Front Loading Jotul question.....

[Krylon]

I'm going to look at the Oslo vs. Castine on Monday. I'm really leaning towards the Oslo for the side loading door - I just need to map/space out what kind of footprint that's going to leave in the room. The house is 1900 sq.ft. and the room that the new stove will live in has just had its ceiling vaulted - so I don't think the Oslo will be too big. Its just a space issue now.

Keep all the thoughts coming! Its been so great hearing every ones opinion. I need to take some pics of before and after so you can see how this works out.

 

[begreen]

If there isn't a ceiling fan in the room, best to add one soon. If the foot print is too large, take a look at the Morso and Quad Isle Royale.

 

[Highbeam]

It's not just Jotul or Morso. My Heritage has a front and side door. Anytime I open the front door ash and nuggets of coal will spill out of the box and get stuck on the sealing surface between the door and stove. I would have to clean this junk out before closing the front door and the door must be all the way open to clean from near the hinge. All the time while cleaning the fire is raging, smoking, and maybe even chunks rolling out.

I only use the front door to start a fire and then it stays shut. If I could easily light a new fire from the side then I would do it and avoid ever opening that front door.

My wife and I really like the side door. Didn't think we would use it, but now couldn't live without it on our E-W burning heritage.

 

[Krylon]

Hello again,

Just wanted to update our stove status: As the remodel is finally reaching the point where the stove needs to be addressed (as far as install) I am up to my eyeballs with friends and family and their "2-cents" ! lol....luckily all the "you should get a pellet stove, you should get ......" is falling on deaf ears as I am steadfast in my decision to buy a Jotul. The only thing that is now making things difficult is the idea that if I go with the Oslo (for the side loading door mostly - size is a plus but i do think the Castine would just cut it....) it will require quite a large footprint in a corner installation. And apparently the chimney will project REALLY high off the roof!.......

Mostly just wanted to drop by quickly to say MANY MANY THANKS to everyone on the forum. Your information has been great. If I ever get this puppy installed i'll post some pics. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Me too! And they do have top loading in the F600.

The F3 is all heart, it is a nice small stove that puts out a fair amount of heat for it's size. Gets about a 2-4 hour burn, will hold coals to about 6 hrs. and takes an 18" split, but not more than 2-3 of them. The F400 is incrementally larger, takes longer wood, 4-6 splits and burns for about 4-6 hrs. depending on the wood, though I often have coals for restarting up to 8 hrs. If you are on the fence between the two models, go for the Castine, it will put out more btus when pushed. You're in cold country and will use the reserve.

PS: The Castine is a bit more draft sensitive than the F3CB. What kind of flue do you have? Will this be a straight up piping or rear-exit?

 

[Krylon]

We have to go straight up with the flue. Our house is approx. 1900 sq ft all told - and I am not attempting to heat the whole of the second floor so......maybe the Castine would work - but my brother is really stressing that why would I take the chance, just bump up to the Oslo.

(he has a big old farm house in Western Mass and got his Oslo 4 years ago. They love it)

 

[stoveguy13]

For that amoount of space the oslo would be thye best choice side load door is great we sell tons of oslo's it is the best stove jotul makes.

 

[Gooserider]

I know that my general rule of thumb is that if you are undecided about which of two size stoves you should get, the larger size is usually better... My observation is that we get far more people grumbling about having a stove that is too small than we get about having one that is too big. Sometimes it seems like a larger than average
e of the complaints about undersize stoves concern Jotuls - I don't know if this is because Jotul tends to over estimate their BTU / area heated numbers, or because they make more small stoves than some of the other brands (I don't think it is anything inherently "wrong" with the stoves)

It is simple fact that if you want a true 'overnight burn' then you need a 2.5+ cu.ft. firebox, smaller stoves may keep coals overnight, but won't put out meaningful heat for that long.

Also remember that it is always possible to build a small fire in a large stove, but you can't put a big fire in a small stove...

Gooserider

 

[begreen]

I think Jotul (and all stove makers) would do well to publish the firebox capacity. That seems to be where a lot of the undersizing confusion starts. BTU output is helpful, but publishing the square footage heated is almost meaningless due to the wide range of houses and environments a stove might be installed in.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

I used a top loading VC for years......the only problem is you tend to get lazy and then when its time to open the doors its a huge mess (even if it had good sized pickets). But top loading was a dream. My oslo is a joy to use, 445 lbs of heat....my door use is 60/40....60% front door....40% side door. What creates alot of mess using the front door is if you pack some logs and the bark is facing you (esp red/white oak from the bottom of the trunks with thick bark). Face the bark side towards the back or smush the bark side into the coals and that will help alot also. It also helps if your cuts are long enough to brace themselves without rolling into the glass, thats a biggie also.


WoodButcher