New Jotul F500 Oslo V3 Challenges

[rothnh]

Figured I'd start a new thread based on experience dealing with some issues on my new Jotul Oslo F500 v3. I was previously the owner of a Jotul Firelight 12 for the last 15 years (it did the job nicely, but was getting old). I live near Concord, NH. My dealer is Abundant Life in Chichester, NH.

There seemed to be an obvious air leak when I first started using the new stove about a month ago, The fire would not subside and at best I could get a 2-3 hour fierce burn. In addition, it took Herculean strength to latch the main door.

Caveat: When addressing a wood stove issue, it is always humbling to not be knocked down by variables like dryness of wood and health of the chimney. I had to get my gander up and assume those two factors are relatively "normal" for me.

To start, of course, I went to Heath.com and read related posts. Some very helpful ones were:

• This post clearly showed two holes on the left and right side of the ash tray cavity (installed by Jotul to meet government standards)
• This post described poor quality control around gaskets and inspecting units

Both posts helped me to proceed. Here are some steps and results.

• The easiest to address was the door issue as it is acknowledged and common. Jotul has a fix involving a new latch and set of shims. It came in a small package. The factory instructions, despite being simple, were slightly off - but the fix was easily done. Abundant Life was very helpful.
• The next fix was likewise easy. I followed the post's guidance and went to Harbor Freight and bought a set of $2.95 magnets. I used a nickel-sized one on each side and covered the left and right air holes in the ash tray cavity. I did notice a slight different as the fire was a bit more controllable, but certainly not there yet. This issue, POSSIBLY stemming for a need to meet government standards, is sort of devious.
• The burn issue was more complicated and work is ongoing to resolve. After doing the dollar bill test (this video was done with the replacement door), it was evident that the ash door, which I suspected, was not sealing correctly despite the new factory installed gasket (which I perceived was sloppily installed). Paul, the service manager at Abundant Life, was terrific. He put a new gasket on it and I took it home to try; unfortunately the problem was still there. I went back and Paul affirmed the issue using a floor model. He sent me home with the floor model's ash door to try and that made a BIG improvement. The next day, after a 7 hour overnight burn - I STILL had embers (first time) which was a huge positive turn. As we looked at the original door, it was evident that it should never have passed quality inspection in terms of its cast mold and gasket. Disappointing.
• Lastly the pin that holds the ash door to the frame has issues. Likewise, lack of quality build/control. The pin should "just" slide in. It does not and Paul is ordering a new pin.

Overall, I want to investigate if the gasket on the ash door can be even tighter, but that is what I will do over the next stretch. Paul, after watching the video, feels it is within specification. Overall, the stove's performance has improved dramatically and I am able to control the fire where previously I could not. All this has evolved in the past few days so I need to get more data to ensure a long-term solution.

My raw feeling is that Jotul, as a Maine manufacturer, has some quality control (QC) issues. I am not sure I would recommend purchasing a Jotul at this point as my issues are raw, but my thinking may evolve. The F500 Oslo v3 may be a good product for the long-term, but the short-term experience has been weak (Abundant Life, the dealer, was great).

I will update in the future. Hope this post helps others in the same or similar boat.

 

[bigealta]

Figured I'd start a new thread based on experience dealing with some issues on my new Jotul Oslo F500 v3. I was previously the owner of a Jotul Firelight 12 for the last 15 years (it did the job nicely, but was getting old). I live near Concord, NH. My dealer is Abundant Life in Chichester, NH.

There seemed to be an obvious air leak when I first started using the new stove about a month ago, The fire would not subside and at best I could get a 2-3 hour fierce burn. In addition, it took Herculean strength to latch the main door.

Caveat: When addressing a wood stove issue, it is always humbling to not be knocked down by variables like dryness of wood and health of the chimney. I had to get my gander up and assume those two factors are relatively "normal" for me.

To start, of course, I went to Heath.com and read related posts. Some very helpful ones were:

• This post clearly showed two holes on the left and right side of the ash tray cavity (installed by Jotul to meet government standards)
• This post described poor quality control around gaskets and inspecting units

Both posts helped me to proceed. Here are some steps and results.

