Todd
Minister of Fire
BrowningBAR said:
I think the BK t-stat gives an advantage over Woodstock's by giving them a more consistant low end BTU burn and extending the burn. My next stove will have a t-stat.
Our New Progress Hybrid
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I think the BK t-stat gives an advantage over Woodstock's by giving them a more consistant low end BTU burn and extending the burn. My next stove will have a t-stat.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
Todd said:
For me, the perfect stove would be Blaze Kings Cat and t-stat system, with Woodstocks build quality and customer service, wrapped in a VC Defiant (top loading and firebox size). I would eventually own three of those stoves and enjoy every minute of it.
leeave96
Minister of Fire
Todd said:
Does this mean a VC Encore or Defiant 2in1 is in your future? Cat stove, thermostat, top load, large ashpan, easy on the eyes looks....
Bill
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
leeave96 said:Todd said:
Does this mean a VC Encore or Defiant 2in1 is in your future? Cat stove, thermostat, top load, large ashpan, easy on the eyes looks....
Bill
I'm pretty sure the BK t-stat works a lot better than the VC.
Todd said:
Yes, but there's where I have a problem. Apparently, t-stat or not, the BK appears to be very responsive to air control whereas the PH seems to be not so much. If I'm in the room, I am the t-stat since I can make all the fine adjustments I want to based on desired room temp and what I see going on inside the box. Doesn't do much good with or without thermostatic control if the device itself doesn't respond well to these air changes.
HollowHill
Minister of Fire
Battenkiller said:
So far, mine has seemed to be very responsive to draft control changes, and miniscule ones at that. Of course, I haven't gotten brave enough to fill her to the gills (even typing that sends me into a hyperventilative state) yet. Just 3 large size splits. But so far, I really feel that the PH has been responsive, controlled and consistent. If I set the draft to a certain flame activity level, that is the activity level I will see until the wood starts to become coals.
Todd
Minister of Fire
Ha, even though I love the looks of the VC's I still don't trust them. I decided to turn my 3 season porch into a four season next year and I'm thinking that the extra square footage will give me a good excuse for a new stove. If Woodstock installs a thermostat in this new stove it will be at the top of the list otherwise it's going to be Blaze King.leeave96 said:Todd said:
Does this mean a VC Encore or Defiant 2in1 is in your future? Cat stove, thermostat, top load, large ashpan, easy on the eyes looks....
Bill
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
Todd said:Ha, even though I love the looks of the VC's I still don't trust them. I decided to turn my 3 season porch into a four season next year and I'm thinking that the extra square footage will give me a good excuse for a new stove. If Woodstock installs a thermostat in this new stove it will be at the top of the list otherwise it's going to be Blaze King.leeave96 said:Todd said:
Does this mean a VC Encore or Defiant 2in1 is in your future? Cat stove, thermostat, top load, large ashpan, easy on the eyes looks....
Bill
Leeaves desperately wants one of us to buy a VC 2-in-1 stove. I think he wants us to be his Guinea pig. :lol:
BrowningBAR said:
Well, with so many volunteer guinea pigs with the PH, there has to be one brave soul somewhere to jump on the VC, eh? %-P
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
Battenkiller said:
Well, its look more and more like I will end up with two cat Defiants. I may be the pig that Leeaves is looking for.
Flamestead
Feeling the Heat
I looked long and hard at the 2-in-1 stoves, but opted for the Progress Hybrid. I've had VC-envy for years, but the notion that 'maybe' the company has turned a corner with better components/service was weighed against a new untried model from a well-regarded company and found to be too long a bet for me. I was looking for several months in the used market, but of course the only VCs there are the ones earlier than the 2-in-1.
(I hope HollowHill isn't counting the reply above as our daily fix of Progress Hybrid reports!)
(I hope HollowHill isn't counting the reply above as our daily fix of Progress Hybrid reports!)
