I'm torn...looking for your experiences

[countrychick]

Ashful: The Jotul F55 doesn't have the option for enamel. It has the black finish. Not sure what they call it. But it isn't enamel.

Tifferstwo: Yeah pretty funny huh? Those Norwegians got everything wrong spelling wise...... I'm about half swedish so my swedish grmpa would probably roll over in his grave if he knew I was buying a Norwegian stove. lol! My German half of me thinks its a great decision though!

 

[Game warden]

Tifferstwo: We made our decision today.....bought the Jotul F55 Carabassett today. Will be delivered within a couple wks. So excited! I know about the grief you are going through with the decision making process. Yes sooooo many choices and dealers to choose from. It is crazy! But it helps to get the decision down to a couple stoves. That is what we did....helped tremendously! We decided against the Woodstock Progress Hybrid. Great stove. Beautiful stove. But for a few reasons decided against it. We really love the Jotul line.....I love how they look.

I went to one of the dealers who carries Jotul in town. They were burning in the Jotul F55.....really nice stove.

Ashful: It is good to know about the enamel stoves and chipping....that you don't have that problem. Good to know! Thanks for sharing that! I figured if the one at the dealer had chips that it was probably a problem. But it is good to know it isn't! =) Love the look of them! I think someone at the dealer told me though you can't cook on top of a enamel Jotul....is that true?

Get the steel cook plate replacement- Even still, I'd hesitate to cook anything that's going to splatter as it will extend out onto the other portions of the stove that are enamel. The steel plate looks nice and will not be ruined by the constant expansion and contraction of steam pots or cast iron pans. I have the ivory Oslo with the steel plate and love it. Maybe I'm a bit nervous to cook and ruin the enamel, but I'd have no issues cooking small pancakes in a small cast iron pan....apple pan cakes on the Holiday morning with a nice cup of coffee....bam...now I'm gittin hungry!

 

[countrychick]

I don't think there is any steel plate option on the f55. So not sure what yr referring to on my jotul.

 

[Smoked]

I could see having a cat stove being a good option if you are burning all softwoods. How much is shipping to get a Woodstock out there? I love my stoves and they have been very good to me but if I could have made a Woodstock PH work, I would have. Other than that, I think the Jotul is a good choice. Also like others, my experience with enamel is that it is very tuff!

 

[Game warden]

I don't think there is any steel plate option on the f55. So not sure what yr referring to on my jotul.

Yes, sorry...my apologies...not sure why I thought you were talking about the Oslo....maybe there's a kind of kettle turret you can get to separate from the stove top surface (not sure you'd get the temperatures you'd be looking for at that point)....I'd stay away from placing anything directly on that painted surface...I've seen one stove in person that did not fair so well...but then again...it was for an outdoor workshop and the owner did not care so much! Enjoy the f55...I have a friend who heats a large wood cabin with one...it's a work horse for sure.

 

[Ashful]

Ashful: The Jotul F55 doesn't have the option for enamel. It has the black finish. Not sure what they call it. But it isn't enamel.

You will be fine. If they had an enamel option, I'd go for it, but I wouldn't let enamel availability be a factor in choosing a stove.

@begreen, you honestly want to argue that paint is as durable as enamel? Come on, man... let's be realistic, here. Nothing wrong with paint, if you keep up after it, but must we call on a random sampling of our hundreds of posted photos of old enameled vs. painted stoves?

 

[begreen]

I've had both paint and enameled stoves, still do. The paint job on our 9yr old T6 looks like new. You can drop a pot on it or bang it with a hearth tool and no worries about chipping. Spill some cold water on it while it's hot and you just wipe it off. No worries about cracking and crazing. I love a nice enameled finish, but it needs a bit more attention to keep it looking sharp. Countrychick's F55 will be cast iron clad and outside of an occasional dusting should look great for years to come.

Over the past few decades I've looked at, bought, sold and helped friends buy many stoves. It's pretty common for a 10 yr old enameled stove have chips or chunks missing from the finish. Blue-black enamel stoves will stand up a bit better because they don't have the final glaze coat that full majolica finishes do. White porcelain finished stoves are the most vulnerable for some reason. I rarely see one used without chips.

Don't get me wrong, I love a nice glazed finish stove, they clean up with just a wipe of a damp rag, but I am more reluctant to cook on one which is what cc is after.

