Jotul Firelight and Oslo Questions

[Gridlock]

I am seriously considering replacing my VC Defiant CAT stove with a Jotul Firelight F600 or Oslo F500. For owners or folks with experience with either of either of these stoves, a few questions:

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?

As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention?

Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

I am seriously considering replacing my VC Defiant CAT stove with a Jotul Firelight F600 or Oslo F500. For owners or folks with experience with either of either of these stoves, a few questions:

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?

As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention?

Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.

F500

1. I guess, though it's only my second stove
2,3,4. No, until my cap got clogged - not really the fault of the stove
5. 1st season, cement holding baffle back has broken, so I have to push the baffle back into place once in a while
6. I heat a 2200 sq ft house almost exclusively with it - New England, far rooms from stove need some other heat
7. Yes
8. No

 

[Shari]

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain? Yes
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this? No
- Any problems with smoke entering the room? No
- Any back-puffing problems? No
- Any reliability issues? Not yet
- How long of a burn can you get? Depends upon type of wood
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible? Well, we are satisfied with the Oslo heating our 1700 sq ft ranch
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output? See above
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves? Side door loading works great, front door loads drops out ash

As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention? No, from a cool stove I would say it's more like 45 minutes to an hour to get up to temp and then start shutting down gradually but I woul think you will find this same time frame with any wood stove.
Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.

Shari

 

[summit]

both are way more durable and easier to use than your VC. Smoke back is not an issue if you use the side doors, as they are out of the path of the smoke and flame. I used to get some smoke back outta my old firelight when I'd use the front doors to load a roaring fire, but never outta the side door. Front door was only used to arrange tinder and kindling, or to occassionally load a giant round in there. No bypass damper is not an issue: In fact it's one less moving part you have to frig with, worry about sealing, and have break.

 

[grommal]

I am seriously considering replacing my VC Defiant CAT stove with a Jotul Firelight F600 or Oslo F500. For owners or folks with experience with either of either of these stoves, a few questions:

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?

As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention?

Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.

I switched from a VC Defiant Encore cat (1986 vintage) to a Jotul Oslo a little over a year ago. I had chronic back-puffing problems with the VC for 23 years. Here's my take on the Oslo after using it a bit in late spring 2009, and this last full burning season, compared to our experience with the VC:

- The Oslo is very easy to control. Much more so than the VC was. You shove wood into it, get the secondaries going, and set the air level to the desired heat output. Wait 8 hours and repeat.
- Lack of a damper is not an issue. Our Oslo starts right up without even having to leave a door cracked open for a while (using dry wood and the top-down method).
- Zero problems with smoke entering the room when loading through the side door. We only opened the front door a couple of times while the stove was going, Because of the design of most non-cat stoves, the smoke has to move toward the front door, and then slip around the baffle near the top of the door opening. I can imagine that if you pulled the front door open too quickly with a smoky fire, you might pull some smoke into the house, especially if the draft is not strong. But, this is not an issue at all when using the side door. We used the side door almost exclusively, even for building a new fire. More on why that is when I answer your last question.
- Zero back puffing. No sign of any tendency toward it. With the VC, if you were paying attention, you could predict that it was going to give trouble by watching the flame behavior. We had no puffing, and I didn't see any behavior that would lead me to suspect that we'd get any.
- Only had the Oslo for a year, so can't comment on reliability from experience yet. It has very few moving parts, and those are very easy to get to (the doors and the single air control lever in the front), so there's not much to go wrong mechanically. It has a ceramic board baffle, which can potentially be gouged or even punctured if you jam wood into it when loading. I was very careful at first, but about half way through the season, I just shoved the splits into the stove, often banging against the secondary tubes. I did a very thorough inspection of the tubes and baffle when I shut it down this spring, and I can see no damage yet, even though I know the baffle was scraped a few times.
- We got burn times with the Oslo that were a little longer than with our Encore. I attribute this to the slightly larger firebox. After 8 hrs, we always had a robust bed of hot coals. After 10 hrs, there were still plenty of coals for a no-kindling restart. After 24 hrs, there were still usable coals in the ash bed that would do a restart with kindling to help. In general, I got up in the morning, and just shoved splits in the side door without any raking or other fussing around. It was cooking again in 15 minutes.
- Can't comment on the accuracy of the BTU rating. The Oslo makes more heat when really cooking than our Encore did, but it's a little larger stove. It provides the primary heat for our 2000 sf house with no problem. Very satisfied with the heat output, and the controllability of that output.
- The Oslo has one design flaw that bugs everyone who has it. The shape of the bottom of the front door and the bottom front lip of the firebox creates a pocket for ash to accumulate. When you open the front door, this substantial pile of ash dumps out on the front ash lip. If I ran the stove from the front door, it would be a pain in the butt. Since I run it from the side, it's a non-issue. That's the key.

