Someone talk me out of the Jotul Castine

summit said:

BUT, If the wife likes the Castine better cause its pretty, go for the Jotul and you won't be sad about your decision..

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And that's a large part of why we have one on our hearth. :lol: Seriously though, we were both in agreement on which stove we liked better.

I guess the two biggest reasons that would make me pass on the Castine are the size and the finicky draft on that stove. If it's a Jotul you want, the F500 solves both issues.

Solution: Buy a "His" and Her's" stoves . . . maybe you can get a better price on volume buying.

Honestly, I like the looks of both stoves and users' ratings seem pretty high.

As for me I shied away from the Castine in my own home as I wanted a slightly larger stove than what the size was rated for (a good choice in my opinion as I have been happy with that decision) and as Wet1 mentioned there seemed to be some folks who had some issues with a finicky draft.

I have both the Oslo and Castine and I have no real complaints about either. My castine drafts just fine and heats real well. My only regret is being so tight and not springing for the enamaled version. I ended up with some decent stains after cooking chicken and dumplings on top during last years 2 wk. power outage. I say get the the one you like. Hell, your the one who has to live with it.

I'm also looking at the Castine but not convinced it's the best choice for our 1300 SQ ft renovated farmhouse. We bought a used series 3 stove but my hubby thinks it's not big enough and the wood will have to be so short.

As a Woman (wife), believe it or not, I care a lot more about efficiency and ease-of-use than looks. I don't want to mess with the fire. I want it to burn long and start up from coals in the morning. That said, if performance is equal, and it's going in the living room, better looking is good!

I like the PE Spectum or Classic, but didn't like the tale posted by recent purchase of the Pacific Energy stove. http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

I am new to the Steel vs cast-iron controversy...what do you all recommend for us?

thanks
Christine

Casbeck said:

I'm also looking at the Castine but not convinced it's the best choice for our 1300 SQ ft renovated farmhouse. We bought a used series 3 stove but my hubby thinks it's not big enough and the wood will have to be so short.

As a Woman (wife), believe it or not, I care a lot more about efficiency and ease-of-use than looks. I don't want to mess with the fire. I want it to burn long and start up from coals in the morning. That said, if performance is equal, and it's going in the living room, better looking is good!

I like the PE Spectum or Classic, but didn't like the tale posted by recent purchase of the Pacific Energy stove. http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

I am new to the Steel vs cast-iron controversy...what do you all recommend for us?

thanks
Christine

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i read the link, gotta say i have never had any problems with their compny, or their product.. sounds to me like the dealer may have pulled a fast on on these folks, selling them and installing a demo or floor model in place of a new one... PE stoves are very bulletproof, an i highly reccommend them, as that is what heats my house as well.

Bigg_Redd said:

I went to look an a 13-NC today, but the local Englander guy didn't have any in. In fact, he didn't have any wood stoves in at all.

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where (if you dont mind my asking?) PM is fine, and if you also PM me a zip code i can direct you to a dealer who has them in stock (or have someone from my office do so)

Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:

stoveguy2esw said:

it boils down to one simple thing , which do you want and how much do you want to spend. none of the stoves mentioned are anything less than top of the line, its going to sit in your house and heat it for a long time regardless of which you pick. i dont have a horse in this race personally as my product want mentioned (its ok , at least you left us out talking about high end units i can live with that ) honestly , there isnt a dog in your "short list" any one you pick you are picking a winner. select based on what you want if rated for the job you wish to give it hard to see you going wrong with anything on that list.

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Mike, it really wasn't fair of you to make a post like that with out atleast a few enablers getting to do their thing ;-)

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hey , i didnt pick one for him :zip: was just trying to be reassuring that out of his list he had some great choices, mine werent on the list but i didnt pout for too long besides a bump was in order so that the "enablers" would see it.

BrotherBart said:

This probably won't talk you out of the Castine.

http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

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i gotta believe thats rather unusual for PE especially the part about not being willing to talk to the poster any more, you know my feelings about CS id have been thinking about a replacement unit before i got to the point of telling anyone that i wasnt going to talk to a new customer.

Casbeck said:

I'm also looking at the Castine but not convinced it's the best choice for our 1300 SQ ft renovated farmhouse. We bought a used series 3 stove but my hubby thinks it's not big enough and the wood will have to be so short.

As a Woman (wife), believe it or not, I care a lot more about efficiency and ease-of-use than looks. I don't want to mess with the fire. I want it to burn long and start up from coals in the morning. That said, if performance is equal, and it's going in the living room, better looking is good!

