Jotul Oslo and 550 Insert overnight burn times?

[Roxburyeric]

I am considering purchasing one of the two stoves mentioned in the title from Jotul and was wondering what kind of overnight burns times people are getting. I have read many posts on the Oslo and it seems that overnight burns are very good, so I am very interested to hear if any of the new 550 owners have had good luck yet with longer burns. Thanks

 

[jbrown56]

Eric, I don't have a 550, but I'm almost positive you will get much more heat from a freestanding stove. I load at 10p and stove temps hold at 450* - 500* for 3 - 4 hrs. and gradually cools to around 250* at 7a with plenty of coals to relight the stove.

Jim

 

[jadm]

I have a 550 and have been using it about a month. I have not had what I would call success in extended burn times due to the fact that I can't shut down primary air below 50%. If I shut it down any more the secondary flames roll around lazily on top of the box but I loose flames on the wood and the bricks darken and sometimes I get smoke out of the stack too.

Burning at 50% open I get active flames for about 2 hours coals will last 2 more hours but I begin to loose room temp. I haven't even attempted to do an over night burn due to difficulty shutting air down without smoke. That makes me nervous - the creosote thing....Our weather hasn't been cold enough to really need an over night fire either.

I know others here with the 550 are getting longer burns and are able to knock their air down farther than I can so hopefully they will give you more accurate feedback than I can. Next year I probably will have more to tell you - this is just a bad time to be broken in by a stove because outside temps. are a bit too warm for it to do it's thing more efficiently.

 

[brooktrout]

I have a 550 and have been using it about a month. I have not had what I would call success in extended burn times due to the fact that I can't shut down primary air below 50%. If I shut it down any more the secondary flames roll around lazily on top of the box but I loose flames on the wood and the bricks darken and sometimes I get smoke out of the stack too.

Burning at 50% open I get active flames for about 2 hours coals will last 2 more hours but I begin to loose room temp. I haven't even attempted to do an over night burn due to difficulty shutting air down without smoke. That makes me nervous - the creosote thing....Our weather hasn't been cold enough to really need an over night fire either.

I know others here with the 550 are getting longer burns and are able to knock their air down farther than I can so hopefully they will give you more accurate feedback than I can. Next year I probably will have more to tell you - this is just a bad time to be broken in by a stove because outside temps. are a bit too warm for it to do it's thing more efficiently.

I have been eyeing the 550 (rockland insert, correct?) for awhile, but you're starting to scare me. I can get about 6-7 hours of good heat with about a 2-3 degree drop over that time with my classic. Maybe I should stick with it... :roll:

 

[Roxburyeric]

Jim, your comments confirm everything else I have read here about the Olso and I am really leaning towards it over the 550, however my wife and I both like the look of the insert better. We also have a raised hearth, which sticks out 21 inches, so with the Olso the stove would sit almost all the way out on the hearth and then I would have to get another hearth pad to sit below the current hearth on our hardwood floor - a look that I am not that exciting about. I know there are some other new 550 owners out there and I am hoping they will chime in with results that are different from Perplexed (thanks for the response).

 

[jadm]

Brooktrout- Please note in my response that I have only been burning with my 550 for about a month and temps. here have been in the 40*-50* range which, from what I have read here, have an effect on how wood burns.

I have heard from a few 350 and 450 owners and they have mentioned that it took them awhile to figure out how to read their inserts - like a year or more...so do not make up your mind by what I have written after only burning one month plus I am relatively new at wood burning - We got our first insert in 2005.

Roxburyeric-I also considered a free standing stove as our set up is like yours. Decided on the 550 because of how well it fit into our living space, how big it was, the cast iron surround which helps add heat to our room, the 2 blowers mounted on the front, and how it looks. A much easier install to do. A free standing stove would have taken up too much space in our room and looked out of place.

I do agree with what others say here about free standing stoves heating better than inserts because of more surface area throwing off heat but I feel more comfortable with an insert - no damper to have to try to figure out and easier to control due to air circulating around the firebox helping to keep temp. down in case of a run away fire.

Hopefully more 550 owners will chime in here. I know they are our there.




:coolsmile: :coolsmile: :coolsmile:

 

[soxfan13]

I have had the 550 for about a month. I am definitely still learning. Perplexed and I have a lot of PM's going back and forth.

