# Jotul 8??  Can anyone shed some light on that stove?



## mywaynow

I was asked if interested in a Jotul wood stove today.  Only thing that seemed to ID the stove was the big "8" cast in the side of it.  It is from the early 90s best I could gather.  It is relatively small and would likely top out on an 18 inch log.

So, what is this baby's reputation and what would it be worth in good condition?


----------



## Ashful

The late series 8 catalytic stove, according to Mark at Jotul tech support, is one of the very best stoves Jotul ever made.  The earlier per-EPA 8's were a whole other stove, though.  IIRC, the late 8 catalytic could be ID'd by a push rod control in the upper left corner of the front face of the stove.  I was told to expect burn times similar to the 500 Oslo.


----------



## begreen

It came in a variety of configurations both cat and non-cat and is the predecessor to the current Jotul Castine. Value will depend on the model and condition. But if it's decent it could go from $300 to $800 on average.

If you search on Jotul 8 in the Classics forum you'll find several threads on this stove.


----------



## Ashful

begreen... do you remember if they made a specific name change to the "Series 8", versus just calling it the "Jotul 8"?  I had always thought that's when they did the redesign that made the catalyst integral.  Some of the earlier 3's and 8's seemed to have an add-on external catalyst chamber, reading the limited literature I've seen posted.


----------



## begreen




----------



## Ashful

Yep... Exactly as I thought.  Only thing that image is missing is introductory year.  The #8 was around several years before they released the Series 8.

According to Mark at Jotul, the 8TDC is not so desirable, but the Series 8 is a great stove.


----------



## mywaynow

The stove I looked at had an air control on he front lower side.  I asked if it was a cat stove and the owner did not know.  If it has the air control on the front, that makes it the #8 stove, correct?  This is also the oldest of the 8 line?


----------



## MI wood guy

I have a jotul 8 with cat,pretry happy with it but small firebox.u can get 20" log in it,bit much easier to stack them with 18"
Large baffle makes loading hard.can get up to 8hr burn time with hot coals left in it.


----------



## Ashful

mywaynow said:


> The stove I looked at had an air control on he front lower side. I asked if it was a cat stove and the owner did not know. If it has the air control on the front, that makes it the #8 stove, correct? This is also the oldest of the 8 line?


 
I suspect that's the #8 without the cat, then.  I think the 8TDC had the draft control high on the right side, and the Series 8 had the draft control in the upper left corner of the stove face.



MI wood guy said:


> I have a jotul 8 with cat,pretry happy with it but small firebox.u can get 20" log in it,bit much easier to stack them with 18"
> Large baffle makes loading hard.can get up to 8hr burn time with hot coals left in it.


 
Which 8?


----------



## MI wood guy

Joful said:


> I suspect that's the #8 without the cat, then.  I think the 8TDC had the draft control high on the right side, and the Series 8 had the draft control in the upper left corner of the stove face.
> 
> 
> 
> Which 8?


It's a series 8.I bought it used from a guy who bought a house'lived in it 5 yrs never used it,lIdk new
I've burned it 5 seasons 24-7..it's been a good stove little small for my farmhouse..


----------



## begreen

The 8's I have seen either have the air control pinwheel on the door or a slider at the upper right. Make sure this is a Jotul and not a knock-off. Pics would help.


----------



## Ashful

begreen said:


> The 8's I have seen either have the air control pinwheel on the door or a slider at the upper right. Make sure this is a Jotul and not a knock-off. Pics would help.


 
Never fondled one myself, but I'm pretty sure the air _bypass_ control on the Series 8 with internal catalyst is on the top left corner of the front face of the stove. This is what Mark at Jotul told me to look for, back when I was looking for a used Series 8 myself.


----------



## begreen

Nope, you have the 8 correct, but on the other stoves I think you have circled the cat bypass control. The air control is on the upper right.


----------



## Ashful

begreen said:


> Nope, you have the 8 correct, but on the other stoves I think you have circled the cat bypass control. The air control is on the upper right.


