Jotul Oslo F500 v. Jotul F55 Carabasset
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Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
With the stove on one end of the house, I'd think you would want the convective F55 with its blower, especially if the wall insulation isn't the greatest. You can move heated air to the dining room and play room by using a fan on the floor somewhere, moving the more dense cool air back toward the stove room which will displace warm air from the stove area. Taking out that living room wall will certainly help. So would sealing air leaks around windows and exterior doors...this, in fact, may offer the biggest payoff in comfort, in rooms that are further from the stove.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
I'm not sure how loud the Jotul blowers are but usually blower noise is tolerable on low, and that should be enough when you are cruising. I've heard the fan on a Lopi Liberty on low in a shop here...but barely. 
If you want to get house temp up several degrees, as quick as possible, higher blower speeds may be necessary. The Jotul fan looks like one of the elongated ones, not sure what you call 'em, but I'm guessing it's pretty quiet...maybe an owner will chime in.
Yeah, the Oslo sure is pretty, especially that brown enamel. Blower can be used on it as well, but it looks like the F55 has more convective chambers, which may enable the blower to run at lower speed for the same amount of heated air you can pull off the stoves. Maybe the F55 can even be run with blower off and still work pretty well...although its natural convection probably gets freer flow without the blower in place.
If you want to get house temp up several degrees, as quick as possible, higher blower speeds may be necessary. The Jotul fan looks like one of the elongated ones, not sure what you call 'em, but I'm guessing it's pretty quiet...maybe an owner will chime in.Yeah, the Oslo sure is pretty, especially that brown enamel. Blower can be used on it as well, but it looks like the F55 has more convective chambers, which may enable the blower to run at lower speed for the same amount of heated air you can pull off the stoves. Maybe the F55 can even be run with blower off and still work pretty well...although its natural convection probably gets freer flow without the blower in place.
I've been reading on another thread the F55 inner panels are susceptible to warping... that concerns me a little bit. If only I could see these two stoves in action this winter, but I don't know anyone who is using them.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Were they talking about the secondary air baffle warping? Got a link to that thread? That seems to happen to some of the secondary-burn stoves with a baffle, as there is can be a tremendous amount of heat generated up there when the secondaries are strong. The baffle probably ends up glowing in some cases. I have to wonder weather this would be less of a problem, were the stove sized so it wouldn't have to be run as hot, and you could cut the air to run the secondaries lower. The thing that attracts me to welded steel boxes is that there are no seams that can eventually leak air, and require maintenance, like there are in cast iron or stone stoves. Every stove type is gonna have its pluses and minuses. And it sure would be nice to be able to see them all running side by side, but that's not too likely. If you have a Jotul dealer nearby maybe you could at least hear how loud the blower is...
Both stoves would be strong contenders- the Oslo is a classic Jotul, more radiant than convective heater. The F55 is a real heat hammer too and is pretty popular. If a blower is a desire, the F55 is set up better for one. The Oslo blower requires the RHS, to provide a cowling to push air up through. You can't go wrong with either one.
Woody, that was from the thread 'F55 Owners, Step inside' it was one of the first few comments... I think two ppl mentioned it, then nothing the rest of the thread.
Thanks, Stove lark, I needed to hear that. My wife has her heart set on the Oslo clean face, and I believe that's prob what we'll be going with. I just happened to get to thinking that the F55 might be a more efficient stove but it's also not as attractive and it's bigger and we spend a lot of time in the living room. It all comes down to me not wanting to make the wrong decision. At $2350 for the Oslo and I believe the F55 is over $3000 I don't take this decision lightly. I deliberate like crazy over $10 purchases so you can see why this stove choice is running me ragged.
Thanks, Stove lark, I needed to hear that. My wife has her heart set on the Oslo clean face, and I believe that's prob what we'll be going with. I just happened to get to thinking that the F55 might be a more efficient stove but it's also not as attractive and it's bigger and we spend a lot of time in the living room. It all comes down to me not wanting to make the wrong decision. At $2350 for the Oslo and I believe the F55 is over $3000 I don't take this decision lightly. I deliberate like crazy over $10 purchases so you can see why this stove choice is running me ragged.
Pretty quiet especially on low speed.
For good looks also check out the Enviro Boston 1700, PE Alderlea T6 and the Quadrafire Explorer III.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Hi Nate- Great time to buy a Jotul- we sell the matte black for (Oslo) 2299, the F55 for 2146 and now till end of Nov Jotul is giving a 200 rebate on those two stoves. (MSRP Oslo 2539, F55 2399). I'm with woody about listening to you know who..... Both will surely please. BG has great point for other stoves too, not sure what specials each company might be running, been a slow stove season here in New England- warm temps and low (relatively speaking) energy costs.....
Elle
Burning Hunk
I"m not sure about the placement and others have commented on that. I have an oslo and really like it. I did pick it because of the cast iron though. I don't know...just like the heat from it. Of course I never had a steel stove, lol. But I like the heat from the radiators, so figured cast was the way to go. I have about 1000 square feet downstairs with an open floor plan. Heats pretty good unless its in the single digits, but I have an old home and plenty of drafts that need patching. I don't have a blower as I don't really need one. Love my oslo-side load is the bomb
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
You don't need the blower, and the air leaks in the house aren't too bad....unless it's in the single digits.
I agree with you here.....love the side-loader!
Blower need is going to depend on stove location and house layout. In Nate's situation I think a blower will help quite a bit, even if run on low speed.
I've been doing some thinking and am open to ideas of placing the stove elsewhere but still in the living room. Maybe on the sidewall but I'm worried I don't have a strong enough structure to support the weight of a 450lb stove and a couple hundred pound hearth, as is in the existing living room.
Both are great stoves - I looked closely at both and almost pulled the trigger on an F55 - I liked the smaller hearth size requirement and the hybrid nature of the stove. However, wife really wanted an enamel finish so we went with a Quad Explorer 2.
Like others said though, both Jotuls you are considering are great stoves.
Like others said though, both Jotuls you are considering are great stoves.
FWIW in over 10 yrs here I don't recall anyone having a floor issue due to the weight of the stove.
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