A good deal? Jotul F400

Hi there, I've been a lurker for a while on this awesome site and this week's discovery has me coming to the group for advice!

I was browsing on Craigslist and came across a 2010 Jotul F400 Castine for sale for $1,200. This model was on my short list, though a newer one. Is this a good deal, oh wise ones? Any specifics to ask the seller? Parts that wear out after a few years? It does have the optional heat shield and blower.

I grew up with wood inserts and this will be my first free-standing unit. I'm wanting to install it in the basement of our house to offset the propane cost (and use up a plethora of dead trees we are clearing, mostly ash, walnut, maple and beech). I've been eyeing the Jotuls and Alderleas, a very different style than the ones I was around as a kid.

Thanks!

Lake Girl said:

Welcome to the forum You'll have to wait for the wise ones on the specifics for the Jotul. My wood comes in the form of pellets...

Do you have a moisture meter to test moisture content? If not, buy an inexpensive one (search box upper right will help you find previous threads for recommendations). You'll be looking for moisture content below 20% on a fresh split.

Good luck in the stove search and enjoy the C/S/S!

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Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice! We have been downing the dead trees on our couple of acres since spring. We have some seasoned wood, most of what we are cutting will be for future years. I actually have been looking at getting one, just in case we burn through more than I expect. There are another 20+ trees left to come down, so I know we will use it!

branchburner said:

Welcome to the forums. Not sure if you've researched any of the many threads on this topic, but people get mixed results with basement installs, sometimes short of expectation but also sometimes exceeding them.

I'd agree that closer to $1k is a fair price for the F400. You do want to inspect it closely inside and out with a flashlight for any cracks or damage to the burn tubes and baffle. It doesn't hurt to ask what temps the owners ran the stove at... the prior owners of the F600 I just bought were frank about the fact that the stove ran hot for them and the price was adjusted accordingly, but it was more than five years old, too.

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Thanks, I've been digging into the threads! I don't expect us to heat the whole house exclusively with wood, this place is huge (close to 4K with the finished part of the basement) with a funky layout. We are hoping to offset the cost of propane and be a little more self sufficient out here in the sticks. I worry about getting an F600 and getting cooked out... any thoughts on this would be welcome

I'll be sure to inspect the tubes and baffle if we take a look, the owners said they were upgrading to a larger stove for what that's worth.