking while providing easy access to the larger hot stovetop for faster high temp cooking.

This looks really intriguing and has some great features. The info on the Pacific Energy site looks good. The clearances work and I can check with a local dealer next week. Anyone have personal experience with this stove?

 

[peakbagger]

Contact Spacebus a member on Hearth that has had great luck heating his house with a modern wood cookstove. No substitute for experience.

Be aware Jotul made a highly rated wood cookstove years ago. Here is picture

Definitely a cookstove only. A typical split of wood would barely fit in the firebox. It was also rated for coal elsewhere in the world.

 

[Todd]

Maybe the new Jotul F35?

 

[woodstove cook]

T

Maybe the new Jotul F35?

Thanks. Not available for a while because they're working on EPA certification.

 

[Todd]

You could cook on the F3CB. The main issue with it is the short burn. It gets hot, around 550-650º, and then declines steadily over 2-3 hrs before the next reload. Take a look at the Pacific Energy Alderlea T4. It will have a longer burntime and the swing-away trivet top is ideal for cooking. It affords a wide range of temps for slow cooking while providing easy access to the larger hot stovetop for faster high temp cooking.

Are you sure the T4 has the swing away trivets?

 

[Todd]

T

Thanks. Not available for a while because they're working on EPA certification.

Pretty sure they made certification. I know of one person that has ordered one maybe a month ago? Don’t know if he has received it yet.

 

[Manly]

We have been heating our 1200 sf ranch with a jotul 3 for 25 years. Small fire box does require fueling about every four hours. Long burns can be obtained if your wood is cut to size and smaller splits for this stove. We place a piece of heavy aluminum foil over the top to protect the enamel when cooking with cast iron pans. It gets plenty hot to fry, stew, roast, etc. Usually use a low open trivet to prevent food from burning once things get real hot. This “older” #3 has been a workhorse of a stove. Replaced gaskets a couple of times. Everything else is original and in good condition.

 

[begreen]

Are you sure the T4 has the swing away trivets?

Well, poopie diapers. Thanks for pointing this out Todd. The Alderlea T4 used to have them, but I see that the new T4 LE does not. Bummer.
@woodstove cook that means the Alderlea T5 would be required for this feature. If the place is cold on arrival, then a bit larger stove may be a nice asset.

 

[woodstove cook]

Thanks to all of you. Your help has been amazing. I'm going to call our local Pacific Energy dealer tomorrow and see if there's an Anderlea 4 or 5 to look at. I think the 5 is too large but will see. Hoping to get a 4 with trivets, maybe used?
But Manly's comments about cooking on the Jotul 3 are really helpful. Sounds like we might have the stove we need sitting in our basement!

 

[woodstove cook]

We have been heating our 1200 sf ranch with a jotul 3 for 25 years. Small fire box does require fueling about every four hours. Long burns can be obtained if your wood is cut to size and smaller splits for this stove. We place a piece of heavy aluminum foil over the top to protect the enamel when cooking with cast iron pans. It gets plenty hot to fry, stew, roast, etc. Usually use a low open trivet to prevent food from burning once things get real hot. This “older” #3 has been a workhorse of a stove. Replaced gaskets a couple of times. Everything else is original and in good condition.

Manly- thanks, this sounds great. We're used to the 602, so the small box and short burn times aren't a problem. Good to hear about your cooking experience. We'll make sure we can vent out the back and then likely move our 3 up to the kitchen. BTW, don't know if you use an oven sometimes on top, but we switched from a Coleman camp oven to this Winnerfell and it's been good: WINNERWELL Fastfold Oven | Portable Camp Oven for Wood Burning Stoves and Camp Stoves | Food Grade Stainless Steel | Folds Flat for Compact Storage

 

[woodstove cook]

Looked at the Anderlea 4 and, sure enough, no swing away trivets. Pacific Energy claim there's a cook top underneath, but there's no way that thing is going to get hot enough to cook, just to warm. But looking at the Anderlea 5 with the swing outs, the area you could cook is small--didn't measure, but it didn't look large enough for a 10 inch skillet or decent size soup pot. I also looked at the Vermont Castings, but so many comments on this site make me super nervous--it sounds like a very fussy stove, high maintenance, questionable quality, even if it looks good.
I love the versatility of the Jotul 602 cooking iron, with nothing impeding your cook pans (like the handle on the VC that limits you to 10 inches and rules out my camp oven) or top loading wood that means taking your pot off the stove whenever you refuel, or the swing outs on the Anderlea that impede the size of your pot. In short, I've decided to replace our old 602 that we've gotten 20 good years from with the new 602 V2. I've decided that longer burn times and better viewing aren't as important to me as the versatility of the cooking plate, the low maintenance and good draw, and the quality of the Jotul.

 

[Todd]

You can always rear vent the 602 to give you a little more cooking room. That’s what we did and there was room for two medium size pots or pans.