Jotul F12 Firelight rear burn plate replacement

[tg27]

Hey all...

I noticed last year that, what I think is my rear burn plate, has a crack in it (see pic). The stove is a Jotul Firelight 12.

So I'm looking to replace it with part 103330. My question is, is this in fact the correct part? It appears to be. And is this repair as easy as it seems? Just unscrew the bolt and replace the cracked one with the new one?

Appreciate the help! I've never worked on my stove before, and I'm a bit nervous!

 

[webby3650]

You need part 100327. The rear burn plate. That being said: you will likely need many or possible all the combustion components as well. Start with the rear burn plate and replacement screw. You will need to heat the bolt up with a torch to get it to move. Reinstall it with copper anti seize and a new factory bolt. If you never pulled it, expect a lot of ash and likely failed parts.

 

[tg27]

You need part 100327. The rear burn plate. That being said: you will likely need many or possible all the combustion components as well. Start with the rear burn plate and replacement screw. You will need to heat the bolt up with a torch to get it to move. Reinstall it with copper anti seize and a new factory bolt. If you never pulled it, expect a lot of ash and likely failed parts.

Hmm. That’s kind of intimidating. Would it be bad if I just ignored it?

 

[webby3650]

Hmm. That’s kind of intimidating. Would it be bad if I just ignored it?

The crack isn’t bad. But removing it and cleaning the ash from the catalyst and combustion chamber should be done annually. Have you ever had it apart?

 

[Ashful]

You need to remove that plate at least once per year to check on catalyst, and to clean. That said, the design of the Firelight 12 was very problematic, as the refractory chamber used to hold the catalytic combustor was extremely fragile and prone to damage. A full set of refractory replacement parts, last time I rebuilt one ca.2014, were around $700 and had been climbing at a rate of more than $100 per year in the few years prior to that.

I would remove that plate, and if the components behind it are in good shape, just clean, reassemble, and run it. The crack in the plate is not important, most of them are cracked, and that plate isn't doing anything other than mechanically protecting what's behind it. It's not part of the stove's airflow.

But if that stove needs any parts, I'd think long and hard about unloading it for something newer and better. Somehow, people are still willing to pay upwards of $800 for that stove, which is just insane, given how bad they really are.

I used to own three Jotul Firelight 12's, and kept two running 24/7. Why did I need to keep three? Because they broke that often, and parts were slow and expensive, coming from Norway.

 

[tg27]

Thanks, guys. Great info. I actually remember my chimney guy telling me the catalyst looked good a few years go. So I think he must have taken the cover off and cleaned everything out.

But, like I said, that was at least 2 years ago. As mentioned above, probably overdue to take a look. I'm honestly scared I'm going to open it and everything will fall apart before my eyes, leaving me stove-less this season!

I guess the question for this year is: do I try to do the right thing and replace the cover and clean the internals? Or do I push it on more year (ignorance is bliss) and check it out in the spring, and if things go south, be ready to pull the trigger on a new stove?

Regardless, hopefully things go better than I think they will but, I guess it's time to at least start thinking about replacing the stove. When I moved into this house 4 years ago, I had a new chimney liner put in, obviously there is hearth already, so I THINK the cost for a new stove will be just that -- the cost of only the stove. But I honestly have no idea where to begin. Is there a buyers guide on this site?

 

[webby3650]

If it’s clogged up then you’ll have been limited success burning. If it’s all fell apart then you have limited success burning. Why not try to make it as successful as possible? Pull the plate and clean it out. Soak the bolt for a week or so with pb blaster.

 

[tg27]

Alright! I'll bust it open and give it a go! Wish me luck!

If everything looks okay, I'll order a new plate. If things don't look okay, I'll panic...then come back here with questions.

Thanks!

 

[Ashful]

Hah... coming late to this. What I was going to say is that one of the very few advantages of Jotul's updraft design is that the catalyst essentially NEVER clogs with ash. The exhaust gas need to go thru vents on the sides of that cracked inner back plate, then down along the backside of that plate, then thru another opening in the plate behind that, before turning 180 degrees and going back up thru the combustor. These multiple turns do an excellent job of causing all ash to "fall" out of the airstream.

So, a clogged combustor is nearly never a problem on this stove, but a pile of ash below it is common. Over-cooked and distorted combustors are common, as well as crumbling refractory chambers, which allow the combustor to "fall" out of place.

If it's running well enough, and you can manage to disconnect the flue for cleaning, I guess you could make a pretty good argument for leaving it alone.

If you do open it up, take some photos and post here, we'll talk you through what you find.

 

[tg27]

Hah... coming late to this. What I was going to say is that one of the very few advantages of Jotul's updraft design is that the catalyst essentially NEVER clogs with ash. The exhaust gas need to go thru vents on the sides of that cracked inner back plate, then down along the backside of that plate, then thru another opening in the plate behind that, before turning 180 degrees and going back up thru the combustor. These multiple turns do an excellent job of causing all ash to "fall" out of the airstream.

So, a clogged combustor is nearly never a problem on this stove, but a pile of ash below it is common. Over-cooked and distorted combustors are common, as well as crumbling refractory chambers, which allow the combustor to "fall" out of place.

If it's running well enough, and you can manage to disconnect the flue for cleaning, I guess you could make a pretty good argument for leaving it alone.

If you do open it up, take some photos and post here, we'll talk you through what you find.

Luckily I'm a procrastinator! I didn't get to it yesterday (but I did get some yard work done). I'm happy to leave it alone if you think that's an option. And it would be okay to ignore the crack?

 

[Ashful]

Just to verify, the crack is only on the "rear burn plate", item 26 in the link below? If so, then that crack is of no consequence. They always crack and it's only there as a mechanical shield for the refractory components hiding behind it.

Jotul Firelight 12 | Wood Stove | Available Parts

Jotul Firelight 12 wood stove available parts include but not limited to gaskets, door handle hardeware, air manifold, dampers, stove screen, and others

www.woodmanspartsplus.com

Do note, I accidentally called that part the "inner back plate" in a prior post, which is actually what they called the plate behind that plate. Sorry, I just mixed up their silly names.

As to whether it's best to open or leave alone, that's a tough call. If everything is working well, and you're afraid that opening it may create more problems, then I think you could make a good argument for leaving it alone. That was my experience with these stoves, that sometimes removing the cat chamber cover (item 77 in link above) created a situation where getting it all back together again was a challenge, since the little ledges upon which the catalyst rests inside item 79 would be too deteriorated to get the thing to ever re-install correctly.

Also note that, at least according to woodmanspartsplus, that cat chamber (item 79) has gone NLA. Jotul had been increasing the price of that part like crazy, ca.2012 - 2015, so I suspect they ran out of what stock they had on that old part. Most of these Firelight 12's were made approximately 30 years ago, in the very early days of cat stoves, and most manufacturers (although, oddly not Jotul?) have learned a lot about how to make better cat stoves today.