Replace Hearthstone Mansfield with Jotul F600

[MF1529]

Hi everyone,

I have had a love hate relationship with my Mansfield and I have now decided that I am tired of dealing with it. From day one I have not liked the heat output, the large amount of coals, and the useless ash pan. Now to add to my dislike I've noticed a stone is cracked near the door. It is superficial and not all the way through, but my final straw. I understand that a lot of people love their Hearthstones, and that is why I've kept it this long. I have received some great advice regarding mine from Hearth.com members, but I guess it comes down to me prefering cast iron to the soapstone. So my question is.....

I'm looking for a stove that will crank out some good heat. I also want it to be a rugged almost maintenace free that will stand up to 24/7 constant use. I have ruled out the new VC Defiant, as they don't seem to hold up. I have now set my sights on the Jotul F600. From what I've read this seems like it will fit my needs perfect. It is rated at 81,000 btu and the biggest non cat stove. If anyone has any experience with the F600 or Jotuls at all could you give me some feedback. I don't know much about the stoves reliability or anything about the company other than they are norwegian and they've been around since the 1800's. Also if there are any other suggestions pertaining to workhorse type stoves I'd love to hear. The one thing I really need is glass doors. The Mrs. likes viewing the fire and that means I do to

Thanks in advance

 

[summit]

F600 is a good stove.. i had one... I'd reccomend a n/s loader if you are trying to d 24/7 heating w/ wood, just easier.

 

[begreen]

How many sq ft are you trying to heat with this stove? The F600 is a nice stove. It should be fine, but I am concerned you are not going to get a lot more heat than the Mansfield. However, the F600 will radiate heat better than soapstone. Another stove in this class is the Quadrafire Isle Royale.

 

[afptl]

I would look at the Buck stoves. When I was looking, I talked to them on the phone as I was looking at a used stove. They were very helpful and I could have bought the part I needed no problem. They seem to have a good reputation as well.

 

[MF1529]

My house is 1700 sqft. I really have no issue with keeping the whole house in the high 60's as long as the outside temp is above 10 degrees. I replaced a Defiant Encore with the Mansfield because I wanted a bigger stove. On paper the Mansfield"s 80,000btu rating looked great, but I dislike the slow radiating heat. I want the sit down on the couch and your falling asleep kind of heat. The Mansfield was my first experience with a soapstone and I think it is heating as it should. I just should have done my homework a little better. The funny thing is that I bought the stove when it was one year old from a couple that replaced it with a 1980's Defiant because they were unhappy with the heat.

The price I was quoted for the Jotul was $2350. Does that seem like a decent price?

 

[fortydegnorth]

I have no recommendations but would like to see the mansfield and would you ever consider shipping it?

 

[begreen]

My house is 1700 sqft. I really have no issue with keeping the whole house in the high 60's as long as the outside temp is above 10 degrees. I replaced a Defiant Encore with the Mansfield because I wanted a bigger stove. On paper the Mansfield"s 80,000btu rating looked great, but I dislike the slow radiating heat. I want the sit down on the couch and your falling asleep kind of heat. The Mansfield was my first experience with a soapstone and I think it is heating as it should. I just should have done my homework a little better. The funny thing is that I bought the stove when it was one year old from a couple that replaced it with a 1980's Defiant because they were unhappy with the heat.

The price I was quoted for the Jotul was $2350. Does that seem like a decent price?

Yes, that's a good price.

 

[MF1529]

Thank you. The dealer told me Jotul is offering $200 off until Feb 18. I also looked up the Quadra fire and found they are offering a $100 off coupon until March. The coupon is located on the Quadrfire website.

 

[MF1529]

How about the Alderlea T6. This is the first place I've heard of it. Is that a rugged low maintenance heating machine. What would be an average price for the T6?

 

[BrowningBAR]

My house is 1700 sqft. I really have no issue with keeping the whole house in the high 60's as long as the outside temp is above 10 degrees.

What temps are you running the Mansfield at?

 

[MF1529]

Between 300 and 600 degrees

 

[BrowningBAR]

Between 300 and 600 degrees

Just checking. Lost of folks state they can't get it over 400. Just making sure that wasn't your issue.

 

[BrowningBAR]

How about the Alderlea T6. This is the first place I've heard of it. Is that a rugged low maintenance heating machine. What would be an average price for the T6?

BeGreen can better speak on this as he has one, but the T6 is more of a convection stove, which might feel like the same type of heat as your Mansfield. Great stove from what I have read, but it may not provide the intense heat you are looking for from a traditional radiant cast iron stove.

 

[MF1529]

I do have to work it to get it to 600 but it gets there. Thanks for the feedback on the T6. Unfortunately there isn't a dealer within 3 hours from me so that probably can't be a real contender.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback so far

 

[Renovation]

I have no recommendations but would like to see the mansfield and would you ever consider shipping it?

I was waiting for someone to say that.

PS: Shhh..! PM him/her!

 

[NH_Wood]

I have no recommendations but would like to see the mansfield and would you ever consider shipping it?

Smart man.......

