MY F600 CRACKED TODAY

[forby]

Thanks Sealcove....

It's the handle end that is causing the problem...

Check your gasket near the handle for fit. That's enough play to allow air thru I guess.

 

[stoveguy13]

Jotul does not cover any freight cost so you may have to pay something that part is really up to the dealer if they will eat it for you or not.

 

[Sealcove]

Check your gasket near the handle for fit. That's enough play to allow air thru I guess.

I don't notice play at either end when the door is firmly latched.

 

[forby]

Sealcove....

The play is when only when opened....... This causes the door to "hang low" and when closed, the gasket doesn't meet the frame correctly. there is no play when latched.

 

[nocdpc]

Hello all this is my first post and I have been learning alot from the Forum. I have a F600 which I bought this year and previously owned a F500 for 5years. My F600 does not get up to temps at all either and is very frustrating. My F500 I had would get so darned hot sometimes I had to wear long sleve shirts just to load it fire.
I called my dealer I purchased the stove from and he was saying it was the wood. The dealer told me to go to local store and get some kiln dried wood(which in the manual it says not too) whatever I bought it and the stove just barely peaked to under 500degrees on the therm. I am at a loss on what to do as well. I will look for some cracks too and check out my ash pan door as well.

 

[burntime]

Cracks would make it get up to temp faster. More air to feed the fire...

 

[forby]

Burntime....... Actually that's not 100% true. When you increase the air supply on an established fire, you can actually decrease the temps. I've seen it happen. You need just the right amount of air to reach the highest temps.

 

[burntime]

Then its not a crack, its a HOLE :lol:

 

[quinn]

I have the F600 and the ash pan door on my stove has a half inch of play when open. The door seems to seal reasonably well. I have used this stove for 5 or 6 years with no crack in the frame like you have documented. When I close the air intake I get more flame and heat than I did when the stove was new and I am assuming it is getting to be time to replace the gaskets. One thing I have noticed is that the grate at the the bottom of the firebox is warped such that the sides of the grate sit on the floor of the stove and the middle is warped up a good two inches. Otherwise, the stove is working well for me, heating a 2600 square foot house and the furnace has not been on once this year - a first.

 

[forby]

WOW The grate is warped 2 inches

How hot does your stove get??????

I'm stil waiting for the dealer and Jotul to make a determination. I hope they don't make me pay for a thing. $6,000 install total. $2,000 stove. 5 months till it cracked. Never above 525 degrees.


It's been 10 days since I have had to shut it down.....

 

[quinn]

Over the years I have forgotten to reduce the air intake with a full load of wood and the stove top has gone up above 800 a few times. In mid winter I burn between 400 and 700 degrees and on shoulder seasons usually between 300 and 400. I also have the F400 and that stove seems to run best at around 700. I am no expert and it seems to me that these stoves are pretty durable and can tolerate some pretty high heat. And, perhaps I should be counting my lucky stars given that neither stove, to my knowledge, has cracked.

I am sorry to hear no decision has been made yet. You must be anxious to hear.

Any other Jotul burners out there burning hotter than the standard 400 to 600 temps?

 

[begreen]

There's a big difference in temperature between a hot stove top and the forge like conditions that can occur around the grate if too much air enters below it. The warped grate is a sign that there may be an air leak at the ash pan door. This is assuming the stove is not started by running it with this door open. The next time the stove is cleaned the grate should be removed and replaced. Inspect the area that the grate sits in carefully for cracks.

 

[quinn]

Hey BeGreen,

I checked all around the stove bottom, ash pan area and sides and I can't see any sign of cracks. The inside of the ash pan door, however, is thick with creosote. Is this a sign of an air leak. As I said earlier, I do burn hot and the chimney stays pretty clean. After 8 cords of burning I get two cups of white ash from 28 feet of chimney so I was surprised to see the thick layer of creosote on the ash door.

