Jotul Firelight 12 Rebuild questions

[Sportfury70]

Hello all, first post here. I’m on a host of other sites with the same screen name, so not new to posting.

I scored a free F12 yesterday, it appears to be in excellent condition, albeit due for a few new parts and a repaint. Specifically the left door glass and rear burner plate.

pics are forthcoming!

My first question; is there a full gasket kit, or do I just buy the lengths I need? If there’s no kit, can someone outline the proper sizes, types, and lengths? I found tons of threads, but nothing condensed like I’m asking.

second question; anyone have any pics of a rebuilt stove using Thurmalox paint with their clear coat? I can’t find any examples on the web, and I’d like to see if the clear coat will mimic porcelain like they say it will. I’m thinking one of the midnight colors like blue, green, orbrown.

Thanks in advance!
John

 

[Sportfury70]

Some pics

 

[Sportfury70]

How does this catalyst look. Seems pretty chewed up. Good news is the combustor box looks fine.

 

[Sportfury70]

Tough crowd, should I have posted in the classic stove section?

I have a clear skies cat on order, and will be driving up to woodmans to pick up a few parts (cost in fuel less than shipping).

More searching has revealed that I should get all 1/4 non impregnated gasket rope, with the glass being the only 3/16 stuff.

Going to strip it down fully in the next few days, hoping I don’t damage the combustor box while I’m at it. Anyone have any tips and tricks for breaking this stove down?

 

[Sportfury70]

Okay last attempt at getting some engagement on this thread. I got it all apart tonight, it’s pretty clever how it’s put together. Getting it apart was a bit of a chore, but I’ll bet getting it back together in the correct sequence, without fudging the cement, will have some R rated language.

I found no cracks or warps, but the cement was definitely loose in a few areas, and some failed gaskets to boot, so doing a full refresh is certainly in order. Well I did find one crack; on the door at the latch. I’ve got a FCAW welder, might try to stitch it together. If it won’t take a weld, I’ll visit a pro.

Anyone know where I can get stove cement in bulk? This things gonna take a bunch. Recommendations on a brand?

 

[Sportfury70]

Well it’s been almost two weeks since I started this thread, and have gotten zero participation from the forum. Thanks for the warm welcome hearth.com. I’ll be going elsewhere for insight and help.

 

[begreen]

Sorry, Jotul F12 owners are becoming rare. It looks like you are making good progress. You can get Hearthstove stove cement from several locations. It comes in a standard caulking tube or tub. It's a good product and similar to the Jotul cement. Woodmans will also have the Jotul Gasket kit for this stove.

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[defiant3]

Sportfury to be fair, while the old 12's were really cool, they've been out of production for a long time so maybe this thread should go in with the older stoves even though technically it may belong here.

Also, get rid of it. Too many weird things go wrong with 12's ( like door cracking) and few parts are available any more. Believe me, the headaches have only just begun!

 

[begreen]

It's a complicated stove, but if well cared for and maintained, then they can last a long time. Parts are getting hard to get, but the stove was built into the late 1990s and is EPA approved.

 

[Sportfury70]

The stove is a 1993 model. This is the first negative thing I’ve heard about the F12 defiant3. You don’t think it’s worth the $250 for parts and a new catalyst? I just sold my pellet stove for $500, so even if I rebuild it and it craps out, I’m still $250 ahead of where I was when I started.

 

[defiant3]

Well, the cracked door concerns me. A good welder may fix it, but believe me if you were to have it fail that would be truly bad. Hot stove- can't close door- not good. I personally love the foot pedal Firelights. I have customers with them who adore them too and with attention they keep going but I just used my last damper frame ( common wear item) can't get more. I've seen bottoms, tops, backs, and sides crack on other ones. Enjoy yours while you can I guess???

 

[stovelark]

The Fireoight cat was produced from 93-98 and while it was their flagship, Jotul moved away from cats as fast as they could. All are telling you the straight dope, parts are hard to get, jotul has stopped most of their parts availability. If you need documentation, the manual is still on Jotul's website. The stove is held together with furnace cement and some bolts internally. Careful when resealing, the top plate will leak where it joins the stove sides if the gasket/furnace cement/linkage for the topload isn't all put together properly. The cracked door needs to be replaced and usually double door stoves are better suited to replacing them both as a pair. Good luck with her, a very pretty stove, just past its prime.

 

[mellow]

Just because a stove has a catalyst in it doesn't make it a good stove. I see to many people buy an old stove because it has a catalyst and expect it to perform like a modern day stove, just ain't going to happen.

I hate downdrafts with a passion, same reason a Harmon wood stove will never been in my house.

 

[Sportfury70]

Sorry for the delay in answering, I had kind of written off the thread. Thanks fellas for finally weighing in.

However, despite all of your cautioning, and against my better judgment, I’ve decided to rebuild it anyway. I got it for free, and the parts I need from woodmans totalled $170 to get it back up and running. Even if it only lasts a season before some significant failure, it will be a good learning experience to cut my teeth on. I’m a fairly accomplished mechanic, so the base knowledge is there, just never done a stove before.

I finally got around to sandblasting and inspecting all the parts today. It really is in good condition with the exceptions noted above. No other warping, cracks, or anomalies popped today, so I’m off to a good start. I have a tub of cement, gaskets, paint, and the burn plate and glass. I chose stove bright metallic black. Woodmans hooked me up and got me all the gaskets based off the IPL, and I drove up and picked them up yesterday.

my neighbor is a retired welder and assures me he can preheat and weld the door properly in his garage. The guy has a damn autoclave for just this purpose (he often welds cast exhaust manifolds back together)

Once I get it back together I’ll post pics and a summary of what I learned.

