I've got the Oslo 500, with clear face. It's a good stove. If you burn 24/7 the ash pan is worthless, because when you empty the pan, the hot ash from above will fall into the ash pan void, and now you will have an issue getting the hot ash out of there. I leave the ash pan full, and only remove ash with a shovel into a double bottomed metal bucket. I do leave a little ash on the bottom, as you said, because that will insulate the coals burning overnight, and leave me hot coals for restarting the next morning. Once a week, I let the ashes burn way down, and remove 90% of the ash in the burn compartment, then restart a cold fire. I have found that the stove will get hotter and do so faster if there is not too much ash in the stove. If you let the ash and coals build to say 4", you are in effect reducing the size of the stove, and I've noticed by the temperature gauge I put on top that it will not get as as hot period, and takes longer. Overall I'm very happy with the stove, and I needed a rear exit stove because we only had a fireplace insert, so we mounted it on the floor in front of the opening. Since I cut my wood, I can make much of it 12"long, so that I can put it north/South, but it is not difficult putting it East/West. My cedar Is also 12" so I can easily put that N/S to rekindle in the AM and then put 16" oak E/W across. The other issue with too much ash build up is you reduce the stacking height of the wood for your overnight fires, because they hit the smoke reburning element at the top. If I did not need the rear exit, I think I would prefer a deeper and taller stove. Alot depends on what is available in your area. I wanted a pro install because I had to run the pipe up the chimney flu and didn't want to take any risk of not installing it correctly myself.
This was our primary heater all winter of 2018/2019. First year with it. Had no issues keeping our old drafty house warm, about 72 degrees in sub zero temps. Some nights with wind chill we were down -20f. Still kept it in the 70’s running on low. Definitely a good stove. If you want a little more control you can partially block the secondary air intake with a wad of tinfoil. It’s located at the bottom of the stove in the back. However this stove is designed to pump out the BTUs. This is why the primary air leaver lets in so much air and can never be fully closed. Burn times for us averaged about 6 1/2 hours but the stove holds a good coal bed for a long long time. About 10 - 12 hours if it’s loaded with sugar maple or oak. Stove top will still be about 250f. I just got through your review on the 50tl. These stoves should operate about the same so it may be the difference in your setups which are effecting performance.
KJames Jr. I would agree that the setups are not exactly apples to apples comparison. With that being said, the Rangeley is about 8% more efficient and several thousand BTU’s more output according to the manufacturer. The output difference is noticeable, but it’s not extreme. The difference I notice most is the mass. The Oslo heats up pretty quick, but cools down quick. Nice for milder days. The Rangeley has a lot more mass and takes a while to warm up, but takes forever to cook down creating a more even heat.
KJames, I thought I was the only one who did that with the tin foil. LOL If you want good overnight burns with a toasty morning coal bed, burn locust overnight on the sub freezing nights.
Joe Ganusi Wow... old post. Yeah the tin foil “trick” is great if you really like watching the secondary flames dance REALLY slowly lol. However it doesn’t really crank the heat out and when it’s subzero we really like to crank ours up. You must be a little further south, or west of where I’m at. Here red oak/beech/sugar (hard) maple are the primo fuels. This stove will leave us a great coal bed for relighting with just about any decent hardwood.
We have had this stove since 2005 so it is the first version. The door glass is a pain in the ass to clean because of the outside iron work. Now they offer a clean face unit which I would recommend. There is about 3/4 of an inch between the glass and the iron work. We have been happy with the ability to heat our 2000' home that has electric heat ( built in 1969 ) very well. We are retired now, live in SE WI so feeding it isn't an issue. We use about 6 cords of Harwood per year. WE have a single story ranch that is L shaped with a sunroom in the middle of the L where the stove is located. Today I noticed the glass ( not glass but some other material) and have needed to replace the door seal as well. The stove has been trouble free except for the fire door handle which the kit ( tells you they have had problems) fixed easily. I also should replace the fire brick in the back as 2 of them have cracked. Being located in the sunroom ( 2 walls, all glass) at the furthest from the main part of this house, it heats well. I fit was in the main part of the house, it would roast us out of the house. I see the newest version has a catalytic combustion as opposed the the secondary air version of the original.
