# Burning tips for running a Jotul 118?



## Jotul118 (Dec 5, 2013)

This will be my first season using my Jotul 118 as a sole source of heat for my studio space. I feel that there is both adequate draft and draw with my set up, but when initiating a cold start, it really likes to plume out the smoke. I'm taking it that when lighting paper and having some cool chunks of ash near the front of the box makes things worse?

Should I be better off pushing any ash or ash chunks back a ways and then starting? Holding a section of paper up into the baffle helps but it starts to drop down fragments that like to then drift off into the room and if I close the door a bit it just makes the smoking issue worse. I am also going to try the hair dryer approach, but how long would I need to do that? As long as it takes where I don't feel a cold draft coming down into the box?

Cheers


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## webbie (Dec 5, 2013)

A couple articles would help....
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/tending_a_wood_fire
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/start_a_wood_fire
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/chimneys_an_unexact_science/


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## Jotul118 (Dec 5, 2013)

Very helpful links! Thank you so very much!



webbie said:


> A couple articles would help....
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/tending_a_wood_fire
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/start_a_wood_fire
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/chimneys_an_unexact_science/


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## begreen (Dec 5, 2013)

Is this an older F118 or a new F118CB?


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## Jotul118 (Dec 5, 2013)

begreen said:


> Is this an older F118 or a new F118CB?


 
 This is the older F118 as seen in my profile photo.


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## Fort Wisers (Dec 6, 2013)

How tall is your chimney?
What diameter?

When you light your initial fire, try cracking an outside door or window near the stove for a bit until you get some heat into your chimney to cause a good updraft.
I had the same smoke spillage issues on first fire with my F118CB (black bear)........


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## Jotul118 (Dec 6, 2013)

Fort Wisers said:


> How tall is your chimney?
> What diameter?
> 
> When you light your initial fire, try cracking an outside door or window near the stove for a bit until you get some heat into your chimney to cause a good updraft.
> I had the same smoke spillage issues on first fire with my F118CB (black bear)........


Thank you! I will do so! Once the fire gets going the draft is great. The only other thing I can think of for the issues with smoking at a cold start might be the smaller diameter of the 118s flue (4") stepping up to the 8" Duravent piping.

The hair dryer trick seemed to work well but on principle, it would be nice to do it by match and tinder. Lighting some news paper and reaching up into the baffle with it helps, but paper fragments float out into the room which is kind of a pain.

Little by little and bit by bit as they say though..


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## aansorge (Dec 6, 2013)

Add a 3 foot section of chimney and see what happens.


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## Jotul118 (Dec 6, 2013)

aansorge said:


> Add a 3 foot section of chimney and see what happens.


You know, I was going to add that as a thought in my last reply. I did add a 3 foot section and it has certainly helped, but I am leaning toward another 3 foot section if all else fails with other suggestions.

Thanks!


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## Fort Wisers (Dec 6, 2013)

I agree with aansorge.
When we first installed our stove I had numerous draft issues the first day I used it.
I'm going from 4" at the stove outlet to a 6" flue/chimney.
The original stack height was just shy of 10 feet.
After about an hour of fighting with smoke we added a section that upped the stck height to  over 12 feet and it made a huge difference.....
I can imagine running into 8" (depending on the stack height) might be causing some draft issues.
Keep in mind these are two different stoves so we might end up with some different results.....


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## Jotul118 (Dec 6, 2013)

Fort Wisers said:


> I agree with aansorge.
> When we first installed our stove I had numerous draft issues the first day I used it.
> I'm going from 4" at the stove outlet to a 6" flue/chimney.
> The original stack height was just shy of 10 feet.
> ...


 
I here you! I am going to try out some of those kind suggestions first and if I still have the same issues, I will indeed add yet another 3' section of pipe. My question then would be, how do I get at the cap and clean out that cursed spark arrester? I have found it relatively easy doing the sweep from the bottom up, but the cap seems like it could become a ripe pain in the ...

I guess one could take the arrester out? How often are all of you checking and cleaning out exterior (double or triple wall) pipe? I was just curious because I was figuring on doing it monthly.

And when it comes to cleaning the inside, I have to pull the stove away to take out the flue adapter, followed by the section of single wall, followed by the damper. Is there an easier way or will it just become second nature?


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## aansorge (Dec 6, 2013)

Spark arrester?  What's that?  I remember having them on some of my dirt bikes....Is it part of the rain cap?


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## ninechars (Jan 6, 2015)

I'm going to bring this thread back from the dead mainly because I just installed one of these in my house and have come up with a sure fire way (hahaha) to start the fire in this 118 unit. First off do not use *ANY* paper type products to start the fire. This creates a lot of extra soot and smoke and doesn't really burn long enough to catch the wood on fire.

The key to getting a good draft going with this stove is to start a fire that burns hot, quickly, and creates a lot of quick coal/embers. To do this I load the stove up about 25% to 50% with really dried out (CLEAN) pine (or other very soft wood). I squirt on some liquid fire starter (not lighter fluid used for starting grills). It has the consistency of a gel so it stays where you put it and does not just run all over the place. Dry pieces of soft wood soaked in lighter fluid may also work, but the fire starting gel I use seems to work best. The gel burns clean and hot and gets the wood burning very quickly. At first most of the gel is burning so there should be virtually no smoke or soot at all. Where you light the fire with this stove shouldn't matter too much as the goal is to get the first fire you build to burn down quickly. So light the thing in a few spots and get it going everywhere you can.

Once the wood starts to burn, you will start to get a little smoke coming out, but it shouldn't be too bad if you've chosen clean, dry, pieces of wood to start the fire with. If that isn't an option, you're going to need to use more fire starting gel and expect more smoke. This initial smoke is normal and will easily dissipate into the room without getting things very smoky, but people have the urge to close the door in panic. If you shut the door too quickly you will snuff out the fire completely and have a major smoke problem. There is NO GOOD WAY to deal with this smoke problem so the best strategy is to just get the fire started. Anything else you do will make matters worse. So let a little smoke roll out at first and the let fire catch.

I personally leave the door wide open until the wood starts to really burn down. At some point the wood is going to put out a lot more smoke. When this happens the fire should be going well enough where you can mostly close the door, but leave the air dial wide open and also leave the door slightly ajar for extra oxygen. This allows the wood to quickly burning down to embers and starts forcing heat and smoke out of the Jotul and out the pipe.

Once you get the unit close to about 150 or 200 degrees you should have decent enough draft to start building up the fire. Open the door slowly before you put new wood in as it allows the wood burning chamber to empty out the smoke and gases. All of that smoke and gas will just fill the room if open it too quickly -- open the door slightly ajar and give it a few seconds.

After I have it up to that basic temperature, I start building it up by putting a couple logs in. This stove is designed to burn front to back, so a critical step is to rake the coals from the back to the front (they make a special tool for this) so the coal is closer to the oxygen and will burn stronger. This is a critical step that must be done periodically -- either when just checking the fire or when putting new logs into the stove. I will tend to start with a few softer logs first to further build a good, hot coal base. After that, I switch to harder woods and just keep an eye on it every few hours.

This approach has never failed me and I have never really had a draft issue since.


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