Quick Questios about the Jotul F 600 Firelight CB

[Detector$]

Guys and Gals,
I am about to begin construction on a new 2,559 sq.ft. home near Charlotte, NC.
The house is 1.5 stories with large great room, kitchen, master bed etc... downstairs (1,783 sq.ft. downstairs) and 3 more bedrooms upstairs (776 sq.ft. upstairs).
We're doing something else with the detached garage/great room.
There is a balcony on the second floor that opens into (looks down into) the great room (which has high vaulted ceilings).
I plan to move the stove location to the left of where the fireplace is shown in the attached plan.

I tried to convince my wife to consider the new Hearthstone Equinox (which we saw in person today) but she doesn't like the look of soapstone.
She likes the enamel plated cast iron stoves.
I like the non-cat stoves, but am terrified of the down-drafts like the VC Defiant NC 1610.
I can't find the Firebox Volume of the Firelight F 600.... does anyone know what it is? They claim to be the biggest NC Cast Iron Stove in the World.

I'd like to use wood as our primary heat (for our strange NC winters)... Will this thing do it?
Any opinions or recommendations?
We've found an awesome/knowledgeable dealer/installer.
How is the fit and finish quality of this stove compared to the VC Defiant Cat or Non-Cat?

THANKS!

 

[Robbie]

Welcome, if you found a good dealer/installer........your almost there !

Stay close and wait for answers to help you. I am not familiar with the stove you mentioned but I'm certain the others will be.

I just noticed you are in sales and engineering for detectors ? Fire ?

If you are, do we have lots of ideas for you............... ;-)

Don't forget to start a topic on this at a later date..........I have been "chompin at the bits" to talk to someone about these kinds of things in relation to wood burning etc.........(sorry for the off topic).

Robbie

 

[Detector$]

Thanks...
East Tennessee.... would be building there if not for the in-laws (and the wife)
What part? Go Vols!

 

[Robbie]

Maryville, very near the Smoky mountains...............inlaws ? I'm not asking............. :lol:



Robbie

 

[TheFlame]

The F600 should heat your home perfectly.

I am in PA and run an F500 Oslo to heat 2600 sq ft and it is very effective down into the 20s. Low 20s and below it can start to struggle a bit.

My brother up the street has a F600 in a 2400 sq ft house and he can easily overheat his house at almost any outside temp.

Realistically I should have an F600 for my size house, but when I purchased the stove I was not in the mindset that I was buying a 24/7 whole-house heater, even though it turned out that way...

What are your low temps in NC? I think we may have hit 5 degrees in PA last year (Philly area), but that is the extreme low. Usually it doesn't go past the mid teens.

 

[simisita]

On the F500 Oslo, how often do you have to refill the wood? I am having problems with mine that it burns through the wood really fast. I used to loading a stove, going to work and coming home to reload at the end of the day. With the Oslo, I basically have to restart the fire when I return home. There are some embers but not too many, not enough to get it going. Any suggestions appreciated !

 

[begreen]

Try some thicker splits (6-8") in the Oslo to start with.

 

[TheFlame]

On the F500 Oslo, how often do you have to refill the wood? I am having problems with mine that it burns through the wood really fast. I used to loading a stove, going to work and coming home to reload at the end of the day. With the Oslo, I basically have to restart the fire when I return home. There are some embers but not too many, not enough to get it going. Any suggestions appreciated !

What kind of wood are you using?

In my experience there are only two ways you will have restartable coals after a 9-10 hour period with the Oslo:

1. When you reloaded it before you left you already had a really good coal bed (4+ inches) established.
2. You loaded it to the hilt with a really good coaling wood (oak, locust, etc).

If you are loading it up with maple or walnut or cherry then you will not have much left after 9-10 hours unless you had an immense coal bed to start with. Even with oak you will be pretty burned down after 10 hours.

Here is what I suggest to get restarted with only a few decent coals:

1. Scrape clean the three air holes in the "doghouse" at the front of the stove.
2. Pull all good coals in front of the air holes in the doghouse.
3. Throw some lighter stuff on top of those coals, open the air 100% and close the front door. That will get you relighted.

I've done the above with literally a few red coals scraped from out of the very back corners after 10+ hours.

The second way is to open the ashpan door, but you have to tread carefully if you go that route.

