Thinking of Jotul 500 Oslo, Napoleon Banff 1400, quadra fire or lopi

[Birdbrain]

I have been reading a couple hours on here. Very interesting and learned a lot. I am still lost on what to do. We have heated with wood 43 years. My dear husband had cancer from agent orange, Vietnam Nam and passed away in May. My house is sold with present woodstove remaining behind.

We have had The big old cast and heavy sheet metal stoves. My sons are building me a house by them. Very open floor plan, 1200 sq ft down and 650 up. Stove will be near open stairway. Will be predominant heat in cold weather.

I have been to a couple stores, spoke with sales men. All vey nice and have the best stove. Reading reviews is a bit confusing. One thread was very helpful discussing why some don't like their stove....moisture in their wood, bad draft etc. I had thought from one post cast was better at holding and distributing heat than metal, but upon reading the comparison of materials, I see that doesn't make much difference.

So I am thinking a medium size stove, non-catalytic. I am considering the above models or others, any help? Birdbrain

 

[stovelark]

Hi Bird, all stoves you mentioned are quality units, but the Oslo is a lot of folks' favorite, I'd suggest it as well. Its a big heater, long burn time long pieces of wood, Jotul quality. I don't think you can miss with it. Good luck with your new house..

 

[Ashful]

First, thank you for your family's service and sacrifice. It is to be honored.

Of the few models you list, I'd also recommend Jotul. They build products of the highest quality.

Some will tell you to avoid traditional cast stoves, if used as a primary heater. The reason for this is that these stoves (Jotul 500) are built by cementing together cast panels, and those cement joints will eventually fail. However, on a stove that's treated well, the time to failure is on the order of 20 years, which is similar to the expected lifetime of most other stove parts and technology.

The most durable designs today are a welded steel box, which may be often covered in cast iron panels to dress them up, and provide a convective jacket for the stove. I believe Jotul's F50 and F55 stoves follow this design, so you may want to check them as well. Of course, neither are quite as beautiful as that classic Oslo, and I wouldn't really worry all that much about the cemented Oslo design, unless you're the type to abuse a stove.

If you've been burning what we refer to as a "smoke dragon", an old pre-EPA stove, there will be a little learning curve for running a non-cat stove. First, you will need DRY WOOD for the stove to operate. Dry wood typically means medium hardwoods split and stacked for 18+ months (two summers), or oak and locust with 3 summers dry time. Without dry wood, the secondary combustion system will not reach ignition temperature. Also, most switching from pre-EPA stoves to non-cats initially complaint about the lack of draft, which is usually compounded by an expectation of burning poorly-seasoned wood.

Once you get used to the post-EPA stoves (whether cat or non-cat), you will wonder how you ever lived with a pre-EPA smoke dragon. The new stoves are so much more efficient, meaning far less wood to process, haul, and load. If your husband was a Vietnam vet, I assume you're not in your 20's anymore, and so reducing your wood usage is probably an attractive attribute.

 

[Smokyjeff1]

+1 on the Oslo

 

[Birdbrain]

Wow, I sure appreciate the help and honest opinions. Very difficult to make decisions. I am open to other stoves, but it sounds like the Jotul 500 Oslo is good.
Thank you for all the tips, with the old stoves we did not always have well seasoned wood.

What about burning the compressed fire bricks?

Thanks again so much.

 

[Ashful]

Many have burned compressed bricks, or mixed them with wood, to get thru their first years. I have no experience with this, but I'm sure someone who does will be along soon.

If splitting your own, you'll do well to work hard the first few years, and get 2-3 years ahead in your supply. If buying, just over-buy your first two years, until you have a nice 2-3 year stockpile, and then buy Year for year from there.

 

[Birdbrain]

I am looking at an Oslo at Lehman's hardware here in Ohio. On sale for $2519 plus $125 delivery, they will place on my location. Should I look more or does that sound reasonable? Any thoughts? Everybody here is so helpful. Thanks

 

[stovelark]

Hello, well 2519 is below retail (2559) so that's not horrible. Delivery price sounds reasonable. Its gonna be getting cold soon. Good luck with her.

 

[Birdbrain]

Well, I am deflated. The price is 2799, but on sale 10% off until the 16th. Doesn't sound like a deal. Would shipping out weigh buying out of state?

 

[NateH]

Hi birdbrain,

Last year I bought the Jotul 500 Oslo, then my wife and I decided to add on to the house, therefore we never installed our stove ( in the process of doing that now).

I checked everywhere in the western PA area and the prices all seemed to be about $2500 give or take... I think the original price for the stove was consistently $2700-$2800, most places claimed to be running a sale bringing the price down a few hundred. I ended up spending $2350 in the matte black finish for the stove and picked it up myself.

Now, unless you have about 4+ young strapping individuals I would pay the $125 and have them deliver. Some ppl on here say it's not bad, but it was definitely heavy and nerve wracking. Make sure they deliver into the house... besides getting the stove off the truck or flatbed, that might be the hardest part.

 

[timfromohio]

Ditto on the good things said about Jotul. I almost bought an F55. As was mentioned, not as pretty as the F500, but I liked the firebox dimensions a bit better. In the end, my wife liked the enameled look better and we wound up getting a Quadrafire Explorer 2. Happy with it thus far.

