Help me understand the Jotul 500

[touchthewindrider]

I have been burning a VC Dutchwest Sequoia for the last twenty years in a 2000sqft single story house. I've rebuilt it a couple of times, replaced the catalytic combustor every couple of years; get up in the middle of the night and stoked it with wood and use wood with a moisture content of 15% to 19%. It has done the job for me. But, it is an old stove with a primary damper and a secondary damper; once the stove temp reaches 500 degrees the primary is closed down and the secondary is tweaked to raise the temp.

Now, I have run across the Jotul 500. A dealer in town is getting rid of the 2018 models for the new ones. How does the combustion air system work? There is ONLY a primary damper control on the lower front of the stove...a slide control. Does that really work? Can you control the burn efficiently with just that one damper? How does the secondary combustion work on the Jotul 500? What are typical prices for the Jotul 500?

Sorry about the elementary questions, but going from a catalytic to a non-catalytic stove is a little un-nerving.
Thanks!

 

[bholler]

I have been burning a VC Dutchwest Sequoia for the last twenty years in a 2000sqft single story house. I've rebuilt it a couple of times, replaced the catalytic combustor every couple of years; get up in the middle of the night and stoked it with wood and use wood with a moisture content of 15% to 19%. It has done the job for me. But, it is an old stove with a primary damper and a secondary damper; once the stove temp reaches 500 degrees the primary is closed down and the secondary is tweaked to raise the temp.

Now, I have run across the Jotul 500. A dealer in town is getting rid of the 2018 models for the new ones. How does the combustion air system work? There is ONLY a primary damper control on the lower front of the stove...a slide control. Does that really work? Can you control the burn efficiently with just that one damper? How does the secondary combustion work on the Jotul 500? What are typical prices for the Jotul 500?

Sorry about the elementary questions, but going from a catalytic to a non-catalytic stove is a little un-nerving.
Thanks!

The 500 is a tube stove that means heated air is introduced to the firebox under the baffle. This ignites the combustibles left in the smoke making a more efficient and cleaner burn. Your Dutch West simply had a bypass damper that diverted the exhaust around the cat till things were up to temp. Then it was controlled by limiting the intake air just the same as the jotul. Jotuls while not the most efficient stoves on the market are very simple and reliable and require very little maintenance.

 

[albrown60]

The 500 is a tube stove that means heated air is introduced to the firebox under the baffle. This ignites the combustibles left in the smoke making a more efficient and cleaner burn. Your Dutch West simply had a bypass damper that diverted the exhaust around the cat till things were up to temp. Then it was controlled by limiting the intake air just the same as the jotul. Jotuls while not the most efficient stoves on the market are very simple and reliable and require very little maintenance.

Hi have a question which with your experience in running the slow burning stove could help me get a better performance with my Regency I2400M. I got it installed in 2014 and it has been running ok. The installer / dealer suggest that I leave the damper open about 3/4 of an inch so that the wood burn without creating too much creosote. I am reading that many users close the damper completely. What is your opinion on this way of running the unit. I would certainly like to get more burning time out of this unit.

 

[Simonkenton]

The Jotul Oslo is a great stove! Yes it only has that one little silver air control knob, bottom center. You have great control.
All the way to the right, my stove jumps right up to 600 degrees. All the way to the left it goes down to about 300.
Little knob only slides 2 inches total but it works great.

I run it to the right to start up and then run the stove with the knob in the middle, about 400 degrees.

As for secondary combustion on the Oslo I can't explain the mechanics of it but it works! The view of the firebox with that big glass is spectacular and when the secondaries kick in the view is unreal, the blue and yellow flames flickering around the top of the firebox.

I am an over the road truck driver and I am gone most of the time. For example, I am in Laredo Texas right now and the girlfriend is at our log cabin in the NC mountains and she is burning the wood stove! I get up all the wood and she burns it. She loves our new Oslo and she finds it very easy to use.

I bought mine 3 years ago the dealer wanted $2800. I found a dealer in the next town who wanted $2500.
So I told my dealer I was about to drive over to Black Mountain and buy it for $2500 and he immediately dropped to $2500. They are like car dealers you can bargain with 'em.
Your guy is getting rid of old inventory, try hitting him up for $2300 I bet he will do it.

 

[EbS-P]

I chose my Jøtul for its simple single lever operation. My five year old knows what to if the overfire alarm goes off ( move the lever all the way to the left) The stove is most efficient at combustion and thus heating when the secondaries are burning. I light my fires top down. As this lights the secondaries quicker and with less smoke which means more heat.

I don’t have consistent wood. Size, species, moisture so my lever position isn’t consistent. I use my digital stove top thermometer/alarm to monitor temps moving the lever to the left in two or three increments after I hit 450-500*. Some loads, if its good wood on a hot reload, it will end up 95% closed. Other times it’s burns best at 50%. Lastly they like really dry wood. I don’t think I can stress that enough.

Hope that helps.

 

[firefighterjake]

I have been burning a VC Dutchwest Sequoia for the last twenty years in a 2000sqft single story house. I've rebuilt it a couple of times, replaced the catalytic combustor every couple of years; get up in the middle of the night and stoked it with wood and use wood with a moisture content of 15% to 19%. It has done the job for me. But, it is an old stove with a primary damper and a secondary damper; once the stove temp reaches 500 degrees the primary is closed down and the secondary is tweaked to raise the temp.

Now, I have run across the Jotul 500. A dealer in town is getting rid of the 2018 models for the new ones. How does the combustion air system work? There is ONLY a primary damper control on the lower front of the stove...a slide control. Does that really work? Can you control the burn efficiently with just that one damper? How does the secondary combustion work on the Jotul 500? What are typical prices for the Jotul 500?

Sorry about the elementary questions, but going from a catalytic to a non-catalytic stove is a little un-nerving.
Thanks!

Well.
Yes.
Yes . . . kinda.
Well.
Around $2,500 last I knew.



Other folks have given a pretty good explanation of things, but yes . . . the incoming air can more or less control the burn . . . in conjunction with the fuel load. If I load the firebox to the gills with small dimension softwood lumber, rounds or kindling for example and touch it off I will find it a bit harder to control than loaded it up with four or five mid to large sized hardwood splits. The fuel load is a factor to a degree in controlling the burn.

On a few occasions during the year I sometimes find my well seasoned wood and strong draft (your experiences may vary depending on how well seasoned the wood is and how strong a draft you have -- in my case my wood is typically two to four years old and I have a very strong draft) combine so that the air control alone is not enough to control the fire . . . in which case I use a piece of tinfoil and partially block an incoming air port underneath the stove to slow down the burn even further. This is not a common affair though . . . but it does produce some incredible effects with a slow motion flame movement and very intense blue or purple flames.

 

[Simonkenton]

I burn dry,dry wood. 15 percent moisture. I have a great install with very good draft. I have never had a problem with the stove over firing. I am not saying it hasn't happened to you obviously, it has happened to you. But that has not happened to me.