 

[Ashful]

Interesting, begreen. Yes, my experience with enamel is the blue/black from Jotul, which is quite durable. I also had an ivory white enamel stove from Jotul, which had no blemishes other than one big mess on the top load door where someone obviously did something wrong, but that was my parts stove. It was burned in the kitchen of my house, back before I owned the house, but I wasn't using it like the other two. Good info!

 

[Michagander]

And anyone have feedback on the white enamel or porcelain? They run about $500 or more for each brand, does the finish eventually come off, crack, peel, etc?

I have A 5 year old Vermont Castings encore with a porcelain enamel finish. It came in cracked at the top of one of the doors I don't think the steel was cleaned properly because it peeled off very easily. Since I bought it Direct I called the factory and they said how do they know I didn't do it. I took a picture of it still on the crate with pieces of the enamel in my hand from the door. Vermont Castings would not do anything for me. I love the stove otherwise. It performs great in my 1500 square foot log home. Do to Vermont Castings poor customer service I just ordered a new HearthStone for my other house. I hope it works as good as my encore does. But I told myself I would not get another one. This is my second Vermont Castings stove.

And anyone have feedback on the white enamel or porcelain? They run about $500 or more for each brand, does the finish eventually come off, crack, peel, etc?

 

[tifferstwo]

Ok, so another question, not sure if it warrants a new thread, but thought I would start here. I'm trying to decide on the material we will use for the surrounding area for the wood stove. I keep leaning towards the brick look, and so have checked out the brick tile options. But we also checked out the Airstone at Lowes. I have read the thread about Airstone, but there wasn't anything about brick tile. Any thoughts? I'm going for that old farmhouse style.

 

[Ashful]

Not the cheapest option, but I bought mine from a woman in Lancaster, PA, who fires several different aged brick types as tiles. I used these in this fireplace:



That fireplace dates to at least 1779, and perhaps as early as 1738, but those bricks on the floor are new. And they're tile!

She makes several of different apparent age, distress, type, size, etc.

Oh, the embers on the floor are what happens every time I use the ash plug to clean out my Ashford 30's. Insanely frustrating, but I believe this flaw has been resolved on newer units.

 

[Michagander]

Ok, so another question, not sure if it warrants a new thread, but thought I would start here. I'm trying to decide on the material we will use for the surrounding area for the wood stove. I keep leaning towards the brick look, and so have checked out the brick tile options. But we also checked out the Airstone at Lowes. I have read the thread about Airstone, but there wasn't anything about brick tile. Any thoughts? I'm going for that old farmhouse style.

I'm starting my 3rd house with a wood stove and wall protection, You can put whatever type of brick ,stone ,slate ect . My harthstone installation manual recommends 10 " I am replacing a leaking quad , due to the pipe location I won't have enough space so I am installing wall protection, the manual had me go to the NFPA , They make the building codes that most countys use . www.nfpa.org

 

[tifferstwo]

Not the cheapest option, but I bought mine from a woman in Lancaster, PA, who fires several different aged brick types as tiles. I used these in this fireplace:

View attachment 189956 View attachment 189957

That fireplace dates to at least 1779, and perhaps as early as 1738, but those bricks on the floor are new. And they're tile!

She makes several of different apparent age, distress, type, size, etc.

Oh, the embers on the floor are what happens every time I use the ash plug to clean out my Ashford 30's. Insanely frustrating, but I believe this flaw has been resolved on newer units.

I think it looks awesome, but I imagine shipping to Ak wouldn't be so cheap. I'm still so torn as to what to do, the brick tile for the whole corner would be a lot of work, so now I'm thinking maybe just the brick tile for the hearth, and then the wall space behind we can do some of the airstone, or maybe even just create a ship lap look or like a pallet wall?

 

[Ashful]

I think it looks awesome, but I imagine shipping to Ak wouldn't be so cheap. I'm still so torn as to what to do, the brick tile for the whole corner would be a lot of work, so now I'm thinking maybe just the brick tile for the hearth, and then the wall space behind we can do some of the airstone, or maybe even just create a ship lap look or like a pallet wall?

Tough to say, as I don't know what your space looks like. Have you posted photos?

In any case, here's the link to the place from which I bought the tiles above. They're not very heavy (less than 1/2" thick), so shipping might not be as bad as you expect.

http://www.inglenooktile.com/

 

[tifferstwo]

Tough to say, as I don't know what your space looks like. Have you posted photos?

