Review of Jotul F 400 stove
This is a FANTASTIC stove!
We have recently installed a Jotul F400 in our cottage. It's never been so warm!
The stove itself is large, sturdy and elegant. It's built in cast iron, oozes quality and is extremely easy to use and maintain. The output is prodigious to the extent that this thing is heating my entire house! We have also installed, in an adjacent room, an Aarrow Sherbourne (medium), which is allowing a direct head-to-head comparison of these two makes, which have been sited in inglenook fireplaces that previously housed fire grates. Of the pair, for sheer quality, finesse and impact, the Jotul wins hands down. It just looks fantastic and the attention to detail in the craftsmanship is second to none. The Aarrow, in comparison, is a much simpler, plainer design and built in steel rather than cast iron. At half the price of the Jotul, however, this is to be expected. In terms of ease of use, the Jotul wins again; one single lever sited on the front of the stove adjusts the burn rate; it's light and easy to operate and never gets hot. Similarly the door handle, which has a wooden knob, requires no gloves to operate, which is a major plus point. The Aarrow is also easy to use, but there are three vent controls and they tend to be quite stiff, especially the upper one above the doors, so when the stove gets hot this can make adjustments quite tricky. When it comes to heat output, the Jotul stove is incredible; it's perfectly possible to feel every bit of the 11kW max output if you stoke it right up and open the vent to max. The fuel won't last long though! Another major plus point of the Jotul is the capacity of the firebox, which is very large. This means that it can comfortably accommodate big logs and a large fuel load for overnight burning; that said, getting it to go all night (on logs) has proved tricky. It's usually still alight in the morning, but only just! The Aarrow, on the other hand, has a relatively small firebox, and this can be a nuisance because we have to select "bitesize" bits of wood for it, rather than the tree trunks that can be dumped directly into the Jotul. It also lacks the sheer heating power of the larger Jotul, but it is a very nice stove and good value for money. Where the Aarrow does have the upper hand is with its airwash system to keep the glass clear, which is nothing short of superb. The same fuel source burned on both fires left the Jotul with smoggy glass after a few hours whilst the Aarrow was still treating us to a pristine view of the fire several days later. That said, and contrary to my expectations, the glass is extremely easy to clean and most of the deposits wipe away easily with a damp tissue. In summary, I am nothing short of delighted with my Jotul F400. It is a very attractive stove, performs very well, we have had no problems with smoke issuing into the room when we open the door (so long as you open the door slowly to allow the pressure to equalise) and we would highly recommend this model to anyone with a large space to heat. It is, however, expensive, but the cost is well worth it for the build and design quality, workmanship and attractive appearance.