New member with (new to me) old Jotul 118

[tpenny67]

Hi All,

Long time wood burner new to the forums and already learning a lot of new stuff.

Just before winter I bought a weekend getaway in Vermont. It's a small, one-bedroom A-frame with effectively no insulation. It came with an old Jotul 118 which apparently was much abused in a former life. It's got a couple small cracks in the side, a good portion of the enamel has been baked off, and it's missing the interior baffle.

Despite all that, it actually burns quite well and provides adequate if not outstanding heat, though given it's condition I'm not pushing it for maximum heat output.

Before next winter, the plan is to replace the roof with a metal roof and add some insulation in the process. I'd also like to replace the wood stove, but I'm not really sure what to replace it with. One option is to fix up the 118 and use it for a couple more winters to get an idea for how well it heats once the insulation is improved, and then use that as a point of reference when shopping for a new stove.

Which begs the question, what new stoves are comparable to an old 118? Or is it possible to make an old 118 "like new" (functionally speaking) and just keep using that?

It's also worth mentioning that there is virtually unlimited firewood available on the property. In fact, there's enough overcrowding and die-off that for me the stove is a dead wood disposal unit first, and a source of heat second, so absolute efficiency isn't my first concern.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. Unfortunately it sounds like the old 118 has suffered from a lot of abuse and possibly overfiring. Without the baffle it is going to be much more inefficient. Are the side burn plates missing too?

Personally I would be quite nervous that those cracks spread at an inopportune time. Based on the description I would retire the stove asap and replace it with a well cared for stove. Another F118 would be fine. You could use the old stove for parts if needed. A Jotul 8 would also work. Also look for Upland stoves which copied a lot of Jotul design. A great Danish heater is the Lange 6302. If there is a Cawley Lemay or a Nashua locally listed locally, that would also work.

 

[tpenny67]

Welcome. Unfortunately it sounds like the old 118 has suffered from a lot of abuse and possibly overfiring. Without the baffle it is going to be much more inefficient. Are the side burn plates missing too?

Personally I would be quite nervous that those cracks spread at an inopportune time. Based on the description I would retire the stove asap and replace it with a well cared for stove. Another F118 would be fine. You could use the old stove for parts if needed. A Jotul 8 would also work. Also look for Upland stoves which copied a lot of Jotul design. A great Danish heater is the Lange 6302. If there is a Cawley Lemay or a Nashua locally listed locally, that would also work.

Thanks for the response! Yes, it does still have the side plates at least, and the cracks are shielded by those plates. It makes me a bit nervous too but I've been quite methodical starting with small fires and adding more and bigger logs gradually and monitoring everything with an IR temperature gun. It also has a flue damper in addition to the air intake control. It does throw a lot of heat into the flue, but as there's about 5 feet of single wall pipe before the chimney, which radiates a lot of heat and the temperatures going into the chimney are quite reasonable.

I had thought to patch the cracks with stove cement. If I did that and added a baffle, would there be any other cause for concern?

 

[begreen]

Patching the cracks with stove cement will reduce air leakage, but it won't stop them from spreading and the cement will probably fall out as the metal expands and contracts with heating and cooling. You could drill a tiny hole at the ends of the cracks to help stop spread, but it's not guaranteed. These fixes might work for awhile, but personally I would not invest in this stove body. The baffle is over $200. For that price you can get a nice old stove.

(broken link removed to http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/mat/5939845619.html)
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[tpenny67]

A temporary fix that works until snow and mud seasons are over is what I'm looking for. Until then getting a new or less used stove will be a logistical challenge. I did find a steel plate under the stove that's about the right size to be a baffle. It's certainly not the original baffle plate, but it does look like it was specifically cut to be an approximate replacement. Now that I know the top of the stove is removable, I was able to put in the pseudo baffle, like so:



Now the flue temps are much lower, the air intake is more open for the same heat output, and there are more coals that last much longer. It's a dramatic difference, though the initial burn is about the same. The only problem with having more, longer lasting coals is that there's a longer interval of low heat before there's enough room to stuff in a fresh load of wood.

Here's a couple more shots showing the condition of the stove:



The interior heat shields are crack free, though the one on the left may be warped a bit.



This is the bad side of the stove, with the stove top resting against the legs. The rusty spots on the side are generally where the cracks are. It looks like somebody tried to paint over the rust at some point. The top is crack free and the gasket is present.

That side looks awful in a flash photo

 

[begreen]

That side is shot. Not worth repairing. Maybe try to locate another 118 and use this one for parts.

 

[tpenny67]

That side is shot. Not worth repairing. Maybe try to locate another 118 and use this one for parts.

Just got a form letter from the insurance company stating that the 118 has to be moved to get the correct clearance to combustibles, and the chimney needs to be swept, inspected, and certified as safe or they'll cancel the coverage. Apparently this has been happening all around Vermont. So off to the local stove shop to get a reference for for sweeps and/or masons, and kick the tires on some new stoves.

They said there's a new changeout program for 2017 where they will credit up to $1500 for an old stove, depending on how clean the replacement stove is. So basically about $500 for a new Quadrafire which will fix any clearance to combustibles problems (plus install, fixing the chimney, etc., which are things I wasn't planning to do myself). http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/13975/vermont-launches-wood-pellet-stove-change-out-program

As a bonus, I found the original baffle buried in the ashes at the bottom of the 118.

 

[begreen]

Many modern stoves have closer clearances than the F118. That may help out. If you can get a $500 credit for the old stove that'd be great.

 

[tpenny67]

Guess I was a bit vague. It's a $1500 credit for the old Jotul on a new $2000 stove, so about $500 out of my pocket.

My reaction was "only an idiot would give me $1500 for that old stove", so I guess there is a bright side to having idiots in government

 

[begreen]

One purpose of govt. is to protect from harm. Cleaning up the air protects the health of many.