Jotul Ivory enamel paint - F3CB

[chomxxo]

Hi there, we bought and installed a Jotul F3CB in our newly-built home. It's working hard this winter as the sole source of heat for our 2000 sq. foot house.

We had to store it (well-covered), outside for a few months during construction. With the humidity in South Louisiana, the already chip-happy ivory enamel has started to get quite a noticeable number of chips, especially around the legs. I found one site on the internet, Harworth Hearth in the UK, selling Jotul ivory touch-up paint.

(broken link removed)

Does anyone know of another source? It would be nice to buy more than a smidge.

 

[begreen]

Did you check with your Jotul dealer? This should be a factory item.

PS: How did it chip?

 

[ChipTam]

Yes, that would be my question, as well. How and why did it chip? I'm especially interested in the answer since we're about to purchase that exact same stove (also in ivory). It's also curious that Jotul notes that only the ivory F3CB arrives from the factory preped for a rear stove pipe. All of the other colors come preped for a top stove pipe. I know that it's easy to change that around but why the difference? Is ivory more prone to blistering or chiping?
Chip

 

[chomxxo]

In my experience this stove is very prone to chipping, both due to humidity and scuffing due to normal wear and tear. I think you'll see that experience with porcelain enamel echoed by others.

Now, if I could just be linked to some touch-up paint...

 

[Webwidow]

Your dealer should have Jotul Ivory touch up in stock.

 

[BrotherBart]

Go to this page and look up the closest dealer.

(broken link removed to http://www.jotul.com/en-us/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Dealers/)

 

[elmoleaf]

I remember reading somewhere in the Vermont Castings manual that high humidity / salt air environments are very bad for enamel finishes.
I guess enamel isn't a good choice for much of the country.

 

[begreen]

The newer Jotuls use a different kind of enameling process. It is thinner, but tougher, less prone to cracking and chipping. I'd have to work at chipping the finish on the Castine. No argument that this F3CB is chipped, but I wouldn't call Jotuls 'chip-happy'.

So what happens to a non-enameled stove in this region? Major rusting?

 

[chomxxo]

No doubt, cast iron rusts pretty quickly in 98% humidity at 95 degrees farenheit when stored outside during the summer, be it enamel or matte black. That said I'm very happy with the stove and get lots of compliments. We live in the woods and I cut my own firewood, so we weren't looking for the stove to match my iPod ;-)

Anyway, to answer a previous question about flue pipe setup, it is highly preferable to use the top vent in a woodburning stove if you can so to have no elbows or bends in the pipe if at all possible. This prevents creosote buildup that may one day ignite and cause a chimney fire, which would potentially be capable of melting the pipe. Try to avoid burning yellow pine for the same reason.

I do agree that the F3CB seems to be designed in anticipation that most owners will use the rear vent, but the top vent works well enough. I have realized that the vent system (top grille and the little starter vent with the switch at the bottom) are part of the design to work better with a rear vent, sucking the air from front to rear

I have found what works much better for a top vent installs is to to open the ashpan door when firing up the stove to desired room temperature. It's practically like a turbo! Once things are warmed up, I close it and open the normal vents. This goes against advice of the manual and I never leave it unattended while doing this (nor have I encountered problems because of it). I believe it also serves to remove ash from the flue pipe, I can hear it falling off as the pipe expands in the morning.

Thanks for the advice on locating paint.

 

[ChipTam]

Here's another source for the paint. If you search Ebay under "Jotul" you'll find spray cans for the various enamel colors used by Jotul. Not sure if this paint is "factory authorized" or not.
Chip

 

[ChipTam]

Just re-checked that Jotul paint available on Ebay. It says "for gas vent pipe only, not for wood stoves". The paint is only good up to 250 degrees. Sorry about that.
Chip

 

[begreen]

Our 3CB was set up with the rear vent. It works well that way too, but not having burned in the stove with the top vent, I have no direct comparison. However, it doesn't affect how the stove starts too much unless one has poor draft.

That said, the 3CB's startup air control is a bit of a joke. It often doesn't admit sufficient air to get a fire going. I got into the habit of leaving the door ajar about 1/8" when starting the fire and closing it once the kindling and starter wood was fully aflame. Using good dry kindling removes the need for the ashpan startup. I use mostly cabinetry and unfinished flooring scraps, but you could look for a nice pine stump and collect some great fatwood splits from it for starters.

The ashpan trick is tempting, but I would discourage it. Although it does seem like a turbo mode, it is really acting like a forge and the grate is not designed for this. It will cause the grate to prematurely fail and voids the stove warranty. Leaving the ashpan door open until the stove gets hot is not a good practice.

 

[tutu_sue]

The ash pan turbo mode ruins the cerampaper gasket between the ash housing and the grate bottom. Leave the door ajar instead.