Question from a new burner

[Zoso2385]

Hi All,

I am the owner of a new Jotul F500. I have been doing my break in burns at 200, 300 and now 400 degrees. I have noticed that when my wood starts to burn down all the flames go away and it the logs just glow red and you can see the air blowing on them. Is this normal to have logs not on fire when they are still a pretty good size? Is this going to clog up my chimney due to smoldering. I have tried opening the air all the way and you can visibly see the air pick up but no flames.

Also I had a little trouble getting it up to 400 I may have not had enough wood as I was nervous of getting it too hot

Jotul F500, 27 foot interior chimney with 6” insulated liner. Currently about 68 degrees out.

 

[begreen]

Looks like a small fire approaching the coaling stage. At this point most of the volatiles in the wood have burned off. What remains is charcoal. Still some heat there for a while longer, even though no flames.

 

[JotulOwner]

Congrats on the purchase of a really nice stove, but, you are burning wood (inside the house)? in August? In Connecticut? I am still using air conditioning. Am I missing something?

 

[Alpine1]

Compliments for your new stove. Do you have an idea of the moisture content of your wood?

 

[Zoso2385]

Congrats on the purchase of a really nice stove, but, you are burning wood (inside the house)? in August? In Connecticut? I am still using air conditioning. Am I missing something?

Just doing my break in burns, not burning for heat.

Update the wood is pretty much all ash now.
As for moisture content I picked the oldest small logs I had which were about a year and a half old. 1 small oak log and 1 small birch log. My issue for this winter is finding dry wood. I have about 8 cords on hand right now. Almost all of it was cut last winter and this spring. I have about 3/4 of a cord in a solar kiln that I started in early August. If I can’t find any dry wood I may not be using the wood stove much this year.

 

[begreen]

If you can get the wood down to about 23% moisture content it will burn. Mix in some dry wood from pallets, 2 by cut offs, or compressed fuel like BioBricks to assist the burn. With a 27 ft flue system you are likely to have strong draft. That will help. You might even need a damper in the stove pipe when it gets cold out.

Also, search for kiln-dried firewood near you. Some will just warm the wood to kill bugs, but some bake it to achieve ~15% moisture content. It'll cost you but maybe a 1/2 cord will get you by. See if you can get ash wood, it dries faster.

 

[Bushels20]

Hi All,

I am the owner of a new Jotul F500. I have been doing my break in burns at 200, 300 and now 400 degrees. I have noticed that when my wood starts to burn down all the flames go away and it the logs just glow red and you can see the air blowing on them. Is this normal to have logs not on fire when they are still a pretty good size? Is this going to clog up my chimney due to smoldering. I have tried opening the air all the way and you can visibly see the air pick up but no flames.View attachment 246858

Also I had a little trouble getting it up to 400 I may have not had enough wood as I was nervous of getting it too hot

Jotul F500, 27 foot interior chimney with 6” insulated liner. Currently about 68 degrees out.

Yes, when the burn progresses, the wood holds its structure but the flames subside. However, the wood still holds a lot of heat value. Let it burn through its cycle.

Flames aren’t always indicative of a clean burning fire. This load appears to be pretty well burnt down and nearing the coaling stage. Go outside and make sure your seeing clear flue gases about 10-15 minutes after a reload of the stove.

Different wood burns differently. In my experience, ash burns with a lot of flame. Cherry burns with flame that is light and blueish, oak is a very soft flame but hot. Pine and basswood are hot woods that burn quickly and brightly.

Just make sure you are burning clean by checking you gasses coming out of the liner. You will get the hang of it.

 

[Sawset]

Is this going to clog up my chimney

Something to notice is the clean glass. If there is buildup starting with this type of stove, you would notice it on the glass at first as a cloudy dark haze, then black creosote deposits. Even after a short small burn. Your glass seems crystal clear. It would give an indication of what the rest of the system is looking like. Gray ash on the glass, fine. Dark creosote film, something needs adjusting.

 

[Zoso2385]

Very helpful input, thanks. I’m still a little worried about excessive draft with 27ft of insulated chimney. My installer said it’s possible but to try it out first before putting a damper in. Another thing to not is that I am using the rear outlet and on have maybe 14” of stainless pipe before it goes into a tee. Not sure if that would put the damper far enough away from the outlet.

 

[Sawset]

Also I had a little trouble getting it up to 400 I may have not had enough wood as I was nervous of getting it too hot

Also, with smaller fires of higher moisture wood, there will be a struggle to get stove top temps higher. Eventually, by loading the stove full, and with nice dry wood, controlling and getting higher temperatures will become very easy. Well seasoned wood becomes a joy to work with.

 

[Tech Guru]

Yeah, Zoso. Rear vent outlet set ups are not conducive to Damper installations anyway. Most manufacturers will explicitly state to only install the damper in a vertical section of pipe. With set ups such as yours, if restriction of the flue is necessary you might be best served doing it at the chimney cap.

 

[begreen]

Very helpful input, thanks. I’m still a little worried about excessive draft with 27ft of insulated chimney. My installer said it’s possible but to try it out first before putting a damper in. Another thing to not is that I am using the rear outlet and on have maybe 14” of stainless pipe before it goes into a tee. Not sure if that would put the damper far enough away from the outlet.
View attachment 246882

I agree with the installer. Try it out and see how it works.