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
Flamestead said:
Seriously, I need more photos. And shove more wood into that thing, we all want to know how much heat that thing kicks out! :lol:
Chopernator
Member
Yeah I cant wait either to of the reports on the P.H especially the burn time and temp....Keep up the good work and dont forget to report in lol....
leeave96
Minister of Fire
The VC 2in1 stoves look great on paper and in person, but so do the Woodstock soapstone stoves and I am sure you won't crack a piece of refractory dropping a chunk of wood in it or from an overfire. But the 2in1 Defiant is one stove I'm keeping an eye on.
You guys let me know when you buy one and how it works out...
Bill
You guys let me know when you buy one and how it works out...
Bill
certified106
Minister of Fire
This thread needs a lot more updates on the Progress (see what I did there ;-) ) I keep waiting for some time and temperature of burns and actual reports on meaningful burn times as well as heat output when that bad boy is rolling the secondaries. Keep up the progress lol. Seriously though thanks for the updates you have provided us with so far I keep checking back every day for the next one
Our progress is up and running. Have gone thru break-in period. I did the first overnight burn last night with mixed results. I loaded the firebox to approximately 80% capacity at 11:00PM and turned the fire down to what I thought would be a long slow burn setting (Approx 1/2†travel on air control lever from fully closed position). I thought this would be a slow setting since there was virtually no activity in the firebox and the glass had started to smoke up lightly.
I checked it at 8:00AM today and found enough embers for a re-load but not enough to go another 5 to 8 hours. Also the glass had completely cleared off. What I think happened is that the stove got hotter sometime during the night (this is why the glass cleared off) and consumed most of the wood at that time. The house was warmer than what I would have expected as well with the lower setting. I guess I’ll have to keep experimenting with the settings.
I checked it at 8:00AM today and found enough embers for a re-load but not enough to go another 5 to 8 hours. Also the glass had completely cleared off. What I think happened is that the stove got hotter sometime during the night (this is why the glass cleared off) and consumed most of the wood at that time. The house was warmer than what I would have expected as well with the lower setting. I guess I’ll have to keep experimenting with the settings.
kochis said:
Todd really knows these stoves. His call for a thermostatic control on the PH ought to be heard by the folks at Woodstock or they may lose one of their most ardent supporters to the dark side.
I think you had the air open too much. On my Fireview I set the air to almost closed for overnight burns.
I was running a Keystone prior to my Progress. That seemed to be a lot easier to control tempwise and ran for as long on much less wood. Granted the heat output was lower and used much less wood (smaller firebox) but having more heat than desired is wasteful.
Stove-top temp measurements on a Woodstock stove depend a lot on where you put the thermometer. I have a new Fireview and I recently added a combustor probe thermometer in addition to the stove-top thermometer Woodstock provides.
I engage the combustor when the flue surface temp 18" above my stove has reached 375 F for about 10 minutes. Just before I flip the bypass lever the combustor probe temp is around 550 F, but it rises to 900 F after the combustor has been going for awhile. I place my Woodstock stove-temp thermometer where they recommend placing it - centered above the left side of the stainless steel baffle that covers the combustor. With about a 20 min. lag, the stove-top thermometer rises until it reaches about half of the combustor probe temp, i.e., about 450 F.
As the burn continues and dies down, perhaps three hours later, the flue surface temp will have dropped to 235 F and the Fireview window will show just a big pile of coals with a little flame. However, the combustor will still be chugging away, with the probe still reading 650 - 700 F and the stove-top thermometer still reading 325 -350 F or so.
The key is that the stove-top thermometer is right above the combustor, which is burning all the volatiles in the exhaust gas, even though there are mostly coals and very little flame in the main part of the stove. At this point, if you move the stove-top thermometer to one of the corners of the soapstone stove-top it will only read around 230 F, a much lower reading than the area of the stove-top right above the combustor.
My point is that if your stove-top thermometer is located right above the combustor high stove-top temps on the Fireview, and I assume on the PH also, reflect that the combustor is still doing its job of burning volatiles that do not burn in the visible flame within the main stove, and do not necessarily mean that the whole stove surface is still emanating heat at an equally high level.
