Got the new Jotul 600 up and running!

[Nick Mystic]

On Tuesday we had a huge ice storm here in western NC and our electricity was off for ten hours. Too bad the new stove wasn't set up yet. I had to rely on our Woodstock Classsic on our lower level for heat. It does a fine job of heating the 1100 sq. ft. downstairs, but not much heat makes it upstairs to the remaining 1300 sq. ft. of living quarters. The upstairs was down to 58 degrees by 7 p.m.when we got our power back.

Yesterday, however, was a beautiful sunny day up in the 50s, so my friend Rich came back over to help me finish my installation. I had already managed to get the 20' ss liner up on my roof and down my chimney. I thought we would just have to move the stove to the hearth extension and make our connections, but of course I ran into a few complications. First, the T connector was two and half inches too long for the proper placement of the stove on my hearth. I had measured very carefully and already cut two inches off the pipe, but that calculation was done with the stove on a dolly on the other side of the room and trying to estimate where the connector would end up when it dropped down the flue. I wanted to err on the side of being too long, rather than too short and I guess I was too cautious.

Taking the T - connector off the liner and re-cutting it proved to be a very difficult job. We already had the stove on the hearth and didn't want to move it back off since it was so heavy, so I did the work through the five inch opening on either side of the stove. Here is a photo of how the stove sits on the extension.



You might be able to imagine how difficult it was to get any leverage to even turn the screw driver to release the hose type clamp on the connector. It has to slip over a flange on the connector, so you have to back it off quite a few turns. Not only did I have to remove the connector to cut it, but I then had to put it back on to mark the holes I needed to drill to connect it the flue collar on the stove. That meant putting it back on to mark it, take it off again to do the drilling, and one more time putting it back on to make the final connection.

Finishing up the connection of the rain cap on the roof was pretty easy. I cut the liner with a hacksaw and that went smoothly. After I had top plate all sealed to the clay flue tile with silicone and the cap installed I looked down and saw the bats of insulation sitting on the ridge of my roof! I had been so focused on installing the cap I forgot to put in the insulation I had planned to wrap the liner with for the top three feet where the chimney exits the house.. So, I had to remove the cap parts and put in the insulation and then re-caulk the top plate and finish the installation of the cap.

Back inside the house I still had to seal up my chimney stop plate. When I fabricated my stop plate I cut an 8" square hole for the 6" liner so I'd have some wiggle room for positioning the liner to match with the final stove placement. To cover that 8" opening I had a 13" square top plate that I modified to close the hole down to a tight 6" fit around my ss liner. This was a job of work, as well. I initially installed it with the crown facing down, but when I went to make my T connection there wasn't enough space. I then had to take things apart and flip the top plate over so the crown faced up, which gave me an additional inch of space to work with. Fortunately, this was just enough.

Now, screwing that plate onto the stop plate in those tight quarters was nearly impossible. The top plate was much harder metal than I imagined and even with a brand new high speed steel drill bit I couldn't get enough leverage to go through the cap and sheet metal of the stop plate. I ended up having to build a brace that allowed me to use a board as a lever to put pressure on the back of the drill to make the holes. Very tedious in such tight quarters. Here is a photo of the finished product.



I used high temperature caulk for a good seal. It was tough reaching up there to spread it in place after it squeezed out. I also laid down a layer of insulation on top of the stop plate leaving about two inches of clearance from the liner.

Here are a couple more photos of the final installation:





That discoloration of the brick around the fireplace opening is from some washing of the brick I did right before I took the photos. There was a mark from where the insert surround had been. Now that it has dried it looks like the rest of the bricks. Here is my first fire:



I've been cruising at 200 F for about an hour and now letting the stove cool down. I hope to get my 300 F burn done this evening and the final 400 F burn tomorrow morning, then it's fire away!

I'm really glad I decided to do the installation myself since I'm a rather exacting craftsman and I'm pretty sure I would have been upset with the quality of work the stove store would have done. I believe they do good work, but for the $685 they quoted me there wasn't going to be a stop plate or insulation around the top of the liner. The installation was a pretty demanding job on the physical level due to the tight quarters and the nearly 500 lbs. of the stove. Of course, cleaning 20 gallons of creosote out of my chimney and smoke chamber added to the unpleasantness of the job. In the end I'm pleased with how things turned out and am now looking forward to many years of enjoyment from my labors!

 

[MaintenanceMan]

That's a sharp looking stove. Enjoy!

 

[Dairyman]

Looks great! Is it out far enough to use the side door?

 

[Nick Mystic]

Yes, I can open the side door about 85 degrees. I wanted the stove to sit back far enough so that the rear legs would be sitting inside of the fireplace, which goes clear down to my lower level with a huge footer beneath it. The Jotul 600 F has quite a large side door, so I should be able to get logs as big as the stove will take through the side door (24" logs).

