Another Jotul Oslo vs Castine Post: How to Size the Stove.

[firefighterjake]

It's actually the Order of the Oslo . . . . . . and for the record, while there are a lot of great stoves, the Oslo is one fam dastic stove -- I've had zero issues with it since the day I bought it back in 2008 and haven't replaced a single part, gasket or doohickey on it . . . and while my head is occasionally turned by newer, shinier and even prettier stoves I really cannot find much bad to say about the Oslo with the exception of the ash spilling out the front door (most folks tend to use the side door) . . . well that and I wish I had gone with the blue black finish since it's wicked pretty.

 

[begreen]

A baby will do fine in a cooler house. My wife (and her sisters) grew up in a house with no central heating. My mom always left the window cracked open in our bedrooms when we were babies.

 

[xman23]

Good to hear you have taken it all in, for some very very knowledgeably people here. They are so willing to help. I continue to learn all the time. Do your homework and you will be fine with any good quality stove. If you happen to go with a Oslo I'm sure you will love it's performance like many of us.

 

[lumbering on]

If you want to heat all that house you will need a decent size stove. We all have the same issue with a large volume space heater in one location. It will heat that floor and above well. Heating a level below won't happen. We have ceiling fans to move air around. That's all we need as long as we keep the doors open.

I can only speak about the Oslo. The first few years we would blacken the Oslo's glass every weekend. Now we almost never do. Better wood and know hot to burn and burn off the glass. And we can't burn very hot without overheating the whole house. The side door loading with up to 25" logs is great. Don't open the front door, the ash gets between the door, and falls out. That's one of the Oslo complaints. It's not a big deal because we go the whole season without opening the front. It's easy to clean the glass thru the side door, the little we clean the white haze.
.

I may have to use the front exclusively, as the side of my fireplace will get in the way. How big an annoyance is the whole ash/front door thing?

 

[begreen]

That is definitely a common complaint with the Oslo. You might rethink this if side-loading is out. There are several nice ~2 cu ft stoves that are front loading. Take a look at the Hampton H300, Hearthstone Shelburne or Castleton, and Napoleon 1400C.

 

[lumbering on]

That is definitely a common complaint with the Oslo. You might rethink this if side-loading is out. There are several nice ~2 cu ft stoves that are front loading. Take a look at the Hampton H300, Hearthstone Shelburne or Castleton, and Napoleon 1400C.

The Shelburne is not a bad looking stove.

Why the Castleton and not the Heritage?
At least from the website pics the Heritage looks like the detail work is a bit more refined style wise, and it's also a bigger stove.

And as much as I want to put function before form this time around in the decision making process, the look of the stove will feature prominently in my wife's decision making.

 

[xman23]

I may have to use the front exclusively, as the side of my fireplace will get in the way. How big an annoyance is the whole ash/front door thing?

That's real hard to say, just because we rarely open the front door any more. We did in the early years, just for cleaning after a weekend burn. There is 1/4 wide x 1 high x the width of the stove gap between the door glass and the stove floor. It gets filled with ash. I always had the vacuum ready to suck it up before it fell. The frount of the stoves floor angles up 2 " but the ash still gets in there. I had an idea to add a metal strip to close the gap, but never did. I would check that the current stove still has this gap. I think if you were using only the front you could keep the splits further back off the glass. Maybe one of my Oslo brothers has used the front and can give much better advice than I can.

 

[begreen]

The Shelburne is not a bad looking stove.

Why the Castleton and not the Heritage?
At least from the website pics the Heritage looks like the detail work is a bit more refined style wise, and it's also a bigger stove.

And as much as I want to put function before form this time around in the decision making process, the look of the stove will feature prominently in my wife's decision making.

The Heritage might work, but it is more of a side loader. I can't see paying for the option if it is not going to be used. What ever the choice be sure to get a stove that has a blower option if it is set deep in the fireplace and take into account the increased depth of the blower.

What are the dimensions of this fireplace? Can you post some pictures of it and the location?

 

[webby3650]

with the exception of the ash spilling out the front door (most folks tend to use the side door) . . . well that and I wish I had gone with the blue black finish since it's wicked pretty.

To me, ash falling out wasn't really a big deal. I have had several other stoves that did it just as bad. It definitely wouldn't deter me from joining the "Order of the Oslo"!
And the Blue/Black was great! It always looks nice and is VERY durable.

 

[firefighterjake]

I may have to use the front exclusively, as the side of my fireplace will get in the way. How big an annoyance is the whole ash/front door thing?

Honestly I know I would soon get very tired of having to deal with the ash on every reload . . . that said I know some folks have come up with ideas that may help with this issue . . . one person used an oversized gasket and another built something out of angle iron I believe.

 

[begreen]

Personally I'd put in a good insert or a stove that is designed to front load.

