Burrrrn times, thermometers and other trivialities

[Deep Fryer]

Hello everybody!
Been having fun reading many of your threads here on this fine forum, thank you so much for all the great information.
I was wondering if I could get your opinions on a couple of topics that I seem to be confronted with at the present moment.
This is my first year using a wood burning stove, I got the Jotul Oslo, and I have used it maybe 6-8 time so far (hasnt been that cold here). In reading the manual I says that the optimum temperatures are between 300-600 degrees.
Somehow I wound up with two thermometers and they are placed in the corners of the stove as indicated per the manual. The problem is that they are both giving me different temperatures and are about 100 degreees off from each other. Right now I'm using a Rutland and a Chimguard thermometer, the Rutland running higher/hotter.

My question is this, is there a good reliable brand of stove thermometers that are most commonly used by the wood burning community?

My second querie deals with regard to burn time, as I am sure many of you know this model is rated for a 9hr burn time, I know that this is under optimal and controlled conditions. While I of course would like to do long burns at night I have been encountering the following problem, if I load the heck out of it (4-5 decent size log sections) and damp it down a good bit (say 3/4 of the way) it will shoot up to 600 (5oo for the second thermometer) degrees withing about 45 minutes. If I damp it down hard/almost closed, it will burn longer of course but it will only hover in the 300+ degree range (200 on other thermo). Can any of you with this model maybe shed some ligh on this topic, I would ideally like to keep it at close to 400 degrees but can only achieve this if I dont load it up too much but then I have to reload it more often. What temperature do you guys shoot for/is ideal for the overnight burn and how many hours do you guys average.

I almost never run this stove with the damper in the full open position as it will get real hot real quick for obvious reasons, I would have thought that the dampening action would have been more gradual, it almost seems like its either open or just about closed.

I am not using this as my main source of heat but as a supplement but once it gets cold I will probably fire it up every night when I get home from work and of course full time on the weekends.

So far I am really enjoying it and it sure is a lot of fun, I gotta say though, it definitely spoils you, I never kept the old homestead past 70 degrees before I got this contraption, but now that just doesnt seem right.... Too cold...BRRRRR!

Thank you all in advance and I look forward to some of your comments and opinions.

 

[Rockey]

If your getting a 100 degree difference betweent he 2 thermometers I would swap them and see if the temp diff follows the thermometer or the location. You can easily eliminate a problem there.

 

[brooktrout]

Welcome. One thing I learned early on is that wood burning is an art, not a science. There are SO many variables. I also have realized that stoves are kinda like barbeque grills. There are hot spots, cool spots, sweet spots, etc. And they're all different. Enjoy the learning curve, and leave the perfectionist side of you in the other room. Above all, be warm ;-)

 

[Deep Fryer]

Hi Rockey!

I've tried that, but sometimes the fire will "lean" to one side or the other so that presents its own problems. Right now I have them right next to each other, so I figured the temps cant really be that drastically different. Right now its running about 70-75 degrees difference.
Thank you!

Welcome. One thing I learned early on is that wood burning is an art, not a science. There are SO many variables. I also have realized that stoves are kinda like barbeque grills. There are hot spots, cool spots, sweet spots, etc. And they're all different. Enjoy the learning curve, and leave the perfectionist side of you in the other room. Above all, be warm ;-)

Hello Brooktrout,
I've been hearing that for a while now and from the little exposure that I've had I would have to agree with that statement.
I also suspected this much on your second comment, and I am sure that would be the case even with two identical models at two different locations of the same home, those subtle differences will invariably have some bearing on the whole.
I promise to do my best in following the advise of your last sentence.
Thank you Sir!

 

[Brian VT]

I have a Rutland in the center of my stove top griddle. I borrowed an infrared thermometer and shot it around.
If the Rutland was reading 500 I would only get @ 400-430 all around it with the infrared. I could find hot spots on the griddle
and elsewhere that were 500 but usually not near the center of the stovetop. Good info I figure. I now assume the Rutland is (somehow) giving me the max temp.
of my stovetop somewhere. They're not precision instruments. Just use them as a general indicator.

 

[Deep Fryer]

They're not precision instruments. Just use them as a general indicator.

Thats pretty interesting Brian, thank you for that information and I'll keep that in mind as I move ahead. I've been switching the thermometers around tonight as Rockey suggested and I either have a 30 or a 75 degree difference. I also have to agree with Brooktrout on the Hot Spots factor, with this model and the way I tend to use the side loading feature I tend to stack the wood up more on the opposite side of the door this probably has some direct bearing on the readings I am getting.
Will do on that last bit of advice there, Thanks again.


Does anyone have any theories or suggestions on the loading and burn times that I mentioned earlier?

 

[firefighterjake]

Bump so the OP can get their questions answered . . . although it's for a selfish reason since I'm also interested in hearing more on this topic.

