tips for burning in my new oslo ?

I get my Castine up to 600 before taking the air down, might even get up to 650-700 when it's halfway, then when it peaks after taking the air down, I reduce it almost completely, and then wait until it's time to reload..I think you can burn hotter.

I start closing the air once I reach anywhere from 450-600. Like most Oslo burners, I've found that turning the air down in intervals works best. When I reach my intended temp, Ill close her down to about 3/4 open. Then after 10-15 min close her to halfway, and after another 10-15 Ill shut her to only 1/4 open. That keeps me coasting for a few hours above 400. By this stage in the game you'll have burnt harmful gases off the wood so when it cools down to 300 or so, you wont have to worry about creosote issues. Just make sure you have good seasoned wood or you'll go through much more wood, blacken your glass and interior, wont be able to burn as hot, and you'll have to keep the air open longer and suck most your heat up the pipe.

phatfarmerbob said:

i took some cherry off the top of the pile today and split it again i was quite a bit dryer then the oak i used yesterday and temps came up a lot faster thanks for the info any tips help

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The newer EPA stoves like wood with less than 20% moisture. It normally takes cut/split/stacked oak 2+ years to drop down to less than 20%.

logger said:

I start closing the air once I reach anywhere from 450-600. Like most Oslo burners, I've found that turning the air down in intervals works best. When I reach my intended temp, Ill close her down to about 3/4 open. Then after 10-15 min close her to halfway, and after another 10-15 Ill shut her to only 1/4 open. That keeps me coasting for a few hours above 400.

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I just let mine go out following its first long 24/7 run for the last 10 days and that's almost exactly how I ran mine. Top temp varied depending on how full I stuffed it and the condition of the coals when I reloaded. I learned I'm going to have to split some of my wood smaller in order to pack it full if I want to get to 600 with any regularity.

phatfarmerbob said:

I have had a new oslo in for about a week now and was wondering if im doin it right,, i try and keep it around 450 or so and let it go till there's just coals left before i add more wood but by that time the temp is down to about 300 i wonder if i am encouraging creosote?... the house is toasty and i have only herd the oil furnace kick on when we shower...what a wonderfull feeling.. id rather put 5 gallons through my stihl then 500 through the furnace.

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Welcome to the forum Bob. It sounds like you are doing just fine and are not encouraging creosote. If your fuel is good you won't have creosote.

Depending upon the weather, we'll reload anywhere from 300-400 stove top. If it is cold outside and we need lots of heat, we never hesitate to reload at 400. Also, before the fire is down to all coals, we will open the draft full. This encourages the burning of the coals.

As for the draft, we burn with full open draft only a very short time or until the flue temperature reaches 500. That can be anywhere from 3-15 minutes. Basically we turn it down at least 50% as soon as possible as that will keep the heat in the stove rather than up the chimney. After the fire is established good we turn it down further; usually 25% or less open.

Also, don't bother cleaning the ash out from the pan, just shovel ash from the main section once in a while (depends greatly on species of wood). Wet paper towels on a cool/cold glass cleans it up perfectly. If you have smaller lengths of wood, use them N-S and front-load. Get some welders gloves to load it. To get my secondaries going for an hour plus at a time, I need to turn my air all, or nearly all, the way down.

And, welcome. Great stove....

logger said:

I start closing the air once I reach anywhere from 450-600. Like most Oslo burners, I've found that turning the air down in intervals works best. When I reach my intended temp, Ill close her down to about 3/4 open. Then after 10-15 min close her to halfway, and after another 10-15 Ill shut her to only 1/4 open. That keeps me coasting for a few hours above 400. By this stage in the game you'll have burnt harmful gases off the wood so when it cools down to 300 or so, you wont have to worry about creosote issues. Just make sure you have good seasoned wood or you'll go through much more wood, blacken your glass and interior, wont be able to burn as hot, and you'll have to keep the air open longer and suck most your heat up the pipe.

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+1

The temps others mention are specific to their stove - I will add that I do not reload until temp is down to around 300 in my Oslo if I need the heat. Definitely DO NOT reload when secondaries are burning.

Read this thread by FireFighterJake regarding his Oslo:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/62560/

Shari said:

The temps others mention are specific to their stove - I will add that I do not reload until temp is down to around 300 in my Oslo if I need the heat. Definitely DO NOT reload when secondaries are burning.

