# 23 year old Jotul Model 118



## boots5050 (Nov 13, 2010)

Does anybody have a manual for this older model Jotul?? Also I am getting alot of creosote off of this stover-has anybody experienced this with this model, My stove has a 90 degree at the hook-up-goes up four feet and 90 degree to outsied liner (stainless triple wall). The stove is in my basement and I also burn pellets down there. Is the build-up due to a low pressure situation and the logs are not burning hot enough. Anyone with an older Jotul 118 please contact me. You can also reach me at my e-mail at boots5050@att.net


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## webbie (Nov 13, 2010)

If no one sent you the manual, you can purchase a PDF from here:
http://woodheatstoves.com/jotul-f-118-usa-user-manual-p-12525.html

My first thought is that your problem is the wood...are you 100% sure that it is very dry and split well enough? A stove like that should take splits no larger than about 6" in any direction, and probably smaller.

Also, are you familiar with the way that stove burns? Front to back - then rake the coals back to the front?
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/tending_a_wood_fire

If you cannot get it going well with bone dry wood, that might signal a chimney problem. Can you make the 90 degrees els into 45's to make the slope more gentle? Is there furnace cement sealing all pipe joints?


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## AngusMac (Nov 13, 2010)

I had an old 118 and now have the new Black Bear.
These stoves didnt tar up with me, and if I used them correctly they were both quite clean.
There could be a number of issues.

Not burning it hot enough, use a stove thermometer.
Not enough chimney draught. One way to over come this is burn 2 logs side by side about 1 cm apart, this is the best way to use these stoves anyway.
Not enough air coming into the room?
Wet wood.


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## begreen (Nov 13, 2010)

First suspect would be the wood. These stoves burn quite cleanly if they are in good condition. Semi-seasoned wood has all the characteristics described. Sluggish, cool fire, bad creosote build up.  

IF the wood is really dry: 
Check the interior burn plates and baffle. If they are cracked, warped or twisting, the stove will not burn correctly. Make sure the upper chamber is clean.

Next suspect would be draft. Make sure the chimney is cleaned. Yesterday we had a report of a flue that you couldn't pass a fist through due to the build up in it. If the chimney has a clean out door, make sure it is sealed shut. You could try duct tape as a temporary test sealer.

Last would be negative draft caused by too many competing appliances in the basement. Turn everything off. This would include the pellet stove, furnace, gas hw heater, bath fan and clothes dryer. Do this upstairs too. Then see if the stove burns much more vigorously. If not, try opening a close by window or door (not upstairs). 

If all these fail, then it usually comes back to the wood not really being dry. One question though, can you describe the outside flue? What size pipe is it and how tall is it?


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## precaud (Nov 13, 2010)

I burned oak in a 118 for a couple years back in the 80's and loved it, though it didn't burn quite as clean as the old 602. I agree with Craig on wood size, use smaller-diameter splits/rounds, use at least 3 at a time, and don't choke it down too much otherwise the rear 1/4 or so won't burn but will just smoulder, not what you, or your neighbors, want...


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## scottperkins (Feb 23, 2011)

If you are not sure about the moisture content of your wood,  take the biggest logs that
will fit in your cooking oven and bake them at 300 degrees for an hour or two.
Then IF those logs do not burn you KNOW you have a problem with something else.

Also, pine, fur, poplar and other low density softwoods burn faster and hotter then
dense hardwoods.   Careful not to get it too hot though... They say many stoves
warp badly if you get em too hot.


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