A question for fellow Oslo owners

[nelraq]

I have just installed a new Jotul Oslo (manufacture date Oct./09). I examined the stove when it came into the dealer before I took delivery. No cosmetic blemishes at all - however the air control lever had a "mushy" feel to it on either end of its stroke. The dealer said that was normal - so I took it.

Turns out it is a problem - just my luck. I found another owner in town with a 1 year old stove. His lever has a very positive stop to it on both ends of the stroke. What mine is like is kind of hard to explain, but here goes: Its like there is a piece of sponge installed at each end of the stroke. When you move the lever to High - for example - it comes to the last part - about 3/8 of an inch- then it feels like you are pushing the lever against the sponge. When you get to the end of the stroke and let the lever go, it comes back about 3/8 of an inch.

Same thing on the Low end of the stroke.

The full stroke is 2 7/8". The usable stroke is a tiny bit over 2".

You can probably guess why this is a problem. I cannot get a fire to keep burning without cracking open the ash pan door - then it goes like a blast furnace! Shut the door 4 or 5 minutes later - the fire keeps going now - but not very briskly. This morning it took 2.5 hours to get the stove top to 450 degrees. Over firing the stove - or boiling a kettle - is impossible without opening a door.

My kindling is tinder dry cedar ends from a local mill. I am presently burning very dry birch and some 4 year old apple wood.

there are no elbows in the chimney pipe.I've added 3 feet of pipe to the chimney - thinking that my draft wasn't good. Didn't help at all.

My previous stove on the same chimney - except I used 2 - 45 degree elbows was a PE Spectrum. No problem at all with this stove - as a matter of fact it was a challenge to control the draft - I should have put a damper in!

Going to the dealer now to make them aware of the problem.

Oslo owners: Please let me know what the length of your stroke is (on your stove, that is) Also, do you have a very positive stop on either end - or is yours "mushy" like mine?

Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Pull the dog house cover (2 bolts) and examine the air control valve. It's a simple slider mechanism. Make sure there's no packing material in there.

 

[szmaine]

Before you go in there, get some graphite powder - use it even if you can see no packing or other cause. Bet it will fix the problem.
My new Oslo had what I would have described as resistance at either end of the spectrum, not real bad but then later it started having troublesome resistance right in the middle, the graphite which was recommended to me by a knowledgeable member here, did the trick.
When you look at mechanism inside you can see that the plate that your moving actually presses against the back lip of it's slot a bit - I think this is what causes the resistance.

 

[FWWARDEN]

Just checked mine, and though it does not slide with total ease, you can hear the damper plate moving inside. If you take off the cover and all looks fine, I would suggest that your wood is not really dry. I can tell you from personal experience that I've tried burning fires in this thing with wood that was not really seasoned, and the experience sucked. I can also tell you that with dry wood, having the side door cracked for ten minutes is all it takes to have a roaring fire. Don't F with the ash pan door unless you're right there.

 

[colebrookman]

Numbers 1,2 and 3 above cover the total Oslo tips for proper burning. Watch that ash pan; it can easily over fire and warp some stove parts if your not attentive. I may do it for 2 or 3 minutes at the most and I stay right there. It can become a blow torch flame in minutes. Be safe.
Ed

 

[grommal]

I have just installed a new Jotul Oslo (manufacture date Oct./09). I examined the stove when it came into the dealer before I took delivery. No cosmetic blemishes at all - however the air control lever had a "mushy" feel to it on either end of its stroke. The dealer said that was normal - so I took it.

Turns out it is a problem - just my luck. I found another owner in town with a 1 year old stove. His lever has a very positive stop to it on both ends of the stroke. What mine is like is kind of hard to explain, but here goes: Its like there is a piece of sponge installed at each end of the stroke. When you move the lever to High - for example - it comes to the last part - about 3/8 of an inch- then it feels like you are pushing the lever against the sponge. When you get to the end of the stroke and let the lever go, it comes back about 3/8 of an inch.

Same thing on the Low end of the stroke.

The full stroke is 2 7/8". The usable stroke is a tiny bit over 2".

You can probably guess why this is a problem. I cannot get a fire to keep burning without cracking open the ash pan door - then it goes like a blast furnace! Shut the door 4 or 5 minutes later - the fire keeps going now - but not very briskly. This morning it took 2.5 hours to get the stove top to 450 degrees. Over firing the stove - or boiling a kettle - is impossible without opening a door.

My kindling is tinder dry cedar ends from a local mill. I am presently burning very dry birch and some 4 year old apple wood.

there are no elbows in the chimney pipe.I've added 3 feet of pipe to the chimney - thinking that my draft wasn't good. Didn't help at all.

