Overhauling a Jotul F3

[paetersen]

Hey all, I've got a 14 year old F3 that I bought for $200. I'm replacing the secondary air assembly, all 3 burn plates, and the bottom grate. I've got it nearly all apart and the new parts are here. Right now the stove is nothing but the base and the 4 sides. Should I go ahead and break it down even further so I can start fresh or should I let sleeping dogs lie, as it were, and leave the outer sides together? There is some surface rust that I was going to sandblast. Breaking it down further would make this easier.

I am also looking for stove paint recommendations- the stove is currently painted flat black. The new pieces are unpainted and I'd like to get them painted before surface rust has a chance to start.

I cannot find the gasket size for the secondary burn inlet and the ash box, does anyone know this? The manual only lists sizes for the door, door glass, top plate, and ash door.

What is the best gasket cement to use?

I think that's it for now. I'm looking forward to getting this finished and enjoying my "new" stove.

 

[begreen]

Might as well take it all the way down at this point. Cement the side edges when reassembling. Stove Brite paint is a good brand to use. Be sure to paint in a very well ventilated space wearing a vapor mask. Not sure about the gasket, is this an F3CB? If so the manual calls for 16" of 3/16" gasket for the air manifold and 36" of low density 1/4" gasket for the ash pan. Heat Safe makes a good gasket cement - https://www.plumbersstock.com/6699

 

[paetersen]

The manual says "Jotul 3 CB" So I'm guessing yes, this is a F3CB. Thanks for the missing gasket sizes. What type of cement should I use when reassembling?

 

[begreen]

I'm not sure if you can get the refractory cement that Jotul used. In lieu of that, Rutland Furnace cement or perhaps Hearthstone's cement? I haven't tried the later, but am curious about it.
(broken link removed to http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves___Stove_and_Chimney_Maintenance___HearthStone_Stove_Cement___HSC?Args=)

 

[paetersen]

Here's another question. Nearly all the bolts need replacing, rather than get them piecemeal from Jotul, at $5 and more for each, I was planning on getting them from a hardware store. I figure grade 10.9 should be fine. Is there a reason why I shouldn't do this. I am an auto mechanic and well versed in fasteners, so I understand different grades, pitches, diameters, and materials. Is there a reason I should use stainless fasteners? I've never been a huge fan of stainless in high heat applications- It seems to gall upon removal more than steel. I also am a big fan of copper based anti-seize and was planning on using that on all the fasteners. Temp range is up to 1800F. Again, is there any reason I shouldn't? Thanks in advance!

 

[begreen]

No problem substituting hardware store metric bolts. Some use stainless bolts when reassembling. If you break a bolt, just drill and tap it with the same metric thread.

 

[paetersen]

Here's an update on my rebuild:

I broke the stove down to individual pieces, resorting many times to an Oxy-Acetylene torch to remove the stubborn bolts. Only 2 snapped off in the castings and these were easily drilled out with no damage to the threads in the castings. One of the set screws for the top lid had been drilled out by the previous owner and rigged with a incorrect bolt. This was repaired with a M6x1.0 helicoil to get back to factory specs.

I ended up replacing all 3 burn plates, the insulating layer, the secondary air assembly, and the bottom grate. Every piece was sandblasted. I then painted all the pieces flat black and borrowed a friend's powdercoating oven to heat cure them before assembly. The only pieces I didn't cure were the 4 main walls- which I wanted to cement together while the metal was bare. I didn't jig it, instead I used the assembly bolts to hold it together. The base ended up slightly canted from the 4 corners of the walls, but you need to break out a tape measure to notice.

I used Imperial furnace cement, as it seemed to be the closest to the factory stuff Jotul use. It was also half the price of the Rutland equivalent, and stocked in a local store. http://www.imperialgroup.ca/stove_maintenanceproducts.cfm?c=325

I used Rutland's 1200 degree flat black, again it was local and half the price of the Stovebrite. I hope it will turn out to be a good decision.

I ordered a Jotul Gasket kit and was happy to discover that there was more than enough to do every gasket in there, including the secondary air assembly gaskets that weren't listed. Guess that's one perk of having a small stove!

All the hardware was replaced with 10.9 fasteners, stainless nuts, and coated with copper antisieze. The top lid set screws were replaced with buttonheads, so as to be easier to deal with in the future.

Everything bolted back perfectly and the burn box is really tight now. Burn time is noticeably increased, the stove burns hotter for less wood, it doesn't seem to be leaking anywhere and it looks brand new. There wasn't a lot of smoke on the initial 3 small burns, most of the stove had been cured already. There was some alarming stuff happening to the cemented seams though- in spots where perhaps the cement was laid on a little too thick steam forced it's way out of the seams. By the time I finished the 3rd burn this did not happen anymore and the seams are airtight so I appear to have gotten away with that little assembly gaff.

All in all this is a project that was much more work than I initially thought, but it was immensely satisfying and gives me a good feeling every time I fire the stove up. If I end up burning less wood this winter I'll be doubly thrilled!