 
Sorry, you are correct. You wrote "air control," but I read "bypass control." Not the first brain fart I've had, and surely won't be the last.  I fixed the prior post (mostly).


----------



## stovelark

Guys- you're right about all, but the Oslo replaced the series 8 AP (ashpan) cat in 1999. The two door Castine debuted a couple of years later because the Oslo was a bigger heater than anticipated. Jotul was looking for a 1200-1500 sqft heater that would hold 18-20 inch pieces of wood, (the Oslo would go 20-22 inch wood with ease, up to 2000+ sqft) and the Castine was born. After a couple of years, they went to a single door model Castine F400, sales shot up. The two door Castine front bolt wasn't recessed a la the Firelight, but protruded and most thought unattractive. The Castine two door handle was different than the firelight's too, it was a big awkward, chromed thing.. not well received. Thank goodness they went single door. The firelight double door objection wasn't applicable like the Castine, due to the top load or side load ovailability.


----------



## spirilis

Did a search for "Jotul 8" on a lark since I have one, found this. I have the #8. Non-catalytic, draft wheel in the lower part of the door... It's a pretty decent stove with a primitive pre-EPA "secondary burn" architecture sporting a secondary air routing feature although it's missing key features modern stoves have (insulated baffle and/or separate insulated pieces up top to help "ignite" the smoke). I've toyed around with mine a bit, playing pyro with thin firebricks and/or aluminum foil... I mostly run compressed sawdust bricks/blocks in mine though, not much property space for properly seasoning wood here. It runs pretty clean (looking at the chimney emissions) but that may have to do with the fuel I'm using too. It has no airwash features at all so the glass does get dirty sometimes.

For what it's worth, they used to make a Coal kit for these non-catalytic units, but the word seems to be that they sucked; they weren't manufactured for long.

Most important items of maintenance:
The baffle, 3 steel plates along the sides & back, and the whole ash plate (no ashpan on these) is removable. It's best to keep the air spaces under the ash plate and around the sides of the 3 steel plates clear because that's where the "secondary air" is routed from the bottom half of the draft wheel. It enters the firebox (pre-heated) at the top of the steel plates where it should successfully ignite any smoke coming off a large wood mass.

One thing I may toy with this year is finding some suitable thin stainless steel mesh or hardware cloth and fitting a short "drape" over the edge of the baffle, maybe with a thin firebrick to hold it in place (there is enough of a gap to draft properly even with a thin firebrick or 2 on top of the baffle), to see if it'll act as a "wick" to help force the smoke to ignite easier.


----------



## stovelark

Hi spir-  If you do have an orig 8, be cautious about burning bio brick in it.  They are much drier than wood and burn very hot. Jotul specifically says not to burn bio bricks in their stoves, altho that stove existed before bio bricks!  Anyway, be careful.


----------



## spirilis

stovelark said:


> Hi spir- If you do have an orig 8, be cautious about burning bio brick in it. They are much drier than wood and burn very hot. Jotul specifically says not to burn bio bricks in their stoves, altho that stove existed before bio bricks! Anyway, be careful.


 
I know, I have 3 years experience burning those bricks in that stove  I think biobricks get a bad rep, the real killer is pallet wood (and other kiln-dried type of fuels)... biobricks have a different physical composition about them, probably since they're made from sawdust there is no contiguous "grain" for smoke to shoot out of so the burn pattern and quality is a tad different. Slows them down, in my experience. I only wish they were as cheap as pellets cause they're basically the same damned thing...

I use 2 different types of bricks btw, some biobrick-sized 2lb ones (WoodBrickFuel) and larger 8lb all-oak ones (Eco-Energy Fuel Blocks). The all-oak ones burn slower & longer naturally so I typically start my fire with a teepee of WoodBrickFuel and load the stove up with the 8lb blocks on the refill. The stove can fire hard (750F) if I'm careless with the air control, but as long as I turn it down soon enough it never goes above ~650-700F. Really you can do this with any well seasoned firewood though.


