Jotul 8?? Can anyone shed some light on that stove?

[mywaynow]

I was asked if interested in a Jotul wood stove today. Only thing that seemed to ID the stove was the big "8" cast in the side of it. It is from the early 90s best I could gather. It is relatively small and would likely top out on an 18 inch log.

So, what is this baby's reputation and what would it be worth in good condition?

 

[Ashful]

The late series 8 catalytic stove, according to Mark at Jotul tech support, is one of the very best stoves Jotul ever made. The earlier per-EPA 8's were a whole other stove, though. IIRC, the late 8 catalytic could be ID'd by a push rod control in the upper left corner of the front face of the stove. I was told to expect burn times similar to the 500 Oslo.

 

[begreen]

It came in a variety of configurations both cat and non-cat and is the predecessor to the current Jotul Castine. Value will depend on the model and condition. But if it's decent it could go from $300 to $800 on average.

If you search on Jotul 8 in the Classics forum you'll find several threads on this stove.

 

[Ashful]

begreen... do you remember if they made a specific name change to the "Series 8", versus just calling it the "Jotul 8"? I had always thought that's when they did the redesign that made the catalyst integral. Some of the earlier 3's and 8's seemed to have an add-on external catalyst chamber, reading the limited literature I've seen posted.

 

[begreen]

 

[Ashful]

Yep... Exactly as I thought. Only thing that image is missing is introductory year. The #8 was around several years before they released the Series 8.

According to Mark at Jotul, the 8TDC is not so desirable, but the Series 8 is a great stove.

 

[mywaynow]

The stove I looked at had an air control on he front lower side. I asked if it was a cat stove and the owner did not know. If it has the air control on the front, that makes it the #8 stove, correct? This is also the oldest of the 8 line?

 

[MI wood guy]

I have a jotul 8 with cat,pretry happy with it but small firebox.u can get 20" log in it,bit much easier to stack them with 18"
Large baffle makes loading hard.can get up to 8hr burn time with hot coals left in it.

 

[Ashful]

The stove I looked at had an air control on he front lower side. I asked if it was a cat stove and the owner did not know. If it has the air control on the front, that makes it the #8 stove, correct? This is also the oldest of the 8 line?

I suspect that's the #8 without the cat, then. I think the 8TDC had the draft control high on the right side, and the Series 8 had the draft control in the upper left corner of the stove face.

I have a jotul 8 with cat,pretry happy with it but small firebox.u can get 20" log in it,bit much easier to stack them with 18"
Large baffle makes loading hard.can get up to 8hr burn time with hot coals left in it.

Which 8?

 

[MI wood guy]

I suspect that's the #8 without the cat, then. I think the 8TDC had the draft control high on the right side, and the Series 8 had the draft control in the upper left corner of the stove face.



Which 8?

It's a series 8.I bought it used from a guy who bought a house'lived in it 5 yrs never used it,lIdk new
I've burned it 5 seasons 24-7..it's been a good stove little small for my farmhouse..

 

[begreen]

The 8's I have seen either have the air control pinwheel on the door or a slider at the upper right. Make sure this is a Jotul and not a knock-off. Pics would help.

 

[Ashful]

The 8's I have seen either have the air control pinwheel on the door or a slider at the upper right. Make sure this is a Jotul and not a knock-off. Pics would help.

Never fondled one myself, but I'm pretty sure the air bypass control on the Series 8 with internal catalyst is on the top left corner of the front face of the stove. This is what Mark at Jotul told me to look for, back when I was looking for a used Series 8 myself.

 

[begreen]

Nope, you have the 8 correct, but on the other stoves I think you have circled the cat bypass control. The air control is on the upper right.

 

[Ashful]

Nope, you have the 8 correct, but on the other stoves I think you have circled the cat bypass control. The air control is on the upper right.

Sorry, you are correct. You wrote "air control," but I read "bypass control." Not the first brain fart I've had, and surely won't be the last. I fixed the prior post (mostly).

 

[stovelark]

Guys- you're right about all, but the Oslo replaced the series 8 AP (ashpan) cat in 1999. The two door Castine debuted a couple of years later because the Oslo was a bigger heater than anticipated. Jotul was looking for a 1200-1500 sqft heater that would hold 18-20 inch pieces of wood, (the Oslo would go 20-22 inch wood with ease, up to 2000+ sqft) and the Castine was born. After a couple of years, they went to a single door model Castine F400, sales shot up. The two door Castine front bolt wasn't recessed a la the Firelight, but protruded and most thought unattractive. The Castine two door handle was different than the firelight's too, it was a big awkward, chromed thing.. not well received. Thank goodness they went single door. The firelight double door objection wasn't applicable like the Castine, due to the top load or side load ovailability.

 

[spirilis]

Did a search for "Jotul 8" on a lark since I have one, found this. I have the #8. Non-catalytic, draft wheel in the lower part of the door... It's a pretty decent stove with a primitive pre-EPA "secondary burn" architecture sporting a secondary air routing feature although it's missing key features modern stoves have (insulated baffle and/or separate insulated pieces up top to help "ignite" the smoke). I've toyed around with mine a bit, playing pyro with thin firebricks and/or aluminum foil... I mostly run compressed sawdust bricks/blocks in mine though, not much property space for properly seasoning wood here. It runs pretty clean (looking at the chimney emissions) but that may have to do with the fuel I'm using too. It has no airwash features at all so the glass does get dirty sometimes.

