My new (to me) Jotul F400 Castine

[JoeyBurn]

Back plate says made in 2006. Previous owner said its only been used twice in the past couple years. No cracks in the casting. Burn plates and secondary baffle appear good and straight but it looks like it needs some re-cementing underneath the top plate. I plan on taking the baffle out and doing a thorough cleaning, may even paint it while it's all apart. Anything else I should look for?

 

[begreen]

Looks pretty good. Examine the inside base around the grate carefully for hairline cracks. Jotul uses a special refractory cement. I think Hearthstone uses a similar material and sells it too. Repaint with Stove Brite Metallic Black in a very well ventilated space and/or with a good respiratory protector. Acetone fumes are nasty.

(broken link removed to https://www.lehmans.com/product/hearthstone-stove-cement/)

PS: Does it have the rear heat shield?

 

[JoeyBurn]

It did come with the rear heat shield. I also got a screen for the door, about 3 ft of duravent 6" double wall plus the 90 and thimble to go through a wall and a set of pokers. Is there a bottom shield to buy for this as well?

I was originally going to buy this new in blue/black or a quadrafire explorer 1 in blue The wife had her heart set on a blue stove so I might paint it in one of the blues stove bright offers. I came across this setup for 5 bills and couldn't turn it down.

So do I need to use the jotul brand refractory cement instead of just the regular furnace stuff I can pick up at the local hardware?

 

[begreen]

You can use Rutland, but the Jotul/Hearthstone cement is better and like factory. I think the ashpan assembly acts as a bottom shield though there is one available in Europe.

Will you be venting up and out or straight up?

 

[Woody Stover]

You can use Rutland, but the Jotul/Hearthstone cement is better and like factory.

The Woodstock cement seemed pretty stringy and tacky to me, but I don't know how it compares to the others..

 

[JoeyBurn]

I will spring for the jotul cement then. Thanks for the tip.

I have two possible locations for it. One would be up and out the wall then along side the outside of the house to the second story roof. The second, and more preferable location, would be up as close I can get to my 8 ft ceiling then a 90 and about 4 or 5 ft horizontal run then up through the floor, bedroom upstairs, attic, then roof. Both locations would have about 23 feet of vertical.

The second option concerned me with the amount of horizontal run but one installer didn't seem to think it would be a problem. I plan on getting a couple more opinions before going forward with it though.

 

[begreen]

The Castine is particular about draft. Straight up is best. Your concerns about the horizontal run are valid as should be concern about clearances. A 45º offset to the ceiling support would be better for draft or reorganize the room so that the stove can be under that location.

I'm with your wife, the blue-black enamel is stunning on the Castine. Stove Brite makes a metallic blue which might look pretty good.

 

[Allagash350]

Great stove, looks to be in good shape. I got mine used in worse condition I would say.
I think based on the creosote and black glass you don't need to worry too much about this stove having been over fired.

I took mine apart as far as I could (sides and bottom were still on) and cleaned it and changed all the gaskets.
I also patched up random spots with furnace cement. I used the rutland but I am sure the jotul one be green mentioned is superior.

Be careful with the bolts holding the secondary baffle in place. They need to be removed to take it off and one of mine snapped.

Also those little metal pieces holding it in place are a joy to get loose unless it is done fairly regularly. I used pb blaster so there was a bit of a smell when I fired it up.

Rutland sells a glass cleaner that works great too. Everyone says to use ash and newspaper but I think this does a better job.

It's a great stove and once you figure out how it likes to run you will be impressed.

 

[JoeyBurn]

I wish I could reorganize to go straight up but I don't see any possible way in this situation. The only places I have that the hearth pad won't block a doorway will put the chimney in the middle of a doorway upstairs. For a 100+ year old farmhouse this place really wasn't built for a chimney the manual says no more than a 3' horizontal run w/1" rise per foot. So if I can't get an installer to guarantee a 5' run will work I'll probably end up going with option 1.

I will probably squirt some blaster and leave any bolts that need removed soak for a day or two. Would never sieze on the bolts hold up to the heat?

 

[Allagash350]

I am not sure if they make one rated for high temps. Once you get them loose it is easy the next time. It is just that first time getting them off, mine I do not think had ever been removed in the 8-10 years the previous owner had it.

 

[sroof]

I was able to get a stuck bolt on one of the side burn plates on a Castine loose by heating the exterior side panel in the vicinity of the threaded hole. I used a blow torch to slowly warm a broad area to avoid thermal shock. It didn't take much heat - I could still touch the heated panel with my palm for several seconds at a time without pain (so maybe 150 deg F?).

 

[XmasTreefarmer]

I am not sure if they make one rated for high temps. Once you get them loose it is easy the next time. It is just that first time getting them off, mine I do not think had ever been removed in the 8-10 years the previous owner had it.

They do have "hi-temp" anti-seize rated to 2,400 degrees F. Usual use is exhaust system components. I'm a huge fan of anti-seize - all farm equipment needs to be taken apart now and then and I will struggle once with getting nuts and bolts loose - soaking with penetrating oil, heating, various impact tools, but when it goes back together it gets anti-seize during assembly.

I have used it on my stove, but have not tried to remove those bolts since using the anti-seize, so can't comment on the affectiveness, but our stoves will be safely under the 2,400 degree mark.

 

[JoeyBurn]

Almost 2 years later update! I'm stuck at home in quarantine so finally getting to some long overdue projects. Decided to go with the original metallic black color. The entire stove came apart easily. No broken bolts or anything. I ordered a gasket kit and some stove cement. Should be able to finish painting tomorrow. Have a ton of seasoned ash, oak, and maple just waiting.

Only hiccup I've run in to is the back burn plate has some cracking that I never noticed before. I will eventually order a new one but going to try the stove out with this one before I spend any more money on it.

 

[begreen]

Progress. Looking good so far.

 

[JoeyBurn]

Just waiting on gaskets. Glad I went with the factory metallic black. It covers and dries very evenly. Really hard to mess up.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the metallic black looks great on castiron stoves.

 

[RSNovi]

Just waiting on gaskets. Glad I went with the factory metallic black. It covers and dries very evenly. Really hard to mess up.

Looks great!

 

[JoeyBurn]

Got the gaskets in the mail. Kit#157050 had everything in it except enough to do the side burn plates, which are the only gaskets I didn't plan on replacing anyways. I did the flashlight test and everything is tight except I'm getting light around the hinge of the ash pan door. You guys see anything I'm doing wrong? It's shining through where the two ends butt together and then really shines through at the top corner. Also the hinge feels kind of sloppy. Like it wants to sag down and has to lift up a little before it latches.

 

[JoeyBurn]

Well I got the ash door sealed up. I cemented a couple extra pieces where the light was shining through. Not sure about this design, I have the gaskets laid right in the channels but maybe I'm doing something wrong. Figured I would do the break in while it's still in the garage.

So far so good!

 

[Todd]

Maybe a small washer or two on the hinge pins will take the slop out the ash pan door?

 

[JoeyBurn]

Maybe a small washer or two on the hinge pins will take the slop out the ash pan door?

I may try that. It seems like it just sags about a 1/4 inch from left to right. Just have to lift up a little and it closes up good. I was thinking washer it up or maybe replace the hinge pin. After reading all the horror stories of cracked bases I wonder if I'll even use the ash door at all.