F500 V3 Oslo Woes

[hearthhelp123]

Would like to hear from other people about their F500V3 oslo we have had some issues, after 2 yrs things got worse.
cat is poorly made, falls apart flimsy. the 20yr warranty is not really truthful
now stove has no draft, and smokes. we cannot even start a fire without the stove smoking and flames shooting out of door. the other night the last time we ran the stove smoke was coming out of all the seams. I have a video.
we only burn seasoned wood and dont overfire, and our pipes are clean
Dealer accused us of overfiring and wont help. we do not overfire
called Jotul tech 2wks ago, no response. emailedJotul and still no answer as of today
another new issue, stove will not go over 400 degrees even with damper open. when cold out we like to burn 450 to 500 if cold out.
anyone else with issues? we need to speak out together.

 

[JamesGuido]

...now stove has no draft, and smokes. we cannot even start a fire without the stove smoking and flames shooting out of door.

check your cat for fly ash build up... caked-on fly ash can cause problems much like you are experiencing...

 

[kborndale]

You say you only burn seasoned wood, how do you know it is seasoned and what is your definition of seasoned?

 

[hearthhelp123]

Has anyone tried to use the F500 V3 oslo without the cat in the stove? if so, what did you experience?

 

[Prometeo]

Has anyone tried to use the F500 V3 oslo without the cat in the stove? if so, what did you experience?

I would try without combustor and without the insulation panel, the stove should heat the same way but more polluting

 

[bholler]

I would try without combustor and without the insulation panel, the stove should heat the same way but more polluting

And void the listing and warranty.

 

[Prometeo]

And void the listing and warranty.

I guess these come later if you can't keep warm when it's cold

 

[bholler]

I guess these come later if you can't keep warm when it's cold

They could just clean the combustor as well. Maybe get their draft within spec and stop using the ash pan as a startup intake.

 

[hearthhelp123]

I would try without combustor and without the insulation panel, the stove should heat the same way but more polluting

If I pulled out Cat, how would the stove heat? can it overheat the stove? too much flames up the flue? seems to me this might not be a great idea I would like to hear from others who have taken out the cat on this specific model

 

[Prometeo]

If I pulled out Cat, how would the stove heat? can it overheat the stove? too much flames up the flue? seems to me this might not be a great idea I would like to hear from others who have taken out the cat on this specific model

if you remove the combustor the stove becomes a normal stove, there are no particular dangers, however take a gun to take temperatures, and keep track, the top and the exhaust, before doing this, try not to use the ash pan, fill it with ash, everything closed, and monitor combustor, if still clogged with ash

 

[bholler]

if you remove the combustor the stove becomes a normal stove, there are no particular dangers, however take a gun to take temperatures, and keep track, the top and the exhaust, before doing this, try not to use the ash pan, fill it with ash, everything closed, and monitor combustor, if still clogged with ash

I think you are probably right. Without the cat there probably is no danger. Unfortunately we just don't know

 

[begreen]

if you remove the combustor the stove becomes a normal stove, there are no particular dangers

This is on the front page of the manual.
It is against federal regulations to operate this wood heater in a manner inconsistent with the operating instructions in this owner’s manual, or if the catalytic element is deactivated or removed.

Running it without the cat would void the warranty and be against the law. Behavior and burn characteristics would be unknown. The best option seems to be to leave the lid unbolted, stir up the ash while cleaning as little as possible, (maybe just let the ash pan fill up?), and clean the cat more frequently. If that gets the cleaning down to once a cord or once a season, then it should be tolerable.

 

[Prometeo]

seal ash pan (ash grate closed and tray full) it's the first step, both for ashes, which to avoid overheating of the combustor and perhaps lasts longer

 

[WaterloominVH]

Would like to hear from other people about their F500V3 oslo we have had some issues, after 2 yrs things got worse.
cat is poorly made, falls apart flimsy. the 20yr warranty is not really truthful
now stove has no draft, and smokes. we cannot even start a fire without the stove smoking and flames shooting out of door. the other night the last time we ran the stove smoke was coming out of all the seams. I have a video.
we only burn seasoned wood and dont overfire, and our pipes are clean
Dealer accused us of overfiring and wont help. we do not overfire
called Jotul tech 2wks ago, no response. emailedJotul and still no answer as of today
another new issue, stove will not go over 400 degrees even with damper open. when cold out we like to burn 450 to 500 if cold out.
anyone else with issues? we need to speak out together.