My previous stove on the same chimney - except I used 2 - 45 degree elbows was a PE Spectrum. No problem at all with this stove - as a matter of fact it was a challenge to control the draft - I should have put a damper in!

Going to the dealer now to make them aware of the problem.

Oslo owners: Please let me know what the length of your stroke is (on your stove, that is) Also, do you have a very positive stop on either end - or is yours "mushy" like mine?

Thanks.

Mine is also mushy at the ends of the stroke. The two others I played with in showrooms felt the same.

But, I have no problem getting the stove to burn. I never have to crack the door once the newspaper catches on cold start, and don't have to crack it at all on restart with coals. My guess is that your wood is not really dry.

 

[nelraq]

Well, I talked to the dealer about the "mushy" control lever. He had no idea what it could be, but said that he would phone the tech rep and see if he knows.

When I got home the dealer had already called. I returned his call and he said that the tech had come across the problem several times - always on the Oslo for some reason!

The fix: There is a small amount of rope gasketing material where the control lever is connected to the lever which moves the plate inside. You can see the gasket if you shine a light on the control lever. The gasket material had somehow moved forward a little too much and actually "half wrapped" the steel rod. Hence the "mushiness" at each end of the stroke.
The control lever is held in place by a 1/2' bolt which is accessed by removing the ash pan and looking up! The fix I was given was to loosen this bolt almost all the way out - jiggle the lever around a bit - and retighten it. This has worked fine; but I will be looking for some graphite tomorrow because, although I now have the full 2 7/8" stroke, it is a little hard to move the lever from side to side.

I started a fire the usual way and, voila, it took right off - as it should

Thanks everyone for you responses!

 

[grommal]

Well, I talked to the dealer about the "mushy" control lever. He had no idea what it could be, but said that he would phone the tech rep and see if he knows.

When I got home the dealer had already called. I returned his call and he said that the tech had come across the problem several times - always on the Oslo for some reason!

The fix: There is a small amount of rope gasketing material where the control lever is connected to the lever which moves the plate inside. You can see the gasket if you shine a light on the control lever. The gasket material had somehow moved forward a little too much and actually "half wrapped" the steel rod. Hence the "mushiness" at each end of the stroke.
The control lever is held in place by a 1/2' bolt which is accessed by removing the ash pan and looking up! The fix I was given was to loosen this bolt almost all the way out - jiggle the lever around a bit - and retighten it. This has worked fine; but I will be looking for some graphite tomorrow because, although I now have the full 2 7/8" stroke, it is a little hard to move the lever from side to side.

I started a fire the usual way and, voila, it took right off - as it should

Thanks everyone for you responses!

Thanks for the info! Even though mine starts fine, I'll look into this gasket issue, too.

 

[04RevX]

My adjustment gets a little 'sticky' rather than 'squishy' when I close it down all the way or just about. I'm going to take it apart eventually but its not really a problem. Other than that minor issue I am absolutely loving this Oslo.

 

[xman23]

As others have said this is a normal Olso issue. The good news its easy to get it working smoothly. Some have found the lever rubs and needs a little bend. I haven't heard about this new problem with the rope gasket interfering with the leaver. What I found with mine is the slide needs to be lubed whenever it gets sticky at the ends of travel. To do this, remove two cap bolts inside the front door and remove the cap. I keep mine finger tight so no tools required. I have used lock graphite, but now use P&B dry lube you can get at HD, it works longer. Spray the slider and leaver well. What I have found is opening the front door causes the air control to be sticky more often. The ash must get in there but I can't see it. Because of this and the ash clean up I open the front door as little as possible.

Tom

 

[nelraq]

Couldn't find P & B dry lube, but found a similiar product - ie. graphite in an aerosol can. Had to wait for the stove to get cold before I used it, or I would have made myself a serious problem!!

That stuff sure works! The damper lever slides freely now; as do the damper plates inside. Thanks for the tip Xman!

 

[fattire]

Where did you get "P&B Dry Lube"? Do they have this at the big box stores?

 

[nelraq]

I bought Jig-a-loo "Graphite Extreme" at our local Canadian Tire store. I also saw it at Home Depot. Couldn't find the P&B - but I'm pretty sure that the Graphite Extreme is the same thing. It worked well!

 

[xman23]

I get P&B dry lube at Home Depo. It's a dry Teflon lubricant. I have used 3 in 1 oil, lock lube with graphite, all have worked for a while. The Teflon has worked the longest. It sprays on as a liquid and quickly drys to a white paste.

(broken link removed to http://www.blastergroup.com.au/dry-teflon-lube.html)