Torn on which of these 2 stoves to purchase

alforit said:

Its hard to compare, Seasoned Oak.
A 600 degree stove top on a Blaze King is different than a 600 degree stove top on a non-cat.......For starters , the BK top temp is centered around where the cat is and not the sides front and the whole firebox like a non-cat is. So your heat is dispersed differently. And heat is added to by the cat which slows the burn down which brings more of the heat into the room which would normally go up the flue.

Two different technologies ......I have had both non-cat , hybrid and cat stoves and I can tell you they all get the job done when its cold......The cat stoves just have a wider range of burn choice and control which is really nice when temps aren't so cold. Also I get a longer burn on a cat stove when its cold than a non-cat . Even though that burn time is shorter on the cat stove than it would be in the shoulder season. Hybrid gets a bit longer burn time than the non-cat , but not as long as a BK.

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I've got the hang of cat and non-cat stoves now. I'm trying to understand hybrid stoves at the moment. You said you've had all 3 types so I want to ask you, do all your comments about cat stoves having a wider range of burn choice (especially on the lower temps during shoulder season) apply to hybrid stoves to the same degree as cat only stoves? Or to ask the question another way, Can you burn a hybrid as low temp as a non-hybrid catalytics?

stovelark said:

All this stuff will give you a headache. Either the Jotul or PE will do you well. The most important aspect still is chimney draft and good seasoned wood. Provide that and the stove will do the rest. Good luck, wished I was in SC, most of us Northern folkis ready for some warmer weather.

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Man, you got that right. I have to confess to you all, the wife was sold and excited about the Jotul F55. She agreed she was comfortable with everything I had learned and she likes the looks of the F55. I had permission to call our dealer and order it yesterday. I even mocked up a large cardboard box with similar dimensions to a F55 and put it where the stove will be in our dining room. She approves. We like the price. We like that it needs no thermal protection. Ember protection only. We like extra firebrick on the bottom because there's no ash pan. We like not having to drop money into a combustor every 5 years. We're up to our eyeballs in free firewood sources so extra efficiency from cat combustor isn't a big deal. Everybody says good things about Jotul as a company.

We ruled out catalytic-only stoves. Blaze Kings are awesome, but about $1k out of our price range. Just won't be happening for us. Yesterday I started mulling over hybrid stoves and luxurious soapstone. I'm still really excited about the Woodstock Progress Hybrid. I'm afraid I'm excited kind of like how I was excited about owning that sports car I couldn't afford back when I was 24. I explained hybrids and soapstone to the wife, along with the price and it needing an expensive hearth pad for thermal protection. Her eyes glazed over. She said the Woodstock PH might actually be too fancy. Man oh man, I didn't think I'd ever hear that from a woman.

She said many times this Winter, "I just want this house to be super warm and cozy without feeling guilty about burning through all that propane!" After typing all this out I think I'm realizing the F55 is just right for us. In the South cold weather is something we kind of get excited about. If it's 20F outside the house was 80F because of the ramp up on our non-cat stove I think that would translate to, "Holy cow! I'm so happy we can keep the house this warm during this South Carolina Blizzard!" And friends and family that came over would probably love the blast of heat when they walk through the front door. I'd probably be walking around in my boxers all Winter. But I do that all Summer anyway (inside only folks). I love all I've learned from everyone on here! And I'm not done learning! I think it's just time to make our decision.

You're going to see me figuring out the chimney next! And splitting all these standing dead I dropped. I've got to unbutton the cuffs on my dress shirts to get my hands through they've gotten that much bigger from all the splitting. But I digress...

logger said:

You'll like the F55... "She's a beauty, Clark."

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Thanks logger,
I called the wife and told her my thoughts about the F55 being the right one for us. She said she's glad I came back to the F55 because that's the one she liked best. So I guess there's more to it than comparing spec sheets. I'm heading over to our Jotul dealer over lunch to buy it. I feel like I just made up my mind to stop dating around and marry my sweetheart or something. Weird.

tarzan said:

I'm sure you and your family will be very happy with the Jotul.

And it only took four pages of us making it clear as mud to settle on your original decision sometimes ya just got to go with what feels right.

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I feel like these last four pages ultimately gave me much more confidence the choice was truely the best one for us. My wood stove IQ went up quite a bit for sure! Such a helpful crowd here.

I made the big purchase over lunch. I got the blower too. Should arrive in a couple weeks. And the wife is going to love this stove!

We took delivery of our F55 this weekend. Everyone agreed the stove is beautiful and look fantastic where we put it. My wife says it looks even better than she thought it would. She was worried it might be a tad large. But it's not. Looks very handsome. Can't wait to finish the install and see how it looks with a fire in it! We will be putting a Morso glass hearth plate on top of our rustic wood floor for ember protection; and finishing the wall behind it with stone veneer. Oh man, we're gonna be cozy next Winter! As long and cold as this Winter has been I still can't wait for the cold weather to be upon us again!

Okay, okay. Here's a photo (not great, but the only thing I've got on me at the moment). It's just sitting on top of a couple of boards from the palette. And after the photo I've moved it 6" away from the wall so we could see how far into the room it will sit while meeting clearances. I'll take better photos as the chimney and stone veneer project progress.

I thought I'd update this thread with a bit of happy news. If you remember from my original post on this thread we got the money to buy a stove because my homeowner's insurance payed out for my wedding band I had lost. Well a few weeks ago I went out in the back yard with my son to watch our honeybees like I often do. I was standing there with him and I looked down at the ground... My Ring!

Got it sized down 1.5 sizes (lost 30lbs over the last few years) and now it's back on my ring finger. So, this may be the only time in my life where I got to have my cake and eat it too.