The Castine in blue/black won.

[Bub381]

We finally decided and headed for Rocky's Stove Shoppe.Spoke for a Castine for $2228 taxes incl. It cost a littl more for the finsih but will be worth it. Mazzeos was about $140 more.We moved up from the 100 then the F3 and chose the Castine for the firebox.We have ceiling fans and can move the heat rather well.Hope for the best.Thanks to all who replied. Couldn't have done it otherwise. Not easily anyways.lol

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

The Jotul Castine is a great stove, and I think you'll like the larger firebox over the F3.

 

[certified106]

Great choice I am sure you will love it as its an awesome stove. When are you planning on installing it?

 

[Bub381]

This summer, have to pay $1900 for pipe and installation. Wanna please the ins company. I don't see a lever for the secondary's and looking at so many stoves i've forgotten. I have looked in manuals on the site and don't see a lever. The F 3 had 1 i know on the top right.

 

[begreen]

Good choice. The Castine will burn well with a smaller load of wood, yet can put out the heat with a larger charge. The blue-black Castine is my fave. It's the model we had and were sad to sell. This is a beautiful stove. Only one air control, the stove is very simple to run. If at all possible, pipe it straight up for the best performance.

 

[Bub381]

Pipe will be straight up.The 2nd burn just start working when stove comes to temp? Burning a small load well is a big, big plus.

 

[begreen]

Secondary burn will start kicking in as the firebox warm up and the air supply is reduced. This stove puts on quite a show. Here's what you have to look forward to:

http://www.youtube.com/user/b3gr33n#p/a/u/2/lR98Z4zvX8k

 

[colin.p]

I'm jealous. But I will have to make do with what I have. Unless I win the lottery, but since I don't play the lottery, guess I will stick with my F3CB.

 

[firefighterjake]

So you finally took my advice and went with the Castine . . . . . . OK, so you had many other folks giving you the same advice . . . . . . I think you'll be happier in the long run with this stove than the F3 . . . and to me it looks a lot like its smaller brother the F3 and the larger Oslo. These stoves truly are near bullet proof and are made to do one thing and do it well -- keep you warm. Just be sure to treat the stove right by feeding it good, well seasoned wood, keep it clean and have it installed per manufacturer's specs and you should be very happy for years to come.

Again . . . Rocky's was a good business to work with . . . even if I only paid for and picked up the stove there . . . as you discovered the pricing was just a dite better than others and the folks there seem to know their product and are not afraid to point out the good, the bad and the ugly with the various stoves they sell.

Finally . . . good choice on the blue-black . . . it's the one thing I wish I had sprung for instead of just grabbing the matte black which they had in stock.

I think you've already had your questions on the secondaries and air control answered already . . . but to just add to this . . . very simple to use with one lever . . . and when you first see those secondaries they will rock your world (after you are convinced that you are about to have a thermo-nuclear meltdown in your living room) . . . the key is time (you need to let the stove get warm), well seasoned wood and proper air control (slowly turning down the air once you are up to temp -- don't turn down the air = free burn and lots of heat going up your chimney, turn down your air too soon or too much = smothered, smokey fire.) Don't worry . . . when you're ready to burn we'll guide you through it . . . and in short order you will be burning like an expert . . . and will find yourself running outside to see if there is any smoke coming from your chimney like all the rest of us fools.

 

[Shari]

Welcome to the blue/black Oslo Club!

 

[Bub381]

You know i will.Ya i figured you knew cold air where you're from and knew a Maine winter. Thanks again. I'll keep you fellas in mind when we hook it up. Gotta love the clearances on these stoves. Only thing under them with the heat shield is a non combustible material, though we're set up better than that. Thanks all. What a site!!

 

[Bub381]

And ladies!

 

[Wade A.]

Welcome aboard Bub. Just a word about the air control lever arm. It comes disonnected from the slide pretty easily during shipping. If that arm swings with no resistance, and you don't hear a metal-on-metal sound of the slide coming across, it needs to be looked to. Open the door and look for the cover just inside the threshold, in the middle. Remove the three 10 mm bolts and you'll seee the slide. Lift it up and place on top of the vertical crook on the end of the air control lever and bolt the cover back down. Easy, but I had to be shown this when I wondered why I couldn't control my air. Fortunately, I don't think I did any damage with my breakin fires, but you want to be sure before you light it off the first time.

 

[Fsappo]

Very nice stove. Enjoy it.

 

[Bub381]

Thanks and i'll keep an eye out.