• The easiest to address was the door issue as it is acknowledged and common. Jotul has a fix involving a new latch and set of shims. It came in a small package. The factory instructions, despite being simple, were slightly off - but the fix was easily done. Abundant Life was very helpful.
• The next fix was likewise easy. I followed the post's guidance and went to Harbor Freight and bought a set of $2.95 magnets. I used a nickel-sized one on each side and covered the left and right air holes in the ash tray cavity. I did notice a slight different as the fire was a bit more controllable, but certainly not there yet. This issue, POSSIBLY stemming for a need to meet government standards, is sort of devious.
• The burn issue was more complicated and work is ongoing to resolve. After doing the dollar bill test (this video was done with the replacement door), it was evident that the ash door, which I suspected, was not sealing correctly despite the new factory installed gasket (which I perceived was sloppily installed). Paul, the service manager at Abundant Life, was terrific. He put a new gasket on it and I took it home to try; unfortunately the problem was still there. I went back and Paul affirmed the issue using a floor model. He sent me home with the floor model's ash door to try and that made a BIG improvement. The next day, after a 7 hour overnight burn - I STILL had embers (first time) which was a huge positive turn. As we looked at the original door, it was evident that it should never have passed quality inspection in terms of its cast mold and gasket. Disappointing.
• Lastly the pin that holds the ash door to the frame has issues. Likewise, lack of quality build/control. The pin should "just" slide in. It does not and Paul is ordering a new pin.

Overall, I want to investigate if the gasket on the ash door can be even tighter, but that is what I will do over the next stretch. Paul, after watching the video, feels it is within specification. Overall, the stove's performance has improved dramatically and I am able to control the fire where previously I could not. All this has evolved in the past few days so I need to get more data to ensure a long-term solution.

My raw feeling is that Jotul, as a Maine manufacturer, has some quality control (QC) issues. I am not sure I would recommend purchasing a Jotul at this point as my issues are raw, but my thinking may evolve. The F500 Oslo v3 may be a good product for the long-term, but the short-term experience has been weak (Abundant Life, the dealer, was great).

I will update in the future. Hope this post helps others in the same or similar boat.

Excellent write up. Thanks and keep us posted on any new updates. Many people here either have this stove or want to get one but are resistant due to the quality control issues you talk about.

The older versions are generally loved by their owners.

 

[ColdInMA]

Thank you for this overview and for linking to the previous posts. I just got my stove last week and after doing the break-in, I started to suspect something might not be right because the fire burns so intensely even when the damper is completely shut. The thing that really worries me is that this seemed to become a problem just a couple days ago, which makes me wonder if, in addition to the ash pan holes, there is some additional warpage that has occurred since I started running the stove. The stove is too hot right now to inspect anything though I did do the incense test and it does not appear that there are air leaks around the body of the stove. Tomorrow when it's cool I'll check the ash pan. It's a bit nervous-making when the stove gets really hot even when the damper is all the way to the left. This definitely did not seem to be such an issue the first couple days after break-in, but being new to the stove, I wasn't sure if I was just imagining this.

The other issue I am having is that there is a bit temperature discrepancy between surface temps and the probe temp. I was never able to get the stove over 450F according to the surface thermometer, which is an old one from my previous stove, while the internal probe was reading 1100 to 1200 F (I have not let the stove get hotter than that). I am wondering if the surface thermometer is bad but also whether the pebbled surface of the stovetop (I got the enameled one) prevents the thermometer from reading properly.

Oh yeah - and shutting the front door is BRUTAL - I can barely close it. I think I need that latch kit.

Other than all that... ! No, I do really like this stove - I replaced an old and leaky VC Encore, and wow, what a huge difference in heat output. But I'm not thrilled with the idea of air sneaking in, or gases/CO2 sneaking out, not to mention, the stove is burning wood faster than I think it should.

 

[rothnh]

Thanks for adding your story to the mix.. Here is my quick update on the Oslo F500 V3

• I see similar .. the surface at 450/500 and the gases considerably higher when it is a "hot" stove
• Covering up the air holes AND fixing the door, made a big difference as I mentioned (brought the stove to normal - not a high bar)
• I never did an incense test and probably should as my experience leaves me wondering if there is some leakage - could the stove be better? This was the crux of my first post - I've lost some confidence in Jotul given they let a stove with two major issues pass quality inspection (the door latch is an easy fix - definitely do it yourself vs. a tech coming out)
• I run the stove and it stays hot for 6+ hours with sufficiently hot embers to restart at 8 hours (almost always). I do at times open the ash door to get the fire going which they suggest not doing (I did it on my Firelight 12 forever)
• I think the stove's vent works well and adjusting it causes proportionate changes
• I don't think I recommend getting an ash tray model - just not great overall.