I figure even if I can’t use it, I can stuff it in one of my hearths that’s sealed as a nice piece of furniture. I have 4 fire places in this old house.

Thanks for the opinions fellas, feel free to keep them coming!

 

[Sportfury70]

Any idea if I can retrofit a single door from an F600? Where the double doors bolt on I’m sure I’d have to fabricate something, but the overall shape should be the same right?

The Fireoight cat was produced from 93-98 and while it was their flagship, Jotul moved away from cats as fast as they could. All are telling you the straight dope, parts are hard to get, jotul has stopped most of their parts availability. If you need documentation, the manual is still on Jotul's website. The stove is held together with furnace cement and some bolts internally. Careful when resealing, the top plate will leak where it joins the stove sides if the gasket/furnace cement/linkage for the topload isn't all put together properly. The cracked door needs to be replaced and usually double door stoves are better suited to replacing them both as a pair. Good luck with her, a very pretty stove, just past its prime.

 

[begreen]

Any idea if I can retrofit a single door from an F600? Where the double doors bolt on I’m sure I’d have to fabricate something, but the overall shape should be the same right?

The F600CB has two doors.

 

[Sportfury70]

Facepalm. I must be thinking of an F500. I know the 600 is the same casting, just the next generation. Oh well it was an idea but probly not worth pursuing.

 

[stovelark]

Actually, I believe the door castings are the same, but the 12 vs the CB600, they did change the mount onto the stove body...
You were thinking an Oslo single door for the F-12? Nah, different stove...

 

[bigealta]

Would love to see a few progress pics if u have any. Good luck with your rebuild.

 

[Sportfury70]

Sure thing. I’ll snap a few tomorrow after work. I want to try to get some pics of how it puzzles back together, but you almost need three hands to get the sides and back on. Maybe I’ll make a video or something.

Would love to see a few progress pics if u have any. Good luck with your rebuild.

 

[bigealta]

Ratchet strap might help hold sides in place.

 

[Sportfury70]

I was thinking the same thing, I just want to avoid messing up the cement seal while it’s still wet. I think I’m going to assemble it a few times dry to make sure I don’t run into any hiccups and have a good understanding of how best to get it back together.

Planning to work on it this week, but we will see what happens with this snow storm first.

Ratchet strap might help hold sides in place.

 

[mellow]

It was bugging me because I remember someone tore down the f and posted pics but couldn't remember who, it was @summit.

F600Cat rebuild

Started this project back in January for a guy: thought it'd be a week or so project waiting on the parts, mostly: Jotul was backordered on a crucial cast bottom plate, so I just got the parts this week. So far, from my absolute teardown of a Firelight Cat, to stripping all the cement and crap...

www.hearth.com

Also some other threads on rebuilds for you to check out:

jotul firelight 12 inner back plate installation

I am getting ready to reassemble our Jotul firelight 12 stove. During the disassembly I noticed that there was cement on the sides of the inner backplate (that holds the cat chamber secure to the stove back with 4 bolts) as well as the gasket. The cement was in the area between the back and...

www.hearth.com

How to remove catalyst chamber from Jotul Firelight 12?

Well, the title says it all! I just bought a jotul firelight 12 that was not cared for very carefully by its previous owner. From the parts diagram I found on other threads on this forum, I've deduced that my catalyst chamber is severely modified. I don't mind putting money into this stove as I...

www.hearth.com

Jotul Firelight model 12 - Doing the repair, Just about complete

its going great. Need to install gaskets for the glass and install the cat, cat cover and outer burn plate, then a couple of small fires and away we are ready for winter. I am at the last steps, replacing the door glass gaskets in the next day or two. It went fairly smoothly. I got some good...

www.hearth.com

Your welcome.

 

[Sportfury70]

Thank you! I’ve seen the bottom three many times, but not the first you posted. Going to read through it now.
Much appreciated!

It was bugging me because I remember someone tore down the f and posted pics but couldn't remember who, it was @summit.

F600Cat rebuild

Started this project back in January for a guy: thought it'd be a week or so project waiting on the parts, mostly: Jotul was backordered on a crucial cast bottom plate, so I just got the parts this week. So far, from my absolute teardown of a Firelight Cat, to stripping all the cement and crap...

www.hearth.com

Also some other threads on rebuilds for you to check out:

jotul firelight 12 inner back plate installation

I am getting ready to reassemble our Jotul firelight 12 stove. During the disassembly I noticed that there was cement on the sides of the inner backplate (that holds the cat chamber secure to the stove back with 4 bolts) as well as the gasket. The cement was in the area between the back and...

www.hearth.com

How to remove catalyst chamber from Jotul Firelight 12?

Well, the title says it all! I just bought a jotul firelight 12 that was not cared for very carefully by its previous owner. From the parts diagram I found on other threads on this forum, I've deduced that my catalyst chamber is severely modified. I don't mind putting money into this stove as I...

www.hearth.com

Jotul Firelight model 12 - Doing the repair, Just about complete

its going great. Need to install gaskets for the glass and install the cat, cat cover and outer burn plate, then a couple of small fires and away we are ready for winter. I am at the last steps, replacing the door glass gaskets in the next day or two. It went fairly smoothly. I got some good...

www.hearth.com

Your welcome.

 

[baseroom]

I used a cream ceramic Firelight for 15 years. Love the foot pedal. Could bring in a load of wood open the top and drop it in. Got rid of it when the back plate cracked and mechanisms started to wear out. Hope you get it going well!