I am seriously considering replacing my VC Defiant CAT stove with a Jotul Firelight F600 or Oslo F500. For owners or folks with experience with either of either of these stoves, a few questions:
- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?
As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention?
Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.
- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?
As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention?
Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.