So, the bottom line is that the transition from the Encore to the Oslo was like night and day. My wife just loves how easy the Oslo is to run. We burned a bit more wood this past winter than any other (used the stove more, since we never had to give up on running it because of puffing), and our chimney was the cleanest it ever was when I brushed it. Note that we made zero changes to the chimney. We changed only the stove and the very short run of pipe that leads to the thimble (identical run geometry, just 6" instead of 8"). But woodburning was so smooth this past winter, we're kicking ourselves for not changing years ago.

Good luck!

 

[stovelark]

Congrats on your prospective purchase. As a former Jotul salesman and user of the Oslo, its probably the best built and easy to run cast stove I've used. The new VCs with the everburn system is better than the cat models, but forcing the smoke down in the sec burn chamber isn't the same as igniting it up in the hottest part of the stove with air tubes. It has been my experience that while it works well (you do need a good chimney and dry wood), secondary tube systems look better burning, and generally speaking are easier to use. The Oslo came out in 1999, and the only real change has been the ceramic baffle and the air control lever has been modified. From day one, a very robust stove, probably rated conservative on the BTUs. Jotul reps say the Oslo and Firelight are very similar, its usually whether an operator wants a LH or RH side door to operate from. Very few people use the front doors, side doors tend to leak less smoke and smell into the room, and are easier to load, espec if the stove is hot already... For its cost and performance, the Oslo is the best cast stove I've seen. If you talk steel frame stoves, check out Quadrafire and Enviro. Quads have gotten pretty expensive, but are still easy to run, and perform great. Enviro (espec the Kodiak 1700 FS) is a wonderful burning and easy to afford stove. I currently work at a place that sells VC and Enviro and Country stoves, but we are trying to get Jotul too. Hope this helps. You made a great choice.

Stovelark
Enviro 1700 FS
Former Oslo F500

 

[Todd]

You may want to wait til later this summer when Jotul comes out with that new top loader?

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/55169/P0/

 

[logger]

Top-loader sounds neat, but might be too small if this guy's considering the F600 as well. Our Oslo heats 2000 sq ft no problem. I have no complaints with this stove and its been nothing but a cold weather beast. I've worked numerous stoves including VCs, but our new Oslo is by far my fav. It holds hot coals for 11-12 hrs and is able to start back up without relighting. Granted, you'll want to load it more than this to keep the house temps up, but it comes in handy if you go to work or sleep in. Lights right up no prob. No issues with smoke. Its just a real workhorse. I too chose mine after talking to folks on this site. Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

I am seriously considering replacing my VC Defiant CAT stove with a Jotul Firelight F600 or Oslo F500. For owners or folks with experience with either of either of these stoves, a few questions:

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain? Yes . . . obviously not as easy as adjusting the thermostat on the wall for the oil boiler . . . but temps are steady.
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this? Not an issue . . . some folks do leave the side door ajar on cold starts.
- Any problems with smoke entering the room? In two years, it has happened twice . . . both times because of me . . . shut down the air too much (all the way shut) too soon which resulted in back puff . . . and once last Fall there was some since the outside temps were warmer than inside . . . fixed that by opening the nearby window until the draft was established.
- Any back-puffing problems? Again, only twice . . . both times were my fault.
- Any reliability issues? Only two years, so too soon to tell . . . but most folks say the Oslo and Firelight are workhorses that are near bullet-proof.
- How long of a burn can you get? Depends -- on temps, wind and wood type/quality. Typically in the dead of winter I'll do a final load around 9:30 or so and wake up at 5-5:30 and have enough coals to relight the fire by just tossing on some kindling . . . although my more patient wife will plunk down some small splits and get flames . . . just takes a few more minutes.
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible? Sure . . . my house is around 1,800 square feet and the Oslo is my primary heat source.
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output? Let's just say this . . . sometimes I look at the latest and greatest stoves . . . and sometimes I look at the pretty soapstone stoves, but then I realize that my Oslo has done the one thing I've asked it to do for the past two years and actually surpassed by hope -- it has kept me and my home toasty warm, used less wood and been able to heat my entire home not just a section which I had hoped for initially . . . and when I realize this fact I know that I picked the right stove for me.-
Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves? Only a few, very minor issues . . . ash tends to dump out of the front of the stove when opening the front -- a messy, annoying issue but most folks solve this by using the side loading door . . . the other common issue is that the air control lever sometimes sticks -- at one time this was due to a manufacturing defect . . . now it's mostly due to ash getting inside . . . but it's an easy fix with a cheap tube of graphite powder.

