Anyone Have a Jotul F 100 Nordic? Do You Like It?

[Knots]

No difference in thermometers for cast iron versus steel.

I don't use any kindling. My wood is dry - I just fill the stove and stick in a pine cone, or white birch bark, or paper and it lights. Most times on the first time, sometimes it takes a couple of cones.

 

[djkeev]

I do not have the Jotul F100, but my Brother does.

His praise and love for the F100 is what prompted me to get the F3CB...... which he does NOT like BTW!

He only heats his "three" season room with his stove. With the stove it is now a four season room. I'm guessing the room is about 20' square, has a vaulted ceiling and all the walls are lined with Pella windows or entry doors. A Single wall Chimney goes up through the roof.

It holds a fire well and it heats up quickly. While it will hold heat overnight, don't expect coals, though it does happen.

It is a small stove, don't expect big stove performance from it.

Dave

 

[djkeev]

I have a new Jotul F100 and I am feeling like a flunky. This is my first stove.
The installer told me I did not need to do a break in - tho I was pretty sure I had read here that I did. I listened to the installer and kept it running the first couple of days. Did I do any damage? Oh, the curing smell was terrible.

I have a Condar Stove Top thermometer. The installer told me to put it on the stove pipe - tho it clearly says Stove TOP. When if failed to reach temperature, I looked at the packaging, and moved it to the side. It does seem to reach temperature on the side, not on the top. It never goes beyond around 500 - even with damper/flue thing wide open. Any time I try to lower it, the fire goes out. :-(

Last night I tried to stuff the little stove before bed. My bad. I knocked the thing loose on the top - the second burner? Midnight. Seemed like it was getting smoky inside, and I got nervous, so called the fire department. They fit it back in, and said "that's not going anywhere", and when I pointed out that it didn't look like it was seated correctly, the fire man said to wait until it cooled the next day and work on it. I did, and think I got it right. Still, barely reaching temperature.

I'm frustrated. Is it the wood? They said it was seasoned. I'm such a newbie, I don't know. I've been splitting it and using smaller pieces. Bringing in a day's worth and trying to dry it out.
And having been reading this thread, I wonder if I shouldn't have shopped a bit more... My home is smallish - 1400 sq. ft, and I figured I didn't need to heat the whole house - but this is sad.

I am surprised about how little your installer knew!
Makes one question his competency overall. Should his work be double checked?
I struggle trusting "experts" or "professionals". This is a prime example of why I have this mistrust.

Anyway, here is the manual for your stove, read it completely and use it to make sure your install is safe.

(broken link removed to https://jotul.com/us/products/wood-stoves/_attachment/47427?_download=true&_ts=159652675b5)

There is a break in procedure on page 15. If any trouble arises from not following it I think that it would probably be gasket or gasket cement failure.

Place your thermometer centered on the stove top, this information is also in the manual.

Good luck! Enjoy your stove but it is time for a crash course and to NOT listen to your local "experts".

I would be tempted to contact Jotul up in Maine and inform them how poorly their local sales team knows their product! How they provided you with misleading information too.

See what effects they feel not breaking in the stove as per the manual will have long term.

Dave

 

[DoIJotul]

I am surprised about how little your installer knew!
Makes one question his competency overall. Should his work be double checked?
I struggle trusting "experts" or "professionals". This is a prime example of why I have this mistrust.

Anyway, here is the manual for your stove, read it completely and use it to make sure your install is safe.

(broken link removed to https://jotul.com/us/products/wood-stoves/_attachment/47427?_download=true&_ts=159652675b5)

There is a break in procedure on page 15. If any trouble arises from not following it I think that it would probably be gasket or gasket cement failure.

Place your thermometer centered on the stove top, this information is also in the manual.

Good luck! Enjoy your stove but it is time for a crash course and to NOT listen to your local "experts".

I would be tempted to contact Jotul up in Maine and inform them how poorly their local sales team knows their product! How they provided you with misleading information too.

See what effects they feel not breaking in the stove as per the manual will have long term.

Dave

Dave - Thank you so very much for your response. I do want to have the installation checked -- first I want to have this installer out - and show him the Jotul manual, and the thermometer instructions. It is worrisome. He sells stoves, but did not have anything good to say about the Jotul as he prefers steel over cast iron. I had him pick this stove up for me at the store where I purchased it. The installer is a chimney sweep... I need to put a level against the pipe in the house also as it does not appear to be straight. He used single wall in the house, and the double wall through the attic and roof. I hope this was correct. I may then have another installer out to double check this work. I am 100% with you in my mistrust. Have been through many projects on the house, and everyone has a different approach on everything. I've had to stand over people, and go behind their work and report to business owners etc. I had a new chimney liner put in for my oil furnace, and had I not been able to climb a ladder and inspect the work myself after they left, I would not have known about the gaps in the work. Quite upsetting - especially with such critical jobs.

