First Fire in the Oslo tonight, One Small Problem!

[Backroads]

Well as I stated, tonight was my first fire in the Oslo. I was really happy for about 2 hours, but lets get back to the beginning of the story.

I had the chimney guys there today for a sweep and he kindly help me cut and install the new stove pipe. After install, I was concerned with the way the bottom pipe fit into the stove. It seemed like towards the back it didn't seem to seal super tight because of the seam. I pointed this out to the stove guy and he inspected and said it should be fine.

So we fired it up tonight with a small fire(I didn't want to load it up on the first run in the house) and sat infront and watched the fire for almost 2 hours until we moved over to the TV and we ended up falling asleep. Well about 3.5 hours into my first fire in the house my loving wife noticed it was starting to get smokey , then the alarm went off. :bug: I looked and looked and I really couldn't see smoke coming out of the bottom joint where my concern is. I watched it for 10 minutes with a flashlight while I vented out the house. Then it looked like it might be leaking for a min and stopped again, but I must mention at this time the fire was down to mostly coals.

So my question is, Have any other Oslo owners experienced this poor fit/smoke? Also any suggestions is appreciated. I'm obviously not going to run the stove before I at least put some sealant on the seam, don't want the wife to get upset again she loathes the sound of the smoke detectors. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[savageactor7]

Do what you have to do to improve the seal of that pipe and try again with some smaller hotter fires. Even with a 1/4" hole in a pipe a properly drafting stove should pull that smoke out with no problem. Since it's a new stove to you try not choking it all the way down for the longer burns until ya get a few dozen burns under your belt and I think you'll be alright.

A lot of stoves won't let you shut off all the air but what I'm thinking that Oslo does...but imo you only want to do that in case of a chimney fire.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Where the pipe goes into the stove, you should put furnace cement to seal it. Perhaps this is where the problems lies.

 

[M1sterM]

Well as I stated, tonight was my first fire in the Oslo. I was really happy for about 2 hours, but lets get back to the beginning of the story.

I had the chimney guys there today for a sweep and he kindly help me cut and install the new stove pipe. After install, I was concerned with the way the bottom pipe fit into the stove. It seemed like towards the back it didn't seem to seal super tight because of the seam. I pointed this out to the stove guy and he inspected and said it should be fine.

So we fired it up tonight with a small fire(I didn't want to load it up on the first run in the house) and sat infront and watched the fire for almost 2 hours until we moved over to the TV and we ended up falling asleep. Well about 3.5 hours into my first fire in the house my loving wife noticed it was starting to get smokey , then the alarm went off. :bug: I looked and looked and I really couldn't see smoke coming out of the bottom joint where my concern is. I watched it for 10 minutes with a flashlight while I vented out the house. Then it looked like it might be leaking for a min and stopped again, but I must mention at this time the fire was down to mostly coals.

So my question is, Have any other Oslo owners experienced this poor fit/smoke? Also any suggestions is appreciated. I'm obviously not going to run the stove before I at least put some sealant on the seam, don't want the wife to get upset again she loathes the sound of the smoke detectors. Thanks in advance guys.

Just checking, but was this the first ever fire in the stove (e.g. your break-in fire?)? Any chance it was just the paint curing (almost always causes a panic for new stove owners)?

The small gaps from the seams in the chimney pipe really shouldn't be a problem. Hold some incense, freshly blown out match or candle, or anything a little smokey near the gap, and see if their is any air movement in or out of the gap...furnace cement never hurts, but it will smell a bit as it cures, too.

 

[oldAGE]

To me, one very important piece of information missing from this post is the stove top or lower flue temperature (along with the above -- is this your first fire in a new stove?)? Being there are very little "controls" on the Oslo, did you not have enough air in the firebox and was possibly getting a little backpuffing? I assume the collar of the stove outlet is well into the stove pipe? As the heat rises, as long as your temps are "normal," a bit of a gap shouldn't be of great concern. You actually might have a stronger draft that needs to be controlled better but in my book, you would be drawing air out of your house and UP the chimney, not back down forcing smoke back into your house -- unless of course your fire was smothering due to lack of air in the firebox.

