trying to decide

[HouseCrusher]

Stuck between the oslo and isle royale. Leaning more to the oslo. It says in the
Quadra fire book that the isle royale will burn for 14.5-19.4 hours. Seems like an
Awful long time considering that they say the oslo will go for 9. I looked at the
Cumberland gap and did not like the way the fire box was set up. It seemed to
Pinch in towards the back. This is what made me like the oslo. Nice big square box
And huge side door. Not sure if the isle royale has the same weird box. Is the box
On the IR bigger than the oslo? The only thing that got me thinking now is the
Advertised burn time of the IR. But I still like the oslo better. Opinions?

 

[FWWARDEN]

First off, welcome to the forum. I have an Oslo, and if you take another look, you'll see that the firebox slims down a bit towards the back as well. I absolutely love this stove, and I'm sure most other Oslo owners will tell you the same thing. From what I've heard the others are good stoves as well, comes down to personal desire, just about all top shelf stoves are excellent.

 

[begreen]

Two different sized stoves. The Isle Royale is the size of the F600. The bigger question is which will do a better job for the task at hand. For that we need a lot more info about the house, floor plan and room size.

 

[HouseCrusher]

The house is about 1700 square feet. Two stories with two bed rooms and bathroom upstairs.
Downstairs is pretty much open. There are arches between the rooms though. I am not sure if this
Will hurt the heat flow to other rooms. Besides the ash spilling out the front door are there any other
Complaints with the oslo? How long will it burn with a good load of wood?

 

[begreen]

Sounds good. The archways shouldn't be a big impediment, we have them in our house too. The Oslo wouldn't work for us because we have a corner install. If the door was on the other side, we have clearance due to an adjacent alcove, but not on the left side. Most folks are reporting comfortably getting 8-9 hrs overnight with coals for a restart. The Isle Royale and F600 will go a bit longer with their extra cu ft of capacity. Both will fit and work. If the house is newer or nicely caulked and insulated, the Oslo should do the job well. If it's a leaky old barn, I'd get the bigger stove.

 

[HouseCrusher]

When I first started looking for stoves I thought the Oslo might be to big for what I wanted. I guess that its better to go a little bigger than too small. The house was built in 1900 but is insulated well. I would like the longer burn times so my wife doesn't have to mess with it after I leave for work.

 

[firefighterjake]

Stuck between the oslo and isle royale. Leaning more to the oslo. It says in the
Quadra fire book that the isle royale will burn for 14.5-19.4 hours. Seems like an
Awful long time considering that they say the oslo will go for 9. I looked at the
Cumberland gap and did not like the way the fire box was set up. It seemed to
Pinch in towards the back. This is what made me like the oslo. Nice big square box
And huge side door. Not sure if the isle royale has the same weird box. Is the box
On the IR bigger than the oslo? The only thing that got me thinking now is the
Advertised burn time of the IR. But I still like the oslo better. Opinions?

First . . . don't believe all the pamphlets and brochures with their "burn times" and "square footage" . . . or at least take the figures with a grain of salt. These figures are designed in a perfect world with laboratory tests . . . they do not figure in what wood you are burning in terms of species and BTUs, how much insulation you have in your home, lay out of the home, etc. It is far better to ask real life users what they are getting for burn times . . . and what size they are heating their home with . . . if you want the unvarnished truth.

In my own home (1,800 square feet) I normally get very good heat for 4-5 hours with the Oslo with active flames and can get decent heat for another hour or two . . . and if the outside temps are mild enough (25 or more) and the wood good enough be able to have enough coals to get a 8-9 hour overnight burn . . . meaning that I will have large enough coals to get a fire going easily enough by tossing on some small splits or kindling the following morning.

Second . . . the Oslo is more rectangular in shape than square.

 

[firefighterjake]

The house is about 1700 square feet. Two stories with two bed rooms and bathroom upstairs.
Downstairs is pretty much open. There are arches between the rooms though. I am not sure if this
Will hurt the heat flow to other rooms. Besides the ash spilling out the front door are there any other
Complaints with the oslo? How long will it burn with a good load of wood?

Sounds like a good set up for a stove like the Oslo . . . about the same as my own set up . . . a 1,800 square foot Cape with two bedrooms and bath upstairs and the downstairs is relatively open. Arches . . . no problem.

Problems with the Oslo . . . only two minor complaints . . . ash spillage out of the front door on to the lip . . . and the perpetually sticking air lever. The ash spillage: more of a nuisance . . . if you use the side door this is a non-issue. The sticking air lever: early models had an apparent defect . . . newer models can have this problem fixed with a periodic application of graphite powder -- a cheap and easy fix. Oh yeah . . . also my only other problem is that Shari has the stove that I wish I had . . . the blue black enamel.

Likes: Good looks, good heat, durability, good heat, low maintenance, good heat, functional ash pan, good heat, nice viewing area, good heat, easy to run, good heat.