Yeah, the glass front is a bit of a challenge to clean with the decorative iron. Although, it doesn’t get all that dirty to begin with. Still no issues with this stove after all these years.
Thanks for the review. my dad has this stove and been burning it for 10 years. This year it built up creosote on the inside especially around the doors and ash pan door. I took it apart and cleaned it and plan on replacing the upper baffle which has a few small holes in it toward the back. Have you had any issues like this?
I can look for the install guide. I have a V.C. stove on my raised hearth. I need the pipe to go straight back vs. up for my connection to fit. Does this stove connection work going straight back? (top flange mount or reverse) Thanks, John
It goes into the firebox. I pull the baffle plate to the front which allows access to the flue. So when cleaning, the creosote and ash just falls into the firebox.
Etienne Scarbinski No I did not. From what I understand, the screen lowers the efficiency of the stove which defeats the purpose. We do open the door on occasion to roast marshmallows, a nice winter treat.
When I have the screen on the front door, it is so hot I have to move! Two small pieces of wood, and omg! Great stove. I heat 24/7 in n.h. At 74 years old by myself and three huskies and a poodle! Great life thanks to the f500!
How big is your home and what avg temp does it keep the house on a day that is 35 degrees or so? Any change in impressions now that you have owned it longer?
Jeffrey Gore at the time of recording The stove had been installed about five years. To put it into perspective, this stove heats my kitchen, dining room, three bedrooms, bathroom, and to some extend the living room. At 20 below the kitchen will be around 80 and the far bedroom will be around 70. Obviously numerous factors come into play, but temps above freezing this stove should heat 2,000 square feet comfortably.
Yes, many factors, such as how air tight the home is, if you use oak or wood with a lower heat output. In my case, I have a Vermont Castings (I might change to a Jotul though) raised ranch, with the stove on the fireplace raised hearth, the basement stairway is also in the LR, so heat goes down there too, since heat goes to cold (i.e. there's no door, just wide open to the basement.
I've got the Oslo 500, with clear face. It's a good stove. If you burn 24/7 the ash pan is worthless, because when you empty the pan, the hot ash from above will fall into the ash pan void, and now you will have an issue getting the hot ash out of there. I leave the ash pan full, and only remove ash with a shovel into a double bottomed metal bucket. I do leave a little ash on the bottom, as you said, because that will insulate the coals burning overnight, and leave me hot coals for restarting the next morning. Once a week, I let the ashes burn way down, and remove 90% of the ash in the burn compartment, then restart a cold fire. I have found that the stove will get hotter and do so faster if there is not too much ash in the stove. If you let the ash and coals build to say 4", you are in effect reducing the size of the stove, and I've noticed by the temperature gauge I put on top that it will not get as as hot period, and takes longer. Overall I'm very happy with the stove, and I needed a rear exit stove because we only had a fireplace insert, so we mounted it on the floor in front of the opening. Since I cut my wood, I can make much of it 12"long, so that I can put it north/South, but it is not difficult putting it East/West. My cedar Is also 12" so I can easily put that N/S to rekindle in the AM and then put 16" oak E/W across. The other issue with too much ash build up is you reduce the stacking height of the wood for your overnight fires, because they hit the smoke reburning element at the top. If I did not need the rear exit, I think I would prefer a deeper and taller stove. Alot depends on what is available in your area. I wanted a pro install because I had to run the pipe up the chimney flu and didn't want to take any risk of not installing it correctly myself.
This was our primary heater all winter of 2018/2019. First year with it. Had no issues keeping our old drafty house warm, about 72 degrees in sub zero temps. Some nights with wind chill we were down -20f. Still kept it in the 70’s running on low. Definitely a good stove. If you want a little more control you can partially block the secondary air intake with a wad of tinfoil. It’s located at the bottom of the stove in the back. However this stove is designed to pump out the BTUs. This is why the primary air leaver lets in so much air and can never be fully closed. Burn times for us averaged about 6 1/2 hours but the stove holds a good coal bed for a long long time. About 10 - 12 hours if it’s loaded with sugar maple or oak. Stove top will still be about 250f. I just got through your review on the 50tl. These stoves should operate about the same so it may be the difference in your setups which are effecting performance.
KJames Jr. I would agree that the setups are not exactly apples to apples comparison. With that being said, the Rangeley is about 8% more efficient and several thousand BTU’s more output according to the manufacturer.