Would like to hear from other people about their F500V3 oslo we have had some issues, after 2 yrs things got worse.
cat is poorly made, falls apart flimsy. the 20yr warranty is not really truthful
now stove has no draft, and smokes. we cannot even start a fire without the stove smoking and flames shooting out of door. the other night the last time we ran the stove smoke was coming out of all the seams. I have a video.
we only burn seasoned wood and dont overfire, and our pipes are clean
Dealer accused us of overfiring and wont help. we do not overfire
called Jotul tech 2wks ago, no response. emailedJotul and still no answer as of today
another new issue, stove will not go over 400 degrees even with damper open. when cold out we like to burn 450 to 500 if cold out.
anyone else with issues? we need to speak out together.

We are in our first season with a Jotul F500V3oslo. I wish we had read this forum before we bought it (2022), because we never would have. We trusted Jotul, having started our wood-burning career in 1978 with a Jotul box stove (can’t remember the model, but had an embossed moose scene on the side). Ran it for years until a side panel cracked. Moved on to a Hearthstone, which we loved. Anyway, we trusted Jotul and were impressed that the F500 had NO catalytic converter; met EPA standards without one. So we installed, broke in, and began using the new Jotul. It worked well for about four months, but never really got above 400. Recently, it has been very hard to light (draft problems? Never had them before), smokes a lot when firing up, and still doesn’t get hot enough. We live in a large colonial house, dealer installed a chimney liner, all in conformance with fire regulations. I don’t know what the problem is, but it is very frustrating. I never expected a Jotul to be problematic, but this one is! Are there things we should do to improve performance? Don’t ask me if the wood is dry—we’ve been burning wood stoves since 1978, 45 years, so we know what we are doing. But this stove seems to be technologically flawed. I wouldn’t recommend it, wish we’d gone with another Hearthstone. But we’re stuck with it, so I would appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thanks in advance.

 

[WaterloominVH]

We are in our first season with a Jotul F500V3oslo. I wish we had read this forum before we bought it (2022), because we never would have. We trusted Jotul, having started our wood-burning career in 1978 with a Jotul box stove (can’t remember the model, but had an embossed moose scene on the side). Ran it for years until a side panel cracked. Moved on to a Hearthstone, which we loved. Anyway, we trusted Jotul and were impressed that the F500 had NO catalytic converter; met EPA standards without one. So we installed, broke in, and began using the new Jotul. It worked well for about four months, but never really got above 400. Recently, it has been very hard to light (draft problems? Never had them before), smokes a lot when firing up, and still doesn’t get hot enough. We live in a large colonial house, dealer installed a chimney liner, all in conformance with fire regulations. I don’t know what the problem is, but it is very frustrating. I never expected a Jotul to be problematic, but this one is! Are there things we should do to improve performance? Don’t ask me if the wood is dry—we’ve been burning wood stoves since 1978, 45 years, so we know what we are doing. But this stove seems to be technologically flawed. I wouldn’t recommend it, wish we’d gone with another Hearthstone. But we’re stuck with it, so I would appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thanks in advance.

Update: we just emptied the stove, cleaned everything, including the combuster, built a new fire, and everything seems to be working fine. No smoke and the fire started right away. Go figure. I guess this stove is fussy without maintenance.

 

[bholler]

Update: we just emptied the stove, cleaned everything, including the combuster, built a new fire, and everything seems to be working fine. No smoke and the fire started right away. Go figure. I guess this stove is fussy without maintenance.

Yes the cat is going to need regular cleaning for sure

 

[WaterloominVH]

How often is “regular”? Weekly? Monthly? As soon As the stove lets me know it needs cleaning (smoke etc.)? We burn wood 24-7. Same question about emptying the ash tray. We do that daily. Do we need to? The Jotul instructions say to leave a 2” layer of ash in the bottom of the stove. That never happens here.

 

[bholler]

How often is “regular”? Weekly? Monthly? As soon As the stove lets me know it needs cleaning (smoke etc.)?

Pretty much when you start to notice a change

 

[Prometeo]

How often is “regular”? Weekly? Monthly? As soon As the stove lets me know it needs cleaning (smoke etc.)? We burn wood 24-7. Same question about emptying the ash tray. We do that daily. Do we need to? The Jotul instructions say to leave a 2” layer of ash in the bottom of the stove. That never happens here.

some believe that the ash tray should remain sealed with ash, always full, this would block any flows from below, and maybe you have less ash flying up to the combustor

 

[hearthhelp123]