Read this thread by FireFighterJake regarding his Oslo:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/62560/

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Thanks Shari . . . of all the great advice I could give you choose my most embarassing moment with the Oslo.

Random thoughts . . .

Great stove . . . I'm a bit partial to this stove myself . . . my eye sometimes wanders and looks longingly at some of the more comely looking stoves, but I always find in the end that I love my Oslo for her simple beauty and hard-working personality.

Sounds like you're doing well . . . this stove runs well in the 400-600 degree F stove top temps . . . 550 degrees F is a good place to be.

You may eventually want to consider a probe style thermometer for your stove pipe if you have double wall pipe . . . I find that it gives me a good idea as to when to start closing the air . . . they're relatively cheap and easy to install.

Don't worry about the falling temps at the latter stage of the burn . . . as folks have mentioned most of the "bad stuff" is gone . . . just reload when you're ready, open the draft and away you go.

Once my stove has reached the temp I want it to be at I start to close down the air in quarter increments . . . if the stove has been cooking for a long time you can sometimes bypass this step and go from wide open to the quarter mark . . . a lot of course depends on the temp of the stove, quality of the wood and your draft.

I like to leave a layer of coals/ash of about 1-2 inches in my firebox . . . it helps preserve the coals for easier restarting and keeps the base of the stove cooler. I do however use my ash pan . . . one of the best features of the Oslo in my own opinion.

When your air control lever sticks -- and there is a good chance it will stick eventually -- do a search and you'll find many threads on using graphite powder to easily lubricate this mechanism.

Cleaning the glass . . . there are many ways and opinions on how to clean the glass, but I really do feel the simplest, cheapest and easiest solution is to simply use damp newspaper . . . and as long as you are burning at the proper temps and with good, well seasoned wood you will most likely never even need to dip the damp newspaper into the ashes . . . although this works well on any stubborn black or brown stains on the glass.

Final thought . . . garbage in, garbage out. You have a fantastic stove . . . make sure you treat it well and let it be all that it can be by giving it a good diet of well seasoned wood . . . good wood makes a difference with this stove.

firefighterjake said:

Shari said:

The temps others mention are specific to their stove - I will add that I do not reload until temp is down to around 300 in my Oslo if I need the heat. Definitely DO NOT reload when secondaries are burning.

Read this thread by FireFighterJake regarding his Oslo:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/62560/

Click to expand...

Thanks Shari . . . of all the great advice I could give you choose my most embarassing moment with the Oslo.

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Hey, FFJ, I wasn't trying to embarrass you rather I was just pointing out to a new wood burner what NOT to do.

Seriously, anyone one with an Oslo would do well to listen to FFJ's suggestions.

We know we all love our Oslo's - it's just that those of us who have to blue/black Oslo's love them more........... heh heh heh

Shari said:

firefighterjake said:

Shari said:

The temps others mention are specific to their stove - I will add that I do not reload until temp is down to around 300 in my Oslo if I need the heat. Definitely DO NOT reload when secondaries are burning.

Read this thread by FireFighterJake regarding his Oslo:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/62560/

Click to expand...

Thanks Shari . . . of all the great advice I could give you choose my most embarassing moment with the Oslo.

Click to expand...

Hey, FFJ, I wasn't trying to embarrass you rather I was just pointing out to a new wood burner what NOT to do.

Seriously, anyone one with an Oslo would do well to listen to FFJ's suggestions.

We know we all love our Oslo's - it's just that those of us who have to blue/black Oslo's love them more........... heh heh heh

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HehHeh . . . I know Shari . . . from what I know about you I would say you do not sound like you have a mean bone in your body . . . and yes . . . I say this even while you drive home the point that you have a blue/black Oslo and I "only" have a matte black Oslo.

phatfarmerbob said:

I have had a new oslo in for about a week now and was wondering if im doin it right,, i try and keep it around 450 or so and let it go till there's just coals left before i add more wood but by that time the temp is down to about 300 i wonder if i am encouraging creosote?... the house is toasty and i have only herd the oil furnace kick on when we shower...what a wonderfull feeling.. id rather put 5 gallons through my stihl then 500 through the furnace.

Click to expand...

You ain't makin' creosote at that stage. Your wood is burned up and there's no creosote to be had

I routinely run my oslo on a packed load up to 600 to 650 degrees, then back the air to half for a short time, maybe 2 minutes or so, then back it all the way leaving it open just a wee bit.

Oh, no! He's hooked now!