The one question not asked is if I would have bought something different or if I could change anything what would I have done . . . and the answer would be I sometimes wish I had waited and ponied up a little more money for the blue-black finish instead of the cheaper (and available that day) matte black paint.

As mentioned, I currently have a VC Defiant CAT, which has had it's problems. The main issues are problems with the CAT engaged, namely hard to control heat output and back-puffing. I don't want to get into possible reasons for back-puffing as I've explored this quite a bit. I'd prefer a stove that is easier to control, and one that I can trust will burn correctly without a lot of babysitting. Take a look at the Oslo if it fits your spacing requirements -- simple to operate, reliable and it produces heat . . . reloads are wicked simple. Open door, add wood, adjust air control if needed . . . after 10 minutes you're cruising again . . . With the Defiant, to start a cold stove, I had to wait about 90 minutes before closing the damper to engage the CAT; I'd prefer a stove that didn't need this level of intervention. Holy cow . . . 1 1/2 hours . . . cold start time from first flame to walking way with no worries since the stove is cruising is 30-45 minutes max . . . and that's on a cold start. In the morning when I go to work, I usually have about 30 minutes before I leave; is this enough time to get the Jotuls fired up (assuming it is still hot from the night before) and set before being able to leave and trust that it will function properly without intervention? Yes . . . my winter Standard Operating Procedure is to get up, put kinding or small splits on the fire and the splits and rounds, open up the draft and wait . . . within a few minutes I will be able to turn down the air control as the temps are in the Goldilocks zone . . . I continue reducing the air for the next few minutes until the temps are in the zone and I have a nice, secondary burn going . . . typically 10-20 minutes . . . I do not make the mistake as I did last year and earlier this year of loading the stove, opening the draft and then taking spending the next 10-15 minutes showering, dressing, brushing my teeth, etc. as I did this twice and came back to a stove with very high, but not critically hot, temps.

Thanks much for any feedback; I just want to make sure I make the right decision.

 

[grommal]

FFJ and I both have blue-black envy. I also opted for the flat black painted version, in my case because the dealer had too many of them and was willing to discount it way deeper than the lovely blue-black enamel. Financially, I did the right thing. But that blue-black enamel sure is pretty...

 

[JeffRey30747]

- Is the fire level easy to control and maintain?
- These stoves do not have dampers; any problems with starting because of this?
- Any problems with smoke entering the room?
- Any back-puffing problems?
- Any reliability issues?
- How long of a burn can you get?
- It's rated at over 80,000 BTU's; does this seem plausible?
- Are you satisfied with it's heat output?
- Any other issues you've had with either of these stoves?

I have been burning the Oslo since 2007 ( I think! How time flies) and have had very few issues with it. If I needed a new stove tomorrow I would buy it again. Starting fires is seldom an issue and when I have issues it is usually the fault of the wood and not the stove. It does seem to require drier fuel and runs well on smaller splits (which are, are else being equal, usually drier). It will occasionally smoke out the front door but not enough to cause issues and rarely ever if the side door is used. No issues with back puffing or overall reliability. I usually run from 11pm to 6am and have enough coals for a restart w/o kindling but the gas heat will run a little with the thermostat set on 66F. This is a 3000 ft2 well insulated, two story in NW Georgia. If nighttime temps stay below 15F for any length of time, the stove needs some help heating the house (gas central heat or basement stove). The heat output is excellent. You can sit comfortably in a chair by the fire without being roasted but it heats the rest of the house fairly well under most circumstances. Ash does fall out the front door onto the ash lip but hey it's a wood stove and that's what the ash lip is there for. Not a major problem for me.

 

[Gridlock]

Thank you so much everyone for all the great information! I truly appreciate all the feedback and the time everyone spent in relaying their experience and opinions. It certainly is helping make a decision.

The chimney sweep came over this morning to see why I might be having so much trouble with my VC stove; there are two problems with the stove:

1) The main air control is very sticky which might affect the operation of the thermostat. I found this myself as I was looking over the stove. It appears that VC changed the thermostat as some point (which is larger than the previous one) and as a consequence, the indentation in the cast piece which sits over the thermostat interferes with its operation. The sweep mentioned that he spoke to VC about this problem, but has not gotten a response.

