Jotul Oslo ... To damper or not to damper ?

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MogollonMonster

New Member
Oct 13, 2009
16
Flagstaff Arizona
In my old house I had Waterford cast iron stove (1989) which never had a flue damper or problems with overfiring. I hope to have my Ivory Jotul Oslo delivered in about two weeks. It's been on backorder for two months but given me plenty of time to build a nice hearth. Any recommendations (pros or cons) for adding a damper?

I used Simpson Dura-plus triple wall pipe for the class A chimney. I plan to use Simpson Dura-vent double wall DVL stove pipe from the stove to the chimney support box. The total pipe length is about 20 feet in a completely vertical installation. I'm at high elevation ~7000 ft. Current temps have ranged from the mid-50's to the mid-teen's.

Getting tired of cold feet!

Thanks,
Jeff
 
I'd try it without the damper. It should work fine.
 
+1 to what BeGreen said . . . very few people report needing a damper. I have a 20-24 foot chimney and have had no need for a damper.
 
Got a 20 ft pipe and the Oslo works fine without one. I've really come up with no complaints about this stove, except the messy ash out the front door.
 
Thanks for the input. I'll forgo the damper until I see how the stove burns. I was a bit worried about Oslo posts where folks had a hard time controlling the burn rate and I'd rather not burn my new house down or crack/warp the new $3k stove. I plan to be extra careful not leaving any of the doors open (especially the ash pan door) while unattended.

Do you recommend both a stove top and stove pipe thermometer? I'm a bit concerned about drilling a hole through the double wall pipe for the temperature probe.

Thanks, Jeff
 
Just get a stovetop thermometer. You'll be fine. I've got the big daddy (F-600) with no damper and a 25+ chimney and no problems with overfire.
 
MogollonMonster said:
Thanks for the input. I'll forgo the damper until I see how the stove burns. I was a bit worried about Oslo posts where folks had a hard time controlling the burn rate and I'd rather not burn my new house down or crack/warp the new $3k stove. I plan to be extra careful not leaving any of the doors open (especially the ash pan door) while unattended.

Do you recommend both a stove top and stove pipe thermometer? I'm a bit concerned about drilling a hole through the double wall pipe for the temperature probe.

Thanks, Jeff

Most posts are by new owners getting familiar with the stove. It'll be fine. Good plan about not leaving doors open. Leave the ashpan door closed unless cleaning out the ashes.

Yes, definitely get a thermometer for the stovetop. If you get one for the flue, don't angst about drilling the hole. It's a non-issue.
 
We just use a stove top one too (sometimes its on the pipe, sometimes on top in a back corner). On average, there seems to be about a 60-70 degree difference than the temp in the pipe. The stove top being a bit cooler than the pipe. My buddy has both and its always about this much of a difference once the stove is going full speed.
 
MogollonMonster said:
Thanks for the input. I'll forgo the damper until I see how the stove burns. I was a bit worried about Oslo posts where folks had a hard time controlling the burn rate and I'd rather not burn my new house down or crack/warp the new $3k stove. I plan to be extra careful not leaving any of the doors open (especially the ash pan door) while unattended.

Do you recommend both a stove top and stove pipe thermometer? I'm a bit concerned about drilling a hole through the double wall pipe for the temperature probe.

Thanks, Jeff

I think the biggest thing in terms of worrying about overfiring your stove is to avoid opening the draft and walking away from it . . . ditto on using the ash pan door to get a fire going (bad idea).

I definitely recommend using both a stove top and stove pipe thermometer -- it's wicked simple to install a probe thermometer in double wall . . . you really can't go wrong . . . so simple even a dumb firefighter can do it.
 
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