Jotul F500 vs Woodstock Fireview?

logger said:

Nonprophet said:

logger said:

There’s really no cat or non-cat issue becasue neither stove has one.

Any bad reviews of the Jotul are usually from people who do not know how to properly operate their stove, wood, or stovepipe... period. Most of my friends and family were so fond of ours that they have since gotten their own Joutuls and are extrememly happy with them. I got mine because I liked a friends. The front door does let ash out (we use the sidedoor), but its easily fixed (just search how on this site, costs less than 5 bucks). The air intake can get hot, but most people I know have gloves nearby, so searching for something shouldnt take time, duh.

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It's my understanding that the Fireview IS a cat stove.....

Oslo's have their fans for sure, but there are experienced wood burners with dry wood and good chimney setups (like us) who just don't like the Oslo. There's really no need to insult those who don't like the same stove you do......


NP

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Thought the Fireview was a cat, but NH Wood's 1st post confused me for a second. Didnt mean to insult anyone, just stated that using a glove isnt too hard to do for adjusting the intake. Not sure why anyone would put down the Oslo with good wood and a good pipe setup.. again, just my opinion.

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If you've got 25' plus of chimney, an Oslo can be a good stove with enough draft. The other issues like ash falling out, no andirons, and the air control lever being too hot to touch are easily remedied by Jotul and are long-standing complaints from many Oslo users. Glad you're happy with yours--lots of folks are.


NP

Peter SWNH said:

Gyprat said:

Fireview has no ash pan. Is it really important to have one? How do you clean the ashes from the stove and how often?

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You'll find out soon enough that this is a Ford/Chevy issue. :bug:

Just from my experience with my Oslo: I empty the ash pan once a day. If I wait 2 days, it's overflowing and messy to remove. Some here claim they empty their Oslo once a week. Don't know how they do it, but it is what it is. YMMV. I can empty the ash at ANY time during the burn cycle, which is a good thing because I burn 24/7. I had a stove (briefly) that had no pan and I found shoveling ash a PITA.

Some folks don't mind shoveling out their stove. They have is down to a science with various tools and techniques...and have been doing it ALOT longer that I have been burning at all. But personally, I won't ever do it again...period. :coolsmile:

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Sheveling a non-ash pan stove can be a serious PITA. The nice thing about the pan is that you can remove it from inside the house and dump outdoors, eliminating the ash from being airborn inside. Lesson I learned a couple years ago.
I'm also curious as to your ash amounts, when I burn 24/7 I will have a full ash pan after 3-4 days.

My Oslo heats my home said:

Peter SWNH said:

Gyprat said:

Fireview has no ash pan. Is it really important to have one? How do you clean the ashes from the stove and how often?

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You'll find out soon enough that this is a Ford/Chevy issue. :bug:

Just from my experience with my Oslo: I empty the ash pan once a day. If I wait 2 days, it's overflowing and messy to remove. Some here claim they empty their Oslo once a week. Don't know how they do it, but it is what it is. YMMV. I can empty the ash at ANY time during the burn cycle, which is a good thing because I burn 24/7. I had a stove (briefly) that had no pan and I found shoveling ash a PITA.

Some folks don't mind shoveling out their stove. They have is down to a science with various tools and techniques...and have been doing it ALOT longer that I have been burning at all. But personally, I won't ever do it again...period. :coolsmile:

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Sheveling a non-ash pan stove can be a serious PITA. The nice thing about the pan is that you can remove it from inside the house and dump outdoors, eliminating the ash from being airborn inside. Lesson I learned a couple years ago.
I'm also curious as to your ash amounts, when I burn 24/7 I will have a full ash pan after 3-4 days.

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Hehheh . . . I remembered this time Peter . . . please note I wasn't the one to bring it up . . . although it still perplexes me as you seem to be in the minority when it comes to ashes building up so quickly in the ash pan . . . very odd . . . but again . . . I didn't say a word.

firefighterjake said:

Hehheh . . . I remembered this time Peter . . . please note I wasn't the one to bring it up . . . although it still perplexes me as you seem to be in the minority when it comes to ashes building up so quickly in the ash pan . . . very odd . . . but again . . . I didn't say a word.