2) The CAT combustor is the metallic type and was clogged and warped - The sweep did not realize that VC put a metallic combustor in the stove; when he showed me the normal ceramic type, I couldn't believe the difference. The ceramic type is much heftier, has a full metal frame, and has holes that are much larger than the ones in the metallic type. He said that VC might be experimenting with the metallic type on their new stoves.

So now I have to make a decision in keeping the VC (assuming that the thermostat issue is fixed; the combustor was already replaced), or replacing it with the Jotul Firelight. I am still leaning toward replacing it, both based on the information I have gotten here, and on VC's current reputation and cost of replacement parts.

Do you think this is the way to go?

 

[Todd]

As long as your installer still says he will buy it back, I'd replace it with the similar sized Firelight. The VC will probably give you more headaches down the road anyways.

 

[firefighterjake]

As long as your installer still says he will buy it back, I'd replace it with the similar sized Firelight. The VC will probably give you more headaches down the road anyways.

I agree . . . if you were "stuck" with the VC I would probably try using the stove with the new combustor, but if you have a chance to return it I would do so . . . sadly VC does not have the reputation as it used to have back in the 1980s.

 

[semipro]

Gridlock,
Backpuffing seems important to you. We load our Oslo through the front door because of installation restrictions. I've found that if I open the front door too fast we sometimes get smoke leakage. We've learned to open the door slowly to prevent this.

 

[summit]

Thank you so much everyone for all the great information! I truly appreciate all the feedback and the time everyone spent in relaying their experience and opinions. It certainly is helping make a decision.

The chimney sweep came over this morning to see why I might be having so much trouble with my VC stove; there are two problems with the stove:

1) The main air control is very sticky which might affect the operation of the thermostat. I found this myself as I was looking over the stove. It appears that VC changed the thermostat as some point (which is larger than the previous one) and as a consequence, the indentation in the cast piece which sits over the thermostat interferes with its operation. The sweep mentioned that he spoke to VC about this problem, but has not gotten a response.

2) The CAT combustor is the metallic type and was clogged and warped - The sweep did not realize that VC put a metallic combustor in the stove; when he showed me the normal ceramic type, I couldn't believe the difference. The ceramic type is much heftier, has a full metal frame, and has holes that are much larger than the ones in the metallic type. He said that VC might be experimenting with the metallic type on their new stoves.

So now I have to make a decision in keeping the VC (assuming that the thermostat issue is fixed; the combustor was already replaced), or replacing it with the Jotul Firelight. I am still leaning toward replacing it, both based on the information I have gotten here, and on VC's current reputation and cost of replacement parts.

Do you think this is the way to go?

replace it. cat will still clog (the metal type actually holds up better under normal use than the ceramic, usually in my experience), the tstat function kinda sux. Jotul will be wayyy easier and more durable over the run of the stove. Think about it: If this stove is not covered under wtty, then this Vc easilly cost you @ least 250 bucks just with what you have put out there w/ this quote here. New Cat, new Tstat, labor, travel time. New cats are expensive, peeling apart the stove, replacing the tsat, and we have not even got into replacing a cat chamber yet. The Jotul will run you no more than $30 for new gaskets on the doors (side, front and ashpan) every 3 yrs or so.

 

[jotul8e2]

I've burned several stoves over the last 30 years and the lack of smoke from the Oslo continues to be one of the most amazing features. The other is how clean the glass stays - I only clean it two or three times during the burning season.

The only comment I will add is that, yes, 80,000 btu output is very optimistic if you are thinking in terms of the output of a gas furnace, for example. I would guess (and it is just a guess) that you would have to run the stove at nearly 700 deg. surface temperature to get close to that and have a stoker standing by to reload every 45 minutes. But the Oslo heat output compares very favorably to other stoves in its class and that rating is likely every bit as realistic as any other major stove maker's. Keep in mind that an actual output of, say 30,000 btu/hr. is equal to a regular furnace that puts out 90,000 btu and cycles on for 1/3 of the time and off 2/3.

 

[Shari]

FFJ and I both have blue-black envy. I also opted for the flat black painted version, in my case because the dealer had too many of them and was willing to discount it way deeper than the lovely blue-black enamel. Financially, I did the right thing. But that blue-black enamel sure is pretty...

<jumping around in the background of this discussion, waving hands wildly, see me! see me!>

I got the blue/black and LOVE how easy it is to dust off/clean up. FFJake is jealous! Sorry FJake...

