Jotul F600 ash pan door

[Lumberjack]

Hi all!

Moved recently to a new to me home. It has a Jotel F600 installed in the living room, I'd think it's 10yrs old. Really nice big stove.

I am having trouble keeping the ash pan door locked and sealed. I just replaced the gasket yesterday, no help. It seems like the door doesn't latch tight enough. I have to lift, push, latch to get it to close properly, but it can drop/slip down, unsealing the lower left corner of the door. This of course dumps a bunch of extra air which cause a less controlled burn. People we bought from made no mention of any kind of issue.

Can anyone post a picture of what the latch area on the stove side of the ash door should look like? I am suspecting perhaps mines broken, worn??? I don't have anything to compare to of course. The latch on the door is definitely slightly worn when I compare it to the side load door latch.

Any input is welcome.

Stay warm!

 

[begreen]

You'll want to get that fixed quickly. Air coming from under the grate can crack the $$$ base. However, the fix may be simple.

Remove the ashpan. Shine a bright light toward the back of the ashpan tray. Take a big long screwdriver or a poker and use it to break up any ash at the back of the ash pan tray that has built up and compacted back there. It can get solid as a rock. Vacuum it out and see if that allows the ashpan to sit a bit further back and not press against the ashpan door.

 

[Lumberjack]

You'll want to get that fixed quickly. Air coming from under the grate can crack the $$$ base. However, the fix may be simple.

Remove the ashpan. Shine a bright light toward the back of the ashpan tray. Take a big long screwdriver or a poker and use it to break up any ash at the back of the ash pan tray that has built up and compacted back there. It can get solid as a rock. Vacuum it out and see if that allows the ashpan to sit a bit further back and not press against the ashpan door.

Thx Begreen....I did some reading here an saw that was a common issue....I did clean the pan out completely.

Basically the pan door seems to not sit square, one end (left side) wants to sag when closed, creating an air gap.

I noticed it when running the stove and the are where the grate is had red hot coals when the other areas did not.

Are these stove notorious for having gasket issues?

 

[begreen]

Thx Begreen....I did some reading here an saw that was a common issue....I did clean the pan out completely.

Basically the pan door seems to not sit square, one end (left side) wants to sag when closed, creating an air gap.

I noticed it when running the stove and the are where the grate is had red hot coals when the other areas did not.

Are these stove notorious for having gasket issues?

Not particularly, no.

 

[xman23]

I can only comment on my 20 year old Jotul 500. All the doors, side front and ash door have a spring on the shaft that rotates as you close the door. This allows for the latch arm to move in and out, keeping tension on the door. It allows for a big change in the gasket thickness, and keeps the door tightly closed. It's a very good latch system. The only issue I have is the shaft gets frozen on the front door. Reason is I never use it. I use penetrating oil rust buster to free it up every fall cleanup. On the hinge side, I'm not sure, but I don't think there is any adjustment.

Check the gasket size Jotul says the ash door should be. As I recall, it's not a standard size I could get. I use 1/16 inch larger diameter which worked great.

As said don't run the stove with a bad air leak from the ash door. It's well known death wish for the stove.

 

[Lumberjack]

Xman, my door lever has a spring on it as well but it doesn't seem to let the latch go in and out as you described. Which side of the lever does the spring go on? Im not the original owner and don't know how it "should" be.

thx

 

[xman23]

Sounds gummed up. It should go in and out. It's easier to see this action on the side door. Mine has a good thick gasket, so with the palm of my hand I need to push in as I rotate. My ash door has the removable handle. But as I rotate I feel the latch engage and the spring compress.

 

[xman23]

Missed your question about the spring. I'm not at the cabin to look. Not sure, why do I think the ash door is different than side door. Both have springs. On the ash door, Is the spring behind the flag latch? That would allow only the flag to move in. I feel the latch engage and then it takes some force to rotate as I feel the spring compress, pulling the door tight. There is a limit how much this will make up for the gasket.

The side door, the whole shaft is pushed out by the spring. I need to push it in to easily close the door. My front door is the same as the side door. When it's frozen, it's in, preventing the spring from putting tension on the door.

 

[Lumberjack]

hmm...ash pan has a spring, it's on the outside which seems to make sense as it would compress if you pushed on the lever, but mine doesn't move in.

the side loading door does not have a spring, it only rotates 90 deg and seems to seal up well.

 

[wahoowad]

I'm not suggesting you stop investigating the door latch, but what about the hinge side? I would expect the hinge to hold the door level such that the latch itself was only providing pressure to keep it closed, not pressure to prevent vertical door movement.

I just looked at my F3CB and it has a beefy looking chrome or stainless hinge pin. If one of the door ears that the hinge pin slides through was broken or ovaled out then I could see some door movement. Or if someone replaced the hinge pin with something other than the right sized part could also allow movement. Make sure you are good to go there.

 

[EbS-P]

I just looked at my F400 and my spring did not compress either. Handel would not rotate past 5 o’clock. I never got a positive dented latch either and it always bothered me.

I just loosened up the nut decompressing the spring enough that the ash pan latch handle now rotated past the 6 o’clock position. Now I get the positive detention locked feel.

