Old stove (Jotul F12), but new to woodburning!

[DoeFromBucks]

We bought a converted Victorian chapel last year, with a big Jotul stove. We've been merrily chucking wood into it, not as our main source of heat (oil central heating) but to make the place really cosy and for the lovely glow - we have 25ft ceilings with massive chapel windows.

Being a fairly cautious person, I thought we'd better get the thing serviced - who knows when that was last done - so I started doing some research. I *think* it's a Firelight F12 but these seem to be rare in the UK - the spare parts people have never heard of it. Foot pedal: double doors: top load...BUT we looked in the back last night and there's no sign of a catalyst. No housing, nothing.

Having had a good read of the posts about refurbishing these stoves over the last few days I'm concerned.

Is it safe to use this stove without the catalyst? I don't seem to be able to find anyone in the UK who can sell me the parts anyway, but I really don't want to have to buy a new one!

Help! And sorry to appear so stupid...

 

[mellow]

Maybe our resident Firelight expert can give you a hand. Calling @Joful.

There should be at cat in it, guessing the housing fell apart. I would be careful burning in it without the cat.

 

[Jags]

Pics would do wonders to help with the ID.
Just an observation...with a firelight (or similar) in that large of a space it would be awful tempting to run the stove hard. Are there any signs of overfiring?? Discolored metal. Internal fatigue or wear?

 

[begreen]

That is probably the best cat stove that Jotul made. Run properly it is a good heater. If the catalyst is hard to get in the UK perhaps one can be shipped to you from the states.

 

[ailanthus]

Pics of the chapel & stove, please....sounds awesome!

 

[Grisu]

BUT we looked in the back last night and there's no sign of a catalyst. No housing, nothing

Just guessing: Maybe Jotul sold the stove without catalyst in the UK due to less strict emission requirements at the time? Have you tried contacting Jotul directly?

 

[Ashful]

Yeah... pic's of the house, please!

I got a note that mellow "tagged" me. So cool.

No need for photos to ID the stove. Double doors with top load and a foot pedal... it's a Firelight 12. That's the only stove Jotul made with that combination of features. However, a photo of what's inside will tell us what you may be missing. Namely, there should be a small casting (called "rear burn plate") in the rear of the stove, approximately 16" wide x 12" high, that looks like this:

Remove the one bolt holding it at the top (your door tool fits that bolt), and get a photo of what's behind it.

The most common bit of damage seen to these stoves is a small crack in that rear burn plate casting, which are completely inconsequential. It's not doing anything except mechanically holding the cat in place, and helping to direct exhaust gasses inside the stove.

When you remove that plate, you should see a refractory catalyst chamber cover, about 3" x 8", and it will be fragile. Remove it with care, and then you will be looking at the edge of the catalytic combuster. Slide it straight out toward you (you may have to lift 1/4", if it settled in the housing), and set it in a bucket or pan to take outside and clean. I won't post catalyst cleaning instructions, as too many here already have.

Next you want to inspect the catalyst chamber, which is likely the most expensive replaceable part on your stove. While you're in there, inspect the inner burn plate, the damper frame and damper, as well as the damper gasket (critical). Everything should be straight, seal nicely, and operate smoothly.

The Firelight 12 was apparently pretty popular in our "New England" states, namely the upper northeast corner of the country. Almost every used F12 I found for sale on ebay, back when I was buying them, has been NY or above. As you probably already know, it was actually made in Norway, from 1993 until they came out with the Firelight 600 (ca.2004?). I have three, of various vintage, and just reloaded two of them for the night!

As mentioned, this is one of the best stoves Jotul ever made, not a claim of my own, but from Jotul's own support folks and several other forum members here with more experience in stoves than I. It is a 3 cu.ft. catalytic stove with a wide range of operation. Of the two I own, the one on the shorter chimney has burn times of approximately 20 hours.

Based on your initial comments and depending on what you find, you may have to make a decision on whether to rebuild. I have some thoughts I'm willing to share there, but let's wait and see how bad it is, before we get into that!

Likewise on usage procedures. I have recently posted a few guidelines on loading and reloading this stove, and how I run them, but let's see if the stove is in operable condition, before we talk about how to run it.