Old Jotul 118, new Questions

[wesmertz]

Hello all! I’m new to the forum and from southern Utah, USA. Surely that sounds silly. I own land in the mountains and it gets COLD (I am also contemplating installing a stove in my garage). My dad has an old version Jotul 602 and it was super cool to us. I didn’t want to pay for a brand new Jotul because the price tag was silly for my application (12’x20’ cabin). I found this guy and grabbed it for $450. I identified it as a legit Jotul 118. The green enamel is in great shape. This puppy is dirty but I will deep clean it before installing. I’ve attached a few pictures. I’m curious everyone’s thoughts on the quality of what I have. The exterior seems to be in great shape. The “side burners” (not sure official name) have a couple cracks each in the same places. Perhaps replaceable (pictures). Do I HAVE to replace them? No cracks on the exterior. Perhaps some rust coming through the top lid, or it’s maybe it is gunk I can scrub off(grabbed it yesterday and haven’t dug in that far). I am also curious the age. I know the years they made this particular stove, and on the stamp on the back on the bottom there is “6-1980” stamped into the tag. Is this the manufacturer date? Did I get swindled for $450? I’ll use this puppy from fall through spring 1-4 times per month. It may be a tad large for a 12x20 building, but I am hoping I can just maintain a small fire in it and beef up a good hearth around it to help radiate heat. I am stoked to get some info and please don’t hold back! Give me your unbridled opinion.

Note: my dad’s 602 has a chimney going 8ft up and out through the ceiling and it can get his 12x20 building uncomfortably hot. My stove is a fair amount bigger, but I can run the chimney straight out the back and through the wall thus eliminating hot surface area and heating potential. I am hoping this thing isn’t way too big for what I am doing.

 

[Todd]

Nice stove. How’s the firebox baffle look? You can get the side plates from Woodmans Parts Plus I believe, probably 100 bucks or so.

 

[begreen]

Looks like a decent stove and well worth giving it some good care. When the crack reaches the edge of the plate the side plate it will eventually split and curl. The burn plate needs to be replaced at that point. You could try drilling an 1/8" hole at the ends of the cracks to slow this process down and maybe get a season of burning out of them, but I would have spares on hand. Once they split the heat is directed at the outer shell of the stove and that can crack a side.

I would get a gasket replacement kit for the stove and redo the top and door gaskets. It the baffle in good condition with no sign of warping?

Put an inch of clean dry sand on the bottom of the firebox before burning. That will help protect the bottom burnplate until ash builds up.

 

[Defiant 3]

Careful removing the old gasketing! It appears to be asbestos.

 

[gggvan]

so the top should be removable? If so, is this how it's cleaned out between burns?

also, what is the clearance from the side when the wall in masonry?

do the legs need to solid tight or can the wiggle a little, with screw and little square washer in place of course.

 

[begreen]

It looks like you have the gasketed top plate already removed. It does not need to be rebolted but should have a fresh gasket installed. Leave the upper extension bolted onto the stove body.

The legs should not be wobbly. Let some oil soak into the threads and then tighten or add a washer so that the leg doesn't wiggle.

The clearances are to combustibles. What is the masonry in this case? Is it brick on a stud wall or a fireplace or a cement block wall? If it is full masonry like in a fireplace then there is no minimum clearance.

 

[BK's_ghost]

I’ve got the same stove, it’s a good one. It should be perfect for heating a cabin.

If you search ‘Jotul 118 manual’ on this forum you can find where someone shared a link where you can get a manual for this version.

The clearances to combustibles are shown right on the picture you took of the back of your stove. That distance, to any combustable material behind the masonry, is what you want. Those sides get hot, make sure to follow to the letter or better.

If at all possible stick with the interior chimney, they perform better. Cold starts, backdrafting, issues in the coaling phase, etc. If you need less heat, load the stove up with 12” splits instead of the big 24s. Burning hot with the splits packed in next to each other you will still get a nice efficient burn, but it will just be shorter. Basically by shortening split length you can operate a 118 just like a 602, but have extra capacity when you need it.

 

[gggvan]

Let's say the masonry is stone veneer with hard board underneath with cement block underneath that.

 

[BK's_ghost]

Not exactly sure what hard board is, but if it’s a block wall with non-combustable finishes you can get it as close as you want. Practically I left 5” between the rear of my stove and a non combustible partition so it didn’t look weird and to allow for convection. I’m not sure what it takes to crack a tile or veneer brick, but I don’t want to try.

 

[gggvan]

Not exactly sure what hard board is, but if it’s a block wall with non-combustable finishes you can get it as close as you want. Practically I left 5” between the rear of my stove and a non combustible partition so it didn’t look weird and to allow for convection. I’m not sure what it takes to crack a tile or veneer brick, but I don’t want to try.

that cement type stuff they fix stone tiles to, backer board?

btw, is the 118 cast date the one under top plate like: 21/1-77 ?

 

[gggvan]

also, there are 3 tabs inside to hang the side burn plates on, but only two opening on the burns plates. I'm assuming they should be hung on the rear tabs, is this correct?

 

[begreen]

that cement type stuff they fix stone tiles to, backer board?

btw, is the 118 cast date the one under top plate like: 21/1-77 ?

If it is cement backer board then all components are non-combustible. In that case, there is no clearance minimum but it's good to leave some space there.

It's more likely the mold date that was used for the casting.

 

[begreen]

also, there are 3 tabs inside to hang the side burn plates on, but only two opening on the burns plates. I'm assuming they should be hung on the rear tabs, is this correct?

The manual shows the 2 hole burn plate going on the front pegs. There is also a 3-hole burn plate for more complete protection.

 

[gggvan]

The manual shows the 2 hole burn plate going on the front pegs. There is also a 3-hole burn plate for more complete protection.

Are the 3 hole burn plates still avail?

 

[begreen]

Are the 3 hole burn plates still avail?

I think Woodmans still sells them.

 

[gggvan]

If it is cement backer board then all components are non-combustible. In that case, there is no clearance minimum but it's good to leave some space there.

It's more likely the mold date that was used for the casting.

then is there anyway to date a specific stove?

 

[gggvan]

The legs should not be wobbly. Let some oil soak into the threads and then tighten or add a washer so that the leg doesn't wiggle.

Let's say a bolt broke off in the hole, can a new, slightly larger one be hammered in?