Jotul F500 replacing VC Defiant

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claydogg84 said:
Any of you guys mind giving me some tips on getting the Oslo up to temp? I don't think I could over fire this stove if I wanted to. The only way I was able to get it up to 550 was to leave the side door cracked for 10 minutes or so. I thought it would warm up with a good fire and the air completely open but no. Slowly crawls up to temp but it would take forever. I'm also doing this from scratch, no coals, so that may have something to do with it. And for the secondary burn, will they only kick in when I knock the air down?
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As mentioned it takes awhile to heat up this big ol' hunk of iron ... from a cold start I figure at a minimum spending a half hour before I can start cranking the heat. The Oslo is a lot like a locomotive ... takes awhile to get up to speed but once up and running it's a very strong performer.

Once the stove is up to temp you want to start dialing down the air as open air control equals less heat. The real heat is made with the secondary burn which will occur when the air control is cut back.
 
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claydogg84 said:
Should I be trying to get the stove warm with a big roaring fire? Or should I get a good fire going in the firebox and start shutting down the air to trigger the secondaries? This stove is so much different than my Defiant and it's making me second guess the purchase.
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Yes .... and yes. In my own case I get the fire roaring and get the stove up to temp and then start closing down the air in stages to get the secondary burn.

Stick with this stove, relearn how to run the stove and in a few weeks you may very well come to love this stove.
 
If I don't get the stove to 400 before starting to shut it down I often get a smoldering fire.
 
You all have the thermometer on the back right corner? You run it up to 400, close the door, wait a few minutes and then start to knock down the air control in stages? I'm used to burning much higher than 400 initially that's my issue.
 
I started turning down the stove this morning at 225F. Turned it down to 50%, waited another 7 minutes and turned it down to almost closed. Stove top hadn't reached 350 yet. The fire eventually took the stove top up to 550F.
 
I've ran several loads of wood through it and have yet to touch 500 regardless of the type of wood. It's been mostly oak so far. Also I should note that they have been all cold starts. I reloaded once with a nice bed of coals but I only waited about 20 minutes, had the air at about 1/4 and then went to bed - so who knows what temp it hit.
 
begreen said:
I started turning down the stove this morning at 225F. Turned it down to 50%, waited another 7 minutes and turned it down to almost closed. Stove top hadn't reached 350 yet. The fire eventually took the stove top up to 550F.
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You're basically relying on the secondaries to bring the stove up to temp, that's where I'm getting confused. I don't know if I should get the top to 500 or so first and then try to knock it down or try your approach.
 
Today was only in the low 40s but with a strong wind. I didn't want to have a 650-700F stove so I turned it down as soon as possible without creating smoke up the chimney. No point in wasting wood. Dry wood is the key. You are most likely burning hardwood and that may take longer to get a vigorous fire going, but 500F seems pretty hot to wait and start turning down the air. I could usually start turning down the Castine around 300F as well. The fire at that point is vigorous and hot enough to start the wood outgassing. Secondary burn will kick in nicely then and the stove top will continue to rise. If I wait until 500F I will most likely be seeing a 700-750F stove top which is about as warm as I will take the stove. But to be clear, I am not closing the air off completely. I do it in stages, letting the fire regain strength before turning it down some more.
 
I'm finding my temps are dropping, rather than rising once I start knocking the air down. It's not really cold enough for me to load the box full and try so perhaps that's another issue. I wanted to get this thing all figured out before it got too cold though. I appreciate the tips. Perhaps I'm waiting too long to drop the air. I think I'll try to get the top to 400 and then knock it down in stages from there.
 
Bigg_Redd said:
Your wood is wet, or, your draft in insufficient. Or both.
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The wood is not wet, I'm certain of that. 90% of my wood was dead standing and then split and stacked for a minimum of 1 year and some of it nearing 2. I also know that I have a pretty solid draft. The Defiant ran up to 600 degrees at the cook top in about 15 minutes.
 
claydogg84 said:
The wood is not wet, I'm certain of that. 90% of my wood was dead standing and then split and stacked for a minimum of 1 year and some of it nearing 2. I also know that I have a pretty solid draft. The Defiant ran up to 600 degrees at the cook top in about 15 minutes.
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Sounds like you got it handled.
 
Well it really depends on how much heat you need. You basically want to bring the stove up to your desired temperature and hold it there as long as possible. For instance on a really cold windy day in January you might want to run it at 600 so that means not cutting back on the air as much which means less secondaries and more loading. On a warmer day when you don't need as much heat you cut the air back more so the stove cruises at 450 or so and thats when you get secondariness because you are burning with less primary air. It's a great stove don't second guess yet.
claydogg84 said:
Should I be trying to get the stove warm with a big roaring fire? Or should I get a good fire going in the firebox and start shutting down the air to trigger the secondaries? This stove is so much different than my Defiant and it's making me second guess the purchase.
Click to expand...
 
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claydogg84 said:
I'm finding my temps are dropping, rather than rising once I start knocking the air down. It's not really cold enough for me to load the box full and try so perhaps that's another issue. I wanted to get this thing all figured out before it got too cold though. I appreciate the tips. Perhaps I'm waiting too long to drop the air. I think I'll try to get the top to 400 and then knock it down in stages from there.
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I think this is your problem, smaller loads don't generate the heat like large ones do so it's harder to get the stove up to temp and if you do it usually means more primary air and less secondaries for less time. If you are running smaller loads give it lots of air and only turn it down if the stove is generating more heat than you need. When it gets cold and you fill the firebox up it will all make sense.
 
