I've had my 602 for 3 years now (although its being replaced this year by my brand new PE T5!!), and it was a great little stove. It was used to heat my basement (Man Cave) for the last couple of years, and did pretty well. My basement was a 800 sq ft, uninsulated, with a stone/block foundation and got to be as cold as 52* F on the coldest days/nights. The stove was able to raise the room by 20* within a couple of hours, however I had to run the stove hotter than most would like, as I had stove top temps read from my thermometer of 700-750*. Would do better this year, had I kept it, as now I sectioned off two of the four walls in the basement and insulated those walls, making the space around 600 sq ft now. Its now sitting in my garage next to the T5 awaiting its new home.
the stove burnt well and burnt anything you put in it. Not sure if it was solely the draft i have or the stove or both, but that sucker took off like a blow torch when started up with paper, kindling and a few small splits. From there I would put in 3 splits (16" max -- what a pain in the rear trying to find someone to cut splits that short around here) and close the air down gradually, until it would cruise for about 2 hours or so. Then I'd increase the air gradually before starting the process all over again. Constant tinkering with the stove with loading, reloading and air adjustment, but I never minded that, as I only used it when I used the room so its just something I did during commercial breaks from the games i was watching!!
Begreen and Precaud had/have this stove and they were a big help to me when I first got it. There is a thread titled "Jotul 602 ins and outs" which i started back then and there is good info from guys in that thread about it. If the 602 is the route you go, you won't regret it. Fun and easy to operate.
