Catalytic soapstone vs. cast iron stove vs. jacketed steel

Ah, I recall seeing them years ago, but was not sure when or where.

 

I currently own both of those stoves. My take on it is the Fireview is the superior stove when it comes to burn time and ease of use. I can pretty much set it and forget it for the next 8 hours.

While Jotul does a good job heating it has a smaller fire box and about a 4 hour burn time. If I really pack it full I run the risk of overfiring if I don’t keep an eye on my air settings.

I have a really strong draft which is part of the problem but I don’t trust the other members of my household to operate it just yet.


The fireview on the other hand is so predictable my kids know how to start and reload it.

If you want a stove that you can can truly heat with get the fireview. If you want a stove for quick room heat and ambiance get the Jotul.

Both are good stoves but they have different characteristics and uses

 

Good information on the ease of use of the Fireview gmule. I appreciate it.

 

I've been running the Castine for almost 48 hours on good black locust. I've put a lot of wood through the stove. I was telling my wife with a cat stove, the wood consumption would be a bit less. That is definitely something to consider.

 

What I have found with my Fireview is that (at least with mine) there is this "sweet spot" where one the stove is loaded the cat engaged and the draft brought down (my sweet spot is right at the 1 mark) I bring my draft to 1 and as the stove settles down and reaches cruise mode temps of about 500 ~ 600 depending on outside temp, wood etc.. the wood just smolders and barely slightly glows.. but you can look up into the cat and it is bright orange. This is where in many cases it goes into a cycle of ghost flames, or just a steady burn from the cat downward. The wood isn't on fire but it is gassing and as the gas collects around the cat it ignites. It's so cool to watch I "think" it's probably running at max efficiency.

I think I actually go through more wood with the hybrid AS I have downstairs in the family room, but to fair about that, it definitely is putting out more heat too. I know the AS is the smaller of the 3 hybrids.. PH, IS and now AS, but it is still big a$$ heater with a 3cu. in box and if I had it going all the time it'll eat through my wood pile quicker for sure.

The other thing I am pretty convinced of is that the PH is amazing for heat output. I don't have an apples to apples comparison, but my good buddy bought one for his "great room" off to one side of his 3500 sq ft place, and that "rock" throws heat like it is heating the neighborhood. Maybe the IS does the same, I don't know.. but that PH just "WOWS" me every time.

 

Yup, I saw it and thought to myself "this is brilliant" - a series of v notches, so easy.

 

It cycles, just not as fast.
It'll take 45 minutes before it really starts to kick out the heat. It keeps a nice even heat for a few hours then slowly cools down. It is a more even heat than the lighter weight steel stoves.
I like the soapstone for sure.

 

Couldn't go wrong with the F45. I like the Jotul F50 because when I come home from a night shift and no one banked the stove before bed, I need to crank her up and get the heat pumping fast. With the damper and air control adjusted right, I get 8 hr burns. With 3 yr. dried fire wood, burn time is very easy to control. That said, my future second stove on the other end of the house will be a Fireview. Soapstone has it all, Woodstock craftsmanship, great control, and thermal mass with long burn times.

 

I do very little "black box" cat burns. My stove is in the basement of a poorly insulated cape cod style house. It takes a lot of heat to keep the first (main) level warm. Even with the IS the first floor is only 67* this morning. I just came up from downstairs and the STT was over 600* and the stove room is 86* (just threw in some pine and poplar to boost the stove temp)

The first 2 years with the Fireview was quite a challenge and learning experience! I quickly found out, like many others, that heat distribution is very difficult! The first week I found that the whole basement would get to 70* but there was not enough heat to reach the main level and bring it up to a reasonable temp. I put up a furring strip and r-max wall to make the stove room about 1/4-1/3 of the basement. the room was easily heated to 80+ degrees giving me warm air coming up the stairs. The FV would heat the first floor to 65-68* per each heat cycle. (3 per day in the cold months) and the furnace still burned some oil in between. I feel that if the FV was on the first floor, things would be much different. (I'm hoping to make that happen in the next year. just for days like these.)

The IS puts out a lot more heat and for a longer amount of time. 2 fires a day is the norm until it gets windy and down into the teens.

 

IMO shoulder season is when the FV really shines. Mostly because the cat stoves are notorious for their long coaling stage.
For my basement install, this was when I was needing more heat but having to wait for the coals to burn down before I could get another big load of splits in. I was a PITA on mornings when we both had to be at work early and needed to get the stove going before we left!
A non issue for you first floor install guys.

 

It’s been quite a few years since I made the jump from steel to cast to soapstone.
The jump to stone was the most noticeable. Yes they take longer to heat no doubt. Of course they take much longer to cool.
The type of heat was the biggest difference. It just seems to engulf you from everywhere as opposed to being line of sight.
I remember sitting near the metal stoves and burning in front and freezing behind With the stone it’s like the heat comes from everywhere. I remember saying a blind man could walk in the room and not know where the stove was.

 

Sounds like a silly question maybe, but how much longer does the stone stove take to throw noticeable heat compared to an IS? With the IS running hard, we can raise room temp five or ten degrees in short order - half hour maybe after it's up to cruising temp (500-600) and outside temps are teens or higher. Only asking because we may have a move in our future, and though the IS is an amazing heater, we do prefer the looks of the PH. Just couldn't make a side loader work here.

 

probably 20 minutes