Jotul F3

[Bub381]

Jotul F3,800 sq ft house in Maine. Sounds good to me. Half decent sized firebox,ashpan i like,decent sized grate,front loading and secondary burn.$1649.00 for plain cast and $1900.00 for the blue black smooth finish but not enamel. Hoping this finsih will be more chip resistant.Sound ok. I have a 55"x55" hearth and 3 ft high wall protection.This will be a primary heat source.

 

[begreen]

The blue-black finish is an enamel, but a different process from the majolica porcelain enamel. It stands up quite well and looks great. Shop around a bit for price. Unless this has gone up a lot, that sounds high. For comparison, we bought the F3CB in blue-black for $1349 in 2005. In your climate I would also consider the Jotul F400 for longer burntimes if this is to be a whole house heater used 24/7.

 

[Bub381]

The smaller firebox isn't an overnight problem being as 1 or the other of us will be up at least once during the night.This house also has small rooms and liable to be hot if ya know what i mean.The F400 goes for $2300 to $2600.Kinda hate to pay that price for this stove.I personally think it's a little much and would like to stay at the F3 price of $1600 to $1900.$1900 being on our upper allowance.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

The Blue-Black finish is not like the other enamel finishes. It looks more like a painted surface and is more chip resistant than the regular enamels. That's a small stove but it sounds like what you need for an 800 sq ft house. Jotuls are a good brand.

 

[begreen]

Ouch, thought Maine Jotul prices would be better than that. Have you called around to other dealers? I wouldn't worry about overheating too much unless this is a small room with no opening to the rest of the house. You just build a smaller fire when the temps are milder. But when it is zero outside and blowing a gale, you will have the stove filled, I promise.

Also, take a look at Woodstock's Palladian stove. You can get it on sale, enameled for $1799 if you go down and pick it up. That stove will burn over a wide temperature range and will have longer burn times.

 

[Bub381]

Yes i went and looked at these stoves today.The blue black looks tough and easier to clean. I do realize it's not to be beat on but it looks like it will hold up better.If this house had bigger rooms i would go with a bigger stove but we heated the colder end of the house with a 1500 watt elec fireplace so i think that the F3 will cover it though it has 3 more rooms besides these 2 to heat.We do have a boiler we use now which will stay hooked up so this will cover us if we don't get the overnight burns.SORRY! I meant i looked at the F3.

 

[Bub381]

I also have a woman who wants to trade an Intrepid.Any thoughts.I mean is it capable and does this stove have too many parts to worry about and with the Cat prob's VC have been having?

 

[begreen]

Personally, I'd pass on the Intrepid, especially if it is due for a rebuild.

 

[Bub381]

10-4 on the Intrepid.I will shop around on Jotul prices but i have looked into the Woodstocks and for this price range i'm probably foolish not to go that route as stated. I know i have posted about the Woodstock stoves before. Maybe a reason for it.lol

 

[Intheswamp]

Bub381, for reference I paid $1849 +tax in Georgia for a blue/black F3CB this past December. This was a fairly large stove dealer but it seems that it would be a bit cheaper up your way.

I'm still slowly working my way to getting it installed. It's a nice little stove but from what I understand is difficult to get overnight burns much over 6 hours. I'm intending to use it to complement our geothermal system and in our much milder climate it may end up being the primary heat. It will definitely be a good emergency source of heat!

Ed

 

[Bub381]

This was also a half decent sized dealer located in the city known as our capital 1 mile from center of town on a highway,so i would imagine business is quite good.Also the burn time on this stove is supposed to be 7 hrs but i wonder just how dry the wood had to be and if they didn't have somebody sitting beside the stove during the whole burn time tweaking it.I looked at a Craftsbury and decided on this stove until i looked at the supposed ceramic baffle over the secondary burn system. WOW!!I touched this plate and it was as heavy as a sheet of cardboard from a box. I could very easily have wrinkled this up in 1 hand.Now the reason i mention how thin it is is because it's own heft is all that holds it in placeAlso this being so light i can't see it setting still in a roaring fire,if this picked up a 1/4" it would've fallen out of place. I could also see right out by it.It had the heft roughly of a yellow folder.Now for those of you that have it i hope it works fine and i liked the stove but not after looking inside. There is something wrong with every stove i looked at as far as my likes, i don't mean in craftsmanship.There really is a fine fine line between small,medium.

 

[firefighterjake]

This was also a half decent sized dealer located in the city known as our capital 1 mile from center of town on a highway,so i would imagine business is quite good.Also the burn time on this stove is supposed to be 7 hrs but i wonder just how dry the wood had to be and if they didn't have somebody sitting beside the stove during the whole burn time tweaking it.I looked at a Craftsbury and decided on this stove until i looked at the supposed ceramic baffle over the secondary burn system. WOW!!I touched this plate and it was as heavy as a sheet of cardboard from a box. I could very easily have wrinkled this up in 1 hand.Now the reason i mention how thin it is is because it's own heft is all that holds it in placeAlso this being so light i can't see it setting still in a roaring fire,if this picked up a 1/4" it would've fallen out of place. I could also see right out by it.It had the heft roughly of a yellow folder.Now for those of you that have it i hope it works fine and i liked the stove but not after looking inside. There is something wrong with every stove i looked at as far as my likes, i don't mean in craftsmanship.There really is a fine fine line between small,medium.

You must be talking about Rocky's . . . if memory serves me right one of our members works/worked there. I bought my Oslo from there . . . good folks and honestly while everyone quoted me a price that was pretty close to each other . . . Rockys was a few hundred less . . . not a huge savings . . . but $200 is $200, right?