----------



## begreen

Agreed, this is more of an awareness issue than anything else. I tested BioBricks (the actual brand) in this stove's EPA evolution, the F400 Castine. Used as directed they provided a steady, predictable and controlled fire in spite of the addition of a secondary combustion system.

The fuel you don't want to use are wax impregnated logs like Duraflame. They are not meant for stove use.


----------



## webbie

My fav is the original - with the draft wheel on the door. I sold piles of them and customers loved them.....

The other ones were mostly attempts to pass the EPA standards - at the cost of the stove's simplicity.


----------



## scottperkins

I am considering buying a used Model 8 with draft wheel on door and I will need to remove
the legs to make it short enough to allow a rear exiting chimney to connect with the
damper in my old fireplace.   I have raised a brick hearth to set the stove on and I wondered
if the model 8 would sit flat on the bricks without the legs on it.   I assume the legs
could be removed easily... Is that true ?


----------



## webbie

Well - couple of questions....
Is your fireplace total masonry? (not prefab?)
Are you on a slab? How about a pic of the fireplace and hearth.

They have short legs available or you can cut the legs but you need to make sure that the hearth doesn't have wood close underneath due to downward radiation - also, your final hearth should extend 16-20" in front of the stove door.


----------



## scottperkins

My Fireplace hearth is all brick and I am considering putting the stove on the raised brick
hearth that is 5 bricks thick.   I do not have enough hearth left to extend in front of the
stove but I will add something supplemental on the floor that extends out at least 2 feet
from my existing hearth and what would be the front of the stove.   This is the original
Jotul 8 model from late 1980's  with bright red enamel in good condition for $700 
which has the air control in the lower center of the door.    I am kind of wondering if it
could be reasonably efficient since it was made so long ago.  I know the world
has learned a lot about stoves in the last few decades but then again this is a Jotul
and maybe they got it right 50 or 75  years ago ?


----------



## spirilis

From my own experience, I don't think it's truly as efficient as modern non-catalytic EPA certified stoves.  The main missing piece is the insulated baffle and the point-source secondary air ingress (the "burn tubes" with their tiny holes) contribute highly as well.  The secondary air ingress in the 1st gen Jotul 8 is a large, crude gap between the inner burn plates and the outer castings ... Just can't preheat that air as well as the burn tube design can.

So I definitely get plenty of smoke coming out of my chimney, even with lively secondaries & "ghost flames" in the back of the firebox when the temps are really roaring.  A modern non-catalytic EPA stove would dial out more of that smoke I'd imagine.


----------



## Rafter77

Ashful said:


> The late series 8 catalytic stove, according to Mark at Jotul tech support, is one of the very best stoves Jotul ever made.  The earlier per-EPA 8's were a whole other stove, though.  IIRC, the late 8 catalytic could be ID'd by a push rod control in the upper left corner of the front face of the stove.  I was told to expect burn times similar to the 500 Oslo.



I have a Jotul Series 8 Catalytic Stove with ash pan (in enamel green).  I bought it used, replaced the missing glass, and put new gaskets on it.  We are absolutely loving this stove. However, I can't find any info on if the catalyst is in the on position with the rod is pushed in, or pulled out.  I guess I should have paid attention better when we were installing it.  Does anyone have any info on this?
Thanks,


----------



## begreen

I think you pull the bypass handle to open the bypass and push it in to close the bypass and engage the cat. It should be apparent when the cat is engaged. Smoke should stop emitting from the chimney. A catalytic probe thermometer also will help.

The manual is located here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/jotul-stoves/?noRedirect=1
download the Jotul 8 newer catalytic manual - Jotul 8_1097.pdf


----------



## Ashful

User manual:  http://jotul.com/us/guides/_attachment/12814?_download=true&_ts=13e1d9f313a


----------



## stovelark

Hi all-  Pulling the silver egg (rod handle) out is the bypass position, bypass engaged is pushed in.  One would also tell by the engaged position burning much more slowly and controlled.  I too like the original 8 for its simplicity/durability, there are many still out there heating homes.  A new clean burning stove is still my preference, but used correctly, the old stoves still have a purpose to fulfill.  Not everyone can afford new cars or stoves..Stay warm.


