New to Jotul

I think even though they are a similar size firebox the Oslo is a little more difficult to fill with wood, 22" splits are good for packing it full and getting longer burns. The Oslo is very simple to run and controllable, compared to the VC, so it's just a matter of putting in the time and figuring out what works best for your set up and heating needs. Stoke it up and get the temperature up and then start reducing the air. With mine I'll load it full and when it starts to hum and the stove top temps are around 350-400 I start reducing the air in 2 or 3 increments to the point where there isn't much of a primary flame but lots of secondaries and the stove top temp reaches 500. If it's really cold I'll let it run hotter before shutting off the air but then the burn time drops.
You shouldn't have any trouble getting overnight burns, with plenty of coals to reload but the house will be nippy in the morning on colder nights. Overall I think you'll be really happy with this stove, it's a solid, reliable and dead simple wood stove especially when compared to the Encore. Let us know how you like it.

Sniper, one thing to keep in mind about comparing temps is that VC wants you to measure temp on the griddle while Jotul wants you to measure temp in one of the corners of the stove. While the back corner of the Jotul might read 400-450 the center "griddle" area of the stove will be somewhere around 650-700. Don't worry, that Jotul will kick out some heat.

Sniper8541 said:

Thanks for the info Toploader. The VC was convenient with the top load feature. Ill only be able to use the front door on the Jotul due to my setup (wood gets stacked on both sides of the stove in the hearth.) it seems like most people begin to chit down the jotul a lot faster than I did with the VC too. I ran mine around 550 all the time. She would get up to 600+ when she was shut down and allowed to get ripping again. I see people start the shutdown around 350 for the jotul, that was barely going for my old stove. The jotul is rated for 5000 more btu than the VC so hopefully that will be sufficient. Thanks for the info, any insight is appreciated.
Now outside to hopefully be able to get the splitter put away for the year!

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Normally I am a huge advocate of the Jotul Oslo . . . but honestly . . . if I had to only load it through the front door I'm not sure I would like it as much as I do. There is often a lot of ash build up due to the design of the stove which results in ash falling on to the ash lip, making a mess.

Hey Sniper, are you saying that you stack your wood so close to the stove that you can't open the side door? If you are able to use only the front door and you cut your own wood then you should consider cutting it 14" long and loading north/south. This way you'll be able to pack the fire box a little easier and you won't have as much risk of burning logs or hot coals falling out when you open the door, as well your glass will stay a lot cleaner because you won't have logs falling against the glass.

Sniper8541 said:

Yea but ends are stacked about 6 inches from the stove. It gets used up fast so one side is drying from outside and the other side goes in the stove. When the dry side is gone I refill and pull from the other side. I can fit about 6 days worth of wood, depending in how hard I burn. So the dry stuff that is next to the stove is only there for about a day and the other stuff for a couple.
Too late for the shorties this year or next year, everything is around 18-20 inches. Good tip though!

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Well I guess that you have the option of stacking your wood elsewhere if you ever decide front loading is too much of a pain. I almost never even open the front door, and I think 99% of Oslo owners are in the same boat. Once in awhile when I have some shorter pieces I'll do a N/S load and this works well except both ash and smoke tend to spill out which never happens with the side door. Let us know how it woks for you and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

I have an Oslo, and doubt that there is a better stove made - for my situation, that is. Yours is different. I have two reservations about the Oslo for you: 1) the front door is a pain for loading - in size, shape, access to the interior, and dumping ash everywhere. If I had to do it, I would load north-south. 2) You stipulate "mooostly seasoned". The Oslo does not tolerate poorly seasoned wood. Even a single split that is damp from the ground in an otherwise perfect load will kill the secondaries. Mine did not really perform as I wanted until I had oak/hickory that was cut, split, and stacked for three years.

Jotul8e2 has a point, is it too late to consider the f55?, you'd still need seasoned wood but it would be way better for front loading.

I recently replaced a old VC Defiant with the Oslo. Heat output is comparable, but you're not going to enjoy using the front door if you're the type of person that likes to keep a clean stove area. The ash that spills can't effectively be swept because it falls on the shelf - so really it needs to be vacuumed. Someone mentioned wet wood being an issue in this thing - they aren't kidding. I tried burning some 12-18 month seasoned oak and the stove fell on its face, hard. I had to open the door with the air wide open twice just to re-ignite. I can tell you this much, I miss my Defiant and have contemplated more than once on hooking it back up.

claydogg84 said:

I recently replaced a old VC Defiant with the Oslo. Heat output is comparable, but you're not going to enjoy using the front door if you're the type of person that likes to keep a clean stove area. The ash that spills can't effectively be swept because it falls on the shelf - so really it needs to be vacuumed. Someone mentioned wet wood being an issue in this thing - they aren't kidding. I tried burning some 12-18 month seasoned oak and the stove fell on its face, hard. I had to open the door with the air wide open twice just to re-ignite. I can tell you this much, I miss my Defiant and have contemplated more than once on hooking it back up.

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Ah, but you should see the Oslo with 2-3 year old oak . . . holy crapola . . . I swear to you . . . first time I had a bunch of this in the firebox I thought for sure I had opened up a Portal to Hell . . . one of the most intense secondaries I have ever had.