Jotul F500 V3 Oslo, I pulled the trigger.

[Woody Stover]

What is the warranty on the cat? What is the cost of replacement?

the warranty states 20 years for the cat. I'm not sure about cost replacement as I haven't asked my dealer.

That sounds like your standard "cat stove marketing guarantee;" A one-shot deal offered by the stove maker for the first cat only, so that potential buyers who have heard bad things about cats, may be enticed to jump in. I believe that cats bought after that would revert to the cat maker's standard pro-rated warranty.
It remains to be seen how this different cat system (low restriction, full time burning even on startup) will work out in the long run, how long the cats will last, etc. I'm not sure how long some of these new cat stoves were tested before they were put on the market. A couple, such as Regency, have been out for a few years already, but I think those may be far out-numbered by the relatively untested ones..
That said, up 'til now I've never called in a warranty on a cat; I've figured that I've gotten the rated hours of life and my money's worth out of them. Hopefully that holds true for some of these new designs that they came out with to meet 2020 regs.

Interesting to note that some of the test fuel (dimensional lumber) had a moisture content as high as 25%.

Yeah, I think that has been true for a long time. They aren't burning <20% wood like some of us do. I'm not sure how that would affect the EPA numbers. Also makes you wonder about the parameters of the tests run by the stove makers themselves, and the numbers they publish in their brochures..

 

[SpaceBus]

That sounds like your standard "cat stove marketing guarantee;" A one-shot deal offered by the stove maker for the first cat only, so that potential buyers who have heard bad things about cats, may be enticed to jump in. I believe that cats bought after that would revert to the cat maker's standard pro-rated warranty.
It remains to be seen how this different cat system (low restriction, full time burning even on startup) will work out in the long run, how long the cats will last, etc. I'm not sure how long some of these new cat stoves were tested before they were put on the market. A couple, such as Regency, have been out for a few years already, but I think those may be far out-numbered by the relatively untested ones..
That said, up 'til now I've never called in a warranty on a cat; I've figured that I've gotten the rated hours of life and my money's worth out of them. Hopefully that holds true for some of these new designs that they came out with to meet 2020 regs.
Yeah, I think that has been true for a long time. They aren't burning <20% wood like some of us do. I'm not sure how that would affect the EPA numbers. Also makes you wonder about the parameters of the tests run by the stove makers themselves, and the numbers they publish in their brochures..

It often seems like the testing facilities/testing methods are designed for the stoves to fail.

 

[webby3650]

With the big cells, and a good secondary burn system its unlikely that most people would even know the cat is dead unless it falls apart. I think that’s how a lot of manufacturers make these big warranties, betting that most people won’t know or care if it fails. They would only know if it falls apart, hence the move to steel cats. Just my theory.

 

[Woody Stover]

With the big cells, and a good secondary burn system its unlikely that most people would even know the cat is dead unless it falls apart. I think that’s how a lot of manufacturers make these big warranties, betting that most people won’t know or care if it fails. They would only know if it falls apart, hence the move to steel cats. Just my theory.

Yeah, 90% of them might not even look at the manual, other than a cursory glance. If they did, they'd read that if they noted how the cat meter reacted when the cat was new, they'd later on notice if the cat was acting differently.
I saw this in the manual, but I'm not sure what to make of it. "Inspect the combustor element for catalyst cell collapse and the insulation panels for surface degradation." I don't see how the cells are going to "collapse" on a steel combustor, but maybe they can if the cells are bigger..? It looks like the cat is close to the front, and if you have the secondary cranking, flames might get around the end of the baffle and hit the face of the cat. I'd be keeping an eye on how brightly the cat was glowing, what temps it was showing, and I'd be looking through the cells periodically for evidence of the catalyst peeling off the steel.
I'm not sure what are the "insulation panels" that they mention..can you guys explain?
They recommend running the cat between 500-800. Guys, what happens when you have a lot of wood gassing but the secondary isn't burning, and you are dumping a lot of fuel to the combustor? Is it like a regular cat probe, where you might see temps 1200-1400 or more, as I did with the Dutchwest and Buck?
How far does the tip of the cat probe sit from the exit face of the cat?

 

[Amigo Azul]

This may seem obvious to some. I was reading up on a different .org site and read a section on loading your stove for a long burn. I had been just loading the stove as I would normally do with my old VC. Just toss em on and wait for the temp to come back up. That was working well and I was getting some good burn times. I changed it up a little and raked the coals to the front of the stove and then put in 4 nice sized splits as suggested on the other site (woodheat). I turned down the stove after the front logs were well on their way at 9pm i got up this morning and the living room was still 74 degrees and the stove top was 250 degrees at 8am after I took my shower. I opened the stove and moved the coals to the front and started off again with some smaller splits and away we went again.

Part of the reason I did not use this method was that I saw or read somewhere to not block the front primary air inlet on the stove. As long as you keep them unobstructed they will act like little jets of fire igniting and blowing a whole in the wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

I had been just loading the stove as I would normally do with my old VC. Just toss em on and wait for the temp to come back up. That was working well and I was getting some good burn times. I changed it up a little and raked the coals to the front of the stove and then put in 4 nice sized splits as suggested on the other site (woodheat). I turned down the stove after the front logs were well on their way at 9pm i got up this morning and the living room was still 74 degrees and the stove top was 250 degrees at 8am

You may burn up even less wood on ramping up the reload, if you perfect the top-down start. You'll need dry wood for it to work, though.

 

[Amigo Azul]

You may burn up even less wood on ramping up the reload, if you perfect the top-down start. You'll need dry wood for it to work, though.