For what it's worth, they used to make a Coal kit for these non-catalytic units, but the word seems to be that they sucked; they weren't manufactured for long.

Most important items of maintenance:
The baffle, 3 steel plates along the sides & back, and the whole ash plate (no ashpan on these) is removable. It's best to keep the air spaces under the ash plate and around the sides of the 3 steel plates clear because that's where the "secondary air" is routed from the bottom half of the draft wheel. It enters the firebox (pre-heated) at the top of the steel plates where it should successfully ignite any smoke coming off a large wood mass.

One thing I may toy with this year is finding some suitable thin stainless steel mesh or hardware cloth and fitting a short "drape" over the edge of the baffle, maybe with a thin firebrick to hold it in place (there is enough of a gap to draft properly even with a thin firebrick or 2 on top of the baffle), to see if it'll act as a "wick" to help force the smoke to ignite easier.

 

[stovelark]

Hi spir- If you do have an orig 8, be cautious about burning bio brick in it. They are much drier than wood and burn very hot. Jotul specifically says not to burn bio bricks in their stoves, altho that stove existed before bio bricks! Anyway, be careful.

 

[spirilis]

Hi spir- If you do have an orig 8, be cautious about burning bio brick in it. They are much drier than wood and burn very hot. Jotul specifically says not to burn bio bricks in their stoves, altho that stove existed before bio bricks! Anyway, be careful.

I know, I have 3 years experience burning those bricks in that stove I think biobricks get a bad rep, the real killer is pallet wood (and other kiln-dried type of fuels)... biobricks have a different physical composition about them, probably since they're made from sawdust there is no contiguous "grain" for smoke to shoot out of so the burn pattern and quality is a tad different. Slows them down, in my experience. I only wish they were as cheap as pellets cause they're basically the same damned thing...

I use 2 different types of bricks btw, some biobrick-sized 2lb ones (WoodBrickFuel) and larger 8lb all-oak ones (Eco-Energy Fuel Blocks). The all-oak ones burn slower & longer naturally so I typically start my fire with a teepee of WoodBrickFuel and load the stove up with the 8lb blocks on the refill. The stove can fire hard (750F) if I'm careless with the air control, but as long as I turn it down soon enough it never goes above ~650-700F. Really you can do this with any well seasoned firewood though.

 

[begreen]

Agreed, this is more of an awareness issue than anything else. I tested BioBricks (the actual brand) in this stove's EPA evolution, the F400 Castine. Used as directed they provided a steady, predictable and controlled fire in spite of the addition of a secondary combustion system.

The fuel you don't want to use are wax impregnated logs like Duraflame. They are not meant for stove use.

 

[webbie]

My fav is the original - with the draft wheel on the door. I sold piles of them and customers loved them.....

The other ones were mostly attempts to pass the EPA standards - at the cost of the stove's simplicity.

 

[scottperkins]

I am considering buying a used Model 8 with draft wheel on door and I will need to remove
the legs to make it short enough to allow a rear exiting chimney to connect with the
damper in my old fireplace. I have raised a brick hearth to set the stove on and I wondered
if the model 8 would sit flat on the bricks without the legs on it. I assume the legs
could be removed easily... Is that true ?

 

[webbie]

Well - couple of questions....
Is your fireplace total masonry? (not prefab?)
Are you on a slab? How about a pic of the fireplace and hearth.

They have short legs available or you can cut the legs but you need to make sure that the hearth doesn't have wood close underneath due to downward radiation - also, your final hearth should extend 16-20" in front of the stove door.

 

[scottperkins]

My Fireplace hearth is all brick and I am considering putting the stove on the raised brick
hearth that is 5 bricks thick. I do not have enough hearth left to extend in front of the
stove but I will add something supplemental on the floor that extends out at least 2 feet
from my existing hearth and what would be the front of the stove. This is the original
Jotul 8 model from late 1980's with bright red enamel in good condition for $700
which has the air control in the lower center of the door. I am kind of wondering if it
could be reasonably efficient since it was made so long ago. I know the world
has learned a lot about stoves in the last few decades but then again this is a Jotul
and maybe they got it right 50 or 75 years ago ?

 

[spirilis]

From my own experience, I don't think it's truly as efficient as modern non-catalytic EPA certified stoves. The main missing piece is the insulated baffle and the point-source secondary air ingress (the "burn tubes" with their tiny holes) contribute highly as well. The secondary air ingress in the 1st gen Jotul 8 is a large, crude gap between the inner burn plates and the outer castings ... Just can't preheat that air as well as the burn tube design can.

So I definitely get plenty of smoke coming out of my chimney, even with lively secondaries & "ghost flames" in the back of the firebox when the temps are really roaring. A modern non-catalytic EPA stove would dial out more of that smoke I'd imagine.

 

[Rafter77]

The late series 8 catalytic stove, according to Mark at Jotul tech support, is one of the very best stoves Jotul ever made. The earlier per-EPA 8's were a whole other stove, though. IIRC, the late 8 catalytic could be ID'd by a push rod control in the upper left corner of the front face of the stove. I was told to expect burn times similar to the 500 Oslo.

I have a Jotul Series 8 Catalytic Stove with ash pan (in enamel green). I bought it used, replaced the missing glass, and put new gaskets on it. We are absolutely loving this stove. However, I can't find any info on if the catalyst is in the on position with the rod is pushed in, or pulled out. I guess I should have paid attention better when we were installing it. Does anyone have any info on this?
Thanks,