We are in our first season with a Jotul F500V3oslo. I wish we had read this forum before we bought it (2022), because we never would have. We trusted Jotul, having started our wood-burning career in 1978 with a Jotul box stove (can’t remember the model, but had an embossed moose scene on the side). Ran it for years until a side panel cracked. Moved on to a Hearthstone, which we loved. Anyway, we trusted Jotul and were impressed that the F500 had NO catalytic converter; met EPA standards without one. So we installed, broke in, and began using the new Jotul. It worked well for about four months, but never really got above 400. Recently, it has been very hard to light (draft problems? Never had them before), smokes a lot when firing up, and still doesn’t get hot enough. We live in a large colonial house, dealer installed a chimney liner, all in conformance with fire regulations. I don’t know what the problem is, but it is very frustrating. I never expected a Jotul to be problematic, but this one is! Are there things we should do to improve performance? Don’t ask me if the wood is dry—we’ve been burning wood stoves since 1978, 45 years, so we know what we are doing. But this stove seems to be technologically flawed. I wouldn’t recommend it, wish we’d gone with another Hearthstone. But we’re stuck with it, so I would appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thanks in advance.

the F500V3 does have the Cat. Combustor. make sure it isnt clogged up.

 

[hearthhelp123]

How often is “regular”? Weekly? Monthly? As soon As the stove lets me know it needs cleaning (smoke etc.)? We burn wood 24-7. Same question about emptying the ash tray. We do that daily. Do we need to? The Jotul instructions say to leave a 2” layer of ash in the bottom of the stove. That never happens here.

I found out that cleaning the cat in the front part with a brush and shop vac DIDNT do the job. I recently took out the cat and took a tooth pick and gently put it throught the clogged honeycombs, took a while but that cleared the clogs.
put cat back in and stove is working like new. I see on the internet some people use a pipe cleaner but these honeycomb holes look too small for a pipe cleaner. I am not sure how often we need to take the heavy top plate off to clean the cat. the refractory that sits atop the cat is made like cardboard and the stove top plate doesnt have much clearance from this part, so every time one takes the top plate on and off, there is risk of breaking this refractory part.
For me, the brush and shop vac do not work even if cat is taken out
does anyone have any other suggestions how this cat can be declogged without having to take the cat out?

 

[stoveliker]

Br careful with pipe cleaners as they can wipe off the precious metals that are on the surface in the honeycomb channels.
Some (all?) manufacturers say not to use them.

A spray can with compressed air may work.

 

[hartmanj]

We are in our first season with a Jotul F500V3oslo. I wish we had read this forum before we bought it (2022), because we never would have. We trusted Jotul, having started our wood-burning career in 1978 with a Jotul box stove (can’t remember the model, but had an embossed moose scene on the side). Ran it for years until a side panel cracked. Moved on to a Hearthstone, which we loved. Anyway, we trusted Jotul and were impressed that the F500 had NO catalytic converter; met EPA standards without one. So we installed, broke in, and began using the new Jotul. It worked well for about four months, but never really got above 400. Recently, it has been very hard to light (draft problems? Never had them before), smokes a lot when firing up, and still doesn’t get hot enough. We live in a large colonial house, dealer installed a chimney liner, all in conformance with fire regulations. I don’t know what the problem is, but it is very frustrating. I never expected a Jotul to be problematic, but this one is! Are there things we should do to improve performance? Don’t ask me if the wood is dry—we’ve been burning wood stoves since 1978, 45 years, so we know what we are doing. But this stove seems to be technologically flawed. I wouldn’t recommend it, wish we’d gone with another Hearthstone. But we’re stuck with it, so I would appreciate any help anyone can provide. Thanks in advance.

This was my first winter with my new Jotul Oslo. It was great until a few months in I noticed pieces of the cement from the joints falling out. Now smoke pours out of the joints in those spots so much that it is unusable. The dealer is trying to come up with every excuse to blame me for the problem. Now they want me to pay for a chimney sweep to come out and inspect. Would I have any luck going directly to Jotul?

 

[begreen]

Normally if cement came out of a joint, the opposite would happen. Air would get sucked into the firebox causing a too lively fire. That may be what the dealer is thinking. Can you show some pictures of the places of concern and where the smoke is coming out?

Note that Jotul puts a generous amount of cement at the joints so there is a lot of ooze. Even if a chunk broke off the cement should still be intact in the stove joints. A plugged cat could be the issue or the flue.

 

[hartmanj]

Normally if cement came out of a joint, the opposite would happen. Air would get sucked into the firebox causing a too lively fire. That may be what the dealer is thinking. Can you show some pictures of the places of concern and where the smoke is coming out?

Note that Jotul puts a generous amount of cement at the joints so there is a lot of ooze. Even if a chunk broke off the cement should still be intact in the stove joints. A plugged cat could be the issue or the flue.

Thanks for your reply. Attached is a picture of some of the chunks that fell off and I tried to add a video of what happens when I light the stove, but it says it is too large for your server. I think it’s quite possible the cat is plugged and I can understand smoke coming out when the door is open, but should smoke ever come out of the seams?