Have to decide between wood stoves

[theora55]

I primarily heat my living room, @ 350 sf, but it has been nice to be able to keep my 1,000 sf house safe in a power outage. Previous stove is a Waterford Fionn, quite similar to VC Aspen, performed well for 12 years, now has some cracks, just wearing out. A slightly larger stove makes sense for me.

the 3 I've narrowed it down to are:
Vermont Castings Intrepid FlexBurn, new, eligible for tax credit
Quadra-Fire Discovery I Wood Stove, new, eligible for credit
Jotul F3, used, prob. since 2008, good condition, 650, no tax credit but a darn good price.

I've been keeping my eye out for a Jotul F3, so of course, once I started looking at new stoves, 1 came up on FB Marketplace, couple hours away. I'll need to decide on it within a couple days. Looks to be in very good condition, but will have a professional install and do any maintenance/ repair.
The VC Intrepid is on sale until end of Feb., so that's my time frame if I want to save 8%

Jotuls have a solid feel that I like. The Discovery is nice looking and taller, nice viewing area. VC Intrepid is pretty, nice cast iron stove.

I would love to hear opinions. thanks.

 

[EbS-P]

I love my Jotul. I’d get the F3 and spend what I saved on something else like insulation or a woodshed. I do like the look of the quad.
Do you want a a brand new cat stove? I think that’s the real question.
My two cents.
evan