DIY stove rebuild help?

[Cloister]

I've got a Jotul 3 CB that I'm fairly sure is in need of a rebuild (started burning really hot and erratic last year even when we shut everything down and smoke would drift out of the back when it was being lit).

I was hoping to find some sort of online tutorial to talk me through the steps of rebuilding it this summer but haven't found anything except general advice. I'd like to take the time and do a proper job of it. Anyone know of an information resource that I've overlooked or have time to post detailed info on how to do it right.

I can take it to a local dealer for the rebuild but I'm interested in learning how to do it myself.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Jon
Cape Elizabeth, Maine

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

i'm not very familiar with Jotul, most cast stoves will need furnace cement between the seems if the stove is smoking in unusual places, or over-firing.
typically internal bolts hold the tongue and groove panels together. old nuts and bolts can be hard to break free, get out your liquid wrench! a torch maybe needed to free bolt heads as well
is there a service manual avail for your stove??
good luck!

not that many tutorials exist online, i have been trying to add some to our blog, but have had a hard time finding the time...

quick google search for jotul wood stove service manual
http://www.google.com/search?q=jotu...UTF-8&startIndex;=&startPage=1&rlz=1I7GZAZ_en
lol, i come up!! 6th listing, lol

 

[SteveKG]

I'm also not familiar with Jotul, but I've rebuilt two stoves, a kitchen range and a sort of potbelly-like one. Took a while to get disassembled, and I laid out the parts [a lot of them in the case of the range] as I went. In both cases, I had rust in some areas to deal with, and I sandblasted those parts, scraped and brushed the other parts. Grit-free cleansers to clean up the porcelain parts of the range.

The cast sections needed cement in some seams. I bought all new stovebolts for the reassembly.

Basically, it is pretty cut and dried once you get into doing it. Just assembly of the parts. It can take some jiggling and etc. to get things to go together just right. I took my time [and some time it did take]. Be careful with any cast parts, cast iron can crack if you try to crow-bar it apart or together or hammer on it. Any cracks you find must be brazed. Unless they are bad enough you need to replace the part. I could not find one part for the range and had to have a local welder fabricate one [and it was missing the part when I bought it, so he had to do some thinking].

It doesn't take any special skills, just be careful to reassemble correctly so there won't be a fire outside the confines of the stove.... Take your time. If you paint it, and can do so, fire it up outdoors to get rid of the first-burn paint fumes. If not, open the doors and windows.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have rebuilt one F3 CB. It is a pretty simple job. You take the recessed Allen screws out of each side and lift the top off. The next step is to remove the nuts from the bolts that hold the cast iron baffle in and lift the assembly out. From there you will see how to take the rest apart. Replace any bolts and nuts with new stainless ones with a light coating of copper based anti-seize compound from the auto parts store when you put it back together. When you put it back together use more furnace cement in the joints than you think you need. When you put the panels back together and bolt them in you then take a wet rag and clean the excess furnace cement from the outside of the joints. Quick before it starts to dry. That way it runs out in the channels of the panels and creates a leak free seal in the joints.

The longest part of the job is getting the old furnace cement out of the joints in the panels. To do it chuck a wire wheel into a drill and go at it. Beats the hell out of chiseling and doesn't risk you cracking any expensive piece of cast iron. Wear a dusk mask. That stuff has Silca in it and is nasty for your lungs.

Replace the gaskets for the secondary air connection in the back of the baffle, the door glass and the door and ash pan. And the one for the top if it looks like it needs it.

Let it set for a couple of days after assembly and then burn three or four small fires to drive the moisture out of the furnace cement. Paint it and do the paint cure burns and you are done.

 

[onesojourner]

I thought wood stoves if taken care of could last 50 years. Whats the deal?

 

[firefighterjake]

I thought wood stoves if taken care of could last 50 years. Whats the deal?

I suspect many things that are maintained and taken care of could last 50 years or more . . . but the key is they do need to be inspected and maintained. Just like a car that needs periodic oil changes and parts replaced, the same goes for stoves -- gaskets occasionally need replacing, sometimes cementing is necessary, etc. Remember, stoves go through a lot of "stress" as they are routinely subjected to high temps and can be brought from room temp to over 600 degrees in a short span of time . . . this can be stressing over time . . . and then if you have someone who has over-fired (or routinely) over-fires the stove the stress factor can increase that much more.

 

[SteveKG]

With the expansion/contraction of the metals with heating/cooling down, I've had a few bolts loosen. However, in thirty yr. and using four stoves over that time period, it has probably only been a half dozen bolts or screws.

It is good policy to go over the stove periodically, maybe once a year, whatever, and check it out thoroughly. It isn't arduous, mainly looking and maybe trying to jiggle a bolt here or there. I clean all ash out of the firebox, check the bricks, welds, hinges, etc., and it takes maybe ten minutes. Unless I find something.... However, other than the few loose bolts I mentioned, I can't offhand think of anything I've found. However, we heat with wood, it isn't our backup, and it is nice to know I've looked it over and am ready for another season.

At the same time, good to give a look to the stove pipe and related equipment. Again, a very few minutes is all it takes. You know, just common sense stuff.

As to longevity, one of our stoves is a Shenandoah sheet-metal job, lined with firebrick, I bought new in 1975. It is our main stove and has been all that time. I have had zero issues with it. Couple cracked firebricks but they are still in place and working. Cost new: $160 though they are quite a bit more than that now. We also have a Rais that we like a lot, which cost $3000, and the Shenandoah works as well while burning though it cools down quickly due to the thinner steel. Neither stove shows any sign of needing replacement and in three decades I've probably spent two hours total fixing something or another. Maybe two hours.

 

[Highbeam]

Cast iron stoves like the jotuls are subject to periodic rebuilding as part of normal operation. Some of the newer stoves are using gaskets between the cast iron panels to make the job easier and maybe less frequent but a cast iron puzzle for a firebox totally turned me away from cast iron stoves.

You don't need to periodically rebuild welded steel or soapstone fireboxes and these stoves may last 50 years if properly operated but I'll be ready for a new one much sooner than that.