Shari

 

[Gridlock]

Thanks again for all the info. Can the Firelight ans Oslo be run at very low levels for long burn times without backupffing? As I right this, I have the VC fired up; it certainly runs much better with the new CAT, but I still noticed some sudden bursts in the firebox when the air control was set low. It cured itself when I raised the control a bit, but this is the type of thing that I don't want to have to worry about. For a while it was running great at the low level, but for some reason, there was suddenly very little flame in the firebox, and therefore more smoke buildup which seemed to cause the burst.

I wonder how the Firelight/Oslo can handle low settings, since I thought that CAT stoves handle that better than non-CAT stoves.

 

[Diabel]

I have been following this thread...& when reading through your posts I think your wood is a bit suspect.....no stove will work well with sub-optimal wood...just a thought!

 

[Gridlock]

I have been following this thread...& when reading through your posts I think your wood is a bit suspect.....no stove will work well with sub-optimal wood...just a thought!

I measured the moisture content of the wood; most of the wood is between 12 and 18% moisture content with the occasional piece slightly over 20%. I burned the same wood in an Avalon Olympic without any backpuffing issues. I traded the stove in because I switched from an insert to a free standing stove; I was looking to get more heat without the need for a fan.

 

[firefighterjake]

FFJ and I both have blue-black envy. I also opted for the flat black painted version, in my case because the dealer had too many of them and was willing to discount it way deeper than the lovely blue-black enamel. Financially, I did the right thing. But that blue-black enamel sure is pretty...

<jumping around in the background of this discussion, waving hands wildly, see me! see me!>

I got the blue/black and LOVE how easy it is to dust off/clean up. FFJake is jealous! Sorry FJake...

Shari

Somehow I knew you would be along sooner or later to rub this fact in my face Shari.

Actually, I am happy for you ... and I will most likely end up with a blue black Oslo myself . . . when my Oslo needs replacing in 30 years or so.

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks again for all the info. Can the Firelight ans Oslo be run at very low levels for long burn times without backupffing? As I right this, I have the VC fired up; it certainly runs much better with the new CAT, but I still noticed some sudden bursts in the firebox when the air control was set low. It cured itself when I raised the control a bit, but this is the type of thing that I don't want to have to worry about. For a while it was running great at the low level, but for some reason, there was suddenly very little flame in the firebox, and therefore more smoke buildup which seemed to cause the burst.

I wonder how the Firelight/Oslo can handle low settings, since I thought that CAT stoves handle that better than non-CAT stoves.

Not having run a cat stove I can only hazard a guess here, but I'm thinking if you were looking for long, low burns the cat stove would be the better choice . . .

That said, during this time of year when it gets chilly in the evenings or on a rainy day you simply make a single fire, let it warm up the place and burn out . . . and let the cast iron bulk radiate heat out . . . the other trick is to simply not put in your high BTU wood or not do a full load . . . quite honestly it's rare that I overheat the house.

As for backpuffing with the air cut back . . . it can happen . . . I've seen it a couple of times . . . but both times they were my fault. I cut the air back too much, too soon on the first fire . . . normally it's a non-issue.

 

[Gridlock]

Not having run a cat stove I can only hazard a guess here, but I'm thinking if you were looking for long, low burns the cat stove would be the better choice . . .

That said, during this time of year when it gets chilly in the evenings or on a rainy day you simply make a single fire, let it warm up the place and burn out . . . and let the cast iron bulk radiate heat out . . . the other trick is to simply not put in your high BTU wood or not do a full load . . . quite honestly it's rare that I overheat the house.

As for backpuffing with the air cut back . . . it can happen . . . I've seen it a couple of times . . . but both times they were my fault. I cut the air back too much, too soon on the first fire . . . normally it's a non-issue.

Interestingly, I ran the stove last night with the damper open (CAT NOT engaged) and the air control at the lowest setting; it ran great all night and the stovetop temperature this morning was still over 300 degrees after running for about 9 hours! I had to desingage the CAT due to a runaway condition; I had to open the air control a little after the backpuffing started again which seemed to cause both the CAT chamber (over 2000 degrees) AND stovetop (750 degrees) to get out of control. At that point I opened the damper and reduced the air control, which after about 10 unsettling minutes, got the stove under control. From then on it burned well.

 

[Gridlock]

Lastest update: after the last episode with the Defiant, I have decided to switch to the Jotul Firelight. The chimney sweep has agreed to the trade, but he needs to check if the baffle can be removed in a rear vent situation to facilitate flue cleaning.

Does anyone know if this is possible?