Hi all,
We had our first season with a Jotul 118 black bear last winter. It warmed up and I totally put off looking to see what it needed for maintenance.
I've been doing some reading and I'm not finding a lot of info on these. It looks like I need a fire brick and an insulating blanket. It looks like I just slide the fire brick retainer up and swap the brick out but I have no clue what to do with the blanket..
Does the stove have to come apart? Is there anything in these pictures that is a red flag to you experienced guys about how we've been burning? Do I need to get an ash vacuum and totally clean this? I can't find my manual right now but I don
![Maintenance help for a newbie? Maintenance help for a newbie?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/264/264047-31816a22653a33ec54b1fc46004c5708.jpg)
![Maintenance help for a newbie? Maintenance help for a newbie?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/264/264048-0701909d271788f613ffc79208290d37.jpg)
We had our first season with a Jotul 118 black bear last winter. It warmed up and I totally put off looking to see what it needed for maintenance.
I've been doing some reading and I'm not finding a lot of info on these. It looks like I need a fire brick and an insulating blanket. It looks like I just slide the fire brick retainer up and swap the brick out but I have no clue what to do with the blanket..
Does the stove have to come apart? Is there anything in these pictures that is a red flag to you experienced guys about how we've been burning? Do I need to get an ash vacuum and totally clean this? I can't find my manual right now but I don
![Maintenance help for a newbie? Maintenance help for a newbie?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/264/264047-31816a22653a33ec54b1fc46004c5708.jpg)
![Maintenance help for a newbie? Maintenance help for a newbie?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/264/264048-0701909d271788f613ffc79208290d37.jpg)