I have been able to close the air all the way and get really good results. I get good secondary burns with temps around 700 or more. After 2 hours the temps are down to around 500. After four hours the temps are around 250.

I have the insert in a room with cathedral ceiling and the rest of the first floor is 9 ft ceilings. I am able to keep the first floor of my 2700 sf house at 70 or higher when the temp outside is above 20. I have not been able to get long burn times that I would consider overnight. I don't use it to burn 24/7 yet, so I haven't tried to get an overnight burn and restart the next morning. I know the next morning, after I use it the night before, the stove is cold. I don't have the best wood right now for an overnight burn. I am burning a lot of pallet wood right now because that is what I have. I can't justify buying seasoned wood at this time of the year.

Even though I have an insert, I think that if you wanted to burn 24/7 a freestanding stove would be a better fit, especially if it has a blower of if you have a way to circulate the heat. My wife liked the look of the insert which is one of the reasons we got it. It does throw a lot of heat. I just need to learn how to use it better.


I hope this info helps.

 

[Mike Wilson]

FWIW, and just for comparison, I have a 450, and it took me a year to really understand the process. Now I only load her 3 times per day, and get rock solid 8 hour burns out of her. I'm not even concerned when it's been 10-12 hours since my last load, insert some splits, and she'll start right up. My first year I was getting 6 or so, but like everyone else, I learned. It is essential to have a full liner in your chimney, and, of course, really dry wood. My observation has been that people who are in their first year of stove use generally do not have really dry wood. They think they do, but it's not until year 2 that they learn what dry wood really is. It makes a world of difference. Also, do not be afraid to let the stove cook on up to 750-800 before it settles in at a temperature. It cleans the stove, and helps kick start the burn process. So, if the 550 is somewhat larger than the 450, which it is, you should have no problem getting good, reliable 8-10 hour burns out of her... next year!

-- Mike

 

[leakypuppy]

I'm still in the learning stages with my 550 and don't usually need to go for overnight burns but I'll be happy to give it a shot tomorrow night and let you know how it goes.

 

[btj1031]

Perplexed, do you have a full length chimney liner? I'm in about the same boat as you with my F400 - if I choke it down all the way, it doesn't work too well - 50% is about all I can do. Based on what I've read on this site, a flue liner might be my problem, and if I install one, I might get longer burns and be able to shut the air down more. Right now I get about 4 hours of burn, and can get another fire going after about 6 hours with the coals....if I go longer, I have to start anew.

 

[Roxburyeric]

Thanks for the responses. More to think about before we decide.

 

[jadm]

Perplexed, do you have a full length chimney liner?.

Yes, I have a full length liner and added 2 flue liners to my chimney to get it up to 15' tall. Others with the 550 can shut their air down more than I have been able to. I think my problem is with outside temps. being warmer now and I live at an altitude of 5,000ft. which may be playing a part.

From what I have read I have concluded that it takes time to figure all of this balancing stuff out. Try finding other people with your stove here and see how they manage their stoves. I know that has helped me a lot.

 

[woodheat]

I also have a 550 Rockland installed for about a month. I am burning the unit from 5-6 when I get home from work and then load it up right before bed. When I get up in the morning There are visible coals in the stove, but the temp is down around 150-160 (reading to the right or left of the door with ir thermometer). The most quality burn time I seem to get from the unit at this point is 5 hours. It does light right back up without kindling when I throw more wood on it and keep the door open for a few minutes. Because the insert fits into the fireplace, the fire box is wider in the front and tapers back in the rear. The front of the stove can fit a log up to 24 inches long and 22 inches in the rear I believe. Most of my wood is 16-18 inches so I am loosing fillable firebox space. The wood I have is also split on the smaller side so I think that makes it burn faster. I am hoping with some more experience and larger wood supply to get it up to 8 hours.

The stove is a good looking unit and has that flush mount advantage, but you will need to keep the blower running to get good heat out of it. It is a slight disadvantage due to the noise and makes the stove less useful in a power outage, but it does help move the air around also.

We also considered the Oslo and our decision to get this unit was based on the small hearth size we had in the front as well as to the side for loading wood in the side load option of the Oslo.

 

[chad3]

My Oslo can be loaded as of 10 at night and about 6 in the am my wife can still restart the stove on coals. I really love this stove The only issue with it (has been resolved) was the air intake. Heated my 1400 sq house all winter with the furnace coming on about 2-3 times all winter.
Chad