Final stages of picking a stove. Nervous, need help deciding.

[PanHandle87]

Hi. Ive been reading the forums for several months, just created an account so I can join in. We just got back a quote for 3 different stoves installed. They are the Osburn 1700, Jotul f35 Rockwood and the 445 Holliday. The holliday is obviously the most expensive, 10,300 for install all in. Roof repair, removing existing fireplace, I demoed the wall. We're in a 1300sq ft ranch home, and the stove is going in our living room. Our 3 bedrooms are down a narrow hall, so I think heating the rest of the house with the stove will be difficult. So this is an ambience stove for the weekends, and we loose power several times a year. If I'm able to heat the whole house with the stove, that's a bonus.

I've read some not great things about the Osburn. That quote is about $1900 less than the Holliday.
The Rockwood f35 is about 9k installed.
The Holliday seems to be the best stove for what we want. I dont want to get burned out of our living room. I was reading that the f35 Rockwood is designed to burn hotter and faster than the holliday to meet EPA standards. Id like to have a nice flame in the stove but also have the stove not be outrageously hot.
I have never owned a wood burning stove and would really like some help deciding. We're at the accepting the quote phase. I originally wanted to get a Pacific Energy Vista, but the salesman for the company near us that sells PE completely ghosted me and hasn't returned an email or phone call in weeks. The company we're working with now sells Osburn and Jotul. I live in SE Wisconsin, north of Milwaukee. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[EbS-P]

The Osborn has a solid reputation. The two Jotuls are new and I have read many reports good or bad to make a recommendation or tell you to steer clear of them. Pacific Energy makes great stoves.

I have a 2000 so ft up stairs large living room, dining room and kitchen with 3 bedrooms down the hall and my Jotul same size as the 445 can get the stove room pretty warm. If the living room isn’t very big you might want a more convective as the Jotul445 is very radiant.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

The stove brands you listed are all known brands. I don’t believe any of them have a bad reputation but I could be wrong. Jotul is definitely a big name.
I think any newer non catalytic stove will give off nice flames. The heat output can be moderated by amount of wood put in stove at a time ( less wood= less heat for shorter time). The fall time will give you good practice with this with the fluctuating outdoor temperature.
How is your wood supply? I ask bc the importance if dry wood can’t be overstated. I would buy a cheap moisture meter with pins. Measure by splitting a piece and then pushing pins in the fresh face of the wood. Dry wood is 20 % or less moisture content. You can get away with up to 25% but anything above 20 and you’ll want to check chimney more frequently for creosote buildup and that wood will burn so-so. Buying “seasoned” wood almost always results in disappointment. Usually, it is very wet and hard to burn. You will find that you have to dry it out yourself.
Keep reading on this site. The forums are a wealth of free, unbiased info.

 

[begreen]

The Osborn has a solid reputation. The two Jotuls are new and I have read many reports good or bad to make a recommendation or tell you to steer clear of them. Pacific Energy makes great stoves.

I have a 2000 so ft up stairs large living room, dining room and kitchen with 3 bedrooms down the hall and my Jotul same size as the 445 can get the stove room pretty warm. If the living room isn’t very big you might want a more convective as the Jotul445 is very radiant.

The F35 Rockwood has been out for awhile and is lower tech than the new 445 Holliday which is a catalytic hybrid. We don't have a lot of data or reports on the new F445. In this group, the Lopi Rockport is another stove to consider.

I second Ctwoodticks advice on the firewood. Regardess of stove choice, all need fully seasoned firewood.

 

[PanHandle87]

Last fall I cut down and split an ash tree that had been dead for a long time. I have a moisture meter, but haven’t tested it. It’s been sitting for a year, I was stacking it today.

 

[PanHandle87]

sorry I’m not quite following, are you suggesting the f445 is too big? Radiant vs convective?

 

[Jfior1983]

High reviews for the Jotul. Super easy to operate and beautiful. The non cat tech is a huge plus in my opinion, due to ease of use and less complicated repairs . I have the f45 (discontinued) but it’s just a slightly bigger version of the f35. Great flames and should heat your whole house. The cast iron is awesome. That’s the perfect sized house for that stove. Couldn’t more highly recommend.

 

[PanHandle87]

High reviews for the Jotul. Super easy to operate and beautiful. The non cat tech is a huge plus in my opinion, due to ease of use and less complicated repairs . I have the f45 (discontinued) but it’s just a slightly bigger version of the f35. Great flames and should heat your whole house. The cast iron is awesome. That’s the perfect sized house for that stove. Couldn’t more highly recommend.

