Built a new hearth, and an Oslo question

[MountainDream]

Howdy folks

My name is Brian, I am building my own house in the GA mountains (owner builder). I am doing most of the work myself, with my wife's help! I've been reading here for a long time while planning for the house, and y'all have convinced me to go with a Jotul stove. Ive settled on the F500 Oslo, and I'm very happy with the Jotul dealer nearby. Here's a pic of the hearth I built for it. I'm going to cover it with stone

I put in a Duravent class A chimney, its 28' from stove top straight up thru the roof.

Now, I am wondering if the Oslo will be too warm for the house. It is a one story, 2000 sf, very open floor plan. The room the stove is in is 900 sf with a 10' flat ceiling (it's a great room/kitchen/dining all in one open space). The rest of the house also has 10' flat ceilings. I have 6" of cellulose in the walls, and air sealed all walls and ceiling with Certainteed Membrane because everything is tongue and groove knotty pine. What I'm driving at is the house is super insulated and very air tight. I did run a 3" duct to the exterior for the outside air kit (it's in the floor behind the kerosene heater sitting on the hearth now)

Is there anyone running an Oslo in the balmy Southern Appalachians? Our plan is to heat solely with wood, but I'm starting to worry the house will be too hot with this large stove. Thanks for any input

 

[firefighterjake]

Normally for the size of the house I would say the Oslo would be fine . . . but given where you live and the super insulation factor I honestly am not sure if the Oslo would be overkill.

Incidentally, I love the hearth so far and would love to see more of the home.

Oh yeah . . . almost forgot . . . welcome to hearth.com.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Welcome to the forum. We have a Jotul F600 upstairs in our home to heat about 2000 sq. ft. and have never had a problem with too much heat, so I doubt the F500 will pose a problem for you. If you don't want a lot of heat you just put in less wood.

 

[MountainDream]

Im almost done with the hearth. Just need to grout the flagstone. I'm hoping to get my stove in the next few weeks. So far nobody has talked me out of the Oslo.

 

[begreen]

That will be a nice home for the new stove.

 

[firefighterjake]

That's a really nice looking hearth for whatever ends up there.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Do you have your wood supply in line?

 

[MountainDream]

Do you have your wood supply in line?

Not quite. I have about 1 cord of 18 month old red oak and maple, and about 2 cords of assorted hardwoods I split last April when I cleared the home site. I know it's not ideal, but its all I have for now. Next winter will be better. Once we move in I will really start hoarding

 

[bunfoolio]

Brian,

Your concern about the Oslo being to much for your new construction home is valid. My house is new construction at 3 years. I also have 10ft Ceilings with 3250 square feet living in Massachusetts. My Oslo does a great job until it is in the single digits then it does need help from the furnace. I do have 2 rooms that I leave the door closed so maybe that brings me down to 2800 Square feet. I like to keep the house between 68-72 degrees. How cold does it get by you? Maybe the F400 might be a good consideration

 

[MountainDream]

Brian,

Your concern about the Oslo being to much for your new construction home is valid. My house is new construction at 3 years. I also have 10ft Ceilings with 3250 square feet living in Massachusetts. My Oslo does a great job until it is in the single digits then it does need help from the furnace. I do have 2 rooms that I leave the door closed so maybe that brings me down to 2800 Square feet. I like to keep the house between 68-72 degrees. How cold does it get by you? Maybe the F400 might be a good consideration

The coldest it gets here on a regular basis is low 20s. We get snow 2-3 times over the winter. I would like to keep the house around 70 degrees without using my HVAC at all during the winter

 

[2fireplacesinSC]

I always read on here how it's very few who feel they got too much stove. Many who wished they had more power under the hood, so to speak. Small fire in a big stove is possible, but big fire in a small stove, not so much.

I live in mid SC and am happy with my little F3. Just have to use a lot of super cedars to restart a fire because of my set up and job and small stove. I would expect you could also just go with your gut on the f500, and if it doesn't work, sell it and go with another size or catalytic or whatever strikes your fancy after some experience. Get what you want and enjoy it to good purpose.

