New to me jotul 8

[shortys7777]

I'm new here. I picked up a jotul 8 and piping for what I think was a good deal. Started cleaning it up and took out the insides.The previous owner ran it as is out the top but I need to use the rear. I have attached some pictures. I'm a little confused. If I take everything apart I can then mount it to the rear? Also he ran it with the damper in the flue pipe because that part is broken. I believe I have posted a picture where the rod should be. How does this set up work with the rear exit?
Also when assembling everything back together does stove cement need to be put on every connection? It will be going into an existing fireplace but the openings to small so I am going to extend the hearth and run the chimney into and up the fireplace chimney. Do I need to run it all the way up? The fireplace is already insulated and in good shape. Lastly if the existing fireplace brick is in good shape and I durock around the edges and add a veneer can I keep my clearance closer than the 18 inch it asks for with heat shield. (That's for combustible walls only?) The room is only 17x11 trying to only extend the hearth another foot and a half or so. Sorry for the long post I have been trying to read up on as much as I can on here.

 

[1990Jotul]

I'm new here. I picked up a jotul 8 and piping for what I think was a good deal. Started cleaning it up and took out the insides.The previous owner ran it as is out the top but I need to use the rear. I have attached some pictures. I'm a little confused. If I take everything apart I can then mount it to the rear? Also he ran it with the damper in the flue pipe because that part is broken. I believe I have posted a picture where the rod should be. How does this set up work with the rear exit?
Also when assembling everything back together does stove cement need to be put on every connection? It will be going into an existing fireplace but the openings to small so I am going to extend the hearth and run the chimney into and up the fireplace chimney. Do I need to run it all the way up? The fireplace is already insulated and in good shape. Lastly if the existing fireplace brick is in good shape and I durock around the edges and add a veneer can I keep my clearance closer than the 18 inch it asks for with heat shield. (That's for combustible walls only?) The room is only 17x11 trying to only extend the hearth another foot and a half or so. Sorry for the long post I have been trying to read up on as much as I can on here.
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shortys7777,
It's nice to see someone else with a Jotul 8 TDIC here. I just recently made a few postings myself on this stove model. You don't see too much about these stoves, so it was nice to to see your familiar looking stove photos here. I have had my Jotul 8TDIC since 1990- bought new. I've run it pretty steadily over these last 27 years, so I have quite a bit of experience with it. I'll try to help answer your stove specific questions, but I am afraid I am not very knowledgeable about your masonry chimney connection questions as I have always used mine with stainless steel insulated chimney.

When your stove was originally shipped, it had the catalyst and flue assembly mounted to the back. It was then converted to top venting by switching the positions of the top vent cover and the catalyst flue assembly. You will just need to put it back to it's original state. To do this you just remove the back exhaust cover support (single bolt) to open up the back. Then you take off the flue collar and catalyst assembly from the top of the stove The collar itself is sandwiched between the stove top and the catalyst enclosure. This will involve removing about 7 bolts. Then just rebolt it onto the back opening and put the cover from the back opening onto the top. You need to orient the catalyst assembly so that the face of the catalyst is pointing up and the bypass control mechanism is on the right (as you are looking at the stove). You then link the rotary shaft on the catalyst bypass with the rotary control shaft on the right side of the stove- using the same linkage that is used when the cat is top mounted. I did not see this linkage hardware in your photos. If you need to see it, I can provide you a photo of it (I can actually even give you mine if you need it, as I no longer need it).

You mentioned that the damper was broken. Do you really mean the damper (the top right slide mechanism)? This rarely fails. I am wondering if you meant the catalyst bypass that is controlled from the side. Mine failed too, a couple of times. The first time, I rebuilt it with new hinges which were still available. The second time, the whole assembly was too badly warped and parts no longer available. So I just removed the entire catalyst assembly and am running it as a pre-cat model. You are basically going to be doing all of that work when you move the exhaust. I would not put the cat back on- just mount the flue collar. If you do this, you will need to put in two new parts in: a different back burner plate and a top baffle. You can buy these new (each are about $120, with shipping) or you could try to find them used. You would need to spend almost this much just to buy a new catalyst (which I am sure it needs), if you really want to run it catalytic.