----------



## scottgen20

I currently have a Jotul 8, the 1st version with the spin draft wheel and am heating my new to me 1700sf farmhouse with it.  In my previous home (in my avatar), I had two different newer stoves with burn tubes (Jotul and an England insert).  I had planned on replacing this Jotul 8 with something newer, but after using it for 1.5 seasons now, I'm not so sure I want to part with it.   

The 8 is super quick to heat up - I can have it up to temp in no time at all.   It has a very easy learning curve and damping it down (closing the spin wheel to about 95%) for an overnight burn leaves me with coals that I can use to revive the fire in the morning.   I was worried that it wouldn't be clean burning, but I'm pleasantly surprised that most times when I go out and look at the chimney there is no visible smoke.   It's got a great size firebox and even without a newer air wash, the glass stays surprisingly clean.  In my opinion, I think this was a great design for Jotul.  I have it in red enamel which looks great, too!


----------



## defiant3

It seems too long since I've heard that kind of thing.  Older conventional stoves CAN be relatively clean, efficient, not to mention cost effective heaters!  Perhaps we undervalue "pre-digital" knowledge?  Or are even suspect of under sophisticated technology?  I wonder, but my feeling is that a good stove is a good stove, and there's more to it than simply how new it is.  End of rant, thank you for tolerating it.


----------



## begreen

Jotul has made good stoves for a long time. Properly run, burning dry wood, they are good heaters. My favorite was the F118 which seemed to extract more heat from the flue gases. The Jotul 8 preceded the F400 Castine. Both have similar burn times, but without a doubt the emissions for the old 8 are much higher than for the Castine. I don't have official tests for the F8 but would not be surprised if they are 10x higher. I think the F400 also returns more heat to the room per pound of wood burned, but have not seen a side by side test. The F400 runs about a 100ºC lower flue temp with a nominal burn. The F8 is tested having 75% efficiency, the F400 as 84% energy efficiency. The F8 may have a small edge on the F400 for fuel capacity due to the large baffle and secondary structure that doesn't exist on the F8.

FWIW I used to think my F602 was a pretty clean burning little stove. When it was in the kitchen I only occasionally went out to look at the flue cap to see how well it was burning. Seemed pretty clean at the time. Then I moved it to the greenhouse where I look right out at the stack. That was an eye opener. Until the wood stops outgassing I see smoke even with a good hot, dry wood burn.


----------



## Ashful

defiant3 said:


> It seems too long since I've heard that kind of thing.  Older conventional stoves CAN be relatively clean, efficient, not to mention cost effective heaters!  Perhaps we undervalue "pre-digital" knowledge?  Or are even suspect of under sophisticated technology?  I wonder, but my feeling is that a good stove is a good stove, and there's more to it than simply how new it is.  End of rant, thank you for tolerating it.



They may be reasonably efficient, high emissions aside, But old stoves built by cementing together cast iron panels have a very limited lifetime, unless you're willing to do a complete break-down, cement removal, and rebuild.  Failed cement seams, and the subsequent inevitable overfiring, is the death of almost every old cast-iron Jotul.

I love old cars, too.  But commuting any distance to work every day in a 30 year old car with 300k miles on it is a guaranteed recipe for frustration.


----------



## begreen

A rebuild during the summer is a good plan for a 30 yr old stove. The original Jotul 8 was a simple stove. It can be rebuilt in a couple hours and if no new parts are needed then all it will cost is the price of some cement and maybe a drill and tap plus some bolts. Hearthstone sells a high quality stove cement that is worth getting for this job.


----------



## defiant3

I used to be able to actually work on my car 30 years ago, now they're just too complicated.  Life is full of trade offs, and I'm really not wishing the 80's back again. I got SO sick of Duran Duran for example. But I don't see giving up my old Defiant any time soon either.


----------



## begreen

defiant3 said:


> I'm really not wishing the 80's back again. I got SO sick of Duran Duran for example.