Here is a photo through the side door loaded with the fixings of my first fire!

 

[Dairyman]

Good deal, I couldn't tell from the pics. I love the f600, almost bought one but the wife made me get the rock.

 

[Todd 2]

Very nice looking setup ! Enjoy

 

[Excavator]

very nice stove and looks great. I have 1987 vc encore that needs rebuilding but i like the look of yours.
What is the top dimension needed to clear in the fireplace opening?

 

[Nick Mystic]

If you do the rear flue exit like I used you need at least 31". My opening is 33" and it was tight doing my T-connector with my stop plate. I put my stop plate just about one and half inches below the above the fireplace opening so that I could reflect as much heat as possible back into the living room. If you had a slightly lower fireplace opening you could put your stop plat higher up in your fireplace opening to get enough room to hook up your T-connector.

 

[jotulguy]

It may just be the angle of the pic but it looks like the ashcan door wasn't fully closed. Be sure it is before you fire the stove up again. And by the way that is a sweet looking install great work!

 

[Nick Mystic]

Thanks for the heads up on the ash tray door jotulguy. I checked it and it was closed pretty tight, but the handle did move a bit more when I put some extra pressure on it. I notice the handle offers a fair amount of resistance as you close it and then with added effort it finally hits a full stop. It almost feels like it is spring loaded because as soon as you start to open it you can feel it "pop" open.

 

[bboulier]

Beautiful! Could you take a picture from the side, so that we can see how far out it projects?

 

[OKchiefsfan]

Looks great! Beautiful stove!

 

[mellow]

Congrats on the install, that is once nice looking stove. I forget, did you put down a hearth extension in front?

 

[Nick Mystic]

Here are a few photos showing the new stove from the side. The positioning of the stove on the hearth extension was determined by two variables: leaving it sit out far enough for good access to the side door for loading, and far enough back so that the rear legs sat inside the fireplace since the fireplace extends down another floor and is supported by a huge footer. The hearth extension is brick, but the brick is sitting on the sub-floor with no foundation. However, there is a beam made up of two 2"x10"s running directly under the extension. For some reason the extension has a slope away from the fireplace. When we moved in 12 years ago I saw a 3/8" gap between the hearth extension and the fireplace and filled it with mortar. Since then it must have stabilized because that mortar joint has not opened up. If you look at the front legs of the stove you can see that I had to place 3/4" spacers under the legs to level the stove. I placed a level on beam I just mentioned, the floor joists, and the bottom side of the sub-floor from the lower level side and everything is level. So the only thing I can figure out is that something was used between the hearth extension brick and the sub-floor that must have compressed more for some reason out near the edge than near the hearth where it is at the exact same height as the hearth. Also, my living room floor in front of the hearth extension is level. When I laid laminate flooring a few years ago there was no sign of anything going on with the sub-floor in front of the hearth extension. One final note, the extension is solid brick and not built over a wooden box.














Finally, hear is a new photo showing the stove and chimney now that the brick around the fireplace opening has dried. In earlier photos there is a discoloration due to the brick being wet. There was a shadow line from where my old insert surround had been that I washed off.

 

[Laurent Cyr]

Congratulations on your new Jotul!
I have a Jotul F600 as well, but it is flat black. I saw the model you bought with the same finish in the store, but the wife wanted a more traditional black wood stove. Did you install a brower as well? I`m almost disappointed I didn`t. My install is in the basement, and I`ve had to cut a hole in the first floor, and set up a few fans to get the heat to move around. The heat does rise, though. I noticed that when I`ve got the stove heating and the outside temperature is between 10 and 32 Farenheit, the house gets warm quickly. It`s when it gets colder, we notice it takes much more hea on a longer period of time, to get the first floor to 70F.
Anyway, this being my first year, I`m still experimenting with it, and trying to get used to those temperatures at 500-600F. Love the stove and I do not regret my purchase.
L.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Hi Mellow,
No, I haven't put a hearth extension in front of the stove. Our old insert stuck out of the fireplace onto the extension leaving only eight inches of hearth in front of it. We bought one of those protective rugs and that worked pretty well. A couple of times rather large coals rolled out of the insert when I opened the solid cast doors (preventing you from seeing if a log had rolled against them) and onto the rug. I always wear thick fireplace gloves when I load the stove, so I was able to pick up the coal and toss it back inside with only a little melted fiber showing on the surface of the rug. One time I put a log on in the middle of the night and a small coal must have gotten onto the rug that I did not notice until the next morning. The rug was singed, but the laminate floor beneath it did not show any sign of damage. With this new stove I don't plan on ever opening the front doors when the fire is burning or there are any hot coals anywhere near the doors. I'll do all my loading through the side door. I know I am not meeting the 18" code on the front doors, but as far as safety goes there shouldn't be an issue so long as I stick to what I just wrote. If I ever sell the house I'll be sure to get up to code before I put the house on the market. I'm thinking about lifting a few of the 15" laminate tiles and putting down some sort of ceramic tile, but the wife isn't so keen on that at the time being.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Laurent Cyr,
No we did not get a blower with the stove. One of the reasons I went with a free standing stove, rather than another insert, is because I like the quiet of a stove and do not like the sound of a blower. The stove store discouraged me from getting a blower, as well, since he said the way we'll be using the stove in the living room we will likely get plenty of heat out if it without needing a blower. I do have a small squirrel cage fan that is fairly quiet that I put over one of the bedroom registers pointing downward when I want to bring more heat into the bedroom. That works remarkably well. The master bedroom is right off the living room where the stove is situated and when I put the fan on it will increase the bedroom temperature about five degrees in less than a half hour. I also have a paddle fun in the cathedral directly over the stove that moves the air around pretty good when I turn it on.