I will also contact Jotul in Maine. Thanks again for your kind understanding. So grateful for this community! I have much to learn.
Caren

 

[Woodtoburn]

Dave - Thank you so very much for your response. I do want to have the installation checked -- first I want to have this installer out - and show him the Jotul manual, and the thermometer instructions. It is worrisome. He sells stoves, but did not have anything good to say about the Jotul as he prefers steel over cast iron. I had him pick this stove up for me at the store where I purchased it. The installer is a chimney sweep... I need to put a level against the pipe in the house also as it does not appear to be straight. He used single wall in the house, and the double wall through the attic and roof. I hope this was correct. I may then have another installer out to double check this work. I am 100% with you in my mistrust. Have been through many projects on the house, and everyone has a different approach on everything. I've had to stand over people, and go behind their work and report to business owners etc. I had a new chimney liner put in for my oil furnace, and had I not been able to climb a ladder and inspect the work myself after they left, I would not have known about the gaps in the work. Quite upsetting - especially with such critical jobs.

I will also contact Jotul in Maine. Thanks again for your kind understanding. So grateful for this community! I have much to learn.
Caren

I would not recommend this stove to a seasoned pro or a novice beginner woodstove person. The stove does not draft properly due to insufficient make up air. There is no way to manage inbound air draft, hence using the door is the only option when starting a fire and bringing it to full burn. The stove has very poor design flaw that i wish i had payed attention to other negative reviewers, but i wrote them off as beginners. Im a professional wood processor, ive logged, sawn and burnt for decades. Ive installed and used earth, lopi, vermont castings and fisher stoves, all without issues or ever a problem. I purchased the f 100 to fit my tiny cabin, 240 ft with lift. Was a text book install, purchased stove new from owner who never used it, was a 2016 model. Upon lighting for hours, stove would not draft unless door was open. Wrestled with it for 2 hours, searching for a make up air? Never found it. Outbound damper double and triple checked to be open= no difference. I removed abt a 15 to 20 lbs reburner plate in the upper reaches of the stove. Made as big difference, but the make up air issue was still there, just now i wasnt getting back smoked in the cabin? There was no negative draft in my cabin Pipe was brand new, gunbarrel straight. Once i played with the stove extensively, i was marginally able to achive clean burn, with parts removed. Had i purchased from dealer, i would have returned it. The literature claiming ability to heat up to 800 ft is false. Maybe 300 to 400 , once it is really going hot. I burned premium dry pine, old dense, bone dry wood. The stove was basically inoperative with the reburner plating. I heat my 1300 ft house with a fisher, never an issue. The size and glass window were the basic reasons i wanted this for our cabin. I cant speculate on other jotuls, im sure they have great stoves. The f100 is a total failure in my opinion. If this design has remained the same for years, the other reviews ,must be fake or fabricated. If anyone doubts these results, please contact me and I will share a video for you. If you would like a slightly used f100 failure for, $900, please let me know. Thankyou.

 

[begreen]

Maybe not the stove, but insufficient draft due to too warm temps or too short flue? Modern stoves need much stronger draft than an old Fisher.

 

[DoIJotul]

Woodtoburn - Thank you for your thoughtful and experienced review. One doesn't know what one doesn't know. I got some good hot fires out of the stove over the winter, but many times it failed to get going at all. I attribute it to damp wood. I bought a moisture meter - have not had an opportunity to try it yet - I ran out of wood before we ran out of cold weather! So, my question now is, is it safe to remove the reburner plate? And your finding is that the stove burns better without it? Can you say a little more about how it helped? If only I had experience to know what I should have expected in a stove... Perhaps in another season or two I will try to sell it and follow recommendations for something else.

 

[DoIJotul]

Maybe not the stove, but insufficient draft due to too warm temps or too short flue? Modern stoves need much stronger draft than an old Fisher.

It's true, isn't it, that stoves do not burn as well when it's warmer out? That was an interesting discovery. And they burn better when it's windy than when it's still out, yes? For the draft?

 

[begreen]

Woodtoburn - Thank you for your thoughtful and experienced review. One doesn't know what one doesn't know. I got some good hot fires out of the stove over the winter, but many times it failed to get going at all. I attribute it to damp wood. I bought a moisture meter - have not had an opportunity to try it yet - I ran out of wood before we ran out of cold weather! So, my question now is, is it safe to remove the reburner plate? And your finding is that the stove burns better without it? Can you say a little more about how it helped? If only I had experience to know what I should have expected in a stove... Perhaps in another season or two I will try to sell it and follow recommendations for something else.

To do so is a violation of EPA regs. Before blaming the stove, fix the issue(s). Describe your setup in detail, maybe we can spot the problem.

 

[begreen]

It's true, isn't it, that stoves do not burn as well when it's warmer out? That was an interesting discovery. And they burn better when it's windy than when it's still out, yes? For the draft?

Yes, draft will be weaker when it is warmer outside. This is particularly true for a short chimney setup or one that has 90º turns in the flue path.

 

[DoIJotul]

To do so is a violation of EPA regs. Before blaming the stove, fix the issue(s). Describe your setup in detail, maybe we can spot the problem.

Will do begreen. I'll see how it burns next season. I plan to purchase wood this summer so that if it is not truly seasoned, it will at least have a bit more time to dry...

 

[BrotherBart]

Burned the lil F100 for several years. Loved the little sucker but needed a bigger firebox for longer burn times. Yeah, the problem ain't the baffle. It is either the wood or the pipe. Take out the baffle and all of your heat heads for the sky.

 

[begreen]

Will do begreen. I'll see how it burns next season. I plan to purchase wood this summer so that if it is not truly seasoned, it will at least have a bit more time to dry...

If you need to buy wood, buy it now. And try to buy some ash. Hickory or oak will need at least a couple years seasoning.