LOL Try hearing Inna Gadda Da Vida a few hundred times.


----------



## rangeroad

Resurrecting an old thread here. I’ve got a series 8 with both the draft wheel on door and damper slider in upper right. It’s also has the ash pan. The only reference to series 8 with an ash pan is with the catalytic converter. My does not have this. Is it possible the previous owner took it out? Or, do I have a one-off or hiccup from the factory? Any insight appreciated. Thx


----------



## begreen

The Jotul naming for this stove is confusing. There is the series 8 and the original Jotul 8 which it sounds like you have. The original 8 had some later variations called the 8A and 8C (their first cat attempt), then the 8TDC (2nd attempt) then the Series 8 (third cat model).

Only the 8, 8A and 8C had the spin draft control. If yours has no cat, but a short baffle, that is the original model 8.


----------



## spirilis

My old original Jotul 8 didn't have a draft slider in the upper right fwiw.  I thought that was a feature of catalyst versions?

Maybe the old owner took out the catalyst, who knows.  The top lid should lift right off if I'm not mistaken - it's held in place by its own weight and a large fiberglass gasket seals it.


----------



## begreen

Yes, the description is confusing. I forgot, there is also the Jotul TD, but that doesn't have the spinwheel draft. 
@rangeroad post a picture of the front of the stove and one of the inside for a positive ID and so that we can see what you are seeing.


----------



## rangeroad




----------



## rangeroad

rangeroad said:


> View attachment 251206


Hopefully these come through. You can’t see it in pic but mine has the standard ash pan on the bottom with lever on the left side.any thoughts?


----------



## begreen

Ah, that does not have the spin-draft control. It is a newer model. Looks like a Series 8, non-cat unless there is a bypass handle on the right side. Can't see this in the picture. There should be a UL tag on the back with model designation. Can you post some shots of the interior of the stove?


----------



## spirilis

rangeroad said:


> View attachment 251206
> View attachment 251207


Ahh ok yours doesn't have the true "spin" draft at the bottom (on mine that round thing was an actual draft control, with handle and 2 semicircular slots for admitting primary air on the top & secondary air underneath).  It's just controlled by the upper right.  Might still be a non-catalytic model, not sure.


----------



## rangeroad

Ok now I’m really confused lol. The spin wheel on the bottom of mine definitely controls the draft, alongside the slider on the upper right. I don’t understand what a true ‘spin draft’ does different compared to mine?  

It snowed last night so will be a few days before interior shots, but I will post those.


----------



## begreen

rangeroad said:


> Ok now I’m really confused lol. The spin wheel on the bottom of mine definitely controls the draft, alongside the slider on the upper right. I don’t understand what a true ‘spin draft’ does different compared to mine?
> 
> It snowed last night so will be a few days before interior shots, but I will post those.


The little air intake on the door is for start-up air. Close it once the fire is burning well. The spin-wheel draft control on the older Jotuls is much larger and controlled all the air.

Here is an older model 8 with the spin wheel. Notice there is no upper air control.


----------



## rangeroad

begreen said:


> The little air intake on the door is for start-up air. Close it once the fire is burning well. The spin-wheel draft control on the older Jotuls is much larger and controlled all the air.
> 
> Here is an older model 8 with the spin wheel. Notice there is no upper air control.
> View attachment 251267




Ah got it, thank you!


----------



## rangeroad

Ok here are some interior photos, not the best quality but maybe someone can chime in if this is a cat or non-cat?


----------



## 1990Jotul

Definitely non-catalytic.  You have an interesting mix of things here.   The insides of your stove are pre-catalytic, but the sliding air control on the upper right side (as looking at stove) suggests it was an 8TDC or 8TDIC (as does your door without the spin draft control).  The one thing I am still unclear on is that you mentioned a bottom ashpan, but I cannot see that.  Are you sure this has a gasketed removable pan under it?  If so, that would be consistent with a a Series 8, but you clearly do not have that, as you have no catalyst mechanism in the front.  Adding all this up, my best guess is that this stove was not made for the USA market, but is a Jotul F8 which is sold in the UK, Europe, and other parts of the world.  If you measure your flue exhaust,  it should be 6 inches.  You have no identification plate on the back of the stove?  I also noted your top baffle was manufactured in 1994, so unless it was a replacement part, there is no way this could have been a USA model.