In any case, here's the link to the place from which I bought the tiles above. They're not very heavy (less than 1/2" thick), so shipping might not be as bad as you expect.

http://www.inglenooktile.com/

I'll check it out. But seeing as my husband is planning to tear out the existing fireplace and stone this weekend so we can see what's going on behind there and start prepping for the stove we are kind of limited on our options :/. Here are 2 pictures. The stone is just to dark. As I keep decorating and adding furniture to the house I'm going towards the old farmhouse style. Rustic and antique.

I found these at Home Depot and like them too, but they will take 4-6 weeks for them to get here if I order http://www.homedepot.com/p/Old-Mill...lection-Thin-Brick-Flats-TB-27001CS/205050372

 

[Ashful]

I'll check it out. But seeing as my husband is planning to tear out the existing fireplace and stone this weekend so we can see what's going on behind there and start prepping for the stove we are kind of limited on our options :/. Here are 2 pictures. The stone is just to dark. As I keep decorating and adding furniture to the house I'm going towards the old farmhouse style. Rustic and antique.

I found these at Home Depot and like them too, but they will take 4-6 weeks for them to get here if I order http://www.homedepot.com/p/Old-Mill...lection-Thin-Brick-Flats-TB-27001CS/205050372

Okay, depending on how far you want to take it:

1. Get rid of that popcorn ceiling. No old farm house has ever had a popcorn ceiling. Either scrape it down, or if it's solid, just trowl over it. My ceilings, which vary from 200 - 250 years old (the second floor ceilings weren't added until 1820) aren't smooth, and show plenty of repairs, so trowling over doesn't need a lot of skill or perfection.
2. Remove skinny door and window casings, and replace with proper 4" wide casings. Pull that wimpy 4" baseboard, and replace with 1x8 trim board and your favorite base cap molding. This is so often missed, but is probably the single biggest impact item in making a house look "right".
3. The issue with your stone is more orientation than color. No stone house or fireplace has EVER been built with stones oriented on the flat, like flagstone glued to a wall. When you look at any stone house construction, you are looking at the EDGES of the stone, not the flat faces. This is the biggest problem with most stone veneers, and why 90% of them just look wrong. There are realistic veneer stone products, but again, they all simulate looking at the edges of the stone, they don't look like flagstone glued to a wall.
4. I'd tear up the carpet and put down random width pine flooring, but that's one that could be debated. I've seen a few nice rustic farmhouse living rooms with carpet, but I despise the stuff, myself.
5. I like the built-ins, but they're too streamlined / contemporary for your desired motif. This could be resolved with some simple edge and case moldings on what you already have.

edit: Those Home Depot bricks might look nice on a wall, but given they're edge profile, might look funny on the floor. Do they make a face profile version, too? You can do a lot to age them with a little shoe polish and wax.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I have a brick hearth and I'm not a fan. It's not easy to keep clean. The porous brick is a pain in the ass. Ash stains the brick. It does however look nice.

 

[tifferstwo]

Okay, depending on how far you want to take it:

1. Get rid of that popcorn ceiling. No old farm house has ever had a popcorn ceiling. Either scrape it down, or if it's solid, just trowl over it. My ceilings, which vary from 200 - 250 years old (the second floor ceilings weren't added until 1820) aren't smooth, and show plenty of repairs, so trowling over doesn't need a lot of skill or perfection.
2. Remove skinny door and window casings, and replace with proper 4" wide casings. Pull that wimpy 4" baseboard, and replace with 1x8 trim board and your favorite base cap molding. This is so often missed, but is probably the single biggest impact item in making a house look "right".
3. The issue with your stone is more orientation than color. No stone house or fireplace has EVER been built with stones oriented on the flat, like flagstone glued to a wall. When you look at any stone house construction, you are looking at the EDGES of the stone, not the flat faces. This is the biggest problem with most stone veneers, and why 90% of them just look wrong. There are realistic veneer stone products, but again, they all simulate looking at the edges of the stone, they don't look like flagstone glued to a wall.
4. I'd tear up the carpet and put down random width pine flooring, but that's one that could be debated. I've seen a few nice rustic farmhouse living rooms with carpet, but I despise the stuff, myself.
5. I like the built-ins, but they're too streamlined / contemporary for your desired motif. This could be resolved with some simple edge and case moldings on what you already have.

edit: Those Home Depot bricks might look nice on a wall, but given they're edge profile, might look funny on the floor. Do they make a face profile version, too? You can do a lot to age them with a little shoe polish and wax.

