Hi, everybody, I recently purchased a 1994 Jotul F 602 CB (N). I've had it installed and have spent a few days using it, and now have several questions. First, the relevant background details:
I bought it from the sole owner who said he had hardly every used it because it was built into their house in a space too small; they eventually removed it, hoping to put it into another house, but that never worked out. So as far as the previous owner tells me, it's like a new/very good-condition stove, but still very old. (It's one of those transitional models that has 602 N stamped on the front, but on the back plate says CB, so it does have the newer secondary burn feature, and the original manual is for a CB.)
Now I have it installed in a shed/cabin in southern WV that's only about 325 sq ft floor space, but does have lofted-barn style ceilings up to 9.5 ft. So there's a good amount of volume to fill. We insulated the walls and ceilings with 4-inch Rockwool and 6-inch underneath (it sits up on blocks). I'll say something below about how it works for that space, because I know that's a question many people have, and I had. But first the immediate questions:
1. The glass is loose. I thought this was because we moved it and so I repositioned it and tightened the (three out of four) screws down, but when I went to clean it today, I realized that made no difference whatsoever. I can't tighten the screws anymore, and it just slides back and forth. Even when it is positioned correctly over the glass gaskets, I can press my thumbs against it and it pushes in and out, maybe 1/8". Is this normal? Should I replace the glass gaskets? It's hard to imagine that new gaskets would eliminate the gap I'm feeling there. I even wonder whether they replaced the glass with something skinner than it should be.
1b. Like I said, there are only three out of the four screws holding the glass in (the bottom left is missing). And they are pretty stripped out. Is it possible to purchase replacements? Where?
2. Thermometer placement? I have it installed side venting straight through the wall. All the stove thermometers and guidance about them seems to be designed for placing the thermometer on a vertical single-wall stovepipe. I would like to be able to gauge creosote risk, etc., with a thermometer. So where should I put a thermometer on the actual stove, and what kinds of ideal temps am I looking for?
3. Burning at non-ideal temps? Last night it went down to 8F and my full load of hardwood at bedtime started with an interior temp of 78 . I set the air control to about 40% and six hours later the cabin temp was 52 (ideal for sleeping) and there was still a half a smoldering log and plenty of coals. This seems great, but should I be worried about creosote buildups, since it is clearly burning at very low temps?
4. Following on from 3, is creosote really bad if you can easily clean your chimney? I have a very simple setup: Selkirk through the wall T with a bottom cleanout, and then 15 vertical feet of chimney. I known creosote is bad, but if I can easily clean it, does avoiding creosote build-up need to factor into the decisions I make about how to burn the stove?
5. Open-door burning? The manual says never to burn with open door because it can overheat the stove. But I'm sitting here right now with the door having been open for about an hour, the woodbox at about 1/3 capacity of wood, and the cast iron kettle half full of water on the cooking eye isn't anywhere close to boiling. Is this really a concern? If anything, I'm worried that the stove might never get hot enough to reliably boil water or cook a steak!
In general, I'm really pleasantly surprised by how efficient this stove is; it is definitely not too much for this small, well insulated space. Also, providers of split firewood in this part of WV have no problem supplying 16" and under wood. And the hardwood is magnificent. I was splitting some of the cherry pieces for kindling, and they smell more deeply of cherry than cherries themselves! All under 20% humidity.
Thanks in advance for advice.
I bought it from the sole owner who said he had hardly every used it because it was built into their house in a space too small; they eventually removed it, hoping to put it into another house, but that never worked out. So as far as the previous owner tells me, it's like a new/very good-condition stove, but still very old. (It's one of those transitional models that has 602 N stamped on the front, but on the back plate says CB, so it does have the newer secondary burn feature, and the original manual is for a CB.)
Now I have it installed in a shed/cabin in southern WV that's only about 325 sq ft floor space, but does have lofted-barn style ceilings up to 9.5 ft. So there's a good amount of volume to fill. We insulated the walls and ceilings with 4-inch Rockwool and 6-inch underneath (it sits up on blocks). I'll say something below about how it works for that space, because I know that's a question many people have, and I had. But first the immediate questions:
1. The glass is loose. I thought this was because we moved it and so I repositioned it and tightened the (three out of four) screws down, but when I went to clean it today, I realized that made no difference whatsoever. I can't tighten the screws anymore, and it just slides back and forth. Even when it is positioned correctly over the glass gaskets, I can press my thumbs against it and it pushes in and out, maybe 1/8". Is this normal? Should I replace the glass gaskets? It's hard to imagine that new gaskets would eliminate the gap I'm feeling there. I even wonder whether they replaced the glass with something skinner than it should be.
1b. Like I said, there are only three out of the four screws holding the glass in (the bottom left is missing). And they are pretty stripped out. Is it possible to purchase replacements? Where?
2. Thermometer placement? I have it installed side venting straight through the wall. All the stove thermometers and guidance about them seems to be designed for placing the thermometer on a vertical single-wall stovepipe. I would like to be able to gauge creosote risk, etc., with a thermometer. So where should I put a thermometer on the actual stove, and what kinds of ideal temps am I looking for?
3. Burning at non-ideal temps? Last night it went down to 8F and my full load of hardwood at bedtime started with an interior temp of 78 . I set the air control to about 40% and six hours later the cabin temp was 52 (ideal for sleeping) and there was still a half a smoldering log and plenty of coals. This seems great, but should I be worried about creosote buildups, since it is clearly burning at very low temps?
4. Following on from 3, is creosote really bad if you can easily clean your chimney? I have a very simple setup: Selkirk through the wall T with a bottom cleanout, and then 15 vertical feet of chimney. I known creosote is bad, but if I can easily clean it, does avoiding creosote build-up need to factor into the decisions I make about how to burn the stove?
5. Open-door burning? The manual says never to burn with open door because it can overheat the stove. But I'm sitting here right now with the door having been open for about an hour, the woodbox at about 1/3 capacity of wood, and the cast iron kettle half full of water on the cooking eye isn't anywhere close to boiling. Is this really a concern? If anything, I'm worried that the stove might never get hot enough to reliably boil water or cook a steak!
In general, I'm really pleasantly surprised by how efficient this stove is; it is definitely not too much for this small, well insulated space. Also, providers of split firewood in this part of WV have no problem supplying 16" and under wood. And the hardwood is magnificent. I was splitting some of the cherry pieces for kindling, and they smell more deeply of cherry than cherries themselves! All under 20% humidity.
Thanks in advance for advice.
