Jotul F100 v. Lopi Answer Insert ?

[LRCRUE08]

Hey all after researching for about a month now ....nonstop... I figured I would post this question. My obsure / arched fireplace opening severly limits what I can do for either an insert or free standing hearth mounted stove. My goal is only to supplement my heating situation in this 350 sq ft family room without getting into ripping up carpets, having a mason add to the hearth or ripping out the mantel. Any heat getting to the rest of the 1900 sq foot house would only be an added bonus. At the same time I'm trying to avoid getting fried out of the room with an oversized unit. From my findings and fireplace limitations I have narrowed it down to either the Jotul F100 or Lopi Answer Insert. Out of the few people I have spoken to I have gotten a wide variety of answers with each salesman swearing by their stove. I know both units are tiny but with the fireplace specs. I'm kind of stuck.

Lopi - 18 inch logs - steel - but sits more inside fireplace (will waste heat?) - 750 sq ft to 1200 sq ft
Jotul - 16 inch logs - cast iron - but sits almost completely on hearth (will get more heat outside?)- to 1000 sq ft.

Thanks for your advice...

 

[elkimmeg]

I think few will dissagree with this statement The Vermont Casting Intrepid II may be the finest room area stove in the class and size range
It will burn longer and more effecient, than your other choices. Ask you dealers if they have thermoatically controled secondary air control to extend productive burning?

The problem with smaller stove is in order to get heat out of them they need to Be constantly fed. Small loads will be consumed in less the 3 or 4 hours. My Intrepid wiil produce 6+ hours of productive heat. I have raked the coals after an overnight burn and loaded it in the morning. It's the last two hours that coals provide heat but not productive. A stove has to be over 400/450 to provide productive heat

A few member here also have The VC aspen, { Coaster and Corie } comes to mind. I think it better for an experienced user explain the limits of their stove. I'm not familliar with the Aspen productive burn times.

There is also a smaller Moroso Maybe Babs can elaborate on that stove.

You stated two models and room size but did not explain what your expectations are or your use frequency. Both stoves you mentioned are good stoves.

I want you to be aware of smaller stove short commings the frequency of loading and short productive heat times

 

[LRCRUE08]

Thanks for the quick reply elkimmeg. I appriciate the advice... as far as the frequency and use...it will be really on cold nights/days here in connecticut. Thankfully it has been a warm winter here.....otherwise the oil man would be loving me.

 

[Corie]

For a small stove I think the only way to get sufficiently long burn times is to go catalytic.

Forum members that own the Jotul F100 can't get more than 3-4 hours of burn time, max. out of the stove. The firebox is just too tiny for it to be considered a real, full time heater, unless you're there 24-7 to load it.


The Aspen is similarly limited. Even though I haven't run mine yet, the limited size of the firebox will mean 4-5 hours would be the maximum you could consider useable heat coming out of the stove, and the real world time is probably even less than that.


Not sure which direction you're looking, but just wanted to throw out some options.

 

[wg_bent]

A picture of your fireplace might help. Please post one.

Also, the Hearthstone Tribute or Heritage might work. The Tribute is a dinky stove similar in size to the Morso 1410, but being of soapstone might work to provide a longer heat output for you in a smaller room with out cooking you. The Heritage might install in front of your fireplace. Look into it.

 

[rickw]

Hey,

I'm on the second year of using a Lopi Answer (insert into an exterior masonry chimney). It's a great little stove; but has two issues. One is that you have to feed it constantly to get heat out of it. The other is that the blower is loud (but you have to have the blower).

The maximum time you'll get serious heat out of the stove is maybe 4 hours (and you've got to pack the firebox like a jigsaw puzzle). However, there are usually hot coals that give a quick re-lite for much longer - maybe 6 to 8 hours if you're lucky and start with plenty of ash on the firebox floor. For a freshly shoveled out firebox viable coals will be there maybe 4-6 hours.

So what kind of recommendation is this? If its for backup or occasional burning its fine - if you want to burn 24/7 look further.



Rick

 

[LRCRUE08]

Thanks for the reply Rick.....finally I was able to figure out how to shrink my pic and post it on here so everyone could see what im working with. Thanks all....... keep in mind while looking at the pic the hearth is only 16 inches deep...

 

[begreen]

Howdy Larry. Can you add a shot that is further back? This one doesn't include the hearth. I suspect that if you put in a stove instead of an insert, you will need to extend the hearth for sure. It needs to extend at least 16" in front of the stove door. Is that possible in the current setup with the Jotul F100?