We did burn the compressed firebricks mixed with slab wood the first winter as we had just moved and I hadn't been able to get a wood supply dried out in time. They worked OK - sort of hard to stack if using them exclusively. If you up in NEOhio near Lehmans (I used to live up in NEOhio) I'm sure there is a saw mill near by - you can usually get "slab wood" cheap that has been bundled, is thin, and has been drying out for a while. I got by with a mix of cut up slab wood and the compressed wood bricks.

Let us know what you decide on! I hope that your new home works out for you. God bless and sincere thanks for your husband's service.

 

[Birdbrain]

Thank you to all above. I can not express how this all encourages me. I will get the one from Lehman's. Delivery is right to the spot where it goes inside. So that is good. Mixing the bricks with slab is good idea. Plenty within a reasonable distance. Just today my son in law's parents said they have a couple pick up loads for me and also one son son there is a lot of dead down oak in the woods they will start cutting this winter.

So, thank you to the Lord, I will be able to begin my stacks of wood for seasoning. May be some yellow birch for fire starters also!

Really, I feel encouraged, thanks.

 

[NateH]

Sounds like you have a great family. It's always nice to hear/see people taking care of each other and helping family out. I hope your stove goes in soon!

 

[begreen]

In new construction you may find the Oslo's radiant heat a bit intense. The Jotul F45/F50 are cast iron clad which helps soften the heat. In Quadrafire stoves this type of construction is in their Explorer series. In Napoleon look at the 1400 and in Lopi, the Rockport.

As noted in another thread, locating the stove at a large open stairwell isn't a great plan. The open stairwell acts as a chimney for the heat to convect up through. Then one requires a mechanical means to try and get the heat back down where it's needed. If possible look for another location where the heat stays resident on the first floor for awhile with a smaller portion convecting upstairs.

 

[Ashful]

begreen, good points, But she did say "near an open stairway", not "in an open stairway". Also, that chimney effect can be quite easily remedied with a ceiling fan in the open space. I wouldn't worry enormously about this, even if it's not 100% ideal.

 

[begreen]

Yes, a mechanical remedy, aka ceiling fan, may work to mitigate the issue. Point being that when building new issues like these can sometimes be avoided with a little forethought. If a relocation of the stove is possible then it's worth thinking about.

 

[Birdbrain]

Thank you for the thoughts. My sons put the chimney in when doing the roof. When my one son drew the floor plans, I wanted the stove pretty much in the center of the open kitchen, living room and dining room. Windows on all three walls. Well, with the knee walls upstairs they decided not to put it in the center but against an exterior wall. The stairs are open, and about 4 foot past the stove location. A ceiling fan is quite near the stove location.

I did think about a funnel effect being near the stairs. So, ?

 

[Birdbrain]

So I guess the only thing I can really change is which stove.

 

[Ashful]

Thank you for the thoughts. My sons put the chimney in when doing the roof. When my one son drew the floor plans, I wanted the stove pretty much in the center of the open kitchen, living room and dining room. Windows on all three walls. Well, with the knee walls upstairs they decided not to put it in the center but against an exterior wall. The stairs are open, and about 4 foot past the stove location. A ceiling fan is quite near the stove location.

I did think about a funnel effect being near the stairs. So, ?

I think it will be fine. We do see some reports of folks with lofts and open cathedral ceilings having issues with the loft being too warm, but we see even more threads of people asking how to get more heat to move upstairs. In an ideal world, maybe you design the entire house around the stove, but not many of us live in an ideal world. We all make it work, one way or another, as I'm sure you did in your last house.

 

[RAZZ]

I have the f-600 I was going to go with the 500 glad I did not. The firebox is bigger in the 600. I doubt the 500 will go all nite. Plus the 600 has the big doors and screen for entertaining. The doors are a pain till you get used to them only downside.

 

[begreen]

So I guess the only thing I can really change is which stove.

Without seeing the actual layout and ceiling levels it's hard to say. Here's a shot of what I added to slow down heat convection to the open stairwell. This used to be all flat ceiling.

 

[Birdbrain]

In an ideal world, maybe you design the entire house around the stove, but not many of us live in an ideal world. We all make it work, one way or another, as I'm sure you did in your last house.

I agree, I have thought I can sleep downstairs if it is too cold up, so I could sleep up if it is warmer up there! Sustained deep cold here in Ohio is not like Northern Michigan where we are from.

Without seeing the actual layout and ceiling levels it's hard to say. Here's a shot of what I added to slow down heat convection to the open stairwell. This used to be all flat ceiling.

What begreen did looks very nice and a good idea, My first floor is 30 by 40.
We have kneewall trusses upstairs. My sons did not want to have to run the chimney so far inside and it would have gone awkwardly through a bedroom so opted for the outside wall as shown. floor to ceiling at stairs is just railings. 8ft. ceilings.

 

[begreen]

The open floorplan can help.

Getting back to the stove, how well insulated will the house be? 2x4 or 2x6 construction?

 

[Birdbrain]

I will ask my son tomorrow

 

[Birdbrain]

2 x 4 insulation