And a hi-jacking . . . many folks with Oslos and other stoves report that once they bump the air down that oftentimes the stove temp begins to rise. This hasn't been the case with me for some reason. I've been able to get a good fire going and after reaching 400-450 on the stove top (any more heat would be blowing us out of the room) and maintaining it at that temp until the wood has been charred for 10-15 minutes . . . I then typically bump down the heat in steps . . . keeping it so that I'm getting just a bit o'flames and some secondaries firing off (ghost flames . . . haven't seen the "blow torch" effect yet). The secondaries burn for awhile (20 minutes to an hour or more depending on the fireload) and there's plenty of good heat . . . but the stove top temp never increases . . . it just stays at the same level before gradually dropping as the burning process progresses to the late coaling stage. Am I missing something here?

I'm also still not getting more than 3-4 hours of burn time (from the time I put wood on the hot coals) to the point where there are coals, but the heat output has begun to drop. Again, am I doing something wrong? Don't get me wrong . . . so far I love this stove . . . very simple, very functional and it's warming the entire house perfectly fine . . . just wondering if I'm missing something.

 

[Deep Fryer]

Bump so the OP can get their questions answered . . . although it's for a selfish reason since I'm also interested in hearing more on this topic.

And a hi-jacking . . . many folks with Oslos and other stoves report that once they bump the air down that oftentimes the stove temp begins to rise. This hasn't been the case with me for some reason. I've been able to get a good fire going and after reaching 400-450 on the stove top (any more heat would be blowing us out of the room) and maintaining it at that temp until the wood has been charred for 10-15 minutes . . . I then typically bump down the heat in steps . . . keeping it so that I'm getting just a bit o'flames and some secondaries firing off (ghost flames . . . haven't seen the "blow torch" effect yet). The secondaries burn for awhile (20 minutes to an hour or more depending on the fireload) and there's plenty of good heat . . . but the stove top temp never increases . . . it just stays at the same level before gradually dropping as the burning process progresses to the late coaling stage. Am I missing something here?

I'm also still not getting more than 3-4 hours of burn time (from the time I put wood on the hot coals) to the point where there are coals, but the heat output has begun to drop. Again, am I doing something wrong? Don't get me wrong . . . so far I love this stove . . . very simple, very functional and it's warming the entire house perfectly fine . . . just wondering if I'm missing something.

Well put Jake, I have to agree with everything you mention on your post and I'm fine with Hijacking :cheese: . I like your idea of bumping down in steps, will keep that in mind next time I fire her up.
With me If I load it up pretty good on top of some good "coalage" and damp it down (not all the way, maybe 7/8s of the way) what I think is happening in my situation is that the logs are cooking and becoming ready to self combust. After a while of this treatment (say 40min-1hr+) those puppies will ignite and of course the temp will start to rise. NOw I realize I'm just learning, and look forward to some experimenting but like Jake I am really curious to see if anyone is getting more than 4 hours burn time per load on this model. Also Like Jake I am very happy with this stove, its just so much fun and there is something so fundamentally right about heating this way, I am glad I took the plunge.

C'mon fellow Oslo fanciers, please chime in with any insight you may have on this topic.

BTW, is anyone getting a 9hr burn on ANY MODEL???

Thanks guys!

 

[Todd]

Bump so the OP can get their questions answered . . . although it's for a selfish reason since I'm also interested in hearing more on this topic.

And a hi-jacking . . . many folks with Oslos and other stoves report that once they bump the air down that oftentimes the stove temp begins to rise. This hasn't been the case with me for some reason. I've been able to get a good fire going and after reaching 400-450 on the stove top (any more heat would be blowing us out of the room) and maintaining it at that temp until the wood has been charred for 10-15 minutes . . . I then typically bump down the heat in steps . . . keeping it so that I'm getting just a bit o'flames and some secondaries firing off (ghost flames . . . haven't seen the "blow torch" effect yet). The secondaries burn for awhile (20 minutes to an hour or more depending on the fireload) and there's plenty of good heat . . . but the stove top temp never increases . . . it just stays at the same level before gradually dropping as the burning process progresses to the late coaling stage. Am I missing something here?

I'm also still not getting more than 3-4 hours of burn time (from the time I put wood on the hot coals) to the point where there are coals, but the heat output has begun to drop. Again, am I doing something wrong? Don't get me wrong . . . so far I love this stove . . . very simple, very functional and it's warming the entire house perfectly fine . . . just wondering if I'm missing something.

Maybe you need to try and get her a little higher in temp, say 500 then throttle her down. Non cats can get tricky when it comes to long slow burns, lots of trial and error. I always raked the coals forward and packed the stove to the gills with the largest splits in the back. Then burn with a med-high air setting for 10-20 minutes before dampering down for a long burn. From what I can remember that I've read here from other Jutol owners is they put out gobs of heat but have a hard time getting over an 8 hour burn. Maybe the air controls need to be tweaked some?