Question for Jotul Castine Owners

[nottow]

Looking into getting this stove (or Oslo) sometime next year. Anyway I was looking for feedback on the single door. I'd like to have the option to load using a side door. Does using the large front door allow any smoke out? Any general opinions from those who've owned both types?

 

[jtp10181]

Any modern stove installed correctly with a proper chimney wont let smoke out the door when loading.

 

[Gunner]

Not a Castine owner but my 2 cents anyway... E/W loading and a top sloping firebox is a disadvantage, less wood can be loaded=less burn time. Something to consider if a primary 24/7 heater.

 

[begreen]

The Castine is less draft tolerant than the F500 Oslo. With a straight up pipe it's not bad, but with an rear-exit, you want to be sure you have good strong draft. We have good draft, but rear exit. We need to open that big door slowly to avoid smoke until the stove is warmed up. Once it's hot, it's not an issue.

If either stove might work for you, I'd go for the Oslo unless the space being heated is small.

 

[mmichaud]

For what it is worth... I open up the door slowly on mine when I first start out. Once the chimney gets warm I can use the fire screen in front of it with no problems and I have 2 90 degree bends in my chimney pipe. Actually once the chimney warms, the draft is really strong and a lot of the times the damper is almost closed and the top of the stove sits at 500 degrees. I am happy with it.

Mike

 

[jbrown56]

Nottow, I've been using my new stove for three months after using a steel box stove for 26 years. I heat 2100 sq. ft., 24/7, open concept floor plan with cathedral ceilings on the second floor. This stove does a great job heating the house. This morning it was 6* F and 30' from the stove, it was 66* on the windowsill. We load at 10p and at 7a there are plenty of coals to get the fire going again and the stovetop temp is around 250*. We empty the ashes every three days and the ash pan works well. Having front and side doors is a plus. The only time we use the front door is to start a new fire or to clean the glass. The only time I get smoke out the door is when there is a smoldering log when it's warmer than 40* outside and it's very little smoke at that. Overall, more heat with less wood and the secondary burn is spectacular. Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[btj1031]

I have had a Castine for one week now and I love it. No smoke issues with the front-loading, but the issue I do have with it is the clean-up - seems like a bit of ash will fall out no matter what I do. I grew up using an Effel that looked a lot like the Oslo, with both the front and side loading capability, and I never remember any ash falling out side-loading, nor do I ever remember loading through the front.

 

[grizzly2]

My daughter has a Jotul Castine. I have tended it while visiting her home, and have never seen any smoke escape from the front. The stove is just a little bigger than my Jotul 3, but the fire box has got to be almost twice as big. The non-cat clean burn technology works great. Can't believe how much user friendly it is tham mine.

The Castine is exactly what I would buy if I were gettin a new wood stove.

 

[Fishing Randy]

Hi I have the Castine 400 with the single large front door. I cannot say enough good things about this stove, I absolutely love it. I only find that smoke comes out if I open the door to fast or I am opening the door with smoldering logs. Usually when i reload the stove and I have a good bed of coals I have no smoke when I open the door.

I would recommend this stove because besides being nice looking which is secondary to me, it is very functional and heats my house very well. I also have an add on wood furnace in my basement that takes about two times the amount of wood and is supposed to heat a 3000 square foot house, well this castine blows it away while saving me wood and bringing up the temperature in the house faster and higher! If I could ask for anything I would go with one that can burn a bit longer.