Jotul 8?? Can anyone shed some light on that stove?

I was asked if interested in a Jotul wood stove today. Only thing that seemed to ID the stove was the big "8" cast in the side of it. It is from the early 90s best I could gather. It is relatively small and would likely top out on an 18 inch log.

So, what is this baby's reputation and what would it be worth in good condition?

The late series 8 catalytic stove, according to Mark at Jotul tech support, is one of the very best stoves Jotul ever made. The earlier per-EPA 8's were a whole other stove, though. IIRC, the late 8 catalytic could be ID'd by a push rod control in the upper left corner of the front face of the stove. I was told to expect burn times similar to the 500 Oslo.

begreen... do you remember if they made a specific name change to the "Series 8", versus just calling it the "Jotul 8"? I had always thought that's when they did the redesign that made the catalyst integral. Some of the earlier 3's and 8's seemed to have an add-on external catalyst chamber, reading the limited literature I've seen posted.

Yep... Exactly as I thought. Only thing that image is missing is introductory year. The #8 was around several years before they released the Series 8.

According to Mark at Jotul, the 8TDC is not so desirable, but the Series 8 is a great stove.

The stove I looked at had an air control on he front lower side. I asked if it was a cat stove and the owner did not know. If it has the air control on the front, that makes it the #8 stove, correct? This is also the oldest of the 8 line?

I have a jotul 8 with cat,pretry happy with it but small firebox.u can get 20" log in it,bit much easier to stack them with 18"
Large baffle makes loading hard.can get up to 8hr burn time with hot coals left in it.

I suspect that's the #8 without the cat, then. I think the 8TDC had the draft control high on the right side, and the Series 8 had the draft control in the upper left corner of the stove face.

Which 8?

It's a series 8.I bought it used from a guy who bought a house'lived in it 5 yrs never used it,lIdk new
I've burned it 5 seasons 24-7..it's been a good stove little small for my farmhouse..

Never fondled one myself, but I'm pretty sure the air bypass control on the Series 8 with internal catalyst is on the top left corner of the front face of the stove. This is what Mark at Jotul told me to look for, back when I was looking for a used Series 8 myself.

Sorry, you are correct. You wrote "air control," but I read "bypass control." Not the first brain fart I've had, and surely won't be the last. I fixed the prior post (mostly).

Guys- you're right about all, but the Oslo replaced the series 8 AP (ashpan) cat in 1999. The two door Castine debuted a couple of years later because the Oslo was a bigger heater than anticipated. Jotul was looking for a 1200-1500 sqft heater that would hold 18-20 inch pieces of wood, (the Oslo would go 20-22 inch wood with ease, up to 2000+ sqft) and the Castine was born. After a couple of years, they went to a single door model Castine F400, sales shot up. The two door Castine front bolt wasn't recessed a la the Firelight, but protruded and most thought unattractive. The Castine two door handle was different than the firelight's too, it was a big awkward, chromed thing.. not well received. Thank goodness they went single door. The firelight double door objection wasn't applicable like the Castine, due to the top load or side load ovailability.