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I must be doing something different. :-S

We just had our chimney lined a few weeks ago, so we'll see if that make any difference. Haven't burned long enough yet to substantively see any performance change yet.

Gyprat said:

The more I read about wood stoves the more I get confused......
Many of you guys mentioned running your stoves 24/7. Is it safe to leave the stove running when no one is home?

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Absolutely...once you know what you are doing. ;-)

I work from home, but I do go into the office once a week. I load the stove up to the gills in the morning, get it up to temp, then dial the air down to a good low clean burn before actually leaving. 12 hrs later, I still have enough coals in the stove to just throw on a few splits to fire it up again. Of course, it probably stopped putting out meaningful heat after 6 hours but usually the house doesn't cool down to the point I set my thermostat to kick on (which is 72, btw). This is during the NH winters where it doesn't get ABOVE freezing during the day.

Of course, I had reservations when I first started. But after getting some experience with the stove and from all the info gleaned from this site, I don't even think twice about leaving the stove running unattended.

Gyprat said:

The more I read about wood stoves the more I get confused......
Many of you guys mentioned running your stoves 24/7. Is it safe to leave the stove running when noone is home?
I was planning on running the stove only when night temperature drops below 30 degrees. Most of the time daytime temperates are well above freezing.
What if the stove gets too hot when unattended? I'm getting a bit paranoid.
Maybe we should look for a metal stove with thermostat controlled air damper? Decisions, decisions..... Better go get some sleep.



P.S. We are running AC in the house right now. LOL

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I'm on the same page as Peter, once you learn how to burn and get comfortable with your stove you will be able to run it overnites and leave the house while its working.

Quote==> I must be doing something different. We just had our chimney lined a few weeks ago, so we’ll see if that make any difference. Haven’t burned long enough yet to substantively see any performance change yet.

Hey Peter......What kind of wood do you burn??? I have burned oak, maple, birch and some kind of softer wood like aspen. Not aspen, but it grows with maple and basswood and aspen (something like balmabellia????). I forget the name but it smells like $%^&% when you burn it and it seems like it has 2 times more ash than other woods. (maybe not more but more fluffy?). Different woods have different ash contents. Maybe your burning a wood type that has more ash or ash that is less dense.

Love my stove and I recon if it didn't have the very convenient ash-pan I would also have to figure out a method to empty ashes.

When I was shopping for stove I probably read every review on every stove, and I bought the Oslo and do not regret it.

We now only heat with wood 7/24s we turn furnace off, just use AC in summer.

All stoves need well seasoned wood (dry) but if you didn't read this site you could stay warm on 6 to 9 month seasoned wood and not know any better . I did for over 20 yrs. :zip:

You will learn to stay warm with either stove and folks on this site will help you with any problem you have.

Oh yes that little air lever some complain about, I guess that depends on what you have done all your life I move it with my hands ( one finger) with no problem you just scoot it a little one way or the other.

Oh yes Oslo needs 25' of stove pipe is hogwash BS It may for some homes but 18' works great on mine.

cptoneleg said:

Oh yes Oslo needs 25' of stove pipe is hogwash BS It may for some homes but 18' works great on mine.

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Agreed, the conditions for every stove in each location will be different.

Gyprat,

I'm getting ready to start on my second season with the Fireview...in short I love mine!! Yes, I do burn 24 hrs and leave the stove burning with no one at home when the temps get low enough. Like you, I was a little bit worried about doing this when I first started using the stove but am now very comfortable with leaving the stove burning. It just takes a little time to figure out how your particular stove setup works out for you and what settings to leave the stove at.

For me, during the week, I leave for work before the rest of my family even wakes up and I like to be out the door in 30-40 minutes after waking up. I can have new splits going and the Fireview in cadillac mode (maybe that should be catyllac mode? :^) ) before walking out the door. The wife and the family wake up to a nice warm house and a warm stove to cozy up to. I do double and even triple check my settings before I leave but am usually in constant turn down mode after the new splits catch hold. My wife never has to make any adjustments with the stove, period.

Good wood is important and as others have said, different woods season at different rates. I burned mostly pine the first year as that is what I could get to season the fastest. I am looking forward to this winter as I have some oak that is ready to go (I was even burning some of it last winter so it should be prime fuel this winter). Pine IMHO works great for us in the Carolinas as we don't really need a long, hot fire until the end of Nov into Dec.