The output difference is noticeable, but it’s not extreme. The difference I notice most is the mass. The Oslo heats up pretty quick, but cools down quick. Nice for milder days. The Rangeley has a lot more mass and takes a while to warm up, but takes forever to cook down creating a more even heat.
KJames, I thought I was the only one who did that with the tin foil. LOL If you want good overnight burns with a toasty morning coal bed, burn locust overnight on the sub freezing nights.
Joe Ganusi Wow... old post. Yeah the tin foil “trick” is great if you really like watching the secondary flames dance REALLY slowly lol. However it doesn’t really crank the heat out and when it’s subzero we really like to crank ours up. You must be a little further south, or west of where I’m at. Here red oak/beech/sugar (hard) maple are the primo fuels. This stove will leave us a great coal bed for relighting with just about any decent hardwood.
We have had this stove since 2005 so it is the first version. The door glass is a pain in the ass to clean because of the outside iron work. Now they offer a clean face unit which I would recommend. There is about 3/4 of an inch between the glass and the iron work. We have been happy with the ability to heat our 2000' home that has electric heat ( built in 1969 ) very well. We are retired now, live in SE WI so feeding it isn't an issue. We use about 6 cords of Harwood per year. WE have a single story ranch that is L shaped with a sunroom in the middle of the L where the stove is located. Today I noticed the glass ( not glass but some other material) and have needed to replace the door seal as well. The stove has been trouble free except for the fire door handle which the kit ( tells you they have had problems) fixed easily. I also should replace the fire brick in the back as 2 of them have cracked. Being located in the sunroom ( 2 walls, all glass) at the furthest from the main part of this house, it heats well. I fit was in the main part of the house, it would roast us out of the house. I see the newest version has a catalytic combustion as opposed the the secondary air version of the original.
Yeah, the glass front is a bit of a challenge to clean with the decorative iron. Although, it doesn’t get all that dirty to begin with. Still no issues with this stove after all these years.
Thank You..Great review
Tom Stribula you’re welcome
Thanks for the review. my dad has this stove and been burning it for 10 years. This year it built up creosote on the inside especially around the doors and ash pan door. I took it apart and cleaned it and plan on replacing the upper baffle which has a few small holes in it toward the back. Have you had any issues like this?
No, been easy to clean.
I can look for the install guide. I have a V.C. stove on my raised hearth. I need the pipe to go straight back vs. up for my connection to fit. Does this stove connection work going straight back? (top flange mount or reverse)
Thanks, John
Yes it does
Yes it does
What about cleaning the chimney; where does the soot go in this stove? Does it got to the firebox or must you disconnect the stovepipe?
It goes into the firebox. I pull the baffle plate to the front which allows access to the flue. So when cleaning, the creosote and ash just falls into the firebox.
Good review, did you get the screen
Etienne Scarbinski No I did not. From what I understand, the screen lowers the efficiency of the stove which defeats the purpose. We do open the door on occasion to roast marshmallows, a nice winter treat.
When I have the screen on the front door, it is so hot I have to move! Two small pieces of wood, and omg! Great stove. I heat 24/7 in n.h. At 74 years old by myself and three huskies and a poodle! Great life thanks to the f500!
How big is your home and what avg temp does it keep the house on a day that is 35 degrees or so? Any change in impressions now that you have owned it longer?
Jeffrey Gore at the time of recording The stove had been installed about five years.
To put it into perspective, this stove heats my kitchen, dining room, three bedrooms, bathroom, and to some extend the living room. At 20 below the kitchen will be around 80 and the far bedroom will be around 70.
Obviously numerous factors come into play, but temps above freezing this stove should heat 2,000 square feet comfortably.
Yes, many factors, such as how air tight the home is, if you use oak or wood with a lower heat output. In my case, I have a Vermont Castings (I might change to a Jotul though) raised ranch, with the stove on the fireplace raised hearth, the basement stairway is also in the LR, so heat goes down there too, since heat goes to cold (i.e. there's no door, just wide open to the basement.
You still enjoying this stove? Any issues?
Yes. Nothing of note as far as issues.
Load front to back. I cut my own wood. It burns all night
A bit more work, but certainly an option.