----------



## 1990Jotul

Correction to my last post, I see you actually said you had a "standard ash pan" so ignore my comment about the removable gasketed one.  The other thing I just noticed, is you are in Canada, so this is consistent with my theory of it being a non-USA model F8.  You can still buy these in certain parts of the world.


----------



## rangeroad

Thank you! Yes, after seeing photos of various Series 8 stoves I’ve  been curious as to what exactly this is. Unfortunately no plate on back of stove. It’s interesting that if you look closely at markings on side plate in the photos, you can read the lettering KAT. That got me wondering if it was Norwegian for a catalytic ID. But when you empty the ash pan, it’s clear that it’s just the grate separating the pan, nothing in between. And yes my flue is 6”.

At any rate, this is my first experience with a wood stove, and I have to say I really love this one. Easy to get a fast fire going, and seems to draw really well. The ash pan is a little awkward as ash always falls in between the gap, so it requires another cavity sweep so the pan will fit back properly. The ashpan door has a gasket, but the pan does not; it’s just a deep pan approx 4” deep. It’s a bit of a yoga exercise to empty lol, other than that a perfect camp stove that I found for a great price.


----------



## 1990Jotul

rangeroad said:


> Thank you! Yes, after seeing photos of various Series 8 stoves I’ve  been curious as to what exactly this is. Unfortunately no plate on back of stove. It’s interesting that if you look closely at markings on side plate in the photos, you can read the lettering KAT. That got me wondering if it was Norwegian for a catalytic ID. But when you empty the ash pan, it’s clear that it’s just the grate separating the pan, nothing in between. And yes my flue is 6”.
> 
> At any rate, this is my first experience with a wood stove, and I have to say I really love this one. Easy to get a fast fire going, and seems to draw really well. The ash pan is a little awkward as ash always falls in between the gap, so it requires another cavity sweep so the pan will fit back properly. The ashpan door has a gasket, but the pan does not; it’s just a deep pan approx 4” deep. It’s a bit of a yoga exercise to empty lol, other than that a perfect camp stove that I found for a great price.


Agreed, it's an excellent stove.  I essentially have the exact same stove you have.  It started out as 1990 8-TDIC catalytic, but after about 25 years of use, I de-catalyzed it.  I bought parts here in the USA for the pre-catalytic version and a part from England and was able to make it an F 8.  So I know EXACTLY  what you are running.  As far as your comment about the Ash pan gap, I understand what you are referring to, but I'm not sure why you find it to be much of a problem.  You can let the ash accumulate in it because there is no reason to be taking the pan out and putting it back in again.  Just leave the pan in place and take ash off with a small shovel (trowel).  It always sounds like having a gasketed pan would be a great thing, but they really aren't.  Besides the fact that they require an additional gasket to worry about replacing,  you then also have to constantly be taking the pan out and emptying light fluffy voluminous ash.  With our stove's design, you can just keep burning load after load of wood and the ash becomes a supper combusted dense crusty mineral-like dirt that need to be removed far less frequently.  I prefer that any day.  Regarding the "Kat" you observed on the part.  The Norwegian word for catalog is katalog.  So think of that as "Cat No. xxxxxx".


----------



## 1990Jotul

Rangeroad,
Once again I have to correct myself about your ash-pan.   I went back and re-read your post and looked at the photos again.  I now realize that I do not have exactly the same stove as the F8.  I see Jotul's website refers to this as having an "ash removal system".  I guess that's what your pan is.  I can now see that you have a grate for ash to fall through.  I do not have this- I have a solid bottom.  Hence my comments about how I deal with ash.  My recommendation is to see if you can remove that pan and see if you can find a solid bottom piece to replace it.  I can show you a photo of the part and give you the part number if you are interested. Anyway, I learned something new about these stoves from your photos.  Thanks!