 

[JDC1]

We have the exact stove and absolutely love it. Be really careful opening the side door. The finish is pretty fragile on anything harder than wood. Enjoy the new stove.

 

[Nick Mystic]

JDC1,
Yes, I can see the enamel is fairly delicate. When I got the stove home from the store and did a close inspection I spotted several small chips in the enamel. None of them were deal breakers at that point, but were disconcerting on a brand new stove costing over $3000. I called the store and talked to them about it and asked if they could get a bottle of touch up paint for me from Jotul. The store was very accommodating and said he would get the paint and see to it that it was sent directly to my home. One good thing on my installation is that when I open the side door the only part of the door that can hit the brick of the fireplace is the wooden handle. That keeps the enamel door face a good quarter inch from any contact.

 

[ClanCameron]

Beautiful stove that was on our short-list earlier in the season. Enamel is a winner. Good luck and enjoy. PS - nice wood lot you have (your byline)... wish I had more for better lot life management.

 

[ddddddden]

Love the majølica.
Nice job making the chimney tight.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Yes, we are fortunate to live where we do. When my wife and I got married 12 years ago I had been living in a 1000 sq. ft. home here in western NC and Linda was living in Florida. We planned on moving back up to my place with the understanding that I would put an addition on my house. However, once we got back up here we decided to scope out what might be on the market in the area. My wife found a fabulous place on just over 11 acres. Here are a couple photos of our log home:





Here is a view looking off our living room deck into the woods that surround our house:




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Here is a view looking down our 150 yard long driveway:



I am able to get all my firewood just harvesting windfall trees and dead trees. The downside is the property in the foothills where we live is all ravines for the most part. That means you are always hauling wood up or down a hillside. The woods are too dense to get any sort of mechanical transport in, so it's all hand carrying. I've brought out trees a piece at a time from up to a quarter mile from my house! I have two dogs that I take on a hike every morning and when a tree comes down along our trail I will cut it up into firewood size lengths and then bring a carrying sling my wife sewed for me with padded should straps and carry one log each day home with us. It might take a month or more to carry a fair size tree out, but since I'm walking that way anyway it is only ten minutes or so of lugging to get the wood home.

 

[firefighterjake]

Beautiful place Nick . . . my wife has talked some about wanting to possibly move to North Carolina when we can retire . . . seeing pictures like this could possibly convince me to make the move.

 

[Motor7]

20 GALLONS of creosote???? holeey crap....why on earth did you have that much? Beautiful sove by the way

 

[Nick Mystic]

Yea, it kind of freaked me out, as well! The reason there were 20 gallons of creosote is because the pre-EPA insert that had been in the fireplace for the past 20 years was installed slammer style with a 13" x 18" clay tile flue. Even the chimney is only about 15 feet tall it pulled a nice draft on the insert and I never got roll back or any smoke in the house. However, I burned a lot of lower temperature fires over the years and the smoke just took its time climbing the chimney condensing on the walls of the flue on the way up I guess. I had a couple feet of stage 3 creosote on the top few feet of the flue, which actually came off easier than I expected. I used a scraper and wood chisel and it chipped off pretty well. I could do as far down as I could reach and fortunately the worst of the stage 3 ended there.

About five gallons of the creosote was actually inside the fireplace opening and smoke chamber. The smoke chamber was a killer job to scrape clean since the only way to get at it with the tools I had was to sit in the fireplace and have the cinders rain down on me! I wore a good respirator and goggles and tight collared shirt, but the cinders still got in everywhere on me. I am thankful that I will never likely be doing another clean out like that in this lifetime!

I had done less complete sweeps of the chimney twice during the past 12 years we've lived here and inspected the chimney at least twice a year, but I never before pulled the insert completely out of the fireplace opening to get to the smoke chamber until I did this new stove installation.