Jotul F200 & F205 Review

They make 2 versions of this stove. The traditional 200 and the popular and cleaner lined 205. These stoves are heavily focused on wood and yet it has a convenient grate and ash pan and completely cast iron construction including the interior. The stove comes with a 25 year warranty, a wooden stay cool handle, a big glass, tall legs and a 6” flue.

This stove also has direct air, it’s got some convection air up through the back and it weighs 138kg.

Lighting 5/10:

Lighting this stove does take some time, it is a big heavy beast, so there is a lot to heat up. The good news is that on the flipside it makes the stove very easy to get going after its burned down, and it also means that the heat is very even and gets delivered for hours, even after the stove has died right down. 

It has a little boost function for air, which you operate by opening the vent and then pushing it passed the little notch, to deliver the most air beneath the fuel. This is also helpful if you've run the stove overnight and want to get it going again.

Clean 8/10:

This stove runs at a fairly impressive 82% efficiency. It’s Eco design and DEFRA approved too, and runs so clean it looks like a stove in HD. I realise that sounds strange, but the whole thing looks, feels and behaves premium. Maybe it was my own doughy eyes glazing over, but every time I looked at it, it was as though this thing was glistening and the burning logs within, looked like something off of an 80" screen in Currys.

As mentioned, it can also run overnight and stay clean.

Control 8/10:

This stove has really good depth to it which means that (in my chimney) it avoided spilling smoke into the room. I really like that though this stove has a self closing door, you can remove that function, but if not you can actually push the door full open and it will catch and hold itself there. The single air control does get hot, but the fact that there is only 1, there is a notch for the boost function, and it's set up means it cannot be turned down too far, means it is incredibly easy to use, clean and efficient. The main handle is stay cool handle, which is lovely, and adds to the premium "specialness" that the stove conveys to you every time you light it up.

Cast iron does have its disadvantages, with regard to cracking. But Norwegian castings with their 25 year guarantees, have the perfect answer. And then when you get to the advantages like: the general feel, the hardier surface that is much tougher, less likely to scratch and easier to clean, also the general look. Because cast iron needs to be thicker, the whole thing looks, feels and is more substantial, heavier and luxurious. Its basically a Rolls Royce of stoves

Economy 7/10:

We got 10 hours out of 1 net of kiln dried logs, and we got easily the same when we went for a low and slow, long burn. It's not super controllable, but feels almost on auto pilot. It wants to run low and slow, looking fantastic and gradually, evenly heating the room. It’s a gem of a stove.

What I thought:

This stove is far from cheap, not super controllable, trickier to get lit and up to temperature and as it gets older, working on it will be more costly than some.

However the 205 is heavily built, so tough, full of modern tech and yet packaged in a proper old school Norwegian casting. It’s like a coach built Roller. You can do it cheaper, you can save on weight, push things further, but this stove doesn’t need to. Jotul is over 170 years old and you can feel all that tradition and experience, mixed with modern efficiencies. I started my video saying it is competent, but it’s not just that, it’s special, set apart. And like anything really special you can sense it the moment you see it. If you’re looking for a 5kw stove right at the top of the market, then pop into a local shop. Open the door, push it till it grips itself open, feel the clunk on the handle, move the air control. Or just run your hand over the top of it, you’ll know what I mean and the only thing I can add, is that when you’re using it, those same emotions keep coming, because at every stage you can feel, this stove has nothing to prove, no need to try, it’s already got it, whatever “it” is.