Hope this helps.. keep in touch!

Steve (NH)

 

[ColdInMA]

Here’s an update on my situation, and a question.

Once my stove cooled, I was able to inspect the ash pan. The two little holes are drilled on the *back panel* of the removable pan on my stove, right near each corner at the top – not on the sides like other people had reported.

I didn’t have magnets to block them but I stuck a couple screws in there to at least partially block airflow. But I wondered in fact if no matter what, air will get into the ash pan over the top, and it’s the airtightness of the ash pan door that really matters.

I tried the dollar bill test (pulling it through various sealed doors). There was resistance, but I was able to easily pull it both through the ash pan door, and the front glass door (I didn’t try the side door). I had seen another video (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=OVVWNDJOVnBOMEdEM29JRGh1SkZxNDhuUmkwYTVB) where it wasn't possible to pull it through the main door, so again I wonder... is my stove not tight enough?

The stove continues to burn in a lively way even if the damper is totally shut. Often, the flames are just on one side (the right), which suggests to me there is an air leak contributing. But it occurred to me that maybe I am unrealistic about how much it’s possible to shut it down?

I shot a couple short videos and I was hoping that people could comment on them – both have the damper all the way shut – does this look like an unreasonable amount of combustion, considering the main airflow is blocked? The videos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PG2eQukhD283pJXq7

The first one is a good example of how most of the combustion seems to be on the right.

Thanks for your input.

 

[bigealta]

That looks just fine to me. Yes sometimes the flames can be on one side with how the wood is laying. But it should not always be just on one side. I'd say open the draft just a bit on the 1st video.

 

[My3sons_NH]

Thank you for this post, it's very informative and timely. I just visited Abundant Life last week speaking with Rand looking at stove options for my ~2200 sq' log home. My stone fireplace, while functional, mainly provides ambiance at best. I just started researching stoves for next heating season and your detailed experience gives me pause on this Jotul model. I have experience with an older VC Defiant but my understanding is with VC, they don't build them like they used to. Not looking to hijack your thread, just a new member stopping in to say thank you for the detailed review and update. Research continues...

 

[Vermont wood burner]

Here’s an update on my situation, and a question.

Once my stove cooled, I was able to inspect the ash pan. The two little holes are drilled on the *back panel* of the removable pan on my stove, right near each corner at the top – not on the sides like other people had reported.

I didn’t have magnets to block them but I stuck a couple screws in there to at least partially block airflow. But I wondered in fact if no matter what, air will get into the ash pan over the top, and it’s the airtightness of the ash pan door that really matters.

I tried the dollar bill test (pulling it through various sealed doors). There was resistance, but I was able to easily pull it both through the ash pan door, and the front glass door (I didn’t try the side door). I had seen another video (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=OVVWNDJOVnBOMEdEM29JRGh1SkZxNDhuUmkwYTVB) where it wasn't possible to pull it through the main door, so again I wonder... is my stove not tight enough?

The stove continues to burn in a lively way even if the damper is totally shut. Often, the flames are just on one side (the right), which suggests to me there is an air leak contributing. But it occurred to me that maybe I am unrealistic about how much it’s possible to shut it down?

I shot a couple short videos and I was hoping that people could comment on them – both have the damper all the way shut – does this look like an unreasonable amount of combustion, considering the main airflow is blocked? The videos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PG2eQukhD283pJXq7

The first one is a good example of how most of the combustion seems to be on the right.

Thanks for your input.

I have been following your thread. Your posts read like you have read my mind and typed it out. I have the same problems as you. I agree with all your points and have suspected the same. I had a tech come out and replace all gaskets, to no avail. I can replace it with a brand new V3 or move to the Hearth Stone MANCHESTER. I like the Jotul, but I have suspected something was wrong from day one. I bought it in DEC 2023. Would you get another V3 or move on if you have the option?