Castine v. Oslo

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Well, I didn't read each response here, but it appears to me a smaller soapstone stove may be a better choice than the Jotuls, especially if you don't want to be cooked out of that downstairs room.

I'm partial to the Oslo, for Oslobvious reasons :) I HAVE ONE!

But, if I were to put my Oslo in a 600 sq. ft. room, with no doors or windows, only a stairwell up, I think it'd get right toasty in there :)

I have a combination kitchen/great room, high ceiling, 3+ doorways, two 54 inch ceiling fans, and when my Oslo is crankin, the thermometer across the room, about 20 feet away, can read 89 degrees when its 32 outside, and can make 80 degrees when it's 20 or so outside.

just my .02 cents worth.
 
BeGreen is right, go for the enamel. I did, and am glad I did. With the enamel you also get an enameled bottom shield and crome lever with colored handles. Looks way better then the all black handles on the flat black stove. I went with the oslo because of the side door and the better drafting qualities. I also liked the individual secondary burn tubes and insulator right above them. I like that the castine because it's a little slimmer, but in your case with a basement installation the depth doesn't matter. With considering the price the Oslo is a little more bang for your buck... 8
 

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This is what I am talking about when it comes to the secondary burn system... 8
 

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Plus you also get the refractory brick in the back of the stove which helps radiate more heat back throught the glass. If you ever break one, they are $2 to replace... its the small things that made me go with the Oslo instead. Either choice will suit you just fine in the long run. 8
 
I've only had three fires in my Castine and you guys are making me want an Oslo, knock it off. We'll see how my castine holds up to the super cold weather. I know my boiler couldn't get the house above 67 degrees last February but I'm thinking the Castine will be fine.
 
eightpilot said:
Plus you also get the refractory brick in the back of the stove which helps radiate more heat back throught the glass. If you ever break one, they are $2 to replace... its the small things that made me go with the Oslo instead. Either choice will suit you just fine in the long run. 8

The Castine has three pieces of brick in the back too, it's just covered by a cast iron plate. I only know this because I disassembled my stove as much as possible without breaking any cement so that it could be carried up my stairs.
 
That sure is a good looking stove.

I should clarify that my basement room is not sealed up or anything. The basement has four windows and two exterior doors in it, with two of the windows and one of the doors being in the same room as the stove. The door in that room is very heavily used. The stove will be located near the base of the stairs heading up, and I will probably put a floor register in directly above the stove, so I should be able to disperse the heat fairly well.

decisions decisions
 
I have the flat black Castine since Jan of 2005 and heat with it 24/7 and so far no rust so the paint holds up if you are careful not to spill on it. I use the stove top's' heat to brew tea. I wish they had kept the enameled hunter green color I would paid for that but they discontinued the color. I also got an additional discount on the stove I purchased.

My decision was between the CB3 and Castine and I am only heating 1000 sq ft 350 miles south of Des Moines and have been very happy with my decision to oversize my stove against my dealer's advice. I am getting very clean burns and typically can keep the house between 65-72 degrees. I actually begin to have trouble with wood overcoaling when the temperature gets below zero. (BeGreen I find it easier to keep up with really cold weather with woods that have poorer coaling properties because you can burn more often).

Another positive factor about using the larger stove it will allow for less wood processing especially if you have to do the splitting by hand. You can cut your firewood longer and keep the diameter wider for splits which saves time. The difference is really noticeable for a CB3 vs Castine where that tiny door really can only allow for really small straight pieces of wood.

The narrow profile stoves tend to spill ashes which makes for more accumulation of dust my biggest pet peave of wood heating. I wish the Castine had a side door and a larger ashpan.

But I agree why stop at Jotul you can look at other manufacturers. If its in the basement I would think function is more important than styling.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

This is a finished basement, so I guess I should say that the stove will be located in my living room, and its the room that I spend the most time in. The stove will be the focal point of the room, so the styling is somewhat important to me. More important, though, is the ability of the stove to last for decades, and thats what got me looking at big cast iron non-cats, but nothing is set in stone at this point.
 
Pit pat I think the function of an Oslo outweighs the unique styling of a Castine. Overall, the bigger stove will equate to less work and more enjoyment.
 
Thanks for your help everyone.
After much going back and forth I ordered the Oslo in the blue black enamel.
The side door ended up being what tipped the scale.
Now its off to the county administration building to get a mechanical building permit.
 
Sounds good, nice stove. I think you will really love the blue-black enameling. Jotul and Hearthstone have it down. Be sure to get wood stacked and drying asap. You might consider getting a cord or two of softwood for burning on days above say 25 degrees along with another couple cords of hardwood for below 25 degree weather. Burning softwood will allow you to have a nice partial load of wood burning well, yet it will limit the max temp of the stovetop to about 500 degrees. Save the hardwood for when it is real winter.
 
I have one cord that is already cut and stacked and has been seasoning for two years.
I also have some very large limbs that came down last winter that have been sitting out in the sun, probably two cords worth. I think when I get that cut and split I'll find that its already pretty dry. So that should get me through the first half of winter. A friend of mine told me I can come and clear up any dead fall on his twenty wooded acres, and I am hoping some of that will be ready to burn this year (even if its not, free wood!). Wood is pretty plentiful and relatively affordable around here, so I may just go ahead and buy a couple of cords of seasoned wood just to get a head start, and then start burning all my own wood starting the following winter.

I really appreciate all the help.
 
For the fresh cuts, if it's ash you probably can still burn it this year. But if the wood is not seasoned, you may find the Jotul balky and hard to establish a good burn in it. Try to get some soft maple, fir, hemlock, or other softwoods in the mix.
 
Well, after weeks and weeks of waiting, the Oslo is supposed to be in tomorrow. I've managed to get about 2.5 cords of wood together ready for this year, about 1/2 cord of it is well-seasoned pine I got off of freecycle, so I should be able to burn that earlier in the year without cooking myself out of my house.

When I had first gotten the delivery estimate of 6-8 weeks I didn't think I would be able to stand the wait, but I'm glad I was able to get a stove at all this season.

Any bets as to how much sleep I'll get tonight?

Thanks to everyone's help on this board. It has been tremendously valuable when talking with the dealer so I could make myself appear as if I knew what I was talking about. I'll post pics when its up.

15 hours to go....
 
Great to hear, I have an Oslo and love it. The dealers were the ones that actually pushed me towards that instead of the Castine (thanks at Preston) and the wife gave the nod. After two seasons with it, I am very happy. Be careful in the room as it will heat you out of it, only downside. The room that the stove is in is usually above 90. Its a sunroom on the side of the house so its OK as we don't spend much time in there.
Dry wood is a key. Our chimney is about 22' tall an is fine for draft.
Good choice with the color, only downside I have with my store was that they didn't try and talk me into the porc. My old 118 was the hunter green and I really liked it.
Chad
 
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