Jotul help needed

[serviced]

I have owned a Jotul castine F400 for a year and was wondering if i needed to remove anything from the inside of the stove when sweeping the chimney. I have a fireplace in another room and when i sweep it the creosote just falls to the bottom of the burning area and i pick it up. There appears to be a baffle system on the f400. Should i remove it when cleaning? Thanks

 

[dstone916]

I think that the baffle has to come out. But, I haven't been able to get mine out. Loosening the bolts on the inside of the stove doesn't seem to release it. I have read that the top comes off. Maybe, with the top off you can get the baffle out or at least get a look at how it should come out. Hopefully someone on this forum can answer this questions for us.

 

[oconnor]

Given it is a stove vice an insert - would it not be easier to disconnect the smoke pipe and collect the sweepings in a bucket? The manual doesn't mention baffle removal for cleaning, but does mention an annual smoke pipe (and flue) inspection. Mt Jotul insert makes specific mention of baffle removal for chimney sweeping. I suspect that if they don't mention it, they may not intend it to be done that way.

 

[dstone916]

Thanks for the reply. This is the way that I have to have it cleaned. The problem is, that in my area, I can't find a chimney sweep that wants to do it that way.
However, once they fail at getting the baffle out, they disconnect the flue, move the stove, and then put the bag around the flue bottom, go up top and sweep, come back down and vacuum. They would rather just remove the baffle, shove the flue brush up from the bottom while vacuuming and be done with it. Can't blame them for that. I'm going to try to remove the top today and see what I can see. I'll let you know.

-Don

 

[ncmallard78]

I too would like to know the proper way to sweep a chimney without removing the wood stove. thank you for your help.

 

[begreen]

I don't like the idea of trying to remove the secondary baffle on this stove. The top on the Castine is removable and is gasketed. It's a heavy top, so it's weight will keep it in place. Once the 2 bolts are removed, I think you can leave it unbolted for easier future cleaning. Be sure that the sealing lip is clean before replacing the top, that the gasket is in good condition and that the top has been placed back squarely so that it sits level and tight to the top lip.

 

[ncmallard78]

so, when sweeping the chimney, you take the top off your stove, sweep it, and let the creosette collect at the top of the stove, and then you clean it out??? thanks for your help!

 

[gpcollen1]

I did not think about that one yet as i have not installed mine. While it is out, I will take a look.

 

[begreen]

so, when sweeping the chimney, you take the top off your stove, sweep it, and let the creosette collect at the top of the stove, and then you clean it out??? thanks for your help!

Yes, the creosote will accumulate at the flue collar. You might want to take the lid off after right after sweeping, then vacuum. Sweeping can create a lot of sooty dust.

 

[adrpga498]

I remove the top then baffle, replace top, sweep into the stove. Clean out the mess replace baffle & top. very simple, by the way I haven't replacedd the 2 hold down bolts for the top. As Begreen says , the top is heavy enough to set secure without the bolts.

 

[dstone916]

Ok, I have finished cleaning the stove. I was able to get the top off and the secondary baffle. I bought my Castine in 2000. The top has never been removed. You might be able to imagine the soot in there. The worst part is that about 6 inches of gasket on the top was not in the gasket channel. Ever. It was pushed back out of the channel when it was originally assembled. Everything seemed quite normal during the 8 years that I've been using it. No loss of control, no smoke. Is it possible that a leak at the top top is not as critical as one from the bottom?

-Don

 

[begreen]

I'll be curious to see if you notice a difference when burning. I had the top not set on squarely on my 3CB which caused a small amount of leakage at the top. The stove ran lousy. There was a big difference when I corrected the error.

 

[dstone916]

Yes, I am curious as well. It seemed to burn just fine all those years though. I also noticed that the stove pipe does not fit tightly into the smoke outlet on the stove. When I had the top off, I could see light coming through between the stovepipe and the outlet. I'll need to fix this first. I think the pipe needs to come further into the outlet to seal the gap, new holes started for the two screws that hold it in place. It'll take a couple days before I get to this though. I'll be sure to let you know. By the way, thanks to everyone for their input. Without it, I wouldn't have even tried to get into this thing.

-Don

 

[dstone916]

Update....

Ok, I've got the flue situated much better into the flue collar, used furnace cement to seal the flue/flue collar connection, and replaced the gaskets where the baffle rests on the inside of the stove. Now I have to wait 24 hours for the cement to dry.

I've also put a new rope gasket into the top plate as the original was pretty much ruined from the 6-inch section that wasn't in the channel. It got crimped and pretty stiff from all the heat that it took while not being where it should have been.

So now, without these two leaks, I'm expecting an improvement. Especially when my fires burn down to just coals. I think that I will have more air at the fuel than before with air leaking into the top and from the flue/flue collar connection. I'll let you know how it all works out in a couple days.

-Don