 

[NH_Wood]

When I was shopping last year at this time, it was a toss up between the F600 and Mansfield. Went with the stone for the more even heat. I have little problem keeping 2000 sqft downstairs in the low 70's and 1000sqft upstairs in low 60's - until it drops to single digits - then I'm working hard to keep the downstairs at 67 or so. I'm surprised you aren't happy with the heat with a smaller house - what is your layout? Tough to move the heat? How is your insulation, windows, etc.? You seem to be burning too cool if you want lots of heat - I need to be at 550 or so at each load to have the BTU's to heat this place well. A 300* stove top wouldn't do much for me. I'm sure the F600 will be a great stove for you - but, remember, the BTU's are similar - you are just going to get those BTU's quicker due to the faster radiance of cast. I'm sure you will feel a more intense heat radiating from the F600 if that is what you want - our stove is in a open concept area with kitchen/dining/sitting area and we did not want the intense radiant heat while cooking, etc. Best wishes! Oh, the price seems phenomenal - grab it! I think the F600 was right at the Mansfield price last year - ~ 3100 or so (although I did get 10% off my stove). Cheers!

 

[Todd]

In another thread you questioned the dryness of your wood. I think that is the problem not the stove. Excessive coaling while running the stove at 3/4 air is a sure sign of wet wood.

 

[begreen]

Both very good points, if it's the wood, changing the stove for an equal sized firebox is not going to make a lot of difference. There may be more radiant heat with the F600, but perhaps no more btus.

 

[MF1529]

I am in a constant flip flop with this stove. It seems undoubtable that my wood is probably not seasoned. All of my wood was split in the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010 and then stacked. Maybe that's not enough time. I would be beyond happy if very dry would would fix my coal problem. I have some very very dry elm that came from a standing dead tree this fall. There is no moisture in it. I will split it today and see how that does. I will report back. I did read in a post from a while back BrowningBar wrote to another member that he may be disappointed with the soapstones heat after switching from a blaze king. I think that was an accurate statement. I'm headed out to split I will report back.

Thanks again to all

 

[begreen]

Standing dead wood is no guarantee of dry wood, especially unsplit. When splitting, check the freshly split face of the wood for moisture by using a meter or press it up against your face. If it is cool and damp, it is not dry. Best of luck splitting. Elm is not my favorite for this task.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I have to say.. how do you know the wood is dry? Unless you have tested it with a meter?

I bucked and split a large hickory just yesterday that died in the '09 ice storm, been off the ground, some of the bark is falling off, wood still solid, no rot, MM says +24% (MM maxes out at 24%).

Unless you have NO insulation there is no reason for a Mansfield to not heat 1700sqft. We are heating 2100sqft with a Homestead, less than 2/3rds the size stove as yours. Even in single digits, where I admit it takes some hard running to keep the house as warm as we want it (around 70), it does OK, and we don't see coaling issues that I think are out of line with how we are running the stove.

 

[johnstra]

If the OP can get his Mansfield up to 600, he must have at least some seasoned wood. My 10% red oak is the wood I use to get mine that hot. I burned a load of 20% maple and oak the other night and I could not get the stovetop above 450.

It's been said many times that some people are not going to be satisfied with soapstone heat. I can certainly understand that. Down to single-digits, my mansfield keeps my house in the 70s, but without that nice radiant blast, I find myself wanting to climb on top of the stove on subzero nights to feel warmer. I like the even heat and I like the fact that the stove doesn't drive us out of the front room, but sometimes I reallly miss the feel of heated cast or steel.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

Sounds like something isn't right if you can't get good heat out of your Mansfield. Could be your wood, bad draft etc... The ash door is not well designed but I just scooped them out of the firebox.

I heated my old house with a Mansfield for 10 years. When it was below zero I'd run it at 6-700 for days at a time. I never had a problem getting it hot, but I usually had pretty dry wood.

If I were you I'd keep the Mansfield and figure out why you aren't getting enough heat out of it. If it's a wood or draft issue changing stoves probably won't help.

 

[NH_Wood]

If the OP can get his Mansfield up to 600, he must have at least some seasoned wood. My 10% red oak is the wood I use to get mine that hot. I burned a load of 20% maple and oak the other night and I could not get the stovetop above 450.

It's been said many times that some people are not going to be satisfied with soapstone heat. I can certainly understand that. Down to single-digits, my mansfield keeps my house in the 70s, but without that nice radiant blast, I find myself wanting to climb on top of the stove on subzero nights to feel warmer. I like the even heat and I like the fact that the stove doesn't drive us out of the front room, but sometimes I reallly miss the feel of heated cast or steel.

I am in complete agreement with what jonstra offers above. I would suggest to the OP, before you switch out the stoves, spend 30 or 40 bucks on the kin dried grocery market wood. Try a day or two, in cold temps, burning nothing but known, low moisture wood. See if you experience a much warmer house, less coaling problems (I get coals too, but I manage them well with opening the primary air - hasn't been a big issue), and stove top temps that reach at least 500-600 during each of the loads. I think you might fall in love again. Cheers!