Also, the Fireview has changed my perception of what living with a wood stove would be. My very limited experience with stoves was with old cast iron stoves that my grandparents used to use. You either burned up sitting near the stove or in the room with the stove or you were in another room and you were cold. I haven't been around the newer cast iron stoves and I'm sure they are much, much better now but I believe the soapstone stoves give a better, slower, more even heat. You can still cozy up to the stove and get warm (and even have to back away if you have a good fire going) but it's not a searing type of heat. Again, just my very limited, humble and prejudice opinion. I would not hesitate for a second to buy another Fireview.

Take care and I hope I have helped,

eyefish2 said:

Quote==> I must be doing something different. We just had our chimney lined a few weeks ago, so we’ll see if that make any difference. Haven’t burned long enough yet to substantively see any performance change yet.

Hey Peter......What kind of wood do you burn??? I have burned oak, maple, birch and some kind of softer wood like aspen. Not aspen, but it grows with maple and basswood and aspen (something like balmabellia????). I forget the name but it smells like $%^&% when you burn it and it seems like it has 2 times more ash than other woods. (maybe not more but more fluffy?). Different woods have different ash contents. Maybe your burning a wood type that has more ash or ash that is less dense.

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The usual...red oak, birch, maple, and that most evil of all wood, eastern white PINE. :bug:

Gyprat said:

The more I read about wood stoves the more I get confused......
Many of you guys mentioned running your stoves 24/7. Is it safe to leave the stove running when noone is home? Yes . . . not much different from running it all night long when everyone is sound asleep . . . I was planning on running the stove only when night temperature drops below 30 degrees. Most of the time daytime temperates are well above freezing.
What if the stove gets too hot when unattended? With time and experience you will learn that you cannot just load the stove, turn down the air and then walk away in 5 minutes time . . . it takes a bit longer to get the stove to "cruising" speed . . . but once you have the stove set and running it doesn't really spike in temp . . . in fact the only time I've got in trouble is when I've added wood too soon in the burning process . . . if you get things all set before leaving the house or going to bed at night you should be golden in terms of temps. I'm getting a bit paranoid. No . . . not paranoid . . . concerned . . . I would rather someone have a healthy respect for what fire could do vs. someone who is carefree and doesn't respect the possible danger. That said . . . install the stove correctly, keep an eye on the chimney in terms of creosote, maintain the stove, dispose of your ashes properly and learn how to use the stove and you should have a warm and trouble free time.Maybe we should look for a metal stove with thermostat controlled air damper? Decisions, decisions..... Better go get some sleep.



P.S. We are running AC in the house right now. LOL

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Final thought . . . I was a lot like you in the way I figured I would just run the stove when I was up . . . pretty much weekends and evenings . . . until I realized the savings by burning wood and realized that with just a little more time and effort I could safely run my stove all night long or while I was away. In my own case I'm pretty fortunate since my wife and I work opposite schedules so usually one of us is around to re-load the stove . . . typically I reload it in the morning before heading to work and when she arrives home she will putter around the house and load it before going to bed . . . when she wakes up or when I return home from work we'll reload it again . . . and I reload it at night.

akennyd said:

You can still cozy up to the stove and get warm (and even have to back away if you have a good fire going) but it's not a searing type of heat.

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From what I understand the soapstone stoves deliver a very comfortable heat that has a unique feel.

Congratulations Gyprat. I hope you did a burn-in fire or 2 before going to 400. As for the final setting on the draft, you'll soon learn what is best and it may change when the real cold weather hits.

Good choice, I think you will be happy with your decision, keep us posted.

Gyprat said:

Ran it again all night. This thing is fuel hungry. I loaded it 2/3 full with dry oak and there was no wood left in the burner 3 hours later.

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I am pretty sure that stove will do better than that. What do you mean my no wood left - ashes or a pile of hot coals? How was you damper setting. If you are burning hard during january and you are burning at 1.5 or 2, then you could saw through a goodly bit of wood. My Keystone was loaded about 3/4 full about 5 pm today and the stove top now at 8:45 pm-ish is 460 degrees with a large stack of coals and charcoal splits, damper setting at 1.

