Dix
Minister of Fire
cptoneleg said:Doing The Dixie Eyed Hustle said:fossil said:
Megathe humor !! It's coming back !!
Must be Tarzan----Jane Thing or just over my head.
Neither actually.
A sense of humor is paramount to survival.
torn on getting green enamel or blue/black for my Oslo 500. Any opinions?
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Neither actually.
A sense of humor is paramount to survival.
So I picked the brown enamel Oslo. It looks beautiful in the room but maybe it's me, but it doesn't start up really great. I will admit that i have had to open the ash pan a few times to get it started. I know, I know.....BAD! I am hoping the slow startup was d/t the temps still being in the 50's. I've tried to attach some pics....
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jotulguy
Feeling the Heat
Beautiful install! You mentioned start up is tough for you. How tall is your flue? Did they reline it for you and install a block off plate? What kind of fire starters are you using? Using the ash pan...Just an FYI that does void the warranty. And start up is the worst time to try and use it because the whole stove is cold and is super heats one spot.
Why not crack the door at start-up to aid in flow? I'm in my 2nd year of burning and my stove requires the door to be cracked for 90 seconds to 5 minutes. Doesn't matter how I set it up, quality of wood, etc....it just doesn't breathe well during cold start-up without the door cracked.
well, not sure about a block off plate (don't know what it is) , flue is about 25 feet. I know about the warranty issue so that is why i will not do it anymore. The installer said that he closed off the air going around the ss liner at the top of the chimney. It's still ok for me to keep the side door open for a short time while getting the fire started, right?
oh and I pay close attention to all the info I get here on the forum so I have been using super cedars for the start up.
ok...so I just measured my flu and it appears I was way off. It is actually only about 16 to 17 feet. I understand oslos do better with a taller flu. It never occureded to me to mention this to the salesperson when shopping for a wood stove.
remkel
Minister of Fire
Guess I am just a traditionalist and like the matte black. Something about those shiny stoves that just does not feel right with me.
tcassavaugh
Minister of Fire
remkel
Minister of Fire
as a p.s. after noticing your start up issue- my F600 takes a while to get going (I leave the side door open) and I have over 30' of liner. Once it gets going though....
I think your installation looks terrific, cozyhome, for the reasons mentioned in your post #23, above. And for the record, that would have been my choice from the outset...but it ain't my stove. You'll figure out the operating routine. Neither of my stoves has an ash pan, but I routinely leave the doors cracked for a bit on startup. Just don't EVER walk away from the stove with the door unlatched (or the ash pan open) for any reason! Rick
Thanks everyone, I was starting to get scared that I was going to have to extend my flue. We have already put much more money into this than I had hoped. I'm hoping that when the temps start to drop, it will be easier to start the fire. I have to say, everyone has been quite helpful. I'm very much a rookie at this but starting to catch on to the lingo ;-)
First, the stove as installed is stunning.
Second, yes you should get better performance when it gets colder out.
However, with that initial 90 deg. vent into the fireplace your flue may not be tall enough. The operative word here is "may". The Oslo also is famously intolerant of fully dry and seasoned wood. With oak seasoned one year my Oslo will burn, but start up requires a very generous amount of pine or cedar, and it takes lots of air to keep it going. With oak seasoned two years it does ok. But with oak seasoned three years - great day in the morning
Good long burn times. Lots of high quality heat. Easy starts.
My (catalytic) Dutchwest is not near so finicky. It will burn oak seasoned a year just fine.
Second, yes you should get better performance when it gets colder out.
However, with that initial 90 deg. vent into the fireplace your flue may not be tall enough. The operative word here is "may". The Oslo also is famously intolerant of fully dry and seasoned wood. With oak seasoned one year my Oslo will burn, but start up requires a very generous amount of pine or cedar, and it takes lots of air to keep it going. With oak seasoned two years it does ok. But with oak seasoned three years - great day in the morning
Good long burn times. Lots of high quality heat. Easy starts.My (catalytic) Dutchwest is not near so finicky. It will burn oak seasoned a year just fine.
cozyhome, we're on our 2nd year with the Oslo and are still trying to iron out the details of operating it efficiently. I do leave the side door ajar for a few minutes during startup. Our biggest issue is how far/when to reduce the primary air flow while maintaining 500*-ish temps. Seems like anything less than half open and the temps drop to 300 - 400*. Last year our wood wasn't dry enough so we ended up leaving it stacked and used 100% bio-bricks. This summer we stocked up so we are about 3 years ahead.
