Jotul Firelight 12 top lid gasket

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NCRider

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Dec 11, 2012
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Hi guys need a little help determining what size gasket and where to put it. The top loader led needs a gasket.The prior owner had glued what looks like a 1/2" rope gasket to the led. What is the correct size and style of rode gasket should be used? Does it glut to the led or the channel around the opening? I see where McMasters has tight brad fiberglass rope.

Jeff [Hearth.com] Jotul Firelight 12 top lid gasket
 
Is there a list of the gasket sizes that I will need to rebuild this stove?
Did you ever get an answer to your question. My manual says I should use a 1/4" gasket, but it doesn't say whether to glue it to the channel in the lid or to glue it to the channel in the top of the stove around the opening. Both channels have old cement and bits of gasket.
 
It would be 1/4" and be glued into the channel on the stove top I would sure think. I've never seen a top loader that didnt have the gasket glued to the top.
 
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Woodmans has the gaskets for the Jotul Firelight F12:
(broken link removed)
 
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Thanks guys. I used a 1/4 gasket in the channel. But it still draws air and didn't pass the dollar bill test. I'll keep working with it.
 
Thanks guys. I used a 1/4 gasket in the channel. But it still draws air and didn't pass the dollar bill test. I'll keep working with it.
The photo you posted shows the old gasket glued to the surface of the lid, not the top part of the stove. It seems like the channel in the top part of the stove is too narrow for the gasket. I wonder if that little channel is a seat for the unglued portion to sit in. I've looked online and seen images of gaskets glued to either surface. It seems like if you glued it to the top of the stove, you would ding it every time you loaded wood from the top. It's strange that the Jotul manual doesn't say which surface to glue the gasket to.
 
Start a conversation with Joful and ask how the gaskets are installed on his Firelights.
 
Got it. Thanks, begreen. Just to keep the thread complete, I replied with this:

Your gasket should be glued to the top of the stove, not to the lid. I suspect some people have tried to glue it to the lid, because it's prone to being easily damaged in its correct location, but it would be very difficult to get it attached to the lid in a way that guarantees the lid will sit right for an airtight seal.

The choice of gasket material and the application technique is critical, for getting this particular gasket to seal, since the only pressure on it is the relatively light weight of the lid itself. Clean all old cement from the lid and the channel in the stove top, to get the gasket to sit properly in the channel and seal to the lid. Use 1/4" braided gasket (not woven), and smear a small amount of cement into the channel (just enough to hold the gasket), and use masking tape to hold the gasket as you work your way around the perimeter of the opening. The gasket should be relaxed, not stretched, and the ends should just slightly overlap (so as to account for the small amount of fraying you will surely see) in the rear center, behind the push rod that lifts the lid. When installed, the idea is that you want the gasket to be able to compress into that channel, so it should not be filled with globs of cement.

This is not a difficult job, but chipping that old cement out can be a real PITA. I use a couple of awls and junk sharpened slotted screwdrivers.
 
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That's what I thought. I've never seen a top load that didn't have the gasket attached to the stove. Thanks for the info.
 
Start a conversation with Joful and ask how the gaskets are installed on his Firelights.
Beat me too it :(


That's what I thought. I've never seen a top load that didn't have the gasket attached to the stove. Thanks for the info.
In general on any stove I have ever seen if there is a channel on one side of mating surfaces, the gasket always goes in that channel. The fun ones are like my door gasket, flat.......Oh how I miss my old Sierra.
 
Hi guys need a little help determining what size gasket and where to put it. The top loader led needs a gasket.The prior owner had glued what looks like a 1/2" rope gasket to the led. What is the correct size and style of rode gasket should be used? Does it glut to the led or the channel around the opening? I see where McMasters has tight brad fiberglass rope.

JeffView attachment 119307

I've owned my Firelight 12 since new in 1998 and my gasket came attached to the top of the stove, not the lid. The same was true of a second Firelight 12 that I owned and have since replaced with the Progress. I'm a 24/7 burner and have only had to replace it twice since then and no tape required to keep in place while positioning..
 
