Oslo vs. Firelight for sprawling home--need advice

[firefly7]

Hello. I am in the process of purchasing either an Jotul Oslo or Firelight stove. I am concerned with obtaining the appropriate size stove for the area. My home is approx 2800 sq. ft on 1 floor. It's an older home, with a central 600 sq ft room where the stove would sit. There are 2 "wings" flanking the central room, with doorways opening to each side. One side has a hallway with three bedrooms off of it, the other side opens to a kitchen/LR area of approx 800 sq ft. Right now I have 2 gas furnaces heating the areas. The air flow is not great, with the temperatures not equilibrating easily. The stove would sit in front of a large plate glass window, away from the doorways. The home has lots of low efficiency windows, and is otherwise average in heat retention.

My goal is to have a both an enjoyable stove to potentially burn with the screen in place, as well as a back-up and occasionally primary heat source. I do not believe the sprawling layout can be evenly heated with 1 stove, and will likely place a gas stove in the kitchen/LR area eventually. I need the limited clearance of a jotul due to my 6" pipe placement.

I like the double doors on the Firelight, but, have never seen one in person. It appears that the Oslo has the door removed in order to use the screen, but, this is just based on their brochure. I know that it is not an efficient way to burn, but, I enjoy the ambiance of an open fire.

I welcome any suggestions. Thank you.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Go big.

 

[firefly7]

Will I wind up having to burn the stove at a less effective burn level secondary to the 600sq ft area with only doorways to the other areas?

 

[semipro]

You'd probably be surprised how many new burners think they want open-door viewing and how few actually end up doing it.

I think most folks here would recommend you go with the bigger stove and build a smaller fire if you need. I've had both the stoves you've mentioned and they are very similar.

 

[begreen]

Will I wind up having to burn the stove at a less effective burn level secondary to the 600sq ft area with only doorways to the other areas?

Are the wings connected to the central room by conventional doors or are they larger openings without a door? If they are 3 ft or less doorways, I would go with the Oslo and go with the second heater in the kitchen area if desired. If the opening to either wing is large, then a fan blowing air from the cooler space into the central area may help quite a bit in equalizing temps. In that case, I would opt for the larger F600.

 

[firefly7]

Thank you all for your help. The wings are attached by conventional doors. I had not thought about blowing the cooler air in, just moving the heated air out. I suppose I could use the fan on my furnace to circulate.
Now if I had only not looked at the Hearthstone stoves to confuse myself further...

 

[branchburner]

Go big.

+1