Handsome stove. I love the blue-black enamel.

 

[firefighterjake]

So far, so good . . . all normal experiences (wood reaching the charcoal stage, a challenge getting it up to 400 degrees f with a small load of wood, etc.)

I have a fairly tall chimney and most of the time too strong of a draft is not an issue. If you find that it is an issue or you have a fire that starts to burn a little too hot (and as a side note be sure to have a thermometer since a lot of new burners either think their fire is too hot or too "cool" simply by looking at it which is not all that accurate) . . . you can cut back the incoming air with some aluminum foil. I typically end up using this "trick" two to three times each winter. I know someone else here had an issue and eventually fabricated a long term fix with a sliding piece of metal . . . it is worth noting that altering the stove would most likely violate any warranty at this stage.

 

[Zoso2385]

So far, so good . . . all normal experiences (wood reaching the charcoal stage, a challenge getting it up to 400 degrees f with a small load of wood, etc.)

I have a fairly tall chimney and most of the time too strong of a draft is not an issue. If you find that it is an issue or you have a fire that starts to burn a little too hot (and as a side note be sure to have a thermometer since a lot of new burners either think their fire is too hot or too "cool" simply by looking at it which is not all that accurate) . . . you can cut back the incoming air with some aluminum foil. I typically end up using this "trick" two to three times each winter. I know someone else here had an issue and eventually fabricated a long term fix with a sliding piece of metal . . . it is worth noting that altering the stove would most likely violate any warranty at this stage.

I have heard of using aluminum foil during my research of what stove buy, exactly where does it go?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[firefighterjake]

I have heard of using aluminum foil during my research of what stove buy, exactly where does it go?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you look underneath the Oslo towards the rear you should see a hole about 3 inches in diameter. By placing a sheet of folded up foil partly over the hole you can slow down a burn by depriving the fire of oxygen.

 

[Zoso2385]

If you look underneath the Oslo towards the rear you should see a hole about 3 inches in diameter. By placing a sheet of folded up foil partly over the hole you can slow down a burn by depriving the fire of oxygen.

Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Das Jugghead]

I had an issue with excessive draft and found that I had to choke down the primary and secondary intakes in order to reign it in. I have approximately 28 feet of insulated stainless steel liner above my stove. I installed a zig-zag aluminum strip in the secondary intake to slow down, tumble, and increase exposure time to pre-warm the secondary intake air. This year I installed stainless steel nuts in the secondary tubes as well and am eager to see how that affects the burn times. For the primary intake I fabricated an adjustable block off plate to help slow down the intake air. I have plans to build an outside air kit before the burning season hits but I am behind on everything else with my business and work on the house so who knows?

At any rate here is a thread on the experiences and modifications of my wood stove:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...all-challenges-questions-observations.173074/

 

[begreen]

Modifying the stove should be a last resort, especially if a simple key damper works to control draft.

. it is worth noting that altering the stove would most likely violate any warranty at this stage.

It's also against the law, but some need to do it.

 

[Woody Stover]

maybe 14” of stainless pipe before it goes into a tee. Not sure if that would put the damper far enough away from the outlet.

I don't believe that would be an issue. I never use my damper on a 16' stack, but it's only about 6" behind the flue outlet.
I think the Oslo is one of the Jotuls that likes a bit more draft, so maybe you won't have to take additional measure except when draft is exceptionally strong (sub-zero outside temps.)
Is the liner insulated? Is there an insulating block-off plate installed above the tee? If not, those may reduce draft somewhat, but it looks like the chimney goes up through the center of the house so those factors may cancel each other..?

 

[ratsrepus]

If you look underneath the Oslo towards the rear you should see a hole about 3 inches in diameter. By placing a sheet of folded up foil partly over t

Keep the foil handy and show the wife or anyone else what is for. I had a few instances where my Oslo took off on me. strong draft and very dry wood will do it.

 

[Sawset]

I keep a pair of welders mitts handy for handling things hot, like when loading a hot stove, or rearranging splits. I've used them a few times to cover the rear intake if I thought things should be calmed down a bit.

 

[Zoso2385]

Keep the foil handy and show the wife or anyone else what is for. I had a few instances where my Oslo took off on me. strong draft and very dry wood will do it.

This intake on the bottom of the stove, does the bottom heat shield cover it up? Is it still easily accessible with the shield installed? I haven’t had a chance to look at my stove too much yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[firefighterjake]

This intake on the bottom of the stove, does the bottom heat shield cover it up? Is it still easily accessible with the shield installed? I haven’t had a chance to look at my stove too much yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You can still access it with the heat shield in place.

 

[timfromohio]

If you have a sawmill nearby you might be able to purchase slab wood cheap. I can get it in bundles (steel straps around it, 8' lengths, 12' lengths, 16' lengths) - wood has obviously a lot of bark, but you do get thin pieces of wood left which often dry out pretty quick. Take a meter to the mill with you and check before you guy. I got through my first burning season at our new house with a combination of slab wood and compressed hardwood sawdust bricks (bio bricks or similar). Bundles cost me $15 or $20 each.

Tim(fromOhio)