Other thoughts . . . I would pass on the used VC . . . and Craftsbury . . . one dealer who sells them has stated here that these "Crapsburys" have given their company several problems.

Still unsure if you will be completely happy with the smaller stove . . . personally I enjoy sleeping all night through and not getting up in middle of the night to feed the stove . . . but it is your call, your money and your home. Good luck.

 

[Bub381]

Well we look at prices and we look at stoves and to find what we want we end up around$2000 for a good stove.An all nighter would be a plus and we keep ending up right back at Woodstock.We have looked at steel and just can't go that way. Some of the prices on those are ridiculous.On the F3 i would like to have a bit bigger firebox and i believe the Woodstocks are roughly the same size but have a better burn time. What do you think about the smaller fire in a larger firebox. Is it sensible? Can the heat be regulated well enough? I know a smaller fire makes sense in less heat but curious about the creosote build uo etc. Also new to cat's and reburn. Do they mean a bigger stove can be burned down to a smaller fire throwing less heat and still stoke em up when ya need to?

 

[Bub381]

Yes, Rocky's,very nice people. Even turned us away from a certain stove,listing it's problem.Here's another problem.The Fireview requires wall shield to be 60" long,mine,55". The hearth i put in meets it's requirements except it doesn't contain the sheet metal. Corner installations hearth needs to be 60" by 48" opposed to my 55"x55".I'm not eating up another 5" of the room for this stove so here we go again.Hard to change stoves when ya have to change so much.Enough of the whining for today.

 

[begreen]

The F3CB has about a 1 cu ft fire box. Woodstock stoves are larger. The Fireview comes in at about 2.2cu ft. The Keystone and Palladian come in at about 1.5 cu ft. One sale, the Palladian being the one that fits in your budget. Other stoves to look at might be the Napoleon 1100C, Hampton 200 or PE Vista or Alderlea T4.

 

[Intheswamp]

Bub381, I made some measurements a while back of the firebox in my F3CB. Here are the resulting rough cubic volumes that I came up with in case you're interested. These are non-Jotul, non-scientific measurements but I tried (for my own benefit) to get them as close as I could. Of course these figures would involve pieces of wood that fit neatly and tightly together with little air space between the pieces. Actual wood volume will be less than these figures. The different lengths of wood make somewhat of an impact on the F3CB's performance.

Ed

 

[Bub381]

Thanks for that, you sure did your homework. We finally went and spoke for a Castine in blue black.Needed the bigger firebox and the 20" log was a good add on. NICE stoves.Looked and looked and when we saw the Jotul, it was like THAT'S the 1

 

[Intheswamp]

Thanks for that, you sure did your homework. We finally went and spoke for a Castine in blue black.Needed the bigger firebox and the 20" log was a good add on. NICE stoves.Looked and looked and when we saw the Jotul, it was like THAT'S the 1

<chuckle> Nice stove you picked. I entertained getting one of those but my clearances and room size just didn't seem to work out for me...I may regret it later, though!! Yelp, the Jotuls are nice stoves...they've got some history and experience behind them.

Not to get you worried, but you might want to do some checking on back drafting/puffing issues with the Castine, I can't say from personal experience but there's been some users to report problems with that. Insuring that you have a good drafting chimney, that you warm the flue up before lighting, etc., seen to be stated as helping matters. As many as they sale though, I think it is more infrequent than frequent. Just a "heads-up".

Congrats and best wishes!
Ed

 

[Bub381]

Metal prefab so i can lengthen or what have ya. Would a damper in pipe help? I have read about warming the pipe 1st. Also this pipe will run straightup, not outside in the cold air so that will help.Thanks for the tip.

 

[Intheswamp]

Metal prefab so i can lengthen or what have ya. Would a damper in pipe help? I have read about warming the pipe 1st. Also this pipe will run straightup, not outside in the cold air so that will help.Thanks for the tip.

I'm just going by what I've read while researching for a stove so take my info with a grain of salt.

Yelp, pre-warming the pipe will help start a draft but it may be that your installation will have a good natural draft to it. I wouldn't fret over the pack-puffing issue, just be aware of it "in case".

I'm taking it that by "straightup" you're talking about the chimney going straight up through the ceiling and roof and not through a wall where most of it is exposed to the elements? An interior chimney is normally always stated as being better than an exterior one. Most of what I've seen regarding a damper is to wait and see how your setup works...and most of the time it seems it's recommended for a setup that might be drafting too good or for a location that is very windy. How tall are you planning on building your chimney?

Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

Bub381, I just saw your signature...steaming pot of lobster...seems I lost your address that you pm'd me...could you send it again????! %-P

Ed

 

[begreen]

Metal prefab so i can lengthen or what have ya. Would a damper in pipe help? I have read about warming the pipe 1st. Also this pipe will run straightup, not outside in the cold air so that will help.Thanks for the tip.

Use double-wall connector up to the 1st floor ceiling to keep the flue gases warmer. I had the Castine with about 19' of flue, but from the rear exit, to an elbow, then straight up. The rear exit + 90 was needed to bring the stove away from the walls with our corner install. First floor connector was double-wall. The stove drafted well until it got into the high 40's. I'm sure it would have drafted flawlessly if it was straight up. If we had kept the stove I was going to build a corner wall shield to eliminate the elbow. There should be no need for a pipe damper unless you have a very long run of pipe >30ft.

 

[Bub381]

We have wall protection and a corner installation and top exit straight up through will be the set up. 8" clearance i believe at the corner but have to see how the stringers line up to get definate stove placement..We will possibly have 1 section of single wall,not sure yet.having it installed so we'll see.