Jotul F 400 Castine

Jotul F 400 Castine

Jotul’s F 400 Castine provides a burn time of up to eight hours and comes with either a top or rear flue outlet. Jotul claims an overall efficiency of 73%, and the stove is rated to heat up to 1,600 square feet. The stove can be ordered in blue/black, ivory, or Jotul enamel colors.

The Castine is one of the heavier stoves you will find for its size, weighing in at 375 lbs. Accessories include a fire screen, rear heatshield, short leg kit, and floor bracket kit.

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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by lyonred on November 22, 2008

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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 kicking in. Easy to clean and maintain.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by aprilb on November 25, 2008

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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 fits in it, about 3 pieces. The ash pan does nothing. This is not a good stove if you need it to last all day while you're at work because it will be dead by the time you come home. I never should have ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by j. mitchell on December 05, 2008

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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 the door. I'm forced to operate the stove with the ashpan door open to get enough draft when starting a fire. Burning embers frequently fall out of the stove when I open the door.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by dale on December 06, 2008

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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 energy efficiency parts. no prbelm with the glass, burn a hot fire 400 -500.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by H2GURU on December 08, 2008

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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). Firebox is small but managable w/proper wood. No outside indicator of a stove in my house, just heat striations if you look really close. You need to understand how the re-burner works to get full ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by shelley269 on December 10, 2008

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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...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by TedMaxJr on December 11, 2008

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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 between 400 - 500 degrees. Very disappointed in stoves inability to provide warmth we expected with this stove. Would appreciate advise.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Glen NY on January 01, 2009

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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 like this better. I have some tips for avoiding a smoke out. Otherwise fire good foor a good 8 hours, class very clear. Again awesome!
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Glen NY on January 01, 2009

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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 see the drsft start right up. Once that draft is established you should be fine. 2300 sqft house warm and cozy, no furnace.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Shane on January 10, 2009

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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, temperature very easy to modulate. Flue is straight up, and about 11'. I might add another 3' to help with re-starting (so I don't have to open the ash pan door). 900sf mobile home, outside 5-20F ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Bill B on January 13, 2009

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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 too hot (+600) even though it's turned all the way down and the ash drawer and front door are closed tightly. (Very Scary!) I've had my chimney inspected (and cleaned ) by a professional ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Eladela on January 22, 2009

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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 stays cold and we use a gas boiler to keep the house around 65 degrees. The living room is over 100 near the woodstove, which feels great in the winter. It drops to 75 or so just 15 feet away, so ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by VTBear on February 12, 2009

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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 all the way and the damper on the chimney closed, it will still burn like a blast furnace. What doesn't make sense is that at other times it is perfectly well behaved.
Does any one else have a ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by dartor@vermontel.net on March 10, 2009

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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 ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by JB on October 18, 2009

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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. Many times it will be necessary to use the ash pan door as an aid to facilitate the draft negating the heat output potential of the stove.

I would not recommend the Castine for use in ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by ricesinice on November 04, 2009

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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 burned up already, and roasted me awake. Now I have a burned finger, a house that is 76 degrees, and from the looks of it, no wood left to burn for the next 5 hours of sleep. The logs I put in would ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Scott on December 18, 2009

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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 happy with this product. The glass is black all the time no matter how hot it gets. I am considering adding additional chimney. Any suggestion.
Anyone want to purchased a good used Jotul?
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Scott on December 18, 2009

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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 this kind of money and the manufacturer is not interested in hearing from you. Never purchase a Jotul again.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by anthony montagna on December 23, 2009

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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 burn to coals before you open the door even with a 25 foot chimney. When starting or adding wood I do open the ash door slightly to allow more draft but stay there to control it because it will get ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Mass Homeowner on January 12, 2010

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Efficiency: Rating: 1 Star - Very poor

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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 starting up or has been running. I hate this stove and would never recommend this stove anyone!
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Jay on January 18, 2010

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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.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Eddie on January 28, 2010

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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 the ash door for a minute and that super feeds the burn.

Burn time:
The Vermont burned for eight hours with three logs, the Jotul about three hours.

Efficiency:
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by tonynelson on February 09, 2010

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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 more wood consumption.

Further, if you are not burning wide open, you'll get smoke in the room every time you open the door--lots of it.

I wouldn't buy this stove again.
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Jotul F 400 Castine: don't buy this stove
Reviewed and rated by xaraya on February 11, 2010

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Efficiency: Rating: 1 Star - Very poor

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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 drop to the ash drawer. Awful stove.
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Reviewed and rated by Marilyn on February 17, 2010

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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 cleaned twice a year just because I don't trust this thing.
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Have you used a Jotul F 400 Castine? What is your opinion?
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Overall Performance Rating: 5 (outstanding) to 1 (very poor)
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