Finally, is the gap there because your stove is set too far back causing the pipe to come in on an angle? Do you need to adjust the position of the stove on the hearth to make the pipe fit better?

AGE

 

[jbrown56]

Hi,

Without overanalizing too much, your post said you installed new stove pipe. New pipe smokes like hell for the first few fires. After it burns off and you get through the learning curve, you will love this stove.

Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep if it is a new stove and pipe it will set the smoke alarms free. If it is a new stove, the part about the series of break in burns in the manual are to be observed.

 

[fishinpa]

Just checking, but was this the first ever fire in the stove (e.g. your break-in fire?)? Any chance it was just the paint curing (almost always causes a panic for new stove owners)?

I was wondering the same thing. I had my first burn-in several weeks back and new it was going to smoke, but was surprised at how much it actually did.

Just this past Sunday, I must have pulled some premo wood out of the pile because the stove got really hot, (the way I think it should) and I exceeded temps I reached before and got a bit of smoke again, (as I've read around here will happen) BUT the smoke smelled like the first burn-in fire, not wood smoke, so I knew it was just more "paint curing" as the pro's say.

The real question is: Did the smoke smell wreak of paint and manufacturing 'process' or did it smell like wood smoke and/or bad draft?

 

[Backroads]

Thanks for all the replies. No it was not the first fires, I did do several break in fires. I forgot about the new pipe smoking. I did seal all the seams and the one where the pipe enters the stove. As for the alignment I put a level on it and it's darn close so I don't believe that to be the issue with the gap. I'll throw a couple small fires in it to cure the sealant and let you know how it goes.

 

[Backroads]

Ok, so here's an update. So I sealed up the pipe and ran two small fires. During the first one, I let fire get hot to help cure the paint some more and the detector went off...eventually, but there was no real visible smoke in the room. Now it seems to be running smoothly, well as smooth as my learning curve will allow. I love the way this stove starts so easy. A little more getting used to and life is good. I'm really trying to fine tune it, so far I've dirtied the glass twice, the second not nearly as bad as the first. Practice, practice, practice. One thing I did notice is surface temp on the stove on average is 400* and surface temp on the pipe is 325*. What are you guys getting? Thanks for all the advice.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

400 is about second gear for me, I usually let her purr in third gear (500-550) with the front draft control 75% closed.
On really cold nights I'll hit 4th gear between 550-600. Some folks here hit 5th gear, but my room gets way too hot
at those temps. If you have'nt got the stove over 400, the paint will really smoke when you hit 500-600 (at least my flat blk Oslo did)


WoodButcher

 

[oldAGE]

OK.. you've got the posting idea down now. Numbers are important. With a temp of 400, what was your setting on your air? Fully opened, fully closed, or where in between? I assume that it's not running with secondary burn - right? Next, the idea that your smoke detector is going off is interesting. Where is it in the room and it's relationship to the stove? Is it a CO and Smoke combo or just smoke only? I have a hardwired Firex about 18 ceiling feet from my stove pipe connection -- I never set it off (except last year when I smoked my house which started most of my posts :-( ) And that includes occasional backpuffing, opening my CAT stove with the CAT engaged (ooops!), etc. A smoke detector shouldn't sound when you walk around the house with a cigarette and you can see that smoke.

Just food for thought.
AGE

 

[stoveguy13]

if the stove has only gone threw the break in proscess it is paint buning off you may have some paint burn off for the first 10-15 fires, it is always a good idea to put furnace cement on all the pipe joint and for sure on the pipe to the stove conection.three sheet metal screws per joint is always good as well

 

[Backroads]

if the stove has only gone threw the break in proscess it is paint buning off you may have some paint burn off for the first 10-15 fires, it is always a good idea to put furnace cement on all the pipe joint and for sure on the pipe to the stove conection.three sheet metal screws per joint is always good as well

I figured I might still have some paint still curing. And yes I have 3 screws per joint (I believe that's code right?) and now cement on any spots that look like they could leak even if they don't. The detector in question is actually across the room about 7' up and yes we have a seperate CO monitor. I did have it beep once today when the stove was around 500* but there was no evidence of smoke in the room, I'm assuming more paint curing and I will continue to have this for a few more fires I am now assuming, so it's nothing to panic about.

