# Jotul F 600 Firelight CB



## porto (May 4, 2012)

Hello all, this is my first post.  I am considering this wood burner because it is big and has a side load on the right.  Does anyone have any experience with this unit?  Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated.  We are looking at the blue/black enamel finish.  Thanks.


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## learningasigoalong (May 4, 2012)

Hey Porto, just wait a few and you will be hearing from the ones that know alot more than I do, you should add what you are heating. Give dimensions etc. I have a Jotul F3 CB, lots of fun and enjoy it tons, since I have only had it since October, which most around here know already, I really can only say it suits my needs. I did do all the setup and learning before I came here so I can definitely say you are on the right track. 

Good Luck


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## Armoured (May 4, 2012)

Also helps to know whether you want the stove to provide most of the heat (and have a backup or existing heat), or whether you need to have the stove provide all of the heat (only source of heat), or some other goal.


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## porto (May 4, 2012)

We live in a big brick house in Northern NY, between Tug Hill and the Adirondacks.  100+ yrs old, minimal insulation, with oil FA furnace.  Heating about 1,000 sq ft now with an old Defiant Encore that's very tired.  We're hoping to move the heat around a little more, especially to the 900 sq ft of downstairs not currently heated very well with the wood stove.


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## begreen (May 4, 2012)

It's a nice stove with a good reputation. There are many reviews and happy owners of this stove. It also sounds like the house could benefit from a good dose of caulking and insulation. That's an improvement that is better than money in the bank.

Do a search on Jotul F600 and you will find several threads on this stove. Here's an example:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/looking-for-some-info-from-jotul-f600-owners.79917/#post-1020142

PS: the blue-black finish is beautiful


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## binko (May 4, 2012)

I had one and returned it after one season.
Ate up wood very quickly. In order to get secondary burn it had to be run really hot so room was way too hot and fire burned down in 3-4 hours.
If you slowed the fire down, secondary combustion would stop and it would smoke and soot up chimney.
This year I switched to a Woodstock Progress Hybrid. It sips wood, much more controllable heat, can get 16+ hours of heat and window stays very clean.
It's a no brainer.


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## remkel (May 4, 2012)

Well,

Let me give you my review.......deep down I love the F600. Throws a great amount of heat, I get some good long burns out of her, and it is easy to maintain.

I did have some problems with it (some self inflicted, others a casting issue) but a little work with a grinder helped solve the issues. Even though I have had trials and tribulations, I would recommend this stove to others. I think some of my problems were related to service issues rather than the stove itself. 

Monster heater that may be a little too much for 1000 ft2. I am heating over 2000 ft2 plus the basement with mine.


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## firefighterjake (May 4, 2012)

I have the 600's younger brother, the Oslo . . . fantastic stove. It has been very reliable, pumps out the heat (I heat my entire 1,800 square foot home with it for the most part) and can load the stove at 9:30 at night and wake up at 5 or 5:30 a.m. and still have plenty of coals to easily get the fire going again.

At times I wish I had gone up to the 600 only because it is a bit bigger.

The blue black finish is very popular . . . most folks report that it looks great and seems to be very durable.


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## fraxinus (May 5, 2012)

Once upon a time I thought no stove could equal the classic original Defiant. After 3 years with the Jotul Firelight I could not be happier. My wood consumption in a 1600 square foot house circa 1810 (original part) and 1870 (added ell) with minimal insulation has decreased 25 to 33%. The stove is easy to use and at the recommended operating temperature of 400 to 600 degrees throws out and incredible amount of heat. The 2010-2011 winter was a tough one, but the sweep got out just about a coffee can full of creosote at the annual cleaning. The stove is the primary heat source - this winter's oil consumption was 17 gallons; last year's was 55.

It is important that the wood is really dry for best operation. I've had no problems at all with this stove in the fall/spring seasons even though it is vented into a nominal 8 x 12 internal masonry chimney.


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## Wood Heat Stoves (May 5, 2012)

I used to sell Jotul stoves including the F600 Firelight CB and had many very happy customers with it. It's a great stove, good looking, takes large wood and will heat a big area. Go for it!


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## Woodburner60 (Oct 21, 2014)

The jotul f 600 is an excellent stove. I recently bought one of these and went through the break in proceedure and it's up and running. These secondary burn stoves take about 15 min. to get get up and burning. Leave your side door cracked a bit and you'll have no problems.The jotul has nice looks and also puts out big heat. Even when I build a fire with kindling type wood it lasts alot longer than a non epa stove would last. My previous stove was a tempwood and I think for a non epa stove this was one of the best ever made. The reason I went with Jotul is they've been makin stoves since 1853 and experiance should count for something.


