Review: Jotul F 400 Castine

Reviewed March 10, 2009 by dartor@vermontel.net

Overall Performance:

Efficiency:

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Jotul F 400 Castine
Now that I've experienced a winter with this new stove, I still haven't figured out how to solve the smoking problem. When I first start a fire or the outside draft is poor, my house fills with smoke when I open the stove door no matter what I do. Once the fire does get cranking the smoke is less of a problem. I've burned twice as much would as with my other stove because I need to keep the draft open most of the day to keep the heat up to 400 deg. I have trouble getting it to burn hot enough a lot of the time.

more homeowner reviews of this stove

Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by lyonred on November 22, 2008; Nice heavy duty stove. Heats up my downstairs and half my upstairs to around 73 degrees. Right now, it's about 30 degrees outside and I have the stove heating my whole house, without my furnace...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by aprilb on November 25, 2008; What a total waste of my tax rebate money. the glass has just broken for the second time, this gets a little expensive at 140.00 a piece. The coals fall out when you open the door, very little wood...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by j. mitchell on December 05, 2008; I am a little disappointed in my new Jotul 400. I can't fit more than 3 pieces of wood in the box and there doesn't seem to be enough of a draft to prevent smoke from coming ino the room when I open...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by dale on December 06, 2008; Very good stove. fire will not last more than 8 hours and the draft could be better when starting a fire. it appears that all new stove have a smaller firebox to allow for additional space for...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by H2GURU on December 08, 2008; Super efficient stove that requires more operator exreience on the part of owners w/complaints as I experienced these as well. Its 10 degrees outside and my oil burner isn't on yet (2000 ft2)....; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by shelley269 on December 10, 2008; Smokes out my house every time I start a fire. BAD BAD BAD. gets hot in about 30 minutes. Very nice to look at. Will not buy again. Does not burn threw the night...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by TedMaxJr on December 11, 2008; Purchased 3 years ago. Firebox too small. Struggles to get temp in room (900 sf) to low 60's when outside temp is in 30's. All other factors seem ok, e.g. draft, seasoned wood, stove burn temp...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Glen NY on January 01, 2009; Awesome stove! I have experienced some of the problems listed in this blog, but it just takes some getting used to. I have had all Vermont Castings (2-resolute and a vigilant) and I have to say I...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Glen NY on January 01, 2009; Try lighting a very high flame paper fire before atttempting to burn wood. I light the paper in several areas and let the flame get high. Close the doors and open the ash pan if necessary. You should...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Shane on January 10, 2009; This stove is outstanding. I stoke with pinion at 9pm, and there are plenty of coals to restart at 6am. After 13 hours, there are still coals and can be babied to relight with kindling. When hot,...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Bill B on January 13, 2009; I have to say that I'm very disappointed with the F400. Every time I open the door on the F400, smoke comes out into the room, no matter how slowly I open it. It sometimes "runs away" and burns much...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Eladela on January 22, 2009; We've had ours for three winters now, and it is used constantly from about October to March, everyday. It heats our living room, but our house is big and four finished floors. The rest of the house...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by VTBear on February 12, 2009; I have a love-hate relationship with this stove. When it works right it's great, but at times it will overheat, no matter what I do. Even with the doors shut tight, the primary air intake shut down...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by JB on October 18, 2009; It is usually very difficult to start a fire with this stove and requires super dry wood (seasoned 3 or more years for woods higher on the btu scale) and/or lots of kindling to operate efficiently....; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by ricesinice on November 04, 2009; It's 1 in the morning and I should be in bed but, I bought a Jotul F400 stove recently, and it doesn't seem to be working correctly. I loaded 3 good size logs in it about 3 hours ago, and they have...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Scott on December 18, 2009; I have had this stove for two years as primary heat. Glass broke once for no apparent reason and you can not open door during any time no matter how hot without smoke filling the room. Not real...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Scott on December 18, 2009; My number one frustration is tryng to contact Jotul. Their website has no contact location that I can find, If I'm mistake please let me know. Nothing more painful than purchasing something for...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by anthony montagna on December 23, 2009; I purchased the castine just before last years heating season. I also was getting smoked when opening the door while the fire was going.
This season its great, yes you do have to let the wood...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Mass Homeowner on January 12, 2010; I should have read the reviews before buying this stove. It is nearly impossible to get a fire started without constant attention. Smoke bellows out every time the door is open - whether it is just...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Jay on January 18, 2010; I've got a lot of experience w/woodstoves in general & this one in particular; it's outstanding. House is 1,500 sq ft, gas heat never comes on if outside temperature >30º F.; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Eddie on January 28, 2010; This is the second winter that I've had this stove. My previous home had a Vermont Casting Resolute. My comparisons:

Fire starting:
The Jotul is easier to start because I can open...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by tonynelson on February 09, 2010; It's pretty, but very temperamental. You need WELL seasoned wood or you'll have a hard time keeping the burn going without the ash door being partly open. As you might expect, that leads to much...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: don't buy this stove: Reviewed and rated by xaraya on February 11, 2010; I now have the misfortune of living with a Jotul--the second in my life now, and am having the same experience as before. Impossible stove. Hard to light, takes off at random intervals, coals just...; Full review and ratings...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Reviewed and rated by Marilyn on February 17, 2010; I am sorry I purchased this woodstove. I went for the name and the stove's good looks. It smokes even with kiln dried wood. And it does "take off" to a scary degree at times. We have the chimney...; Full review and ratings...

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