 

[chad3]

Agreed with above. If you scrape around and "clean" off the coals and push them forward they will light up kindling. Throw a few small splits of 2x4 on it with some small splits on top of that it will go. So easy my wife usually does it before I wake up. Now back to topic: I'm running an Oslo on a 1400sf house with a VERY draft sunroof that is open to the rest of the house but only through one window and door to the kitchen. It is a bit cool as of morning, but keeps it plenty warm the rest of the time. If you are looking for something to run 24/7 in a house that large, you have to run the 600.
Let us know how you make out.
Chad

 

[Detector$]

To be honest I'm concerned the 600 won't be enough stove.
(With our wacky weather, it was near 70 degrees today in Charlotte).. I'm sure we'll get back to normal 30's and 40's soon and some snow/ice in Feb/Mar.
I absolutely can't stand the thought of making a middle eastern oil prince any richer, and don't won't to rely on Natural Gas/Oil/Propane.

If I could get the wife to go for the new Hearthstone Equinox I'd go for it in a minute. It's awesome.... period. The self-supporting side load door is genius.

Are the reburn tubes on the Firelight stainless? How big is the firebox (will it burn through the night)?

 

[jbrown56]

Hi Detector$, After using the same steel box stove for 26 years, I bought a F 500 two months ago. The stove is centrally located and the house is open concept with cathedral ceilings on the second floor. I burn 24/7 and heat 2100 sq. ft. The stove gets loaded at 10p and at 6a there plenty of coals to get the fire going again. We burn mostly red and white oak and try put two 8" splits on the bottom when reloading to acheive the longest burn times. So mfar, the stove seem to burn less wood than the old stove and produces more heat. I considered the F 600 but I now know it would have been too much stove. I am more than happy with it. I'm sure the F 600 would be fine because your climate is milder than where I live. Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[chad3]

Jbrown,
If his climate is milder than yours why would he want a stove that is much larger? Being a PSC (now PSU) alum I can say that NH has some COLD weather. I'm not sure that you will need the larger stove unless the house is fairly drafty (not reasonable with new construction). I'm on the teetering board between the 2. I can say that I have a 1400sf house and have the 500 which heats us out of the sunroom, but it is more a three season room with lots of cold air coming in and 60 year old building. 600 could work, but it might be a lot of stove.
Chad

 

[jbrown56]

Chad, I may have misspoken. I think what I meant to say was that F 500 would probably be fine. Yes, it is cold up here and seeing that we have three feet of snow on the ground with another 6 - 10 inches coming tonight it makes it feel that much colder. It's nice and toasty inside though.

Jim

 

[jbrown56]

Chad, I may have misspoken. I probably meant to say that the F 500 would be fine in that climate. Yes it is cold here and with three feet of snow on the ground and 6 - 10 inches more on the way late tonight it feels colder. It's nice and toasty inside though.

Jim

 

[jbrown56]

Chad, I may have misspoken. I probably meant to say that the F 500 would be fine in that climate. Yes it is cold here and with three feet of snow on the ground and 6 - 10 inches more on the way late tonight it feels colder. It's nice and toasty inside though.

Jim

 

[koavt]

This stove will heat your house easily. I have had an F600 for several years. My home is about 2100 square feet. Located in VT. The stove is used as a primary heat source for our home, with propane heat as a backup. And is able to maintain comfortable temps even at -20F. It is a great looking stove, and I did choose it over the soapstones for that reason. With regards to the firebox volume, it is fairly large. Although I do not know the exact dimensions. Burn times are approximately 6-8 hours when fully loaded. You will have a nice bed of coals to restart beyond this time but not much heat output. With regards to fit and finish quality I would give it a medium rating. One of the quirks of this stove is that it uses an allen wrench to close the doors at the bottom of the 2 doors. I have had constant problems sealing the doors. There is a spring that eventually compresses and allows the screw to spin, eventually you can not get a tight seal on the doors. Consequently you burn a lot more wood, and your burn time decreases dramatically. It sounds like you are working with a good dealer. Jotuls service is terrible in my opinion. It is difficult to talk with anyone in tech support. They constantly refer you back to your dealer. From what I have read in this group people seem very happy with the 500. I think with the temperatures that you have to deal with that stove should do it for you.

 

[woodconvert]

To be honest I’m concerned the 600 won’t be enough stove.

It will be more than enough. In 30F weather you'll be able to EASILY get your house to 80F downstairs. Upstairs you'll fell like you are 3ft from the sun. I've got a 2500sq. ft. log home that is full length cathedral and we cook out every night with our old 600 Firelight (and I no longer run the cat in it). Fit and finish seems pretty good to me but i've got little to compare it to. I replace the gaskets every two years or so even if it doesn't need it. As for service...it's a toughy. I had some problems probably due to being a first time cat newb (though i'm not convinced). My Jotul dealer gave me the phone # of the Jotul rep so I dealt with them directly for advise and parts. I found them helpful.

Suggestion...whatever stove you go with...DO NOT skimp on the chimney. Use a insulated stainless liner of some sorts. DO NOT go with a clay liner masonry type chimney.