Jotul F3 - removing outside air intake, air blocker question

[janyyc]

Hello all!

First post - of course asking for help/advice, as usual.

After thinking for a few months which stove to purchase for a small, dovetail thick log (but uninsulated) cabin, I concluded the F3 would be the perfect compromise. I had a whole thread-starter-post written and ready to publish, laying out my questions and explaining my situation, but ultimately decided that I needed to make the decision myself.

Then, of course, came the trouble of finding an F3 in Canada, given they have not been in sold in North America for a number of years already. One day, shortly after Christmas, I chanced upon a very-poorly-marketed MarketPlace ad, which didn't even mention the brand of the stove - to the point I thought it might be a scam. But no, the seller checked out (selling because he bought the property and decided to move to propane), and after instantly jumping on the offer and going to pick it up two days later I was the proud owner of a Jotul F3 for $350 (Canadian - about 250 USD). I know, I am a thief.

The purpose of this thread, however, is to ask about removing the (rare) outside air intake currently installed on this Jotul. I would like to return it to "normal" form, and I believe I have to purchase two parts to make this possible:

- Air Inlet Cover F3 Black Paint (BP) - part number 10366492
- Heat Shield - part number 10024369 (not strictly necessary, but I would like it to look good, too)

Then, I have been slightly confused about the "Air Blocker" (part number 12048998) which seems to be a US spec, and which would slot into the Air Inlet Cover. A few threads on Hearth.com and another forum on this subject:

Thread 'Jotul F3 - What is the "Air Blocker" for?'

Mar 2, 2015

The caveat for the new-to-me F3 I just got from craigslist is that I must replace the secondary air manifold due to warping (accounted for in price). So I've just figured out (thanks to hearth.com of course) how to remove the top of the stove for ease of access. This allowed me to unbolt the stove pipe adapter & then remove the rear heat shields, and finally get at the screws that bolt the secondary air manifold to the stove. One of these screws/bolts also holds on the secondary air intake cover, and a weird piece of cast iron fell out when I removed the cover.


According...

• Pellet_Pete
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Jotul

Jotul F3 - partial loss of secondary burn.

I've only had a few small fires this fall, and I noticed the secondary burn has greatly diminished. It was pretty decent last year, but not great....

firewoodhoardersclub.com

Any opinions on whether to purchase this piece or leave it out? Presumably the stove will be fine to run without it, given that's the way it's sold in Europe.

And now some pictures just for fun. Thank you for your help!

The listing:







Stove loaded up in our truck:



Data plate:



Outside Air Intake quite obvious here:

 

[begreen]

Nice find, it looks to be in decent condition. I would try the stove as is. The secondary combustion is nicely balanced in stock form.

 

[janyyc]

Thank you @begreen, with the outside air intake installed, the air inlet cover is removed. And since the rear of the stove will be somewhat visible when entering the cabin, I would prefer to be a perfectionist and replace that cover with the original one.

 

[Todd]

Looks like you found a great deal! That outside air duct looks like it’s removable but there’s probably a cut out hole on that rear heat shield that it covers. I’m not sure if you could order that cut out part or if you need to replace the whole rear heat shield?

 

[D. Hermit]

This is weird. It may be a Canadian thing, ive always wondered what the kit is as its a listed part number in the service book. But the stove was not approved for mobile home use anyway. Plus the way yours is attached, doesnt make a lot if sense when the air comes in from the other side of the back? And is the baffle still attached through the bolt holes on both sides of the back?

You can see the baffle is very deformed in the photos, which means likely the side plate is looking rough and the bottom has cracks. If they were running without the air blocker and hot enough the melt the baffle, the back could be cracked as well.

The air blocker is needed. They added those in the early days of the stove to help tamp down the fire to protect the internals and extend burn times. Even when Im rebuilding clients v1 f3s without the air blocker, I always talk to them and add a blocker back in. And they are amazed about the better burn time when they get their stove back.

If you take the kit off the heatshield might be fine, or you can order a new one. Problem w a new one is it will not have the actual label and UL listing for the stove on it, you could just use the inner metal of a new one and leave the outside metal of the old shield. It would still look a little weird.