 

[begreen]

Tom, it's good to hear that only the grate is damaged. To check how well the door is sealing, try the dollar bill test all the way around the ash pan door. Also vacuum out and closely examine the ashpan cabinet for any air leaks.

I have to ask, has the ash pan door been left open at times to jump start the fire?

 

[myzamboni]

Hey BeGreen,

I checked all around the stove bottom, ash pan area and sides and I can't see any sign of cracks. The inside of the ash pan door, however, is thick with creosote. Is this a sign of an air leak. As I said earlier, I do burn hot and the chimney stays pretty clean. After 8 cords of burning I get two cups of white ash from 28 feet of chimney so I was surprised to see the thick layer of creosote on the ash door.

That definitely sounds like an air leak. Address that and your burn times will increase too

 

[quinn]

BeGreen,

I have used the ash pan door to kick start a few fires. Nothing regular. Once, however, I emptied the ash and forgot to seal the door for a couple hours and it burned through the cycle with the door cracked open slightly. Although even then the door was partly closed and the fire did not "forge". Maybe that was when the grate warped.

I just checked the ash door with the dollar bill test and it is nicely sealed. The bill did not slide at all when the door was closed. I am a bit surprised given that I burn 24/7 six months of the year and during the coldest months we burn hot. I am impressed with how this stove has held up. With the air control lever all the way closed the fire still burns with a nice flame whereas when I first bought the stove shutting it down would make the fire smolder. Despite this, we are still getting 9 - 10 hour burns.

 

[begreen]

With our Castine I found at one point, that although I thought I had the ashpan door closed tightly, it wasn't. Compacted ash had built up behind the ash pan and pushed if forward enough to hold the door open slightly. Investigation of a suddenly lively fire found the impacted ash. Cleared it out and all returned to normal.

 

[ControlFreak]

WOW The grate is warped 2 inches

How hot does your stove get??????

I'm stil waiting for the dealer and Jotul to make a determination. I hope they don't make me pay for a thing. $6,000 install total. $2,000 stove. 5 months till it cracked. Never above 525 degrees.


It's been 10 days since I have had to shut it down.....

This shouldn't take more than a couple days. You need to get on them.

 

[forby]

OK.... Here's the latest....

I got a call yesterday from the dealer saying they wanted to schedule a time to replace the stove. It's set for Monday. Just in time for the heat wave

I hope they won't have a bill for me. I'll let everyone know the results on Monday.

 

[rob bennett]

Good news Forby

Dear Jotul- There have been over 1700 views of a post titled "My F600 cracked today" That can't be good for marketing, but a happy outcome is probably GREAT for marketing. Something to think about.

Rob

 

[Diabel]

Forby,

Things will work out!

The power of internet is just amazing! The Jotuls are browsing......& .....

 

[DAN VAN]

I have a F600 and I checked it last night and I to have allot of up and down play with the door open. I checked the gaskets they look fine but i see a little issue with the gasket by the hinge, and i also have allot of creosote built up on the door. Let me know what Jutol says I am very curios.

 

[BotetourtSteve]

Another Big 6 checking in...
Yup, my door has a fair amount of play also, but is sealing just fine when closed. I had never noticed the play at the hinge before, because the alignment is just fine and the weight of the door keeps it from moving significantly when I open/close it. I consider the play to be a non-issue. Now the stickly air control handle...I could do without that common Jotul malady.

 

[quinn]

If they are still dragging their feet you might consider printing off the thread page showing how many times this thread has been viewed and responded to. I imagine that would inspire greater speed in the decision making process.

Having read comments from other 600 owners it seems that it is common for the ash door to have creosote on it. It is interesting to me that creosote builds up there. We burn hot and our chimney only produces two cups of white ash for every 8 cords burned and the inside of the stove has a white ash film too.

I have given my stove as close an inspection as I can given that we are still burning 24/7 and I can find no cracking. I'll give it a thorough going over after we shut it down for the year.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I have the Oslo and I get creosote on my ash pan door, and it also has the play in it when open. It never concerned me and still doesn't