----------



## Ashful

You maybe mis-identified the pan, but your advice on how to deal with it still holds. Many choose to just let the pan fill up until it’s compacted in there, and shovel ash from the firebox as if they had no pan. I always preferred using the ash pan as designed, but can understand the argument of the camp that favors shoveling. To each their own. Before the BK’s, I owned three old Jotul 12’s.


----------



## rangeroad

Ah ok, interesting about ash pan technique. I just assumed that it was meant to be emptied every time it’s full, I’ve been doing it approx twice a week. So there’s no adverse reaction to just letting it accumulate?

I’m also curious if you’ve redone the gasket on the glass door? I’m thinking of doing mine if a warm day pops up, I doubt it’s ever been replaced. Or should I stay on the ‘if it ain’t broke, leave it’?

1990 Jøtul, I’d be interested in that part number and supplier if you wouldn’t mind posting it. Thx!


----------



## 1990Jotul

Ashful said:


> You maybe mis-identified the pan, but your advice on how to deal with it still holds. Many choose to just let the pan fill up until it’s compacted in there, and shovel ash from the firebox as if they had no pan. I always preferred using the ash pan as designed, but can understand the argument of the camp that favors shoveling. To each their own. Before the BK’s, I owned three old Jotul 12’s.


Ashful,
Having had both the Jotul 12  and the BK,  what are your general thoughts comparing your experiences with them?  I have had my Jotul 8 for about 30 years now.  I dearly love it and have been very happy with it.  I know it is stoneage technology compared to the BK's and I am really tempted by the Ashford.  However,  I've also had experiences where I learned newer is not nessarily better and there is certainly a lot less to go wrong with my Jotul 8, espcially since I've removed the catalyst assembly.  So what are your thoughts?  BTW, you were extremely helpful to me last year when I was considering getting a splitter.  I ended up getting a County Line 40 Ton and am very happy with it so far (have only had for 2 weeks).  Thanks again for your help with that.


----------



## 1990Jotul

rangeroad said:


> Ah ok, interesting about ash pan technique. I just assumed that it was meant to be emptied every time it’s full, I’ve been doing it approx twice a week. So there’s no adverse reaction to just letting it accumulate?
> 
> I’m also curious if you’ve redone the gasket on the glass door? I’m thinking of doing mine if a warm day pops up, I doubt it’s ever been replaced. Or should I stay on the ‘if it ain’t broke, leave it’?
> 
> 1990 Jøtul, I’d be interested in that part number and supplier if you wouldn’t mind posting it. Thx!


I looked up that part, and it is referred to as a Jotul 8 Bottom burn plate (part number 101933).  Since it is considered a burn plate, I am thinking you may already have this part in your stove, underneath that ash pan.  Take a look at the photo and see if you have it.  If so, you can just remove that pan and grate.  If you don't have it, I think it is highly likely that you could put one in your stove, as I think you have the same exact stove body as the ones that had this in them.  You can buy them new (old part stock) but they are kind of pricey (I saw $160), but you may be able to get a used one somewhere from a junked stove.  As I said before, the idea of an ash pan may be good in theory, but I certainly wouldnt want to be emptying light fluffy ash a couple of times a week.  I can run my stove really hard for 2 or 3 weeks, burning many, many loads before I need to do a clean out.  When you have repeated fires and continuous packing with the weight of new wood being put directly on top, the ash basically becomes so mineralized and stone like that it forms a solid crust.  There is barely any dust released when I shovel out that "cement".  Ashful mentioned you can try this approach with your pan in place, but I think you would have better luck without it, since it will give you a bit more useable space in the stove, and the wood will be able to more directly pack down your ash.

Regarding the gasket question.  First, you should be able to tell if you need a new gasket just from the performance of the stove.  Are you able to really lower the burn when you fully close down the damper?  If not, that would be a sign that air is leaking in around the door.  You can also do the dollar bill test.  Close the door on a bill and see if you can pull it out from the latched door.  Do this in multiple places on the door.  If it can easily be pulled out, you need a new gasket.  The are easy enough to replace.