Thanks Joful for the detailed procedure and the input from the rest of you folks. I did attach to the channel but use woven 1/4" and it didn't seal well. I will replace with braided gasket, NOT stretched tight. After several unsuccessful tries at this I had come to the woven set in loose. This was going to be my next attempt. Nice to know I finally got it. Like most things we learn or at least me, I do get there after several tries. Thanks again. I'll post back once Ive change gasket.

Jeff
 
Thanks Joful for the detailed procedure and the input from the rest of you folks. I did attach to the channel but use woven 1/4" and it didn't seal well. I will replace with braided gasket, NOT stretched tight.
Yep, you're headed in the right direction. You'll note they specify braided (not woven) right in the Jotul manual, for this top load gasket, and I think for all their gaskets (except maybe rear burn plate).

...second Firelight 12 that I owned and have since replaced with the Progress. I'm a 24/7 burner and have only had to replace it twice since then and no tape required to keep in place while positioning..
Yeah, I don't usually need tape on this gasket, either. I do use tape on the doors and rear burn plate gaskets (vertical application), which burns off on first use.

Now that this burning question has been answered, I have another. How's that Progress treating you, compared to the Firelights? Which catalyst did you use in your Firelights, and how does the Progress compare on heat output, burn time, etc.?
 
Now that this burning question has been answered, I have another. How's that Progress treating you, compared to the Firelights? Which catalyst did you use in your Firelights, and how does the Progress compare on heat output, burn time, etc.?

I vaguely remember a thread where a prominent member of the forum stated that Woodstock missed the opportunity with the Progress to create a long and level burning catalytic stove. I took exception to the comment at the time, but living with these two stoves 24/7 in the same house for the last three seasons (was early to the Progress party), I have become more sympathetic to that comment.

A little bit of perspective may be helpful before I answer your specifically. I have owned and burned that Firelight 12 since 1998 (16 seasons!) and feel like I have a pretty good handle on it. It sits at one end of the house in a large, open area. The Progress sits at the other end of the house, in a similarly sized room. Chimneys are both external, masonry and of similar height, flue size, etc. Both chimneys draw well. I burn red and silver maple and oak with some spruce mixed in for good measure (love the smell, gets the fire going quickly and with a great snap, crackle and pop). But I digress... The stoves are fed identical diets of this wood, which is appropriately seasoned and checked occasionally with a MM to verify. We live in coastal Maine where winter temps tend to be consistently cold, but generally not extreme as air temperatures are moderated by the ocean (we live at the end of a long peninsula). Winds can be fierce and occasionally result in drafts that feel like they'll pull your hair out and as a consequence, both stoves have in-line dampers solely for use on those occasions. These stoves are our primary source of heat from October through March and occasionally into April.

Having given you the general conditions under which each stove is operated, there is no question in my mind that the Firelight is, for us, a far superior stove in every respect. As you are aware, Joful, the Jotul is a top loader and exceedingly easy to load and with a larger useful firebox than the Progress. You can really load that Jotul to the top. I'm easily getting two to three hour longer burn times (useful heat output) than with the Progress at my "normal" overnight settings on the stoves and that is almost always with soft maple in the mix. With 100% oak, the difference in burn times is even more pronounced, but I don't need to run them that way so it's a rarity that I do (extreme cold conditions). Clearly, some of that extra burn time is firebox capacity. But the bigger and more significant difference is controlability of heat output. The Progress has a very strong early peak in heat output and then tapers from there. I think that it fully lives up to it's billing as a "hybrid" in that regard. The peak is a little less pronounced than with a 2ndary burn stove (owned several of them), but nowhere near the much more level heat output of any cat stove I've run. The practical result of this is that the house temperatures vary more with the Progress and it requires more tending to try to level out the heat output. BTW: I am now (once again) using a ceramic cat from Condar in the Jotul and am very pleased with its performance. Anecdotally, I do feel like the Jotul is more efficient at converting potential btus into actual btus - just seem to get more heat out of it... the dogs would agree with that based on which stove they prefer to lay next to.

