Jotul F500 break in procedure

[skycamper]

Hi there,

After months of reviewing stoves I bought this one with high hopes. There is a break in procedure to make small fires first. There is a thermometer provided that inserts into where the Cat is. The manual says make a fire until the stove temp reaches 200F and keep in there for an hour. Do they mean the surface of the stove or on the thermometer provided?? I went ahead and played it safe and used a infred temp gun and did the surfaces at 200F. The next fire is at 400F for an hour.

Does anyone know for sure?

Thanks
Abraham

 

[begreen]

The break-in temp is stove top temp. The cat will not ignite at this low temp. It is essentially a kindling fire.

 

[skycamper]

Okay then my 2nd fire is going out and the thermometer at the Cat read 425F. But the surface temp only got to 240F. I guess my break in period will last a little longer than I thought! I thinks thats ok though right?

 

[begreen]

Yes, go by stove top temp. At this point, you are breaking in the paint if the stove is not enameled. To get the stovetop up to 400º will take about 4 medium-thickness (3-4") splits. No need to let the stove cool down from 240º. Put the splits on the hot coals. And don't worry if the stove top reaches 450º for a bit. The cat temp will likely go much higher.

 

[skycamper]

Thank you for the help! It did go out and the stove top was 70F when I got home. Back to firing it up again. So far im really impressed. It heats up quick. Its not enameled its just the matte black.

One thing I noticed on both firing attempts is moisture inside the unit when my fire is just getting going. Its dry when I start but the fire seems to produce some condensation and then it goes away when the fire gets going more. The temp and humidity in my sunroom where the unit is located starts at 60F and 60% humidity. The wood is well seasoned and dry as a bone.

Is that normal?

 

[begreen]

Dry as a bone wood still has some moisture in it. And there may be some residual moisture in the rear firebrick and refractory cement in the joints. You may even see a few drips of black liquid under the back of the stove for the first few burns. This will go away with regular burning.
The first time the stove gets over 450-500º it's going to stink a bit. Open the windows for the first couple of hot fires where the stovetop gets over 500º and the paint is baking in.

 

[skycamper]

Final break in fire plus one more and the glass fogged over! I kept the wood away from the glass and the wood had less than 20% moisture, locust, cherry, and pine. Im sure this was inevitable. Maybe my moisture meter is not that accurate or does it have anything to do with that?

 

[skycamper]

Nevermind! It cleaned right off with a paper towel and some simple green. Im trying to keep the fire away from the glass and to not overfire it.

 

[bladeofanduril]

Nevermind! It cleaned right off with a paper towel and some simple green. Im trying to keep the fire away from the glass and to not overfire it.

In my limited experience (first season with the F500) the glass getting dark is an indication of the fire getting too low. If you get a bigger fire going and higher temps that should mostly burn off.

 

[skycamper]

Yeah I want to make bigger fires but just this amount of fire get the cat to 800F or more. Even when the air supply is all the way off. Is this normal? My draft is good and I have about a 22 foot stack with two 45 angles in there. Is my draft too much? Surface temps about 200F to 400F.

 

[Todd]

Looks normal to me. Expect to see cat temps cruise in the 800-1200 range with occasional spikes up to 1400 or even 1600 with a new hyperactive cat. Stove temps should range from 400-700 depending on the load and air setting.

 

[bladeofanduril]

What @Todd said. I lit mine up to heat the house for overnight. It's crusing along at 1000F cat and about 450F surface. I'm going to throw some more splits in and see if I can push the surface temp higher.

 

[bladeofanduril]

Pic for reference

 

[skycamper]

Whoa Something Id not see before. I dont know what wood I have here, evergreen tree and smells nice like maybe pine , but I put three 22" splits in this new F500v3 and it visibly burned for a 20-30 min and then I cut the air to zero. fire went out but then there was this ghostly glow I noticed walking by. Got down on my knees to see this! CAT at 1000F. No fire. The glowing lasted about an hr and calmed back down. This wood is well seasoned and about 10% moisture. Splits easily even if the log is 22" long. I also notice the top back of the stove surface temp was 450F and the top front about 250F. Back always hotter than the front.

What kind of wood is this?? I was only hauling it across the street to my house so don't worry if the load is unsecured.