Jotul F 602 stove Hot

Bought this 602 N on ebay 18 months ago to replace a Jotul no1 that I had had for 38 years. It has exceeded all expectations.
Last winter it was used 24/7 from the middle of October until the beginning of April and was superb. Stayed in overnight ok and was so easy to manage. Even my wife, who is not a stove addict like me, thinks it is brilliant which is a bit unfortunate as I was thinking of putting a boiler stove in this position to help with the central heating. However that has been vetoed due to her attachment to 602N.
I use the top flue exit from the stove and have had no problems with a build up of deposits on top of the baffle. The flue is a twin wall stainless steel system and the wood I was using last year was mainly well seasoned ash and hawthorn. In my experience the flue and wood are just as important as the stove to get the optimum performance.
Compared to the last stove the wood has to be split slightly thinner but it can still be up to 16 ins long.
The hotplate has proved very useful on several occasions and the door is light and simple to operate. This model has a solid door which would be a disadvantage if the fireplace is the focal point of the room but in our case the TV and the computer are the room's focal points so it is not an issue and besides this with the stove being on continuously it means I don't have to worry about blacking the glass! I just put two or three logs on get it burning fiercely and then turn the vent to the setting I want. Quite often the vent is only open a fraction but it really depends on the prevailing weather conditions and how long I want to leave it ticking over. Also this model is not cleanburn so at times when the air vent is nearly closed there is a little more smoke output to contend with.
One thing I would recommend is a pair of stove gloves. The stove is quite deep and it is useful when refilling with shorter pieces of wood to be able to place some at the back of the stove.
The black paint finish is easy to maintain with stove and grate polish or a spray can of black stove paint.
If I was getting another one I would go for the cleanburn with a glass door (just to be up to date and a little more environmentally friendly) but overall I am extremely happy with my 602N.

Stove Expert Replied: Nice review for this stove.

I actually acquired my (circa 70's era) Green enamel 602 on long legs with my first house in 81 - an old 2-up 2-down cottage. It looked dam ugly stuck right out in the tiny room on a paving slab(!) as had been installed from rear flue outlet into a boxed-in fireplace. The plan was to open the fireplace for a nice big open fire with iron basket grate. However, during the house renovation/gutting I burned all the old worm-wood and it both provided a place to sit round and get warm at break times and I cooked my lunch on it's top plate! It amazed me when we returned to the house at one time and it had been in for two days without a re-fill!

Having renovated the cottage we moved in but had a problem with Gas boiler, so I put back the 602 but simply top flued with a bit of cheap iron flue pipe, up into the open chimney breast - it worked brilliantly so we had a rethink. I cleaned it up (had be stored in garden!) and I boarded the chimney flue aperture. It was a efficient little stove, but to me looked like a coffin! Also, it didn't have a glass window and we missed the romance of the firelight. When you opened the stove it was less controllable. The old brochure I have tells you that this burns utilizing 'The Cigar Method' - i.e. slowly from back to front, so it does not want to flare-burn as in an open fire.

Time passed and I became seduced by new Jotuls that were both ornate , larger capacity and with large windows. I opted for a Black enamel No. 8 and at then not small price of £465 and sold the 602 for £95 (in 1985). The No.8 is a real looker (is no longer current but sits between style/size of the F3 and F500) and indeed looks great when burn-flaring, but dies down to smouldering burn very quickly. No matter how I try, I have never got this to stay in over night. However, it gets hot really fast and due to amount of cast iron, radiates for a long time. I also save all my paper waste as use it to take the chill off the room - heat for free! It also loves scrap wood and coal even though has no coal basket.

I am here now, because I realize how efficient the much maligned my 602 was and as I am thinking of building a garden studio and looking for a suitable wood burner. Top of my list is a Blue enamel 602 on long legs but now with added 'romance' window!

Stove Expert Replied: Burning lots of paper can be problematic with chimney fires so be extra vigilant, undertake periods of fast burn regularly, have the flue swept at least twice every burning season and use only dry seasoned wood. Closed appliances should not have coal on them, smokeless unless stated. Coal has a longer flame than smokeless and internal components are exposed to higher than normal working temperatures because of this.

I've got the 602 as a back up stove at one end of the house and only fire it up when it's Baltic outside.
It's a fantastic stove as it always works well, burns clean, takes decent length logs, relatively cheap (bought about 7 yrs ago), easy to lite, burns over night, doesn't use a great deal of wood, can cook a pot or boil a kettle and it is full of character.
It's a radiant type stove so I'd recommend installing it 'within' a large fire place if possible in order to get convection, obviously following the installation regulations.

very simple and practical.

Stove Expert Replied: Sounds a good all round stove, supplying heat and cooking can't be bad!

Wonderfull stove to live with. Easy to light and maintain. Installed with a stainless steel lined chimney with Vermiculite insulation and steel register plate. I lite the stove in the evenings which keeps the room warm all day even when its -8 degress C outside. I find using a variety of log thickness gives good control and ease of use. The hot plate is good to cook with and boil water.
Enamel finish and casting quality is superb. Worth every pound spent on the stove and installation!

Stove Expert Replied: The proof of a good installation which includes a lined system speaks volumes in the above feedback!

A fantastic stove, we have had 2 ourselves and more in the family. The stove is easy to control and burns usefully long bits of wood. Efficiency and heat output both seem very good and noticably better than other stoves we have had. Only possible downside is the relatively small size of the firebox which can make it dificult to keep going overnight. The hotplate is a real bonus and we often found ourselves using this, it really works very well. If possible the rear flue outlet is a better choice than the top. If using the top flue outlet ash from the chimney sides can fall back down the flue and accumulate on the baffle plate inside the stove, not a problem to remove but it can need occasional attention.

This is the best stove I've seen, its been designed by a genuis. Simple, high quality cast iron, clean burning, economical, burns overnight, I can't understand how people will pay more for a stove that cannot perform like this as it's fairly inexpensive to buy and is still worth money secondhand.
This is the highest selling stove ever made, no wonder.