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## Nick Mystic (Oct 21, 2014)

I'm a little confused about how much space you plan to heat. You mention heating 1000 sq. ft., but then you say something about wanting to move the heat around 900 sq. ft. of downstairs that's not heated very well with your current stove. So, does that mean you'll be heating 1900 sq. ft.? If that is the case then the F 600 should be a good choice. If you are only heating 1000 sq. ft. total, then I would think it is too much stove for you. I put a Jotul F600  in about 18 months ago and our upper level is around 1600 sq. ft. and the lower level is around 1200 sq.ft. We have a second stove located in the lower level (Woodstock Classic). In shoulder season, like now, I burn the Woodstock downstairs and it will be able to bring the upstairs temperatures up from 66 to around 70 in a few hours by just letting the heat rise through a center staircase and heating the floors from below. When I am burning the F 600 during the winter months it keeps the upstairs nice and toasty, but downstairs will be 55 degrees if I'm not running the Classic. My experience is that it is very difficult to get heat to move downstairs enough to heat the space.


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## Laurent Cyr (Oct 21, 2014)

Hi.

Unlike Nick Mystic who has his big stove upstairs and his little stove downstairs  , I put my F600 in the basement and played around with the placement of a fan to get the heat to rise in my staircase to the upstairs.  I have 2,600 sq ft which includes the basement and main floor, and the F600 is just perfect for that.  You need good seasoned hardwood to last you through the winter.  Up here in Canada, it gets to 32F quite early in the season (already started).  I`ve started heating on and off this year, and will be heating until May.  I clean my chimney twice a year.  Once in January and then in the Fall before starting my first burn.  I have the flat black finish on mine.  The blue/black enamel finish is nice too.  I wasn`t too sure if the enamel would last on the stove, but from what I`ve heard, there are no problems with it.


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## cheechblu (Nov 6, 2014)

My Jotul F600 is 10 years old and is working better than ever.  I had a manual key damper recently installed, and now my burns are lasting all nite.  The secondaries are inspiring.  My home is 2400 sq. ft log home. And the Jotul heats up everything.  Big firebox.  I love the store.


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## Laurent Cyr (Nov 7, 2014)

cheechblu said:


> My Jotul F600 is 10 years old and is working better than ever.  I had a manual key damper recently installed, and now my burns are lasting all nite.  The secondaries are inspiring.  My home is 2400 sq. ft log home. And the Jotul heats up everything.  Big firebox.  I love the store.


Did you install the key damper at the beginning, or is it something you added later?  Just wondering if you had previous trouble controlling the heat output on the stove.


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## cheechblu (Nov 7, 2014)

I just added it this past summer.  My stove is 10 years old already, and was leaking air and really over firing because of the chimney pull.  I didn't know about all these problems until I joined this forum and really began to learn the art of wood burning.  And I've been wood stoving for 22 years now.  So it's really never too late to learn.

So yes, I did have trouble controlling the heat output of the stove. I had all the gaskets throughout the stove redone and internal baffles and plates replaced.  And now with the manual damper, the draft is controlled.
I'm able to shut everything down after the stove reaches 550*-600* and get some nice secondaries for a few hours. I could never get that before.  I wish you luck with your Jotul F600. It really is a great centerpiece to your home.  Just spend some time really getting to know it.  It'll be well worth it.


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## Laurent Cyr (Nov 8, 2014)

cheechblu said:


> I just added it this past summer.  My stove is 10 years old already, and was leaking air and really over firing because of the chimney pull.  I didn't know about all these problems until I joined this forum and really began to learn the art of wood burning.  And I've been wood stoving for 22 years now.  So it's really never too late to learn.



So you had to replace the gaskets, baffles and internal plates after 10 years of use of the stove?  Wow!  I`ll have to keep that in mind.


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## cheechblu (Nov 9, 2014)

I actually had the baffles and internal plates(2) replaced for the first time 2 years ago. Then because the gaskets were getting worn and my chimney was still pulling too hard, I over fired the stove again and warped everything inside. I'm reading the thermostat on a double insulated pipe, not realizing that's not a good reading.  So this past summer, I had gaskets done, and plates and baffles replaced again!  Madonna!!

The fact that all this happened the last few years is not a reflection on the stove itself. The installers never gave me the heads up on the pipe reading, besides I never needed the double pipe if they had just ran the pipe straight up from the stove. A clearance issue.  So they charged me for the more expensive pipe, while adding an unnecessary 90 degree turn.  They've since gone out of business.

Have your gaskets checked out every year.  The rest should not really happen unless you're over firing.


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## Laurent Cyr (Nov 9, 2014)

The gaskets that you replaced, are those the ones on the doors and on the top plate?  Are there any others?


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## cheechblu (Nov 10, 2014)

Yes. Those are the ones I had replaced. I don't believe there are any others.


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## Laurent Cyr (Nov 10, 2014)

cheechblu said:


> Yes. Those are the ones I had replaced. I don't believe there are any others.


Thanks for the info!


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## cheechblu (Nov 10, 2014)

My pleasure.  Anytime.


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