This might help or it might not. And I am assuming the latches are the same on different stoves which I/you shouldn’t but it might be helpful

Evan

hmm...ash pan has a spring, it's on the outside which seems to make sense as it would compress if you pushed on the lever, but mine doesn't move in.

the side loading door does not have a spring, it only rotates 90 deg and seems to seal up well.

 

[Lumberjack]

Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, the door does seem overly loose on the hinge side....but I am not sure how tight it should be.

When swung closed under it's own weight, the door does not line up well with the ash pan, it drops below it probably .25".

I tried backing off the nut on the door latch but it's quite tight.....feels like it will break if I turn any harder.

 

[Threelittlefish]

The ash pan door not aligning is the way it was designed. It happened to me on the first few fires I made in my F600. The ash door latches like it’s closed properly but it’s misaligned. You have to pick up the door as you’re closing it and align the door yourself and latch it securely. I made a few fires with the door latched in misalignment until I realized what was happening. It’s hard to see the door because of the front door ash lip. Needless to say the fires were out of control but nothing that damaged my stove. They were the break in fires. But yes... I know exactly what you’re talking about.

 

[EbS-P]

Mine was snug after only a year and a single cord of wood. The spring had zero travel now I can compress it about 1/4” by hand.

 

[Lumberjack]

The ash pan door not aligning is the way it was designed. It happened to me on the first few fires I made in my F600. The ash door latches like it’s closed properly but it’s misaligned. You have to pick up the door as you’re closing it and align the door yourself and latch it securely. I made a few fires with the door latched in misalignment until I realized what was happening. It’s hard to see the door because of the front door ash lip. Needless to say the fires were out of control but nothing that damaged my stove. They were the break in fires. But yes... I know exactly what you’re talking about.

Thanks Threelittlefish.

So my follow up to you is this: does the door drop or slip down during use after you have lifted and latched it into position? That is what's happening with mine and its unnerving as you go from a nice controlled burn to an uncontrolled burn quickly.

 

[Threelittlefish]

Thanks Threelittlefish.

So my follow up to you is this: does the door drop or slip down during use after you have lifted and latched it into position? That is what's happening with mine and its unnerving as you go from a nice controlled burn to an uncontrolled burn quickly.

Sorry I did not understand that was the case. No.. once mine was latched properly it never dropped. Definetly so,etching going on with the latch. I’d replace the whole latch mechanism. Can’t use the stove with that issue. Sucks!

 

[schortie]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding littlefish's post, but the ash pan door on my F600 has always been aligned.
I have not needed to lift the door to make it fit. I close the door and turn the handle.

Sometimes, extra ash behind the ashpan makes the ash pan stick out and prevents the door from closing tightly, but that's a quick fix.

It sounds to me that your hinge is wonky at best.

 

[begreen]

Can’t use the stove with that issue. Sucks!

If you can lift the ashpan door and secure it, then run the stove without using the ashpan. Let it fill up with ash. Our F400 burned better this way. The fire lasted longer with an insulating bed of ash under it. From that point, I just shoveled out the ash once every week or two and never used the ashpan again.

 

[Lumberjack]

BeGreen....good suggestion....I am going to try closing w/o ash pan tonight. I cleaned behind it well but who knows.

I called the local Jotel dealer (who i happened to buy a stove from a while back) and he has the same one at home. Going to send him some pictures. His knee jerk was bent door pin, bent hinge, something along those lines (once you rule out ash pan)

Worst cast, has anyone eliminated the ash pan all together and blocked off with plate steel ect? The only problem I see with this is that the stove isn't deep, meaning ash has no where to go, unlike some panless stoves that are designed to have a week or 2 worth of ash in them.

I had hoped Jotel offered flat cast plate and the pan was an option but that does not seem to be the case.

I found the entire new pan door lever for $90 online...seems like Jotul parts are $$$$

 

[Lumberjack]

So pics of the issue.

 

[Woody Stover]

Worst cast, has anyone eliminated the ash pan all together and blocked off with plate steel ect? The only problem I see with this is that the stove isn't deep, meaning ash has no where to go, unlike some panless stoves that are designed to have a week or 2 worth of ash in them

No way I would give up a grated ash-handling system, the most elegant solution ever contrived by the mind of man.
I mean, have you ever endured having to shovel out a stove, time and time again? I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
Seriously, it looks like a chip came out where the latch tab, mounted on the handle with a nut, catches the body of the stove. Could you just fashion a longer latch tab out of a piece of flat stock that would catch the body up higher, where there's some meat left for it to latch onto?
Yeah, I know, door is flopping around too. You might be into it for the price of a new door, at least.

 

[Lumberjack]

I tend to a free that a piece of the stove might be missing. At the very least I think the tab is shot. It's a good idea to maube try to make up a new longer one.

I did confirm the string in the door latch is working like it should

 

[Woody Stover]

Does the latch shaft come in at an angle, not 90 degrees, or is that an illusion?

 

[Lumberjack]

i think it's an illusion.

 

[Lumberjack]

just skimmed a thread from 2009 from member Forby....detailing play in ash pan door and a crack in the stove right above the locking area for ash pan....hoping this is not a crack problem

will inspect tonight after work