Castine or Oslo

[LongRangr]

D/W wants an ivory stove. We have finally narrowed our list down to the Jotul line - F400 or F500. Thanks for all your help.

House is 1850 sq ft ranch style. Stove goes in corner of 750 sq ft great room. MBR on east. 2 BR and 2nd bath on west side of great room. 7 yr old house, 6 inch walls/cellulose insul. Vinyl double pane windows. E/W orientation and a little extra glass on south side=no heat needed on sunny afternoons.

Last night it was 32 F outside and I put 3 electric space heaters in the great room = 15,000 BTU/hr. The room temp slowly climbed from 67 to 71 F over a 3 hour period. The MBR was a comfortable 68 F. Back calculating our annual heat load from electric bill = 24 million BTU. For an average needed heat input of 8300 BTU/hr. So, the 15,000 BTU/hr seemed like a good number. We are in north Arkansas with 3500 degree-day heat load with January average temp of 40 F.

5 F is about as cold as it gets- this would require ~20,000-25,000 BTU/hr.

Is the Oslo too big?

 

[jotulguy]

The Oslo will be much easier to get an all night burn out of. Are you planning on 24/7 burning? Most on here would say that going bigger is never a problem too. I do want to mention the chimney. In a ranch home it may be tough to get to the minimum height of 15 feet. Just something to consider when you are choosing a location. It may be better for you to center it in the room so you have more chimney.

 

[cptoneleg]

Just right, and you will love it.

 

[Fsappo]

I agree with Jotul guy. If you want overnight burns, go with the Oslo. When your in the living space with the stove, just dont stoke it full. Use smaller loads. At night for the long haul, load her up and turn the air down. During the night the area near the stove may get a little too warm. Who cares, you'll be in your bedroom where you can close the door just enough to keep the room comfy for sleeping. When you wake up 7-9 hours later, you'll walk out into a warm room, add some fresh splits to the Oslo and enjoy your coffee while you watch her fire back up.

 

[firefighterjake]

To give you an idea . . . 1,800 square foot two-story Cape here in Maine . . . 1970s vintage . . . three of the four walls built out of 2 x 4s with fiberglass insulation . . . semi-open design . . . short walls . . . central Maine climate.

The Oslo does very well . . . when the temps dip into the single digits or sub-zero I find myself wishing I may have gone just a tad bigger . . . but normally the stove does an excellent job of keeping the place around 66-74 degrees F.

 

[potter]

I would miss stoking from the side door with a Castine. Much easier and less messy than front door. I vote Oslo.

 

[LongRangr]

I know we'll have 6-7 foot of vent above the roof. It will be on the back side of the house and we may build a "chaise?" around it to make it look better.

Is there a problem with 6-7 feet above the roof?

 

[jotulguy]

I know we'll have 6-7 foot of vent above the roof. It will be on the back side of the house and we may build a "chaise?" around it to make it look better.

Is there a problem with 6-7 feet above the roof?

No as long as you follow the 10,3,2 rule that is fine. I was referring to the over all height of the flue though. Most new EPA stoves need at least 15 feet of totally chimney. The chimney is what drives the stove if you will. If it is too short you will have draft issues.

 

[pmac]

The advice here is good. I just wanted to add a comment regarding the Castine and overnight burns. I'm not sure if that is a real concern or not; we've had a Castine for nine years, and I typically shut the air on the stove all the way down around 11 pm, stove at about 450-500, and have plenty of coals around 6am to get going again.

Of course, with the Oslo, you'd be putting out more heat overnight...

 

[begreen]

Our flue is that height above the roof. Looks fine. It needs a brace at the 5 ft level.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Our flue is that height above the roof. Looks fine. It needs a brace at the 5 ft level.

But depending on the slope of the OP's roof and other adjacent roofs, dormers, etc., he may or may not meet the 2-3-10 requirements, right?

 

[LongRangr]

Roof slope is 5/12. Flue will be ~12 feet from peak.

My biggest concern is if the stove will operate correctly at heat outputs of 15 to 25,000 BTU/hr? All the info on Jotul website says is that the MAX is 70,000 for the Oslo. Fuel will be mostly oak & hickory.

 

[Fsappo]

Max, shmax. Theres only so much heat in a stick of wood. Do what I said. A few logs at a brisk burn to keep the chimney warm during the living hours, and a full load at low burn in the sleeping hours.