Regarding your question about stove cement. You do not need any for this work. What you will need are two new flu collar gaskets- one for the flue collar and one for the exhaust cover. You just put these in then tighten down with the attachment bolts- it is held firmly in place. I can show you a photo of that as well, if you want.

In any case, good luck with that stove. I loved mine for 27 years as a catalytic model and now hope to get at least a few more years out of it as a non-cat. I do have to say, you really need to know what you were doing with the Cat to make it work well. As a non-cat, it is now much easier to operate. I do not have a lot of experience yet running it this way, but so far I am REALLY liking it. At this point, my advice to you would be: get rid of that cat!

Hope this was of some help.

 

[shortys7777]

Thanks for the response! Extremely helpful. I would like to get rid of the cat. I am going to send you a private message.

 

[1990Jotul]

Thanks for the response! Extremely helpful. I would like to get rid of the cat. I am going to send you a private message.

Hi,
I hope you don't mind but I am also going to post my response to your message here on the forum. The reason is: I think it is possible that someday someone could have some use for this information (I know that I have benefited many times from old answers to old questions). Also, maybe I am wrong about something, or there is a better/different answer. It's always good to see if others may have a different opinion then I have- maybe you'll get additional information.....

When a catalyst is working perfectly it's pretty impressive. Unburnt gasses light up in it, it glows red, you get some extra heat and the exhaust in the chimney is pretty clean. As a result, you get a little more heat out of your wood and the chimney stays cleaner. But.... that is under ideal conditions. A cat's performance diminishes over time and they need to be replaced at least every 5 years. Also, they clog very quickly and have to be kept cleaned out (I heard that in the back vented position they are even more prone to clogging). You also really have to know what you are doing to make a cat run well. You have to first get a hot fire burning, then close the bypass. Then you have to open the bypass before you open the door to put in more wood. Repeat..repeat repeat. Another bad thing is that the bypass is mechanical and is subject to wearing out and having problems. On top of that, unless the cat is really functioning well (i.e. clean and relatively new) the stove really does not breath as well as if it weren't there (even with the bypass open). I think newer models with cat's are probably a lot better, but unfortunately we have first generation designs that were rushed into production and were somewhat crudely implemented.

I have 27 years experience using the cat, I literally only have 3 days experience without it, so I can't give you a full report on how it is working, but so far it is great and I wished I had done it long ago. I removed the cat, I also replaced my 8" chimney with 6" chimney, 7" single wall stove pipe with 6" double wall and changed the stove's 7" flue collar to a 6". So my improved chimney system may also be providing some of the benefits I am seeing. The stove is just so much easier to operate now. You really don't have to watch it or play with any controls. I just open the door, throw wood in. You start it up with the damper control open, after the fire starts going I turn it all the way down and it still burns pretty energetically. It is providing plenty of heat (yes, I heat my home with it) and what is coming out of the chimney doesn't look too bad. The thing that I REALLY love about the cat's absence is all of the extra volume I have recovered inside the stove. I can now really fit a lot more wood and bigger logs then before. It seems cavernous now. As far as negative's- I have seen few yet. I guess the biggest one is that I can't operate the stove at a really low smolder. That means you have to feed it a bit more wood. As a result, overnight burns are a little shorter, not as many active embers in the morning, but still acceptable (again, only 3 days to evaluate). It will be interesting to see if the chimney requires more frequent cleaning.

