Jotul F500 Needing TLC

[lhadlemr]

Greetings, I am a newbie here and to owning a wood stove.

A Jotul F500 came up on Marketplace for $400, I researched it and decided it was a good fit for heating my barn (man cave to-be,) and bought the stove today. The stove has a 2008 mfg date. The seller (friend of owner) said that it was purchased new in 2009, but was never installed. It looks like the owner might have started the break-in process outdoors, but for some reason changed his mind and never installed it. The stove sat in a shed until last week. Sadly, a decade of condensation and mice inside of it caused a lot of surface rust and in some places on the finish.

My questions:
What should I do to restore the black finish? Repaint it or use stove black?
The stove will need all new gaskets - should I buy the whole gasket kit?
The top Vermiculite baffle and insulation blanket need to be replaced.
Where is a good place to buy these replacement parts?
There are no fire bricks in this stove - should there be?

Thank you in advance for all advice.
Pictures attached, after it was vacuumed and power washed.

 

[begreen]

That sounds like a very lucky find, looks new. It's maybe just the light, but make sure the stove is painted and not the blue-black enamel. If it's enameled then it should not be painted.

 

[stovelark]

Hey all, yes that is a blue black enameled stove (The chromed handles tell you that) that has been neglected. There are bricks in the back of the stove (4 standard sized) that you can see in the picture. The damaged enamel paint areas can be touched up, but would be better served just replaced. The gaskets/baffle/blanket are fairly inexpensive, approx 100-150 dollars in parts. Looks like a real bargain to me.
Do the break-in fires, see what you have there. I'd also do a close examination of all castings, making sure no damage has occurred. Good luck with her, blue black awesome...

 

[firefighterjake]

Honestly . . . a little bit of work and a little bit of money and I would say you have perhaps bought the steal of the week when it comes to woodstoves.

 

[Bad LP]

Outstanding score.

 

[lhadlemr]

Appreciate the feedback. How can the Blue-Black Enamel be touched up - can this enamel be purchased from a Jotul dealer?

Thanks again

 

[begreen]

Yes, you can get this from the dealer, but it is a small bottle, like nail polish, for small area and chip touch up. The top oval comes out. I'd be tempted to get some brush on Stove Brite satin black paint and just do the rim with that after steel wooling and an alcohol wipe. If the back of the legs will not be visible I might do the same there.

 

[ratsrepus]

That stove was $2500 back then, great score