Morsoe 2B Standard vs Jotul F118 CB Black Bear

[kath1807]

Hello and thank you in advance for any insight y'all have for me. We have a 1,100 SF house (single level) and are looking to install a woodstove. It will be going in the corner of our living room and the chimney will be going up through the roof (don't know if those details are relevant). We can purchase a Morsoe 2B standard locally and I believe its about $1,300. I've also stumbled upon a used Jotul F118 CB Black Bear for $700 being sold locally.

I'm wondering if the Jotul is possibly too big for our space (specs online say it heats up to 1,600 SF). The firebox capacity looks a little larger to me (although I can't find an exact number online, I know the Morsoe is 0.806 CF). The Jotul is 55,000 BTU/hour and the Morsoe is 25,000-35,000 (I've seen both those numbers so I don't know which is accurate).

I've also been trying to decipher all the clearance information for each stove, as our house has limited floor space and we'd like to conserve floor space as much as possible. The Jotul manual states that a corner hearth for the stove would come out from the corner 68" (which seemed overly-large to me, but I have never had a woodstove).

Thanks for any advice you can give! My inclination is to go with the Jotul because its about half the price but I don't want to be overlooking something critical.

 

[begreen]

For better clearances look at other options besides a pure cast iron stove. A cast iron jacketed stove like the Jotul F35 or the Pacific Energy Alserlea T4 will have the look of cast iron, but they are a steel stove inside. The air gap between the stove body and the cast iron keeps the sides cooler. Or look for stove that have side shields like the Drolet Spark II or Nano, Pacific Energy Vista Classic, etc.

 

[kath1807]

For better clearances look at other options besides a pure cast iron stove. A cast iron jacketed stove like the Jotul F35 or the Pacific Energy Alserlea T4 will have the look of cast iron, but they are a steel stove inside. The air gap between the stove body and the cast iron keeps the sides cooler. Or look for stove that have side shields like the Drolet Spark II or Nano, Pacific Energy Vista Classic, etc.

Thanks for that information! Is there any downside to having a steel interior compared to cast iron?

I should have also mentioned we are primarily interested in a north/south loading woodstove.

 

[Todd]

Always liked the looks of the Black Bear but if I was looking at a used one I’d look it over real good especially the fire box, could need a rebuild or replacement parts if it’s old or abused.

I think I’d also look for something just a little bigger (1.5-2 cu ft fire box) than the Morso 2 b. It may work but you’ll be feeding it every 2-4 hours when it gets really cold. I ran into that with my Jotul 602.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for that information! Is there any downside to having a steel interior compared to cast iron?

I should have also mentioned we are primarily interested in a north/south loading woodstove.

No real downside other than aesthetics. There are more pluses than negatives. The Drolet's mentioned load 17" splits N/S.

 

[kath1807]

Always liked the looks of the Black Bear but if I was looking at a used one I’d look it over real good especially the fire box, could need a rebuild or replacement parts if it’s old or abused.

I think I’d also look for something just a little bigger (1.5-2 cu ft fire box) than the Morso 2 b. It may work but you’ll be feeding it every 2-4 hours when it gets really cold. I ran into that with my Jotul 602.

That was my worry with the Morso; that I would have to feed it too often. The firebox of the Jotul looked (to my untrained eye) to be in good shape, but I am asking the owner for a photo of it and I'll post it here. The Jotul firebox definitely looked bigger than the Morso but I can't find its actual capacity listed online. Thank you for the insight!

 

[begreen]

The early Black Bears had some secondary rack warpage problems. This was corrected in later models but it definitely is something to check on.

 

[kath1807]

Here is the firebox of the used Jotul, seem to be in fine shape?

 

[kath1807]

The early Black Bears had some secondary rack warpage problems. This was corrected in later models but it definitely is something to check on.

Is the "CB" an early Black Bear? What exactly is the secondary rack? When I looked at the stove yesterday it didn't seem like I could remove the top (or any other panels for that matter) to look at underlying parts. So I just looked at the exterior and the firebox, not really knowing what I should be looked for.

 

[kath1807]

No real downside other than aesthetics. There are more pluses than negatives. The Drolet's mentioned load 17" splits N/S.

I am taking a closer look at the Drolets, similar prices to the Morso and I like the larger firebox. Thank you!

 

[begreen]

The CB stands for clean burn. The firebox looks good, the secondary rack sits above it. You can see the tubes running lengthwise on the upper sides. The lid is removable but the shipping bolts may still be in place.

 

[kath1807]

The CB stands for clean burn. The firebox looks good, the secondary rack sits above it. You can see the tubes running lengthwise on the upper sides. The lid is removable but the shipping bolts may still be in place.

Ok I am going to contact the seller and see if he can remove the lid and check out the secondary racks. Thank you!

 

[begreen]

Most importantly it should have no cracks in the stove body including around the flue collar.

 

[kath1807]

Most importantly it should have no cracks in the stove body including around the flue collar.

I didn't notice any cracks at all, but I will double check. I've been doing a ton more research online and am concluding that I would have to spend about $400 on heatshields for the Jotul to get the clearances I need/want....so I'm thinking it might be smarter to go with a brand new stove. Currently looking at the Drolet Deco Nano, which seems to have pretty good clearances but its a bit difficult to decipher some of the info in the manual.