Have you been out scrounging wood?
Have you been out scrounging wood?
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Someone once described the Oslo like a freight train . . . it's slow to get going sometimes, but once it's running it runs well.
Try opening the side door a bit on the start up . . . much better and safer than using the ash pan door . . . and kindling . . . a decent amount of kindling helps in the start up.
Try opening the side door a bit on the start up . . . much better and safer than using the ash pan door . . . and kindling . . . a decent amount of kindling helps in the start up.
logger
Minister of Fire
Remkel said:
Yah, but who wants to paint it every few years?
As for your start-ups. I dont see any mention of your wood source here. Did you buy it, or split it yourself. If its hardwoods, they need to season an entire year or two to burn properly. Unseasoned wood would def be hard to start-up. It needs more air, sizzles, gives off more creosote, and does not heat nearly as well.
We had a little warmup here so cleaned stove out real good cleaned glass, even vacumed out all the ash from inside, detailed like it was on the showroom floor. I just fired it off and it's a little slow going.
I am probably one of the few that use the front door, 80% of the time, anyway once it gets going its a real heater. Just a little slow on cold starts, if thats what you want to call it I just figure its normal.
I am probably one of the few that use the front door, 80% of the time, anyway once it gets going its a real heater. Just a little slow on cold starts, if thats what you want to call it I just figure its normal.
Blue Vomit
Minister of Fire
The brown enamel looks great with that brick. We have the same brick, I wanted brown, the wife wanted blue black. We have blue black and that looks great as well.
A big difference between the Oslo and the old stove is we are using a lot more kindling. Super cedars help a lot. Make sure you have lots of kindling on hand.
Good luck, it looks great.
A big difference between the Oslo and the old stove is we are using a lot more kindling. Super cedars help a lot. Make sure you have lots of kindling on hand.
Good luck, it looks great.
We have green enamel. It's held up very well for 12 seasons. But now we think we'd have preferred the Blue/Black. Perhaps it "goes" with more different styles of room?
Sorry it took so long to reply. Long days at work and Christmas shopping. Anyway, re wood supply. Not great. They told me it was seasoned, cut and split 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years. I can't believe that to be true as evidenced by how it is burning in the stove. Some splits are ok but most hiss and some even had water coming out the ends. Sooooo frustrating. I ended getting a hold of some eco logs to get the stove heated up and then throw some splits in. It works ok. Gets mostly to 300 degrees and a few times to 400 degrees. Even the eco logs and bio bricks are insanely difficult to get a hold of. A friend of mine picked up a pallet of them in CT for me. I'm having a hard time getting my stove hot. Lately temps have been in the 40's daytime, 20-30's at night. any suggestions. I am kind of scared to use too much of the wood we have because of the moisture and am seriously considering using biobricks and adding splits as it gets hot. What do you all think?
cozyhome: Check around and see if someone is selling kiln dried cord wood in your part of western MA. It's likely to be pretty pricey at this time of year, but it will make a huge difference in how your stove functions and your comfort level. Around here kd wood is currently about $325 per cord. Still cheaper than the compressed wood products.
eclecticcottage
Minister of Fire
I haven't read through, but here's my opinion for what it's worth
I haven't seen the colors in person, but always went with black for our stoves (two gas models in our old house, now a wood burner in the new one). Green is my fav color and I LOVE the green stoves, BUT what if you want to change colors in your decor? You don't want to send up with a green stove and maroon walls for instance (Christmas) or orange walls with a green stove (halloween)....you know what I mean? Or, even if you didn't and you wanted to sell the house, the new owners might... Also, I'd imagine ivory would be harder to keep clean...but that's a pure guess.
I haven't seen the colors in person, but always went with black for our stoves (two gas models in our old house, now a wood burner in the new one). Green is my fav color and I LOVE the green stoves, BUT what if you want to change colors in your decor? You don't want to send up with a green stove and maroon walls for instance (Christmas) or orange walls with a green stove (halloween)....you know what I mean? Or, even if you didn't and you wanted to sell the house, the new owners might... Also, I'd imagine ivory would be harder to keep clean...but that's a pure guess.
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