Shut the big Jotul down until next autumn

[Nick Mystic]

I haven't burned in two weeks, I've got the tomatoes in the garden, and I've already been mowing for a month. So, I figured it was time to close things down for the season. Got all the ashes cleaned out of the stove and vacuumed the firebox. Cleaned the glass up like brand spanking new, ready for the next burn season. I really enjoyed getting to know my new Jotul F 600 stove that I installed this past February. I got to do some burning in a few cold snaps, but no long sub-freezing spells. I'll still have something new to look forward to next winter. From what I've seen out of this stove so far I know my wife and I should experience our warmest winter since we've been in this house the past ten years.

 

[Stubborn Dutchman]

Awesome set up you have there. I'm glad you are enjoying your F600 as much as I am. I just finished up my second season with mine. Great stoves!

 

[logger]

Def a nice set-up. Although you say you're ready for next season, I didnt see you mention a pipe cleaning. Get it done so you know what to expect each year. Especially w a new stove. Have a great summer and good luck w the garden.

 

[USMC80]

Great looking setup! Love the wood storage area

 

[Nick Mystic]

I haven't forgotten the flue. It's been too wet here lately to get up on the roof, but I plan to climb up soon to scope things out. I am thinking of buying a Sooteater cleaning system.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It is beautiful Nick. Sooner or later you will experience a long cold spell even in your area and you'll doubly appreciate that stove then.

 

[lumbering on]

I haven't forgotten the flue. It's been too wet here lately to get up on the roof, but I plan to climb up soon to scope things out. I am thinking of buying a Sooteater cleaning system.

My stove lives deep inside a fireplace as well, and I need to have it swept. How do you accomplish a chimney sweep with access to the pipe so difficult?

 

[Nick Mystic]

My stove isn't actually "deep" inside my fireplace. The earlier photo taken head on might make it look like that. Here are a couple shots from the side that give a better idea of where it sits in relation to the fireplace:





I actually have five inches on either side of the stove between the stove and the sides of the fireplace opening. I didn't have too much trouble connecting my T- connector to my flue liner or to the back of the stove with the stove already in place, so I don't think I'll have much of a problem dropping the cap on my T for cleaning. I only used the two screws that angle out toward my side openings when I put on the T cap and left the rear screw out for this very reason.

 

[lumbering on]

Ok, I see. My installer didn't use a T-cap and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to approach the clean out. But that's for another thread.
Thanks for the pics, truly a beautiful stove.

 

[wesessiah]

i haven't burned any since the beginning of march. how far west are you? i'm at the western side of the foothills (if you don't know where lincolnton is) and we've been gettinge endless rain too. most of my family are at the far west end of the state... cherokee county and graham county.

 

[Nick Mystic]

You shut your stove down pretty early given all the cold weather we've gotten since March! With the low temperatures predicted for the next few days I might end up building a fire in the Woodstock Classic down in our lower level if the house drops into the 60s. My wife and I live in Marion, which as you probably know is about 35 miles east of Asheville. We are at about 1400 feet.

 

[Ashful]

Nick, what's the ladder for? Looks like an interesting house!

That's my first look inside an F600 from the side. Looks like the baffle is right above the side load door? Doesn't leave much room for wood! I fill the old F12 right up to within 1" of the stove top, thanks to the top-load door. I do think your front-to-back distance is bigger than the F12, though, as I have a catalyst housing in the rear.

 

[wesessiah]

You shut your stove down pretty early given all the cold weather we've gotten since March! With the low temperatures predicted for the next few days I might end up building a fire in the Woodstock Classic down in our lower level if the house drops into the 60s. My wife and I live in Marion, which as you probably know is about 35 miles east of Asheville. We are at about 1400 feet.

i'm about 50-60 miles from you. the previous owner of my house overstuffed it with insulation, so it has maintained pretty well. there were some times we ran an electric heater in march, but i really don't mind it dipping down into the 60's in the house. i was a little concerned about those nights in april that got down into the 40's here, but they didn't end up being too bad. of course you get more of that brisk mountain cold.
btw, your setup looks great, and i love that recess for the firewood.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Hi Jotul,
Here is a photo of the inside of the stove when it was brand new:



The inside dimensions of the firebox are as follows: Width is 24" in the front and 20" in the back; Depth: 18 1/2" from front door to back of stove, 15" between doghouse and back of stove; Height: 13" up front and 10 1/2" in rear. The stove is deep enough that I can do some N/S loading. If I'm building a long burning fire I'll usually put some hefty pieces of wood in that back cavity and then stack longer splits in the main body of the stove. It will take 2 or 3 hours for the wood in the back of the stove to usually start burning after the bulk of the other wood has started to burn down.

