Jotul Oslo-Breaking In New Stove

[MrKenmore]

Hi everyone I am in the process of breaking in my new Jotul Oslo. I did the required 200 degree, than 300 degree, another 300 degree (trying for 400 degree) for an hour. I guess I am a little confused. Does the break in require the one hour duration to start when the fire starts OR when the stove reaches the 200, 300, 400 degree temperature?

Thanks fellas!

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

you want to build severl small fires, each one getting a little hotter. You have to let the stove cool between cycles, will at least mostly cool. Go by temp, not by time, but take the temp up slowly so it takes the hour or so time to cycle it.

 

[MrKenmore]

OK, so now that this is my final break in.........get it up to 400 (its at 350 now after 1 hour) then turn down the air flow and let it cool off.

 

[kevinmoelk]

This is a great question. I don't want to hi-jack the thread, but I've been wondering the same thing. Would a used stove re-installed require the same treatment?

What is the advantage or purpose of these small fires?

 

[Gooserider]

This is a great question. I don't want to hi-jack the thread, but I've been wondering the same thing. Would a used stove re-installed require the same treatment?

What is the advantage or purpose of these small fires?

I'm not the expert, but I think it does a bunch of stuff:

1. Drive off any volatiles from the paint, manufacturing oils, and all the other leftover cruft.
2. Some of the adhesives and other stuff in the stove may need heat to fully cure.
3. It may drive any moisture from the pores of the stove material.
4. The last thing that it does is allow all the parts to do their thermal expansion / contraction heat cycles and "work into" each other, and relieve any stresses resulting from the manufacturing process, shipping, and the install location. The idea is to do this a little bit at a time so that the stresses are relieved gradually instead of all at once.

It is basically the same idea as breaking in any other mechanical device...

As to the need to redo the breakin on a re-installed used stove, I don't know of anything specific on it, but I would expect that at least some level of break in would be appropriate, though probably not as much as a new stove would. After all in many respects a re-install is almost like a new placement.

1. While you had it out, you probably did some cleaning and touchup painting, that stuff needs to burn off
2. Ditto for any new gaskets or other repairs
3. How long has the stove been sitting around? I seem to recall that most folks (deliberately or not) start each season off with small fires, almost like a mini-breakin
4. How much disassembly did you do? Was there any 'racking' forces applied when the stove was being moved? Is the stove back in EXACTLY the same place, or might there be slight differences in the surface that would make the level of the stove be minutely different?

Gooserider

 

[kevinmoelk]

I'm not the expert, but I think it does a bunch of stuff:

1. Drive off any volatiles from the paint, manufacturing oils, and all the other leftover cruft.
2. Some of the adhesives and other stuff in the stove may need heat to fully cure.
3. It may drive any moisture from the pores of the stove material.
4. The last thing that it does is allow all the parts to do their thermal expansion / contraction heat cycles and "work into" each other, and relieve any stresses resulting from the manufacturing process, shipping, and the install location. The idea is to do this a little bit at a time so that the stresses are relieved gradually instead of all at once.

It is basically the same idea as breaking in any other mechanical device...

As to the need to redo the breakin on a re-installed used stove, I don't know of anything specific on it, but I would expect that at least some level of break in would be appropriate, though probably not as much as a new stove would. After all in many respects a re-install is almost like a new placement.

1. While you had it out, you probably did some cleaning and touchup painting, that stuff needs to burn off
2. Ditto for any new gaskets or other repairs
3. How long has the stove been sitting around? I seem to recall that most folks (deliberately or not) start each season off with small fires, almost like a mini-breakin
4. How much disassembly did you do? Was there any 'racking' forces applied when the stove was being moved? Is the stove back in EXACTLY the same place, or might there be slight differences in the surface that would make the level of the stove be minutely different?

Gooserider

Thanks Goosrider, all makes good sense. See my post about the stove I'm getting and take a look. It's in good shape and I don't plan on it needing much beyond possibly some new fire bricks. I will indeed proceed cautiously and start with small fires. I'm more concerned about the chimney however. Seems logical to me that the chimney since it has been separated, then reassembled, would be more susceptible to problems associated with the break in period. Need more information.

 

[begreen]

This is a great question. I don't want to hi-jack the thread, but I've been wondering the same thing. Would a used stove re-installed require the same treatment?

What is the advantage or purpose of these small fires?

Yes, I like to re-break in any stove that has been idle a long time. This is particularly helpful with cast iron stoves (soapstone too?). Jotul recommends few small fires of increasing intensity before the big conflaguration even for older stoves when the awaken from their summer break. Easy to do and certainly no harm.

Your nice steel stove probably won't need a major break-in but I'd want to do at least one or two smaller fires first to dry out the firebrick and to learn the stove's air control and drafting habits. It's a lot easier to control a small fire if there is an issue than a full blaze.

 

[BrotherBart]

And level it. When you do the break in fires with a cast or a steel stove if it "talks to you" too much, check and make sure it is level. Torsional stresses on a stove are what causes a lot of the creaks and groans when they start heating up. They were designed and tested to be level. Do it.

With steel stoves you are putting too much stress on the steel if it is unlevel and it will make a lot of noises, none of which mean anything good is happening with the steel. With cast iron you risk breaking the sealing loose in the joints between the cast iron panels.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Will do BeGreen and BrotherBart. Thanks to you both for the advice.


-Kevin