----------



## rangeroad

Thanks for the link, a solid plate would definitely be an improvement after looking the photo.  The nice thing about the ash is that my fruit trees love it as an amendment, but I’m sure the bulkier stuff you’re talking about will still break down nicely. As per the glass gasket, I can see a sliver of light coming in so I’m going to add this to a warm day project list.....lord only knows when that might arrive.


----------



## 1990Jotul

Just to clarify- is the gasket you are asking about for the GLASS or for the DOOR (there is one on both of them)?  The Door gasket will need to be replaced periodically, but the glass ones really don't need to be done very often (at least not in my experience)


----------



## begreen

It's an 8 AP. Some of the Series 8 are without the cat.  I think Jotul might still sell the non-cat 8 in Europe as the 8TD (traditional). KAT NR and the number means catalog #.


----------



## Ashful

To determine if you need to re-gasket your glass, wait until the stove is cool enough to touch, open the doors, and grab the glass with one hand on inside face and the other on outside face.  Try to shift the glass around.  If it slides around easily, it's likely time for a new gasket.  If there's good resistance to slipping around, leave it alone.

Many people, not just Jotul people, have broken off the retaining screws when removing them.  Stove interiors see a lot of heat and a lot of water, not the friendliest environment for fasteners.  A small impact driver is your friend here, letting the impact hammer away at it for 30 seconds easily beats wrenching on it by hand, in terms of getting the fastener loose without snapping the head off.

As to new BK's versus old Jotuls, there's a lot to be said there.  If you want to get into it, please post a separate thread and link it here, but I'll quickly give a few points:

1.  I had a lot of trouble with overheating the combustors on my Jotul 12's anytime I filled the firebox full with wood.  They were fine on a half load, but not much more than that.  The combustor was half the size of any modern BK or Woodstock of similar firebox volume, so I blamed the issue on that.  But they were also 30 year old cemented iron plate stoves, and while I couldn't find any leaks in them, the likelihood that there was a leak somewhere was actually very high.

2.  The Jotuls were sensitive to the air inlet setting.  Fully closed worked fine on the stove that had the taller chimney, but if I wanted any more heat than that I had to worry about the thing going nuclear two hours into the burn on a higher setting.  The other stove on the shorter chimney would back-puff if I went fully closed on the inlet air, so I'd try to run that one at 5% open.  By contrast, the BK's are happy to run at any air setting on the dial.  Set it for my desired burn time and forget it, never any fiddling with it.

3.  This is unique to me, and not really unique to BK, but the Ashford is a convective stove an the Jotul cast stoves are almost entirely radiant.  I have my stoves stuffed into masonry fireplaces on exterior walls, and found the Jotul's were wasting most of my heat to the outdoors.  But really any convective stove would have fixed this problem, not just the BK's.

4.  The BK's are about as reliable and boring as concrete.  Put load in, char it and close the bypass, then set the dial for your desired output or burn time.  The thermostat moves as the burn peaks and wanes, to maintain that nearly-constant output.  It's as boring as everyone claims, if you crave unpredictability and excitement in your heating appliance, but I do not.

I can't make the same claims as others over wood savings.  I'm sure they're saving me wood, but I changed my burning habits at the time I changed my stoves.  Whereas I was throwing as much as 14 cords per year thru my Jotuls, I backed off and decided I'm just going to load my BK's once and twice per day, for the two stoves respectively.  They contribute a consistent and predictable base heating to the house, and my programmable thermostats modulate on top of that with the oil burner, keeping everything where we want it.  I'm not burning any more oil than I did before, but I'm working a lot less, and we're much more comfortable.


----------



## begreen

Glass gaskets last a long time because they are not in a wearing situation. But eventually heating and cooling will start to break them down.  Glass can be loose with a good gasket. Age and amount of fires may be a better guide. The glass was loose on our Castine when new from the factory. I had to gingerly tighten the clips on it.


----------