So
1) would love to get rid of popcorn ceiling and with this fireplace remodel happening it just might also happen, it's a lot of ceiling to have to do though.
2) Don't think I would be able to convince my husband to redo all the trim for the doors and windows until we have to replace them.
3) The stone is horrible.
4) The carpet is relatively new, last owners put it in at some point before us buying, so probably a couple of years old. Eventually it will become wood flooring...maybe after the kids move out and I don't have to sweep or mop as much right now vacuuming is easier.
5) Not sure if the builtins will stay, I like them now, just not sure how they would fit into the picture with the wood stove...depends on if we take everything back to the wall and just put up stone or if we make an alcove.

 

[tifferstwo]

I have a brick hearth and I'm not a fan. It's not easy to keep clean. The porous brick is a pain in the ass. Ash stains the brick. It does however look nice.

It would be the brick like tile, so not real brick.

 

[tifferstwo]

Hi Everyone....so we decided on the Jotul 500, and just had it installed this week. I will post pics once we finish the tile and get the mantel on. But I have some questions.
We did the break in fires, and hopefully did them right, thought we were getting a thermometer but there wasn't one. The guy that installed gave us the rundown of how to do them, so we followed what he said. So toady I started our first fire after the break in, and my question is about the secondary combustion.

Should it get to and stay in secondary for a certain amount of time? Will it hit secondary with the air flow turned down? The installer suggested that once the fire is burning good for about an hour to turn the damper all the way down then turn it up a little at a time until we see the secondary combustion happen, but in the youtube jotul video, it said that after the fire has started and is burning good so slowly turn the air flow down and only do about a quarter down every 15 minutes.

We will be picking up a thermometer for it which I'm assuming will help us figure things out more. But in the meant time and tips and tricks are greatly appreciated!

 

[begreen]

Congratulations. You probably won't see secondary combustion on your first couple break-in fires. Not enough heat generated. The first should be a kindling fire and the second just a few small splits. By fire #3 you might see a bit, but it will probably take until your first full fire and getting the stovetop over 400F to see good secondary combustion.

 

[tifferstwo]

Congratulations. You probably won't see secondary combustion on your first couple break-in fires. Not enough heat generated. The first should be a kindling fire and the second just a few small splits. By fire #3 you might see a bit, but it will probably take until your first full fire and getting the stovetop over 400F to see good secondary combustion.

I'm done with break in fires and today is real fire and heating the house a bit I did set off the smoke alarm today, which didn't happen with the break in fires, so I know it got pretty hot in there and it is still smelly bit.

So I'm about to fill her up again, full, what do I do? turn the air flow down a little at a time, or once the fire is going turn air flow all the way down then back up a little at a time until I see the secondary?

 

[Ashful]

I've never operated a non-cat stove, but I see most here discuss turning down in increments, several minutes between. The turn down then back up technique your installer discussed is something I have never heard here before.

 

[begreen]

I'm done with break in fires and today is real fire and heating the house a bit I did set off the smoke alarm today, which didn't happen with the break in fires, so I know it got pretty hot in there and it is still smelly bit.

So I'm about to fill her up again, full, what do I do? turn the air flow down a little at a time, or once the fire is going turn air flow all the way down then back up a little at a time until I see the secondary?

Start turning down the air as soon as the fire is burning robustly. Turn it down increments. How quickly you turn it down will depend on draft. If it's cold outside and the wood is very dry then you may be able to turn it down quickly in one or two increments. In mild weather a bit slower. With each increment turn the air down until the flames get lazy, but not out.

 

[Attaboy]

On my particular stove I am using a flue thermometer with a probe that sits inside the flue pipe which reads the temperature, when the wood is engulfed in the firebox and the flue thermometer indicates 350° I close the air control down by half, when the thermometer hits 400° the remaining half gets closed by half again, when the flue thermometer hits 425° I close the air control down completely, I then see the gases burning like crazy under the baffle in the secondary burn area, a real inferno.

Sometimes because of exterior atmospheric conditions the fire can die down even when done as usual, when that happens I open the air control again a wee bit for another 5 - 10 minutes until the fire kicks back up fully and then shut the air control down again.

Every house, area, chimney, stove and installation is different, there are no two alike therefore trial and error will be the operational words for a while until you gather sufficient experience with your stove. What works for me will be a little different for you and from your neighbours.