Getting used to my jotul f600

[Arlo]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just wanted to say hi and share the luck I have had this year.

So me and my wife decided we are tired of funding the oil industry. Being frugal we searched graigs list and ebay for a month or two this past summer. In september we got lucky and found a Jotul f-600 cat two towns over from us ind doysletown PA. The stove was listed on Craigslist at 6:30 in the morning on a saturday. My wife the wonderful women she is, was motivated this particular morning searching the want adds at 7:00 in the morning......ON A SATURDAY The price was $350.00 "used once"(with cast iron tools, viewing screen, kettle and thingy under it). We called imediately and left a message. around 11:00 we called back. The seller was about to start calling all the messages back. Long story short I went and picked it up an hour later.

A week later the town comes out and fell a 40 foot Ash Tree directly across the street from me. They left the wood I now have a chord of ASh wood for free, perfectly seasoned because it was dead for two years.

Weve been burning wood for the past month and the oil meter has not moved! The stove works buetifully! Take that big oil!

her are some pics.

 

[woodconvert]

Doesn't that Jotul cook you out of there??. I've got one of those in a two story with cathedral ceilings full length of the house and it was 79 degrees in the house ON THE OTHER END (40+ ft from the stove).

Hey, whatever keeps the oil/gas man away. I'd rather burn with the windows open than pay for heat.

 

[ncmallard78]

$350 for that stove. wow! congrats. was it professionally installed. looks great. i would be curious about the clearances on those curtains. im sure others will chime in. stay warm...

 

[Arlo]

Yep it cooks alright!! Wanted a smaller one but couldn't pass this up. House is about 80f in the back living room, 72f in the front living room with a moderate load. I keep the two windows cracked. The pics are from when I was installing the stove. The stove has a heat shield on it. Clearances are 13" from shield to wall, 9" clearance from sides to edge of hearth, 19" from front to edge. Curtains are aprox 17" diagnol and made out of bamboo.

The install is not pro, I did it myself. Supported the crawl space with 4x4's. Framed out the hearth ( 2"dead air, 3/4" plywood, sheet metal, 1/2" cement board, 1/2" mortor, tile, heat resistant grout). Used Simpson Duravent double wall interior pipe to flat support kit, to a 12" stainless pipe to offset 30 degree to 6" to 30 degree (to negotiate a rafter), to 46" to cap. Had it inspected without a hitch.

Thanks for the compliments.

 

[begreen]

Congratulation, that is the deal of the century. It looks great.

How were the hearth pad dimensions and construction determined? Are they from the manual? Does the stove have a bottom shield on it as well?

 

[Arlo]

Yep, the guy who I brought it from had the original owners / install manual (it's a '93 model), the reciept, the warranty which was never filed and the brochure from that year. I made the hearth two inches over the required specs because I like my house not on fire, LOL.

I got the specs from the manual and also checked local codes with the fire marshal just to be sure. The stove doesn't have a bottom heat shield but the r-value of the hearth does not require one. I might put one on just to be safe, what do you think?

 

[begreen]

Sounds good. I haven't seen the cat model. The new ones have a door on the right that requires 18" hearth pad on that side unless the side door is locked permanently shut.

 

[Arlo]

Yep, no side door, its a top loader with a funky foot pedal operated lid.

 

[begreen]

Bask in the glow, you must be living right

 

[woodconvert]

"Yep, no side door, its a top loader with a funky foot pedal operated lid."

I actually find that handy when i've got an arm load of splits. Step on the pedal, put the wood in (burn your arm!) and close her down. On occasion i've had the pivot bolt tighten up so the pedal didn't work but it's an easy fix.

And my $.02...toploaders rule. You can get a lot of wood in there easily.

 

[ncmallard78]

that guy has owned it since 93 and has used it once? wow.

 

[Arlo]

that guy has owned it since 93 and has used it once? wow.

Appearently the guy brought the house shortly after it was installed and the people who owned the house before passed all of the paperwork to him. The guys house was freakin huge and he didn't seem like the type who would carry wood. So, thank god for rich people who dont use wood to heat their mansions!

 

[swestall]

That is one nice looking stove. Top loading is the best, and it leaves extra space for other things. Nice deal and install: you must be living right! I think that stove is MUCH better than a VC....

 

[kwburn]

i never heard of the F600 or that it was top loading for that matter. thats really cool. top loading rocks. i suppose the pedal automatically lets the door fall shut when you let off? thats a pretty good safety feature keeping you from walking away with the door open by mistake (pretty hard to do) if thats the way it works.
it's kind of nice opening it manually though too which probably gives better control of how fast it opens. personally i like to crack it first an inch or so letting the draft adjust to the rush of air avoiding a puff of smoke.

great deal!

 

[Arlo]

Were happy with the top loading feature. The pedal does control how fast or slow it opens and is connected to a lever that opens the flu at the same time so that you dont have any smoke escape. The pedal had a stopper that held the top open but i removed it for safety reasons, I want it to shut when there is no foot on it! I would highly recomend the stove, we have been thrilled with its perfoemance and effiency. The new f600 is a clean burn technology and is a side loader, no top because of the heat tubes.