firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
logger said:I disagree 100%. Im talking my first fire of the day here, Pen. Im on my 3rd yr w the Oslo and have absolutely no problem heating the entire house all winter w nothing but the stove. I use small splits to get a new fire going. They burn pretty quick so I dont always get to 600 on this initail load of kindling, but If I want the house warm quickly, I leave the air open to get coals quicker so I can get that next load in and start to shut her down sooner and get my heat. Im aware of hot air going up the chimney with the air open, but with kindling my goal is to establish some coals to get the big stuff in and start shutting her down for secondaries.pen said:logger said:When its colder out, I like to keep the air open full on a load or two until I hit 600, then when I shut her down it stays hotter longer. If your draft and wood are good, you should be able to hit 600 no problem with the air open. Id try resplitting your wood to skinny splits and keep feeding the box with the air open or 3/4 open until you reach 600. Then you can load bigger splits, let them char, then shut her down in increments and cruise in the 500s and 400s for a while. If you cant do that, than something is hindering your burns (wood or setup?).
Sorry, but something is wrong here. What you just described is a system that is not operating correctly.
It could be from less than optimal draft, or it could be from wood that is too damp, but regardless, leaving the air wide open for 2 loads to get the unit to stay hotter is not right. If it is staying hotter longer I would assume it is because the stove is 1/2 full w/ coals by the time you get the 3rd load in there.
That stove should be hitting 600 w/ the air at 50% or less no problem.
Running with the stove's air wide open will really speed up the rate that air moves through the stove and up the chimney, taking a lot of heat up and out with it.
If it is necessary to keep the air open this far to get temps around 600, there is a problem
pen
Maybe you misunderstood but my 1st load is kindling, in which case I leave the air open. Then my second load is reg splits and once it chars, I shut her down.
For my 1st fire in a cold stove, I will hit 600 much faster with the air open than partially closed. Loading on coals is a whole diff ball game.
If it works for you, it works for you is my motto Logger . . . but I'm curious why your first load is only kindling. On my first load with coals I typically only use 2-3 pieces of kindling and then load the whole kit and kaboodle up with splits and rounds . . . and on a cold start I may use 3-5 pieces of kindling, but go with the top down method of fire starting so I don't have to do a reload for several hours. I do keep the side door ajar until the temp in the flue is plenty hot though . . . and then start shutting things down which generally brings the temp up in the stove.
But again . . . if it works for you, it works for you . . .