Toploader said:
I think this is your problem, smaller loads don't generate the heat like large ones do so it's harder to get the stove up to temp and if you do it usually means more primary air and less secondaries for less time. If you are running smaller loads give it lots of air and only turn it down if the stove is generating more heat than you need. When it gets cold and you fill the firebox up it will all make sense.
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Thanks Top, I hope you're right. Should be down below freezing this weekend.
 
If you don't require much heat use lighter wood.

This fall is pretty warm so I just load it with building scraps.
They burn like hell with a cracked door. Once the top is at 350 I close the door. It rises a little more and after another hour it gets lower again. The stove remains hot for a long time after.

If I try to get this good a burn with hardwood I would need a hot start and would be melting in the house. Just wait for winter!
 
RSNovi said:
I have to be careful with my Oslo not to over fire. I have come into the stove room a few times with that dreaded hot smell. Hitting 750 is not an issue with my setup.

I agree that I always use the side door cracked open to get the fir going. Once it has taken off after about 10 minutes the stove will be fine with the door shut. It will hit 400 usually within a half hour.
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exactly what is that smell? I get it every once in a while, but I feel like I only notice it from a cold start when the stack gets too hot too quickly. stovetop temps are still down at that point

getting the stove up to temp is no issue for me at all. I leave the front door cracked for the first 10 minutes or so. after 10 I shut it, after a few more minutes I dial the air down to half. 10-15 minutes later i'm down to 1/4 air. within 30 minutes, i'm all the way shut. usually has me cruising at 500 measured in the front right corner.
 
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not on the rug said:
exactly what is that smell? I get it every once in a while, but I feel like I only notice it from a cold start when the stack gets too hot too quickly. stovetop temps are still down at that point

getting the stove up to temp is no issue for me at all. I leave the front door cracked for the first 10 minutes or so. after 10 I shut it, after a few more minutes I dial the air down to half. 10-15 minutes later i'm down to 1/4 air. within 30 minutes, i'm all the way shut. usually has me cruising at 500 measured in the front right corner.
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That smell is your stove begging for mercy, lol. I did it once or twice when I had the defiant by forgetting to close the air off. The smell in my case was accompanied by a nice orange glow. Anyways - I gave the Oslo a good run today when I got home from work. Door open for about 10 minutes to get the kindling and one piece of wood going, then stuffed in a few more nice sized pieces of wood with door open for another 10 minutes or so. By then I had the rear corner up to 500-550, so I shut the door and let it run wide open. Temp dropped a little below 500 where I let it sit for another 10 minutes. I knocked the air down twice more so it's about 1/4 open maybe less and its cruising at around 450. I think if I had to get it warmer I could have initially. So, I'm a bit happier with it today, and excited that the temps are supposed to drop to the 20s this weekend. Thanks again guys!
 
claydogg84 said:
That smell is your stove begging for mercy, lol. I did it once or twice when I had the defiant by forgetting to close the air off. The smell in my case was accompanied by a nice orange glow. Anyways - I gave the Oslo a good run today when I got home from work. Door open for about 10 minutes to get the kindling and one piece of wood going, then stuffed in a few more nice sized pieces of wood with door open for another 10 minutes or so. By then I had the rear corner up to 500-550, so I shut the door and let it run wide open. Temp dropped a little below 500 where I let it sit for another 10 minutes. I knocked the air down twice more so it's about 1/4 open maybe less and its cruising at around 450. I think if I had to get it warmer I could have initially. So, I'm a bit happier with it today, and excited that the temps are supposed to drop to the 20s this weekend. Thanks again guys!
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The more you use it and get used to the way it performs . . . I predict the more you will learn to love it.

There are only a very few folks who have had the Oslo who have not liked it and found it to be a very capable heater.
 
claydogg84 said:
That smell is your stove begging for mercy, lol.
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nope. like I said, it only occurs at startup when stove temps and stack temps are still pretty low. just seems to occur when the temps gets hot too fast. can't explain it any better than that. I burned this stove all season last year and noticed it about a dozen times when I had a cold startup and the stove got hot too fast. I've accidentally had it happen once this season so far. pretty strange. I can't seem to find any info on it anywhere. it's not the wood or the chimney, as it never occurred with my old stove using the same seasoned wood.
 
not on the rug said:
nope. like I said, it only occurs at startup when stove temps and stack temps are still pretty low. just seems to occur when the temps gets hot too fast. can't explain it any better than that. I burned this stove all season last year and noticed it about a dozen times when I had a cold startup and the stove got hot too fast. I've accidentally had it happen once this season so far. pretty strange. I can't seem to find any info on it anywhere. it's not the wood or the chimney, as it never occurred with my old stove using the same seasoned wood.
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It sounds like you're talking about a different smell than the previous poster mentioned. He was associating the smell to overfiring the stove, which isn't what you're saying.
 
I'm on my 3rd season with the Oslo and I'm STILL trying to master the thing. This stove is super sensitive to anything but extremely dry wood and like someone else stated, it takes a while to get up to speed but once its there and you keep it there it cranks out the heat.

I also find that I need to leave the door open for a LONG time. People always talk about dialing down the air in segments, but I find with this stove, from a cold stove you have to dial down closing the door in segments and the air! It can take me upwards of 40 minutes to get a fire going in "cruise control" with this thing.
 
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