I recently bought a Jotul Oslo and have been using it for about three weeks. For the past fifteen years I've been using an Englander which I "modified" by pulling out the catalyst (because it was clogged up and my house filled with smoke every time I'd open it) and took out the fire brick on the sides (because I like a stove to put off HEAT. It was a sweet stove, and a big step above the barrel stove I'd been using for a few years. I'd figured it out using every kind of wood available in these parts (conifers mostly) and could get away with cleaning the pipe about once a year. I kept it clean on a daily basis by burning a really hot fire every couple of days and then whacking the stove pipe and all the junk would tumble into the fire box and burn up.
But I added an addition onto my house this year and decided I'd need a bigger stove. I didn't want to go with a catalyst stove for various reasons and ended up buying an Oslo because I wanted a cast iron stove that could put out some HEAT! The first time I fired it up I was mesmerized. The huge glass door and the top fire were great. My son and I sat and watched the fire for hours, and I LOVED the stove. But the love affair didn't last so long. Given that I'd paid a small fortune for the stove I expected it to do at least as well as my old Englander, which the salesman referred to as "terribly inefficient." He had assured me that the Oslo would burn much less wood and do it much more cleanly. First thing I noticed was how unbelievably long it took to warm the house up. With the old stove I could do it in 20 minutes. The Oslo took more than an hour, mostly because I'm afraid to heat it too quickly and crack the iron. Secondly, I couldn't get it to burn all night, which I'd been able to do with my "inefficient" Englander, which had a smaller fire box. Thirdly, I can't load it plumb full because the wood will hang up on stuff around the pipes on the top of the fire box. But I can put much longer wood in, so that kind of equals out. Lastly, the stove began to smoke like a fiend when I'd start it after it went out over night. I mean SMOKE! I've never had a stove put out the smoke like that except for the Englander before I removed the plugged catalyst. So tonight after work I climbed up on the roof and found the pipe was nearly solid with soot! And because of the reburn system in the firebox I had to disconnect the pipe and try and get the soot to fall into a bucket when I swept the pipe. OH BOY, that worked well: The bucket fell over and the soot went everywhere. It was this brownish soot, unlike anything I've ever run into. I didn't smell as bad as the creosotey black stuff I'm used to. I'm thinking of putting my Englander back into service after this winter, but have a wood shed full of 22 inch wood that wouldn't fit in it! So I'll have to get through this winter.
Anyway, my question is: how the heck do I burn this stupid stove so that it doesn't totally plug up the stove pipe within three weeks, and still get a reasonable burn time? Can I burn it really hot and hope to clear the pipe? Will the cast iron crack, or the big glass door bust? Also what's the best way to catch all the crap that comes out of the pipe without pouring it all over the floor?
Thanks.