In addition, there is no (ridiculous) screen to clean in the Jotul. The Progress requires a full stove shut down for me every 3-4 weeks as that screen becomes sufficiently plugged to create problematic draft issues. Plus, the process for removal and replacement of that screen is real irritant, especially compared to the Jotul. I remove the plate covering the cat in the Jotul once at the end of the burning season, pull the cat out and there's almost never any ash in it! Perhaps I find the Woodstock so irritating just because I have the Jotul at the other end of the house laughing at me while I wrestle with putting the screen back in (yes, I have updated the screen twice now and have the very latest screen and assembly). This is a major drawback for this 24/7 3 season burner who has better things to do.

Both stoves have excellent ash drawers which have good capacity and easy operation (internal grate systems). Not a part has failed in 16 years of burning the Jotul. I have replaced the top loading gasket 3 times and the cat 3 times. That's it. I replaced the top loading lid gasket the right way (not on the lid), too ;-) I have the green porcelain finish and it's as flawless as the day I bought the stove. The Woodstock hasn't had any meaningful problems but has been subject to numerous parts updates or recalls (top stones, cat screen, cat). Woodstock has delivered excellent customer service on numerous occasions where I've needed it. Jotul? I don't have a clue, I've never needed any customer service.

Lest you think that I'm (manufacturer or material) biased, I am now running a Woodstock Keystone in our cottage and I think it's every bit the stove that the Jotul is, albeit in a much smaller package. I'm getting 9 hour burns on the "1" setting with red maple with outstanding heat level controllability. Gotta love those cats! We're building a new house in the area and I already have that mahogany porcelain Ashford ready to go, but I'll miss the Jotul's ash drawer. If Jotul still made the 12, I'd have bought that instead of the Ashford...
 
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I vaguely remember a thread where a prominent member of the forum stated that Woodstock missed the opportunity with the Progress to create a long and level burning catalytic stove. I took exception to the comment at the time, but living with these two stoves 24/7 in the same house for the last three seasons (was early to the Progress party), I have become more sympathetic to that comment.

A little bit of perspective may be helpful before I answer your specifically. I have owned and burned that Firelight 12 since 1998 (16 seasons!) and feel like I have a pretty good handle on it. It sits at one end of the house in a large, open area. The Progress sits at the other end of the house, in a similarly sized room. Chimneys are both external, masonry and of similar height, flue size, etc. Both chimneys draw well. I burn red and silver maple and oak with some spruce mixed in for good measure (love the smell, gets the fire going quickly and with a great snap, crackle and pop). But I digress... The stoves are fed identical diets of this wood, which is appropriately seasoned and checked occasionally with a MM to verify. We live in coastal Maine where winter temps tend to be consistently cold, but generally not extreme as air temperatures are moderated by the ocean (we live at the end of a long peninsula). Winds can be fierce and occasionally result in drafts that feel like they'll pull your hair out and as a consequence, both stoves have in-line dampers solely for use on those occasions. These stoves are our primary source of heat from October through March and occasionally into April.

Having given you the general conditions under which each stove is operated, there is no question in my mind that the Firelight is, for us, a far superior stove in every respect. As you are aware, Joful, the Jotul is a top loader and exceedingly easy to load and with a larger useful firebox than the Progress. You can really load that Jotul to the top. I'm easily getting two to three hour longer burn times (useful heat output) than with the Progress at my "normal" overnight settings on the stoves and that is almost always with soft maple in the mix. With 100% oak, the difference in burn times is even more pronounced, but I don't need to run them that way so it's a rarity that I do (extreme cold conditions). Clearly, some of that extra burn time is firebox capacity. But the bigger and more significant difference is controlability of heat output. The Progress has a very strong early peak in heat output and then tapers from there. I think that it fully lives up to it's billing as a "hybrid" in that regard. The peak is a little less pronounced than with a 2ndary burn stove (owned several of them), but nowhere near the much more level heat output of any cat stove I've run. The practical result of this is that the house temperatures vary more with the Progress and it requires more tending to try to level out the heat output. BTW: I am now (once again) using a ceramic cat from Condar in the Jotul and am very pleased with its performance. Anecdotally, I do feel like the Jotul is more efficient at converting potential btus into actual btus - just seem to get more heat out of it... the dogs would agree with that based on which stove they prefer to lay next to.

