Jotul F3cb vs Napoleon 1100c

[bosully76]

Hi all,

I have been visiting this site for a few months and I am ready to proceed on my first wood stove. The information and help from this site has been a great help.
I live in Rockland County, NY. and I recently put a second floor rennovation on my cape cod house. I have an open floor plan on the 1st floor with a family room on one side, a kitchen/dining room on the other side and a staircase in the center with 3 bedrooms upstairs. House is well Insulated. Total Sq Footage 1500.
I have always wanted a woodstove and would love to eventually heat the house with one.
Any input would be greatly appreciated as to the Jotul F3cb and the Napoleon 1100c.
Thanks,
Brian

 

[summit]

Napoleon is very basic, lightweight baffle, but steel so easy to maintain. Jotul is a good cast stove, but wither way you'll want something bigger than these to heat with wood on a more full time basis. Go up a size.You'll only get a little one now, and regret it later when you wanna do more.

 

[bosully76]

Thanks Summit,

I would like to move up a size but my problem is space. I have a small corner section of the house in the family room where I am limmited in clearance.

 

[summit]

then you need a midsize steel stove w/ built in heatshields.. many will allow you as close a 6" from corners in a corner install. The extra depth is compensated for by the reduced clearances. Slap on a blower to help circulate the heat, an viola! BTW Jotuls can get pretty clowe w/ heatshields, as well.

 

[bosully76]

I have been leaning towards the Jotul F3. I like the look and it will fit well. The house was completely gutted and sealed very well and I am hoping that the F3 would do the job even though its on the small side. Not necessarily looking to burn 24/7 now, but when I do burn I want the stove to heat the house well. Again, I am a complete newbie at this.

 

[PJF1313]

I have a similar issue with space limits. As Summit said, the Jotul's with heat shields and also look at the Pacific Energy line. That's where I stand now - between Jotul and PE; waiting for the boss to finalize the decision.

EDIT - we are also looking to heat about the same amount of space. The three finalists are : Jotul F-500 and TL-50 and the
PE T5

 

[firefighterjake]

As mentioned you really need a bigger stove than the ones you have listed . . . if you truly want a woodstove to do its job properly you need to pick one based on the proper size and not just how it looks and would fit into a space . . . and in most cases this means picking one for the size you need . . . and then going one size larger even. Of course if you're just looking for a stove for the ambiance and how pretty it looks in the space and don't really want it to heat your home . . . well you can pick whatever make or model you like . . . me . . . I like practical and good looking things in my home.

There are far more people who have come here and complain about the woodstove being too small and being too cold than there are people who complain about the woodstove they bought not looking good or not fitting very well in their space. As mentioned there are many woodstoves that look sharp . . . fit into the space with tight clearances (including many in the Jotul line up) . . . AND will heat your entire home at the same time.

Normally . . . as mentioned . . . I recommend folks figure out their space and then go one size larger since the figures the manufacturers come up with are based on lab tests and estimates -- they do not take into account local conditions, insulation in a home, lay-out of the home, etc. However, if your home has truly been buttoned up nicely, you may be able to get away with the Castine . . . a wee bit larger than the Jotul you mentioned in terms of size . . . and the clearances even seem to be better which may negate the larger size of the stove.

For example . . . if I'm reading the Jotul specs right . . . the F3CB with double wall pipe and a rear heat shield would allow you to get within 14 inches to the rear of the wall for an install parallel to the wall or 17 inches to the rear if doing a corner install . . . but a Castine with a double wall pipe and rear heat shield would allow you to install as close as 7 inches to the rear all for a parallel install or 11 inches if doing a corner install . . . so while this stove may be larger you're still able to get it several inches closer to the wall if need be . . . that said . . . I should mention that I am a big believer in exceeding minimums and even though it meant losing some space in my house I went with a slightly larger hearth and clearances . . . just so I can sleep well at night.

Now it should be mentioned that if you went with the double wall pipe, rear heat shield and a protected wall then you could get within 6 inches of the wall (corner or parallel) with the F3 . . . vs. the Castine with the same specs which would limit you to 7 inches with a parallel install and 6 inches with the corner install.

If you like the look of the F3 you should really take a closer look at the Castine . . . it has much of the same look . . . but would be better suited for your needs.

 

[bosully76]

firefighterjake,

Thanks a lot for the advice. I will take a closer look at the castine.

Brian

 

[begreen]

I have to agree, go up to a 2 cu ft stove if you can and focus on stoves with close clearances. The Napoleon 1100C at 1.7 cu ft is not a bad choice and will work. I would chose it before the ~ 1 cu ft F3CB. The Castine is a beauty, but will need greater corner clearances (it's wider and a radiant heater) than the convective 1100C with its jacketed exterior. I would go for the less wide, but deeper firebox.

For a bit larger castiron, jacketed stoves check out the Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 and Jotul Rangeley.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

go with a medium-sized (~2 cu. ft.) convective steel stove... as BeGreen said, the convective shell allows for reduced clearances. While getting a stove that matches your looks preferences is always good, performance should always come first. Some medium convective models I suggest looking at are the Avalon Rainier, Lopi Endeavor, & Pacific Energy Super step-top

 

[begreen]

The Napoleon 1100C, Alderlea and Rangeley all are steel stoves at heart. They are wearing a castiron suit for good looks and more mass.

 

[Jaugust124]

How about the new Napoleon 1400C?

 

[dafattkidd]

I had the Napoleon 1101 insert (same stove as the 1100 just adapted to fit in my fireplace)- I was heating 1,700 sf of a very drafty house on long island. I sold it a bought a larger stove because although it's a good stove it ultimately was too small for my house. What everyone is saying is true. You will probably want a larger stove once you start burning in those rockland county winters. Do you have a fireplace? Inserts are a great way to cut back on square footage. Either way good luck with your decision.

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

Hey, the first stove we bought was the Jotul 3CB, and looking back, it was a great stove.
Efficient & puts out lots of heat. We ended up following the suggestions of the previous
posters and falling for the "Bigger-Is-Better" line, but made a mistake in going that way.

We should have stayed with the Jotul 3CB, instead of going to its larger cousin (which we
ended up ditching).

 

[colin.p]

I have burned with the F3CB for 5 winters now, and I have to say it's a very good stove. Efficient and burns hot. However, we live in an old drafty house, so a bigger stove for us might have been better, but we do have size constraints as well. I have also heard that some people had problems with the way the Castine worked, of course, there are always problems with a wood stove in some situations, just have to adapt.. So for me, I will keep the F3CB and try and tighten up the house for air leaks. If I had to do all over again, then the old adage "no replacement for displacement" rings true and I would have gone to a bigger stove.
As a side note, we have a corner placement as well and the clearances (in the manual, as well as on the label on the stove) are 14 inches from the corners to combustible surfaces with double wall pipe, 18 inches with single wall, even though mine was professionally installed and independently inspected, my insurance company (they all HATE wood stoves and will find any reason to get out of paying any settlement) said that they wanted a wall mounted heat shield as well.

 

[begreen]

We were just the opposite. But in a mild climate, 2000 sq ft house. Went from the F3CB + pellet stove, to F400 to the T6. The Alderlea has been just right.

 

[bosully76]

I just want to thank everyone for there opinions.