Hey Everyone
It's moving time.. Selling our house we are in now. We put a Jotul Oslo in here at the old house a few years back. (though this year we let the poor thing stay cold - got busy and a bit lazy and we installed a Harman Ascendra insert and found it easier to bring bags in than wood in). We like the Oslo.. We like seeing the fire through the glass. We had a decent time burning it - though it was finicky to start, a bit sensitive to me typically being a little late on the firewood seasoning, and was sometimes a hassle to load the way we put it in where the side load door was...
At the new place there is an older 1977 Vermont Castings Vigilant parlor stove. They seem to be around the same looking size - but looking from the top down - it sure looks like I can put a fair amount more into the Vigilant because it doesn't have the baffles/etc at the top like the Oslo does. We fired the vigilant up today at the new house (Previous owners were in the house for 35 years and took amazing, detail oriented care of the old house and the equipment in it.. Stove is great, flue collar, chimney, stove attachments, and castings all look excellent) and it sure felt a lot easier. I didn't have a ton of kindling right handy. Sort of just opened the top, put some paper, some medium size wood the previous onwer had in the pile, some sticks/branches and then a couple wedges of wood in - lit it, opened the damper, opened the "side port" all the way, opened the back thermostat control all the way and let it do it's thing.. In short order I was having to quickly close a few of the things I opened as I learned to work the stove.. Stovetop temp got to 700 quickly, flue got to 400+ quickly. Felt like nice heat. My wife didn't like the lack of glass. I didn't mind it because it sure felt easier and seemed like she might go longer assuming I can chalk it full before bed.. Even ran it with the screen in a bit for the kids and they liked that.
Anyway.. I know they are different stoves. But if you had the choice - what would you do and why? There is another chimney in the house that doesn't have oil on it.. Currently operating a Gas fireplace insert - which I many want to rip out and put a pellet insert in (maybe bring the harman over).. Or maybe just put a wood stove in that room - but probably not, too small and not right shape.. No heat upstairs in this house, it's an older one before running baseboard or ductwork was a consideration - used to have wood stoves all over the place on the same chimneys in the upstairs and downstairs
It's moving time.. Selling our house we are in now. We put a Jotul Oslo in here at the old house a few years back. (though this year we let the poor thing stay cold - got busy and a bit lazy and we installed a Harman Ascendra insert and found it easier to bring bags in than wood in). We like the Oslo.. We like seeing the fire through the glass. We had a decent time burning it - though it was finicky to start, a bit sensitive to me typically being a little late on the firewood seasoning, and was sometimes a hassle to load the way we put it in where the side load door was...
At the new place there is an older 1977 Vermont Castings Vigilant parlor stove. They seem to be around the same looking size - but looking from the top down - it sure looks like I can put a fair amount more into the Vigilant because it doesn't have the baffles/etc at the top like the Oslo does. We fired the vigilant up today at the new house (Previous owners were in the house for 35 years and took amazing, detail oriented care of the old house and the equipment in it.. Stove is great, flue collar, chimney, stove attachments, and castings all look excellent) and it sure felt a lot easier. I didn't have a ton of kindling right handy. Sort of just opened the top, put some paper, some medium size wood the previous onwer had in the pile, some sticks/branches and then a couple wedges of wood in - lit it, opened the damper, opened the "side port" all the way, opened the back thermostat control all the way and let it do it's thing.. In short order I was having to quickly close a few of the things I opened as I learned to work the stove.. Stovetop temp got to 700 quickly, flue got to 400+ quickly. Felt like nice heat. My wife didn't like the lack of glass. I didn't mind it because it sure felt easier and seemed like she might go longer assuming I can chalk it full before bed.. Even ran it with the screen in a bit for the kids and they liked that.
Anyway.. I know they are different stoves. But if you had the choice - what would you do and why? There is another chimney in the house that doesn't have oil on it.. Currently operating a Gas fireplace insert - which I many want to rip out and put a pellet insert in (maybe bring the harman over).. Or maybe just put a wood stove in that room - but probably not, too small and not right shape.. No heat upstairs in this house, it's an older one before running baseboard or ductwork was a consideration - used to have wood stoves all over the place on the same chimneys in the upstairs and downstairs
It was built in 1890, it's tight, but has a lot of nooks and crannies and the upstairs has no heat run to it at all and someday I may want to move the attic insulation to the roof instead of floor and use the attic (four kids, an office, etc) for office space and my wife's sewing/crafts/etc area. So I imagine I'll be doing the wood thing again - and maybe the pellet thing. 