In addition, there is no (ridiculous) screen to clean in the Jotul. The Progress requires a full stove shut down for me every 3-4 weeks as that screen becomes sufficiently plugged to create problematic draft issues. Plus, the process for removal and replacement of that screen is real irritant, especially compared to the Jotul. I remove the plate covering the cat in the Jotul once at the end of the burning season, pull the cat out and there's almost never any ash in it! Perhaps I find the Woodstock so irritating just because I have the Jotul at the other end of the house laughing at me while I wrestle with putting the screen back in (yes, I have updated the screen twice now and have the very latest screen and assembly). This is a major drawback for this 24/7 3 season burner who has better things to do.

Both stoves have excellent ash drawers which have good capacity and easy operation (internal grate systems). Not a part has failed in 16 years of burning the Jotul. I have replaced the top loading gasket 3 times and the cat 3 times. That's it. I replaced the top loading lid gasket the right way (not on the lid), too ;-) I have the green porcelain finish and it's as flawless as the day I bought the stove. The Woodstock hasn't had any meaningful problems but has been subject to numerous parts updates or recalls (top stones, cat screen, cat). Woodstock has delivered excellent customer service on numerous occasions where I've needed it. Jotul? I don't have a clue, I've never needed any customer service.

Lest you think that I'm (manufacturer or material) biased, I am now running a Woodstock Keystone in our cottage and I think it's every bit the stove that the Jotul is, albeit in a much smaller package. I'm getting 9 hour burns on the "1" setting with red maple with outstanding heat level controllability. Gotta love those cats! We're building a new house in the area and I already have that mahogany porcelain Ashford ready to go, but I'll miss the Jotul's ash drawer. If Jotul still made the 12, I'd have bought that instead of the Ashford...

Great post! The few times I've spoken with Jotul tech support, I've relayed your last sentiment, as well. The Jotul 12 is a great stove, and has been named a favorite by several past owners who have each owned several stoves (you're actually the third Woodstock owner), but Jotul really seems to have very little interest in doing a cat stove again. What a shame...

Me? I have a love-hate relationship with my 12's, almost entirely not their fault. My first year, I was burning un-seasoned wood with no thermometers to tell me what the stove was doing. My second year, I installed a stovetop and catalytic probe thermometer, along with a Steelcat. It worked great for a few months, then quickly headed south. I was focused on my wood supply being the issue, when it was really a faulty cat design. Picked up a second F12, installed a Steelcat in that from day 1, and observed the same behavior. Just this year I went back to ceramic cat's, and both stoves are finally working flawlessly. Consistent light-offs, super-long burns, infinitely controllable output... but I have no other stoves to which I can compare them.
 
Thanks for the very informative and helpful post dznam. Your candid observations are refreshing. It's rare to have a home with both stoves running for comparison. Too bad that Jotul doesn't recognize their success with the 12. When I was at the HPB Expo a couple weeks back I spoke with the Jotul reps and asked if the EPA proposed regs would mean a return of the cat. They were quite down on cats and said they didn't work out well in the past. I pointed out that they had made an excellent cat stove that has a loyal following when they made the F12. He blinked and had no response. It was as if I were talking about another company's product.
 
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If you have his business card, you should send him links to this thread, as well as those from BlueRubi.
 
What is the size of the house your heating with the 12 ? I'm in the market for the jotul 600 , but I'm gathering the 12 is very comparable .
 
I never was able to heat my house with the two 12's, but that's more about my construction and installation, than the stove. Radiant stove in a masonry fireplace on an exterior wall is the worst possible combination of factors, for putting heat into the house, versus heating the back yard.

House is large, and uninsulated masonry, so it will be interesting to see how the new stoves do. I traded the 12's for two BK Ashford 30's, last spring.
 
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