 

[revdocjim]

If you find that you have to run the F500 really low to avoid overheating, that would be the time to consider a cat stove, since they excel at running small, long fires. But I wouldn't hesitate to give the F500 a try. It really is a nice stove. The other suggestion would be to use small floor fans to get the air circulating throughout the house. You've probably already read about how to situate them on this forum, but doing so will not only help heat the furthest reaches of the house, but also avoid overheating the areas closest to the stove.

 

[leco]

Im almost done with the hearth. Just need to grout the flagstone. I'm hoping to get my stove in the next few weeks. So far nobody has talked me out of the Oslo.

That is a super nice looking hearth! Great job!

 

[MountainDream]

So, I went with the Oslo. I just installed her today and did the first break in fire, got it up to 200 for about an hour burning scraps from my pine tongue and groove. Cant wait to get the break in done and see what she's capable of! The glass got pretty dirty, I guess because the fire didn't get really hot?

I dinged up the DVL pipe a little during the install. I ordered some Stove Bright flat black #6304, which is what M&G says to use on their website. I know begreen had a disaster with this paint, but apparently it is what is now recommended with the new paint M&G is using. Has anyone tried it? I'm hoping to just do a spot touch up and not have to paint the whole pipe.

 

[electrathon]

The stove install looks nice, but I am sort of freaked out by your dog.

 

[firefighterjake]

Sharp looking install . . . cool demon dog.

 

[MountainDream]

I noticed inside the stove, on the floor, there is a threaded hole just inside the side door. Anyone know what it's for? Just wondering if a part is missing

 

[firefighterjake]

I noticed inside the stove, on the floor, there is a threaded hole just inside the side door. Anyone know what it's for? Just wondering if a part is missing

I don't recall seeing a hole there . . . and my stove is rather full of hot coals right now so I can't look at my stove. If you post a pic you may get others to chime in with what it may be . . . or if something is MIA.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

The coldest it gets here on a regular basis is low 20s. We get snow 2-3 times over the winter. I would like to keep the house around 70 degrees without using my HVAC at all during the winter

The f400 is too small. Get the Oslo and you can enjoy burning without having to always be pushing your stove to the limit.

 

[revdocjim]

Is the doghouse in place.

 

[MountainDream]

Yes, it's there

 

[revdocjim]

Sorry, I should have read more carefully as you did say it was by the "side" door. Based on this exploded diagram, it may be the receiving hole for bolt #44 which appears to hold together plate #8 and plate #9. If so, it appears that the bolt is screwed in from the bottom, but this diagram is inconclusive.

 

[Simonkenton]

I am familiar with your region, as I have built my Mom a log cabin near Dahlonega, and in fact will be spending Christmas Eve there. She has an old VC Resolute in her cabin.

But my house is in the mountains near Asheville. I have a shiny new Oslo just installed earlier this year. Great stove.
Mine is in a room that is 20 x 24 but it has a 22 foot cathedral ceiling.
Then, a dogtrot leads out of that room into the other part of the log house.

Stick with the Oslo you won't regret it. What a great wood stove.

 

[MountainDream]

Sorry, I should have read more carefully as you did say it was by the "side" door. Based on this exploded diagram, it may be the receiving hole for bolt #44 which appears to hold together plate #8 and plate #9. If so, it appears that the bolt is screwed in from the bottom, but this diagram is inconclusive.

That's it. Thanks!

 

[MountainDream]

I hooked up the outside air kit today. Wow, it's like a completely different stove now. The draft inside the stove is much stronger now. I haven't had but 10 or so big fires so far, but I can see the difference. I guess my house was too tight, as I expected. I ran a 3" duct down through the floor, through my floor trusses in the basement ceiling to the exterior wall, used metal all the way. It made such a difference it made me think I had an air leak somewhere.