As for the temp and throttle, I'm still getting the hang of the new "Different" stove (big change from the old VC Defiant!!) so I'm experimenting back and forth and have been keeping the loads some what small. I have had the stove up to 500* several times with the secondary burn looking pretty good, the wife even likes the looks of it. I think once I get some more fires in it I will try to keep it around that temp. I can say today I kept the house at 70*-75* with the stove running at 400-450*, it was comfortable not too hot which keeps the wife happy. I was sleeping and it was good, not too hot to sleep which can be a major concern for me.

Woodbuther, do you measure both the stove and pipe temps? I was just curious if I had about the right difference in temp between the two. I don't want too much heat going up the chimney but hot enough to keep the gas from cooling and forming creosote. I'm averaging about a 75-100* difference depending on the throttle, again still learning the new stove.

Thanks again guys; you are making this transition to a new stove a lot less stressful. This is my first EPA stove, and like I stated before, it's just going to be a slight learning curve till I figure out how she likes to run the best. :coolsmile:

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Hey Backroads,
I use stovetop corner temp, sounds like your are on the path to heating your house just fine.


WoodButcher

 

[colebrookman]

There is definitely a learning curve with all stoves but as Woodbutcher said it sounds like your doing fine. Bring it up to 5 or 600 to keep creosote under control and start closing the air and watch the after burn kick in. Move ashes toward the air vent, put larger logs against the back wall and smaller one on the hot coals and enjoy. Be safe.
Ed

 

[stoveguy13]

sounds like you got it under control and yes that would be code.

 

[jbrown56]

Backroads,

After using the same steel box stove for 26 years, I decided to buy a new stove last year. I don't regret changing it one bit. More heat with less wood. It took me a few weeks to learn how to damper it down. I can't close the damper down completely during long burns. There is a "sweet spot" just to the right of fully closed. I typically run the stove between 350F and 450F. I get good secondary burn and very little creoste buildup in my liner. I don't feel the need to run any hotter as it heats my home just fine. I think running any hotter for me would be a waste of fuel. Just yesterday, I loaded up the stove and the log in front spewed out a load of creosote on the glass. It looked like it was shot with a paintball gun. Within a half hour the glass was clean again. It puzzles me sometimes because the wood is two years old.

Jim

 

[Backroads]

Okay, so another day, better results. Ran the stove all day today with NO issues other than I can't get over how easy I can get it to start up in the morning. So I let it chug along between 450-500* today with plenty of secondary burn. I was able to cut the damper almost all the way back. Had a friend come over, they thought I installed a gas stove because of how clean the fire was and how the secondary burn was doing most of the work! The best thing I've noticed yet though is the complete burns I'm getting. It probably has a lot to do with the good dry wood, but there is very little ash to speak of, how often do you experienced guys have to empty the pan?

I've also got the glass staying crystal clear, I think I'm getting the hang of this thing!!

 

[begreen]

There ya go! Congratulations. My philosophy on ash emptying is as infrequently as possible. Stoves generally work better with a good bed of ash.

 

[colebrookman]

Way to go !! Another happy Oslo owner. Yes, leave the ash pan till it gets full. Before you pull it out jiggle it to settle the ash down. You will need a scraper or small shovel as the ash spills out sometimes and prevents fully closing the ash pan door. Bend down and look inside and you will see some residual ash. Just add it to your pan and dump it outside into a metal container. Also leave some ash with the wood and you will have nice coals in the AM to restart your fire. Good luck and be safe.
Ed

 

[oldAGE]

I am jealous....

For Sale - Vermont Castings Encore 2550. :-(

Enjoy the heat.
AGE

 

[jbrown56]

Backroads,

I burn 24/7 and the ashpan gets emptied first thing in the morning every three days. My glass develops a whitish film which I wipe clean with just water every two weeks. Others here say the same happens with their glass. Enjoy the heat and the view.

Jim