As for your technical questions. Did you see my other recent postings? There are some photos and info in these that may help you better understand this. Yes, you use the exact same flue collar whether it is mounted on the top or back. Just move it. The back burner plate can be found if you search for it online as Jotul part number 101935. I bought mine at Woodman's parts plus. The top baffle is part number 101941 and I got mine at Stoveworld. These were new part's that came from Jotul- they are still making them for other countries, but these stores are selling them for the old pre-cat model 8 here in the USA. You do not want to leave that catalyst assembly in the stove. Either completely fix it and put in a new catalyst, or take it out. I have tried running the stove with a dead cat with the bypass in an open position and it really does not work well. The stove ran well with a good cat used properly and it now runs well in a non-cat configuration- but not in the middle. When you remove the cat assembly you will just have a simple flue collar to mount on the back- that is it. The stove will be empty- and you will be looking straight out of a hole in the back. You need to take out your old back burner plate and replace it with the new 101935 part. That will block your view of the back opening. Then you will put the new top baffle 101941 on top of this plate. The two parts work together to form a channel to direct the exhaust up then back down and out the back of your stove

Do NOT run your stove without putting these new parts in! You will have fire going straight out your flue. It would be both dangerous and you would be throwing away heat. Those two new parts are not a modern secondary burn system, but they make the stove run much more efficiently than without them. Please look at those other posts I just made and you will see some photo's to help you. Here I will post a photo of these three parts: the flue collar (you can use your old one, just be careful when removing it as the old bolts may be seized up and break off in it ), the old back burn plate with the new one, and the new top baffle. The only challenge I had was getting that top baffle to fit in snugly- one of my other posts will show you how to do that.

 

[shortys7777]

Thank you for explaining everything in full detail. It is much clearer now and this is exactly what I plan on doing with mine. Once I get the hearth built hopefully I can get the stove up and running. I didn't realize the 8s where that old but mine seems to be well taken care of and I love the look of it with the glass door. My wife wouldn't let me get one unless she could see the flames. I seem to think I got a decent deal for this stove as I paid 150 for it with 4 sections of stove pipe.

 

[1990Jotul]

Thank you for explaining everything in full detail. It is much clearer now and this is exactly what I plan on doing with mine. Once I get the hearth built hopefully I can get the stove up and running. I didn't realize the 8s where that old but mine seems to be well taken care of and I love the look of it with the glass door. My wife wouldn't let me get one unless she could see the flames. I seem to think I got a decent deal for this stove as I paid 150 for it with 4 sections of stove pipe.

If the stove is in good shape, that's a great deal. A new Jotul of similar size would set you back $2400. Sure it would be more efficient, but I find my old 8 works great. I've seen Jotul 8's in really bad condition with asking prices of over $500. It's too bad that the 2 parts you need will together cost more than the stove did (due to the outrageous cost of parts and the great deal you got on that stove). If you could find someone with an old pre-cat 8 ready to be junked, you could possibly get those 2 parts for a lot less... Good luck!

 

[shortys7777]

Thanks. I'll let you know how it all turns out and if I run into any issues.

 

[shortys7777]

I want to build this up and put the wood stove directly in the middle here. It will allow my an additional 16.5 inches to the left and right. I will be putting durock with a stone veneer or full size bricks. The stove and ash pan will come out 22 inches. Also to the top there will only be an inch clearance to the top bricks. Is this fine? I have seen pictures of other wood stoves almost tucked right into brick fireplaces. How much he further should my hearth be? It will also be brick or stone The room is only 17x11. Lastly i will be putting a mantel. Unsure of exactly how how it should be without looking funny. Ceiling is 8 ft. Trying to still allow for a sectional couch. Here is a picture as it stands now.

 

[begreen]

The installation must meet or exceed the listed manual requirements. Looks like the framing on the sides will be an issue. Mantel needs to be a minimum of 36" above the stove top and that is with their fireplace shield part 350073 according to the Jotul 8 manual. The hearth needs to extend at least 18" in front of the stove door.

 

[shortys7777]

Yeah I read that. I may need to rip out all of that bottom brick to drop the stove. Another 4 inches. That 26 inches on the side. Is that to a combustable wall? I was a little confused with that.

 

[begreen]

That 26 inches on the side. Is that to a combustable wall?

It's to the nearest combustible. Covering it up with cement board does not change this measurement.

 

[shortys7777]

I figured. It's looking more like this stove is to big for my current chimney set up and living room. Little bummed out. If I could get the entire thing into the fireplace I could eliminate any of these measurements correct? If it was surrounded by brick on the sides and rear?