What are the dimensions of the current fireplace? (front at top of arch, front at the sides of the arch, front width, back top width, back bottom width, depth at top, depth at bottom).

How far does the hearth extend in front of the fireplace? How far is the mantle from the top of the arch of the fireplace?

 

[LRCRUE08]

hopefully this will help thanks all having difficulty posting and editing a pic to size....

 

[begreen]

You're doing fine. How far does the current hearth project into the room from the face of the fireplace? Looks like it's right about 16" which would mean some sort of hearth modification needed.

 

[begreen]

Looks like you might be able to fit a Country Striker insert in there, though you'd need a mantle shield. 68,000 btus and only 1.6 gph.
http://www.countrystoves.com/documents/Wood_Insert_Brochure.pdf
http://www.countrystoves.com/documents/Insert_Specs.pdf

 

[LRCRUE08]

the hearth is 16inches deep....

 

[begreen]

Yep, that's what it looked like to me. I suspect some sort of hearth addition will be required if the stove projects from the fireplace front. You'll have to decide what the primary purpose is, casual fire viewing or real heat. Our neighbors have the Lopi Answer insert. It's a pretty small stove. They use it mostly for ambience, but I don't think they use the blower.

 

[kjklosek]

Hi Larry,

I have a Jotul f100. I used it this winter as the primary heat source for the front part of my home. I was heating about 720 sqft. This part is uninsulated block with an uninsulated slab floor. The stove was able but I had to feed it quite often. Probably on average every 3 hours when the temps were 30 degrees or above and every 2 hours when the temps were below 30.

I think it would work for you since you are looking for supplemental heat. However if you get home at 6 in the evening and start a fire you probably wont get any heat benefit for a couple of hours until you can build up a nice bed of coals and really get the thing going.

What I like best is that with my less than ideal chimney, I am able to get the stove to work well. The heat output is relative to how hot and big your fires are. You wont be running yourself out of the house with this stove. Also the air wash works really well. The glass stays quite clean and usually I just wipe it with a piece of newspaper to clean some of the grunge before I start a fire in the morning.

However, if you are looking for a stove that you can throw a couple of logs on and forget about it, this may not be your stove. It has taken me a little time to figure out how to run this thing. And it is a little finicky. Must use dry wood or split wet pieces very small. Tiny fire box does not hold a lot of wood so be ready to load frequently. When you get a good bed of coals the firebox is even smaller.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about this stove.

J.P.

 

[LRCRUE08]

thanks jp....great advice.

 

[yellowstonebanks]

Hi, we have a Lopi Answer in a vacation condo, it was a small fireplace so there wasn't a lot of choice either. It is a fine little stove, easy to operate and will throw quite a bit of heat as long as you keep feeding it and you run the fan. The fan isn't too noisy as long as you keep it in the lower half of the speed range although it has developed some extra rattles this year after several winters of intermittent use. (anyone know how to reduce the rattles from these things as they get older?). The glass stays clean and you get a nice amount of flame to view with the secondary burn going on. It can keep our condo unit quite comfortable even on cold northern New England days. As others have mentioned it has a small firebox so the length of the burn is limited. However, if I load it up and close down the damper there will be a few coals left in the morning to help restart the fire.

 

[wg_bent]

o.k. I'll have to make a plug for the Osburn 1800. Most likely one of the largest stoves that will fit in there. Best fire view in the industry in that size, and mine heats my 2200 sqft 2 story home. It only looses ground if the temp drops below about 10.

You'd need to check the depth to see if the Osburn will fit, but I believe it's VERY close to the Answer. You might also squeeze in at Hearthstone Morgan, I'll second the country stoves, Quad 2700, and the Lopi Revere.

The Lopi Revere, Osburn 1800i and the Hearthstone Morgan are all about the same size and of different price points.

Check them all out.

 

[houblon]

We have the F100 sitting almost completely inside the hearth, with the flue coming out on top. 2in are sticking out in front, and 2 in clearance on top.
This way we meet the clearance in front and did not have to increase the hearth. The heat output is less than I expected, probably because the air is not ventilating, and the room has the open staircase, but it is much better than a fireplace, and we did not plan to use it as primary heat source. Otherwise I like the stove. And if we run it for a day, the bricks and the whole chimney stack warms up and helps keeping the upstairs and attic warm. Firebox size is a problem, it seems that 18in is more common for log size than 16in.

B