The ladder you asked about leads up to a sleeping loft with a queen size bed. I built the ladder in my shop and designed a pivoting hinge at the top that allows me to store the ladder flat against the side of the brick chimney (4' x 8') when it is not in use. When we want to climb up in the loft I pull the ladder out about four feet at the bottom. I don't have any good pictures of the top of the ladder, but essentially you climb up and then just step off to the side onto the loft floor. Here are a couple better photos of the fireplace chimney and ladder assembly:





The loft runs the full width of the living room, which is 17' and it is 13' deep. It's a real cozy spot to hang out in the winter. There are two windows on the wall opposite the brick chimney wall, so there is a view out at the trees.

Here is a panoramic view of the entire living room taken when we still had our old smoke dragon insert:





This photo shows the windows.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Just out of curiosity, you have 2 props under the front of your 600. ????

 

[Nick Mystic]

Yes, for some reason when the hearth extension was built with the fireplace 20 years ago the mason put a slight downward angle on it that amounts to 3/4" covering the 18" run. The extension is built directly over double 2x10 beam in the lower level of the house and the subfloor is made up of double thicknesses of 3/4" plywood. Both the beam and living room floor are perfectly level, so I know the floor isn't sagging or moving. The masonry work on the extension doesn't show any sign of movement, either. So, to get the stove to sit level I have some custom made 3/4" thick shims under both front legs of the stove.

When I decided where to place the stove I slid it back inside the fireplace just far enough for the rear legs of the stove to sit inside the fireplace opening. The fireplace chimney extends down another story and has an enormous foundation. I wanted that foundation to carry a good part of the 465 lb. stove, rather than have all the weight resting on the extension.

 

[Ashful]

Yeah... but are those props wood?

Seeing as the stove is so close to the front of the old hearth extension, what did you do to extend it for the required 16"?

 

[Nick Mystic]

The shims are made of oak. As you probably know the F600 comes with a heat shield on the bottom under the ash drawer. You can put your hand on the hearth under the stove after it's been burning all night and the hearth is barely warm. As for the hearth extension being extended out 16" in front of the stove at the present time I only have ember protection. The extension is 10" above the floor and I never open the front doors while burning. I do all my loading through the side door where I have over six feet of hearth.

 

[Ashful]

How do those oak shims fall into your "ember protection".

I need to get a look at these heat shields. My F12 manual mentions one, but I've not seen it in person. Same exterior castings as F600, so possibly same heat shield.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I suppose it is theoretically possible that an ember could fall out of my stove unnoticed and land up against one of the oak shims. I also suppose it is possible such an ember could ignite the shim, If that were to happen, I suppose it's also theoretically possible that the shim could then throw out some of its own embers and that such an ember could somehow be projected out beyond my 24" of ember protection in front of the stove. If all those theoretical possibilities occur I'm willing to live with the consequences!

 

[mattjm1017]

That's a real nice setup you've got there.

 

[downeast]

We never "shut down" either stove....never.

Mid summer (sic) temperatures will occasionally drop to the 40's-50's in rain, fog, or on shore winds.

Forecast as-we-speak is for continued rain, snow above 2000 ft, and continued chills. This is not south of the M-D line ( banjos ),
or in the balmy, moldy Pacific Northwest.

 

[Ashful]

This is not south of the M-D line ( banjos)...

 

[downeast]

That opening scene is one of the strangest of all film ( other than the "piggie" one ).
We may be the few here that have bad dreams about Deliverance.

Lovely setup you've done Nick. Doesn't the 600 put out too much heat for that space, and loft ?

Look up "Monk's Stairway" for a loft with limited space for a full stairway. We built one in the last home. It's more like
a ship's ladder.

 

[Laurent Cyr]

Nice setup Nick!

Nice to put a face to a name too.

Laurent