I'm getting some secondaries firing off and on and won't reload until much later tonight, so the wood load ain't finished yet.

Keep at it with your stove and you will find very long, useful heat burns.

You got a great stove that is mighty frugil on the wood supply.

Good luck!
Bill

It's going to take a little time to figure out this stove. One thing many people do wrong with this stove is trying to reach that 250 light off temp in the bypass mode with too much air and actually send most of the heat up the pipe. Once you get some good flames established back her down to #2 or even less til the flames slow down, this will keep more of the heat in the fire box and get your cat ready to light off sooner. If you have the newer steel cat you can light off sooner at 200 or even a little less. Good dry wood should get you there in less than 30 minutes.

A good air setting to start at after engaging the cat is #1 and just let it burn for an hour to see what happens, sometimes the flames may snuff out for a few minutes then come back. Watch your temps and flames and adjust up or down for different outputs. Most people find a low cat burn is somewhere under #1, a medium burn around #1 and high burn a little over #1. It doesn't take much air adjustment to make a difference with this stove, anything over #2 is usually just used in cold starts or reloads.

Gyprat said:

Ran it again all night. This thing is fuel hungry. I loaded it 2/3 full with dry oak and there was no wood left in the burner 3 hours later.

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Say what???? If I loaded our Fireview 2/3 full of oak it would no doubt be good for 10 hours or more! Perhaps it is time to learn some new wood burning skills with this new stove.

As Todd stated, getting the stove temperature up is a problem with some folks as they seem to think running the stove with the draft set full open is the key. That is working against rather than with the stove and fuel. Once you get a fire and the wood charred it is time to set the draft down to 2. This will keep more heat in the stove rather than up the chimney. With the new steel cat you can get the stove to 200 degrees (flue to 400) and engage the cat. While engaging the cat, dial that draft down further (perhaps to 1 or 1.5) and you should see the stove top temperature climb much faster. As to your final setting on the draft, that will come with time. No doubt you may have the final setting a bit higher at this time of the year but when the air gets cold outside you'll have the draft set even lower. We find the sweet spot on our draft at .75 or at 1 (the higher being at this time of year).

Gyprat said:

Backwoods Savage said:

Gyprat said:

Ran it again all night. This thing is fuel hungry. I loaded it 2/3 full with dry oak and there was no wood left in the burner 3 hours later.

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Say what???? If I loaded our Fireview 2/3 full of oak it would no doubt be good for 10 hours or more! Perhaps it is time to learn some new wood burning skills with this new stove.

As Todd stated, getting the stove temperature up is a problem with some folks as they seem to think running the stove with the draft set full open is the key. That is working against rather than with the stove and fuel. Once you get a fire and the wood charred it is time to set the draft down to 2. This will keep more heat in the stove rather than up the chimney. With the new steel cat you can get the stove to 200 degrees (flue to 400) and engage the cat. While engaging the cat, dial that draft down further (perhaps to 1 or 1.5) and you should see the stove top temperature climb much faster. As to your final setting on the draft, that will come with time. No doubt you may have the final setting a bit higher at this time of the year but when the air gets cold outside you'll have the draft set even lower. We find the sweet spot on our draft at .75 or at 1 (the higher being at this time of year).

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This is pretty much what I've been doing. It worked this way for the first 2 burns. The temperature would rise quickly once the catalyst was engaged.
Not anymore. I just can't get the top surface tempeature above 380 Deg.F I engage the catalyst at 250 deg and close the intake to about 1 1/4. The temperature stays at around 300 and then starts to drop after about 3 hours. It gets to about 380 degrees if I move the intake lever between 2 and 3. Closing the damper back to 1 makes the temperature drop to about 220 in about an hour. My wood seems dry. I even tried some Eco-Bricks to eliminate the wood problem. Same thing again. Maybe the catalyst is bad? Can it go bad in 5 days? I see some glow in the catalyst area when the damper is set to 2-3.
I'm thinking of calling Woodstock tomorrow. Maybe they need to send me a new catalytic converter..

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The cat is easily accessible. Pull out the cat and take a look at it. Seems doubtful that it's the cat at this point, though. If you are unsure, post a pic of it here.

What type of fire are you seeing during these burns?