The F445 Holliday is a cat stove, and I thought the f35 was steel. Is the f45 cast iron? Sorry if I have wrong information, I’m completely new to stoves and have been taking a deep dive the last few weeks. Feeling a bit overwhelmed.

 

[Jfior1983]

The f45 and f35 are both steel stoves which are jacketed in cast iron. The cat or non cat doesn’t refer to the body construction, it refers to whether or not the stove has a catalytic component.

 

[Todd]

The F445 is a radiant stove so unless it’s installed in a more open floor plan or large room I would pass. The F35 has an iron clad shielding that blocks most of the radiant heat and would be more suited for a smaller space or less open floor plan.

 

[PanHandle87]

The f45 and f35 are both steel stoves which are jacketed in cast iron. The cat or non cat doesn’t refer to the body construction, it refers to whether or not the stove has a catalytic component.

Right. I’m looking at the F445 Holliday. I believe that’s different than the F45?

 

[PanHandle87]

The F445 is a radiant stove so unless it’s installed in a more open floor plan or large room I would pass. The F35 has an iron clad shielding that blocks most of the radiant heat and would be more suited for a smaller space or less open floor plan.

What are the differences in heat? I like the idea of the 445 longer burn times and significantly less carbon. Also I read the F35 burns a lot hotter than the 445 to reach epa standards. I read a lot of conflicting information so it’s hard to make an easy decision. It is a smallish room in a split floor layout. Also, thank you for your patience in explaining these things.

 

[EbS-P]

What are the differences in heat? I like the idea of the 445 longer burn times and significantly less carbon. Also I read the F35 burns a lot hotter than the 445 to reach epa standards. I read a lot of conflicting information so it’s hard to make an easy decision. It is a smallish room in a split floor layout. Also, thank you for your patience in explaining these things.

F445 is a full cast iron stove with a catalytic converter. There is no manual bypass. Much more radiant.

The F35 is a welded steel stove. (I forget what type of cladding it has). More convective.

Burn rate is going to depend on a lot of factors. Flues height, wood moisture, heat demand. I find the 1.7 cu ft F400 (the f445 is based on it) on 15’ of insulated liner has 4 hours heat in high and on low is cold in 8. I imagine the times for the smaller f35 would be shorter.

 

[Todd]

What are the differences in heat? I like the idea of the 445 longer burn times and significantly less carbon. Also I read the F35 burns a lot hotter than the 445 to reach epa standards. I read a lot of conflicting information so it’s hard to make an easy decision. It is a smallish room in a split floor layout. Also, thank you for your patience in explaining these things.

There are a lot of variables in heat output, wood type and amount, draft, weather, air settings ect. Basically the 445 is larger so it will produce more heat with a full load compared to the 35. You could fill it with less wood but there’s no guarantee it will burn as clean as it was epa tested with a full load.

The 35 is more convective heat with the cast iron shields so the heat would feel softer and not as intense. It may also help move more heat into other rooms creating a convection loop.

With a smallish room I feel the F35 would be a better fit where you could load the firebox with more wood for a cleaner burn and not get blasted out with the stronger radiant heat of the 445.

If the F35 burns anything like the F45 I used to have I would think you should get at least an 8 hour burn out of it. I used to get 12+ easy with my 45.

I’m not familiar with the Osburn line but I would check into whether it was a radiant or convection stove.

 

[PanHandle87]

There are a lot of variables in heat output, wood type and amount, draft, weather, air settings ect. Basically the 445 is larger so it will produce more heat with a full load compared to the 35. You could fill it with less wood but there’s no guarantee it will burn as clean as it was epa tested with a full load.

The 35 is more convective heat with the cast iron shields so the heat would feel softer and not as intense. It may also help move more heat into other rooms creating a convection loop.

With a smallish room I feel the F35 would be a better fit where you could load the firebox with more wood for a cleaner burn and not get blasted out with the stronger radiant heat of the 445.

If the F35 burns anything like the F45 I used to have I would think you should get at least an 8 hour burn out of it. I used to get 12+ easy with my 45.

I’m not familiar with the Osburn line but I would check into whether it was a radiant or convection stove.

Ok. So I thought I wanted the 445, now Im leaning towards the f35. Thank you.

 

[begreen]

The F445 Holliday is a cat stove, and I thought the f35 was steel. Is the f45 cast iron? Sorry if I have wrong information, I’m completely new to stoves and have been taking a deep dive the last few weeks. Feeling a bit overwhelmed.

The F445 is cast iron. The F35 and F45 are cast iron jacketed steel stoves.