What are the dimensions of this fireplace? Can you post some pictures of it and the location?

 

[lumbering on]

Personally I'd put in a good insert or a stove that is designed to front load.

What are the dimensions of this fireplace? Can you post some pictures of it and the location?

I'll have to get back to you on the dimensions.
We definitely want a free standing stove, so no inserts for us.
Have a question about the "designed to load from the front":
The castine has no side door, does that mean it handles the ash in the front better?
Just because the hearthstone heritage has the side door, is it a problematic front loader?
Is the reason for the price increase over the castleton more than just the side load? Isn't it also bigger, with some nicer detail work on the cast edges?

 

[rideau]

Is the need for a front loader caused by the restrictive size of the hearth?

I'd get the Woodstock.

Don't see why you'd have to do all that deconstruction to have an acceptable hearth for the Woodstock. Just frame around the present hearth out to the shape of a Woodstock hearth pad with plywood or whatever is the height of the present bluestone, then put the hearth pad ( a little over 1 inch thick) on top of the framed area and bluestone. Then put a nice sloped wood edge trim from the top of the pad down to the floor level. Then you have the stove you want, instead of doing all kinds of compromising. And, if you get a stove from Woodstock, their bank will finance it and you can pay for it as you go with your oil heating savings. Definitely makes sense to get the stove in for this heating season and start saving on that oil. And get your woodstove tax savings. ALSO, if you get a Keystone and find you want a larger stove (Fireview?) at the end of the heating season you can trade in for the larger stove, with a full refund on the Keystone. This lets you actually find out what works for you. And play around with the moving of air to see how well you can heat the home with the stove. Or, if you don't like the Woodstock for any reason, they'll take it back full refund up to six months, at which point it will have pretty much paid for itself (likely completely paid for itself), and you should KNOW (from your heating experience) what you want instead.

If I were you, I'd put in the pad for the Fireview, if it is somewhat larger than the Keystone pad, because just about any stove will subsequently fit on it, and you will not be restricted to front loader or ember protection only.

 

[T-Rex]

I've read all the post which were very helpful. I currently own a Jotul 602 from the early 1980's which was family owned and passed down to me. I used it 1 year and it served it's purpose, however, it's not built for overnight burns and its inefficient. I burned through a lot of wood last year and I know we had a cold winter here in the northeast but it was a lot of wood.

My house is fairly small and I'm looking to heat about 1100 sq feet. I understand about smaller fires so I'm leaning towards the Olso. I looked at a used Castine for sale in the local papers and they are asking $1600 in flat Black. I thought that was a bit much and the guy wasn't budging on the price.

My house was comfortable (72-75) in the winter just with the Jotul 602. But I had to constantly feed the fire and I really want that overnight burn. The 602 is ice cold in the morning with no hot coals and the house is 50 degrees.

Do you think the Castine or Olso.

Thanks

 

[begreen]

I would lean toward the Castine for 1100 sq ft.. If you have a good source of fully seasoned hardwood like 2 yr old oak, hickory or locust it should do the job quite well. Otherwise, maybe consider a smallish cat stove like the Woodstock Keystone or a Blaze King Sirocco 20?

 

[Ski-Patroller]

I've read all the post which were very helpful. I currently own a Jotul 602 from the early 1980's which was family owned and passed down to me. I used it 1 year and it served it's purpose, however, it's not built for overnight burns and its inefficient. I burned through a lot of wood last year and I know we had a cold winter here in the northeast but it was a lot of wood.

My house is fairly small and I'm looking to heat about 1100 sq feet. I understand about smaller fires so I'm leaning towards the Olso. I looked at a used Castine for sale in the local papers and they are asking $1600 in flat Black. I thought that was a bit much and the guy wasn't budging on the price.

My house was comfortable (72-75) in the winter just with the Jotul 602. But I had to constantly feed the fire and I really want that overnight burn. The 602 is ice cold in the morning with no hot coals and the house is 50 degrees.

Do you think the Castine or Olso.

Thanks

I have the Castine in a 1300 sq ft 2 story cabin on Mt Hood. It does a great job. It replaced a larger Garrison stove that was not EPA approved. The Castine heats up the space very well, some times so well that we open up windows to cool it down a bit.

I don't have any ash problems with it. I kind of wish it had a side loading option like the Oslo, but it's not a big deal. Besides the Oslo opens on the wrong end for our layout. It is marginal for holding a fire over night. There are usually just enough coals to get the fire started again.

 

[Mnpole]

Don't get the Oslo! When I have the Oslo cranking I find myself wanting to be 15 to 20 ft from it! I have a lazy boy about 8 ft from it and sometimes it is just to much. Get the castiine in enamel and enjoy it in that room if that is what you are wanting do and don't worry about the rest of the house.