I like the PE Spectum or Classic, but didn't like the tale posted by recent purchase of the Pacific Energy stove. http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

I am new to the Steel vs cast-iron controversy...what do you all recommend for us?

thanks
Christine

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Just going off the Jotul specs from the Jotule website:

Castine: 1,100 - 1,500 sq. ft.

Oslo: 1,500 - 1,800 sq. ft.

Just based on those numbers (and nothing else) seems you'd almost be at the upper limit of what the Castine is rated for. If you want Jotul...maybe the Oslo would be a better choice? It seems a lot of people here are happy with theirs.

Skier76 said:

Casbeck said:

I'm also looking at the Castine but not convinced it's the best choice for our 1300 SQ ft renovated farmhouse. We bought a used series 3 stove but my hubby thinks it's not big enough and the wood will have to be so short.

As a Woman (wife), believe it or not, I care a lot more about efficiency and ease-of-use than looks. I don't want to mess with the fire. I want it to burn long and start up from coals in the morning. That said, if performance is equal, and it's going in the living room, better looking is good!

I like the PE Spectum or Classic, but didn't like the tale posted by recent purchase of the Pacific Energy stove. http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

I am new to the Steel vs cast-iron controversy...what do you all recommend for us?

thanks
Christine

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Just going off the Jotul specs from the Jotule website:

Castine: 1,100 - 1,500 sq. ft.

Oslo: 1,500 - 1,800 sq. ft.

Just based on those numbers (and nothing else) seems you'd almost be at the upper limit of what the Castine is rated for. If you want Jotul...maybe the Oslo would be a better choice? It seems a lot of people here are happy with theirs.

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I agree with Skier . . . if you like the Castine, I think you might want to consider the Oslo. You didn't mention how well insulated the farmhouse is or not, but in either case, it's been said before and it will be said again, but it's far, far easier to build a small fire in a large firebox if you just need a little bit of heat than it is to try to build a large fire in a small firebox. One of the best nuggets of advice I received here at hearth.com when looking for my own woodstove was to figure out what size you need and then go one size larger -- you may never need to run the larger stove full bore most of the time, but on those sub-zero nights when the heat is really needed it's nice to be able to have that option of running the woodstove a little stronger. In addition, running a woodstove full bore all the time can be taxing -- consuming more wood and frustrating you . . . plus running straight out puts one more at risk at over-firing the stove.

Pacific Energy: I wouldn't let one story influence your decision on picking a particular stove or model. Take a look at the stove review section here at hearth.com -- it's quite useful. Any business or product will have its fans and detractors -- some with glowing, gushy stories of how great something is and others with stories of how awful something is -- the trick is to see what the majority of folks think about the company or product. And to tell the truth, with any product or company you're bound to have some poor products or experiences -- even the best companies and people have the occasional bad day or the problem in manufacturing -- the trick is to determine if this is a rare occurence or not. I suspect you'll find that PE is generally held in pretty high regard here . . . ditto for Jotul . . . ditto for Englander . . . ditto for many manufacturers. In fact, PE was on my short list of stove prospects.

Steel vs. cast iron vs. soapstone: Ah, the Great Debate . . . or one of the great debates . . . the other debates being Stihl vs. Husky vs. Dolmar, Cats vs. secondary combustion, Poly chimney brush vs. steel chimney brush and is Pook an alien left behind or just a guy that is misunderstood . . . my own take -- each has its place and each has their fans and detractors. Folks will argue passionately in favor of one type of building material over another . . . but the truth is . . . all stoves produce meaningful heat that will keep you warm.

Beware the Ides of March . . . I mean Beware of the Numbers: As you're searching through the literature you'll see data given by manufacturers listing out how long the stove will burn and how much space it will heat. Be aware . . . these numbers may not reflect the real world experience. Use them as a guideline, but don't fully trust them. I mean, yes, the Castine may heat X amount of space . . . but will it heat that same amount of space in your home if the house has a minimal amount of insulation, routinely gets high winds and sub-zero temps, your home has lots of windows or has an open lay-out vs. a closed lay out, etc. . . . there are a lot of other factors to consider. In the same way, burn times are very subjective . . . does the manufacturer consider burn time the time from when the fire is lit to the time the coals are cool, the time of meaningful heat (say 500 degrees at the stove) to when there is no more meaningful heat, the time when . . . well you get the picture . . . there is no real defined definition . . . so don't buy Stove X and fully expect it to heat Y amount of space and burn Z amount of time.

