It's been exactly a month since I ripped out the old stove and installed this new Oslo 500. The first week and a half I messed up quite abit. Guess I thought instruction manuals were just another mans opinion. Well after 3 weeks of operating the stove as per Jotul's instructions and some helpful tips from youall my nerves are starting to settle down some. Getting a good fire started on the first burn in no time flat, stove temp is getting hot as it should and the stack temp is where it should be.The glass is staying clean and when I go down in the mornings the fire brick are all nice and clean.
I have noticed that on my first fire of the day that the fire brick get pretty dark, almost black until the fire dies down and ready for a reload then they start to clean back up and stay that way. I have noticed though that on a really calm day (which we dont get to many of here in the Iowa flatlands) it helps with initial startup to crack a window in the basement to get things moving. Since our house is made completly of cement block it is kinda air tight in the basement. Once things get going I can close the window and forget it as I always get a good draft outta the chimney.
Now all I need to do is diagnose my 7"clay lined chimney. I been checkin it weekly since I started burning "right".I tried to take a pic to show you all but it didnt turn out. Kinda like havin a colonospisy done with a polaroid I'm thinkin. But what I got now is just a flat black inside of a tail pipe thing goin on. Just rubs off on my finger tips when I reach in there. I'm not sure if this is normall as I used to get the brown fluff with the old stove that brushed out quite easily. But then I really never checked the flue very often with the old 1 cuz I knew how it would behave. I'm going to continue to monitor the chimney on a weekly basis until I can put my nerves at ease and do a good brushing around the 1st of December weather permitting if I think it needs it.
Sorry for the long post. Just lookin for imput, ideas, whatever. Thanks all.
P.S. I will add, I run a 4' stack of single wall 20ga. to 45° to a 18" and into the thimble. Just more info to confuse I guess.
I have noticed that on my first fire of the day that the fire brick get pretty dark, almost black until the fire dies down and ready for a reload then they start to clean back up and stay that way. I have noticed though that on a really calm day (which we dont get to many of here in the Iowa flatlands) it helps with initial startup to crack a window in the basement to get things moving. Since our house is made completly of cement block it is kinda air tight in the basement. Once things get going I can close the window and forget it as I always get a good draft outta the chimney.
Now all I need to do is diagnose my 7"clay lined chimney. I been checkin it weekly since I started burning "right".I tried to take a pic to show you all but it didnt turn out. Kinda like havin a colonospisy done with a polaroid I'm thinkin. But what I got now is just a flat black inside of a tail pipe thing goin on. Just rubs off on my finger tips when I reach in there. I'm not sure if this is normall as I used to get the brown fluff with the old stove that brushed out quite easily. But then I really never checked the flue very often with the old 1 cuz I knew how it would behave. I'm going to continue to monitor the chimney on a weekly basis until I can put my nerves at ease and do a good brushing around the 1st of December weather permitting if I think it needs it.
Sorry for the long post. Just lookin for imput, ideas, whatever. Thanks all.
P.S. I will add, I run a 4' stack of single wall 20ga. to 45° to a 18" and into the thimble. Just more info to confuse I guess.