I do top down when I start cold.

 

[Woody Stover]

I do top down when I start cold.

I'll sometimes do one when reloading a warm stove too. I just shove the coals to the back.
But I generally do what you do, pull the coals to the front. I then load the back with bigger splits and leave a relatively narrow space in the front for smaller splits to kick off the load and produce a lot of flame heat, which goes to the top of the box and heats the reburn area of the stove quickly (the cat, in my case.) I have andirons so I can stack high in the front.

 

[Geoff C]

You have andirons in the Oslo?

 

[Woody Stover]

You have andirons in the Oslo?

No, I don't have an Oslo.

 

[Amigo Azul]

I'll sometimes do one when reloading a warm stove too. I just shove the coals to the back.
But I generally do what you do, pull the coals to the front. I then load the back with bigger splits and leave a relatively narrow space in the front for smaller splits to kick off the load and produce a lot of flame heat, which goes to the top of the box and heats the reburn area of the stove quickly (the cat, in my case.) I have andirons so I can stack high in the front.

Pretty much exactly what I do.

 

[Amigo Azul]

You have andirons in the Oslo?

there are no andirons as the front lip behind the door is pretty high and deep on the back side.

 

[LumberCity]

I was shown the cat in the oslo v3 today. It's pretty unique looking. approximately 2x4x6 outer dimensions with a stainless steel framing going around the perimeter and also across the face ( 2 cross braces). Each cell is around 5/16" at the widest point and there are far fewer cells than in most cats, steel or ceramic. The rep i was talking to said that jotul claims the cat can withstand heat up to 7000F without any deterioration and should, in fact, easily last 20 years. Basically, he said jotul has been quietly working on cat design for years and the product they have come up with is bomb/idiot proof. Obviously there's no telling how much of that is BS, but those are pretty big statements.
It still looks like it's just a scrubber to clean up anything the secondary burners dont burn off.

edit: I just realized stainless steel melts way before 7000f. maybe he meant 2000f, or worse: 700f

 

[LumberCity]

edit: I just realized stainless steel melts way before 7000f. maybe he meant 2000f, or worse: 700f

I mentioned "rep" in the above post. I was referring to the dealer not an authorized representative of jotul.

 

[Longsnowsm]

For those that had a problem with getting good burn times from the v3 Oslo were you able to figure out what the issue was? Is it a problem with the air control? Would love to hear an update on how this cat version of the stove is doing for people and the burn times. Can it be dialed down for shoulder season or smaller spaces?

 

[Sailrmike]

Ours never has lazy flames. The air control lever doesn’t go as far to the left as it does to the right. I think I know what the problem is... I’ll take it apart tomorrow and see what’s up with it.

Any updates?

 

[webby3650]

Any updates?

Hasn’t been cold enough to try it out

 

[avsmusic1]

Hasn’t been cold enough to try it out

How bout now?

 

[wurstere]

My new Oslo v3 arrived last week. It replaced a very old VC that was in dire need of a rebuild. I got the Oslo broken in and so far it has been working amazingly well. I let a good bed of coals burn pretty low and then put about 4 large logs in, and turn the air control all the way down. I've found that long burn times are all about larger logs that limit surface area, ie 4 large logs much better than 6 or 7 smaller logs. Maybe that's obvious, but that's what works well for me in the Oslo v3. Then starting with coals that have burned pretty low so that it doesn't ignite too quickly and get going too fast. I load it at about 10:30pm and it has plenty of hot coals left at 7am to get started again within a short time - don't even have to use kindling. It could probably go to 8am without relighting but I haven't tested that. So far I'm thrilled with it - great stove.

Interestingly, my installer also installed the cat thermal probe incorrectly and I had to fix it per the instruction manual. No big deal, but ironic that that happened to someone else here.

 

[begreen]

Interestingly, my installer also installed the cat thermal probe incorrectly and I had to fix it per the instruction manual. No big deal, but ironic that that happened to someone else here.

Thanks for the report. When you get a chance can you enter a review in the Stove Reviews section? This helps others looking at this stove.

Sounds like the dealer network needs to do a little installer education on the cat thermometer install.

 

[bray09]

I tore down the old chimney last Sunday. I installed the new one this weekend and it's up and ready for the new stove. This spring/summer I'll address the wall issues that showed themselves after the masonry cinder block came down.

Love this corner hearth. Very cozy. i'm thinking of buying an Oslo 500 V3. How have you like yours so far?

 

[Thundermonkey]

I currently have a 1979 VC resolute that came with the house when I bought it almost 8 years ago. I have done the gaskets several times and even had the stove rebuilt by the original factory dealer in Vermont. The rebuild was not very good as there was some kind of upheaval in the service area of the company. The right side flame extender is rotting away and getting the part really isn't worth it along with the fact it loves to eat wood and lots of it and always has. The old stove has done its service for 2 owners and deserves a nice retirement to a small guest cabin. Needless to say the stove is being replaced with a Jotul F500 Oslo V3 epa 2020 compliant stove this coming Monday. I'm really looking forward to being the guinea pig for this new stove and will update as I burn it.

It's been a while, any updates on how this stove is doing? any issues?

 

[Simonkenton]

Small world, BlueFriend, I had a 1988 VC Resolute that I burned for 6 years. Great stove! It stayed with that house when I sold the house. I now have a 2016 Oslo, what a great stove.

 

[webby3650]

How bout now?

Update: I’ve brought the Oslo home to give it a real world go. So far it’s been doing awesome! Very clean burning and a great heater. Time will tell how durable it is.