Jotul: You mention the Castine. As mentioned earlier, if you like the Castine I would encourage you to look at the Oslo. I also considered the Castine, but went a size larger and I have been very happy. I have been able to heat my entire home . . . a surprise since I thought I would only be able to heat a portion of my home. Things I like: very easy to use (i.e. start a fire, maintain a fire), classic cast iron look, burns clean, efficient (like most EPA stoves you will burn less wood and burn cleaner which is good for the environment, your health and it means less time cleaning chimneys) and bullet-proof reliability. The two things I dislike: the front door often spills ash on to the hearth which can be inconvenient (fortunately this stove also has a side door) and it does not provide as long a burn time as I was hoping . . . although when I go to bed at 10 p.m. and wake up around 5:30 a.m. there usually are enough coals to get a fire going with some kindling. Normally I get 3-5 hours of meaningful heat out of a load -- perhaps I will do better this year with better wood.

One thing the sales guy at the dealer told us; and we appreciated: "These stoves are rated under "ideal" conditions in a lab...perfect insulation, perfect placement, perfect chimney...ect. You and I don't have "perfect" conditions, so actual performance will vary from what they print in the catalog..."

Bigg_Redd said:

stoveguy2esw said:

Bigg_Redd said:

I went to look an a 13-NC today, but the local Englander guy didn't have any in. In fact, he didn't have any wood stoves in at all.

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where (if you dont mind my asking?) PM is fine, and if you also PM me a zip code i can direct you to a dealer who has them in stock (or have someone from my office do so)

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Tozier Brothers in Shelton WA 98584. They are a True Value franchise.

EDIT: Ace, not true value.

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ace stores would usually order "drop ship" from their regional warehouse. i did some checking around , the lowes store in south lacey at 5610 CORPORATE LANE SE
LACEY ,WA 98503 PHONE: (360) 359-9044
has 2 of them in stock right now , i called the store just now and confirmed with the manager of their "seasonal dept". closest one i could find to you that actually has one you can see in person. hope this helps ya

ok.... I live in a 2200 sq house well insulated
bought a F400 2 years ago and love it , no draft problems burns great
my wife has over fired it a few times (me too) just to neglect. Half of my neighbours are over during the winter months enjoying the fire with a glass of wine (beer) Has not bee an issue
Love the stove but I feel I should have bought the F500...longer burn times, bigger box, side load.
Would I like to trade up one day..but no......we have cheap natural gas..talking to neighbors about heating costs we are quarter of their bills..so it does a good job
but I would have gone bigger but the local installer said a bigger stove would heat us out of the room ..
I feel if I was to do it over again .....bigger is better.....just my two cents..and had a few already
i would rather be sitting by the stove that at a computer
Ted

Redd,
Many have stated how good looks doesn't heat a house, but my Oslo sure does. If you decide on Jotul, I'd one up to the Oslo; side load is great, operation and control is easy, and it is more than just a heater, it's a gathering place when people come over, and a great place to sit in front of with a beer and the newspaper after work.

We traded up from a Castine to an Oslo and are much happier with the Oslo. We, too, had an issue with finicky drafting. The front loading and narrow firebox of the Castine resulted in at least a small amount of smoke being released into the room every time we'd reload. That would leave us with a lot of smoke dust in the house even though we'd be careful about opening the door slowly, etc. We have a very good draft in the chimney and our Oslo has given us none of these problems and a meaningfully longer burn time, ability to use longer splits, more heat output, etc. If you have to load your Oslo using the front door, it'll spill a lot of ash into the ash lip, though. We use it as a side loader exclusively. Just our experience...

Casbeck said:

I'm also looking at the Castine but not convinced it's the best choice for our 1300 SQ ft renovated farmhouse. We bought a used series 3 stove but my hubby thinks it's not big enough and the wood will have to be so short.

As a Woman (wife), believe it or not, I care a lot more about efficiency and ease-of-use than looks. I don't want to mess with the fire. I want it to burn long and start up from coals in the morning. That said, if performance is equal, and it's going in the living room, better looking is good!

I like the PE Spectum or Classic, but didn't like the tale posted by recent purchase of the Pacific Energy stove. http://www.topschools.com/PacificEnergyWoodStoves.htm

I am new to the Steel vs cast-iron controversy...what do you all recommend for us?

thanks
Christine

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Hi Christine!

Based on what you've said, I would highly recommend looking at the Woodstock Fireview or possibly the Blaze King Princess if you want even more fire-power. Both will easily heat your house w/o problems and both will burn a long, long time. The BK will burn significantly longer and will be more fuss-free since it has a built in thermostat, which will allow the stove to burn an even temp throughout the burn cycle.