I engage the combustor when the flue surface temp 18" above my stove has reached 375 F for about 10 minutes. Just before I flip the bypass lever the combustor probe temp is around 550 F, but it rises to 900 F after the combustor has been going for awhile. I place my Woodstock stove-temp thermometer where they recommend placing it - centered above the left side of the stainless steel baffle that covers the combustor. With about a 20 min. lag, the stove-top thermometer rises until it reaches about half of the combustor probe temp, i.e., about 450 F.
As the burn continues and dies down, perhaps three hours later, the flue surface temp will have dropped to 235 F and the Fireview window will show just a big pile of coals with a little flame. However, the combustor will still be chugging away, with the probe still reading 650 - 700 F and the stove-top thermometer still reading 325 -350 F or so.
The key is that the stove-top thermometer is right above the combustor, which is burning all the volatiles in the exhaust gas, even though there are mostly coals and very little flame in the main part of the stove. At this point, if you move the stove-top thermometer to one of the corners of the soapstone stove-top it will only read around 230 F, a much lower reading than the area of the stove-top right above the combustor.
My point is that if your stove-top thermometer is located right above the combustor high stove-top temps on the Fireview, and I assume on the PH also, reflect that the combustor is still doing its job of burning volatiles that do not burn in the visible flame within the main stove, and do not necessarily mean that the whole stove surface is still emanating heat at an equally high level.
fire_man
Minister of Fire
Very Interesting.... I always wondered once the wood burned down to coals, if the cat was doing any good, or if it was heating up just from flue gas. Sounds like it's still active and making heat at the end of the burn cycle.
Makes me glad I have a Cat in there to grab all of those leftover BTU's that would have flown up the flue!
Makes me glad I have a Cat in there to grab all of those leftover BTU's that would have flown up the flue!
I also wondered if the cat was still doing anything when the fire had burned down to just coals. One day when the fire was mostly coals I went out in the front yard and looked up at my chimney - nothing seemed to be coming out at all. Then I went back in the house and dropped the bypass lever. I went went back out in the front yard to look again and I saw a thin wisp of gray smoke coming out of my chimney.
Now I leave the cat engaged until the fire goes out and I only drop the bypass lever when I get ready to start the next fire.
Now I leave the cat engaged until the fire goes out and I only drop the bypass lever when I get ready to start the next fire.
Hey guys
!
I just went 25 hours with my Progress with more than enough coals remaining for a re-light.
This is just right for me. I fill it at 10 PM to the top. Wait for it to catch well enough for the cat to be active, then fully close the damper as well as the flue damper.
At 8 AM the top is still at 250 deg with the stove about 1/3 full with the remaining wood. This stays active thru the day with enough heat to keep the house comfortable.
If the evening is cold I will put 3 splits in to reheat the house then start the process again before bed.
If it is warm like it has been, then I don't bother with the 3 splits and just wait till bedtime with enough embers still left and them reload to the top again.
The temp output is not even the entire time. More heat comes off during the first 8 hours of the burn, however that's fine since it's usually the coldest during the night. During the day we don't need nearly as much heat so it works out just right.
I would not get this long burn time with just the stove damped down. It also requires the flue damped closed as well.
!I just went 25 hours with my Progress with more than enough coals remaining for a re-light.
This is just right for me. I fill it at 10 PM to the top. Wait for it to catch well enough for the cat to be active, then fully close the damper as well as the flue damper.
At 8 AM the top is still at 250 deg with the stove about 1/3 full with the remaining wood. This stays active thru the day with enough heat to keep the house comfortable.
If the evening is cold I will put 3 splits in to reheat the house then start the process again before bed.
If it is warm like it has been, then I don't bother with the 3 splits and just wait till bedtime with enough embers still left and them reload to the top again.
The temp output is not even the entire time. More heat comes off during the first 8 hours of the burn, however that's fine since it's usually the coldest during the night. During the day we don't need nearly as much heat so it works out just right.
I would not get this long burn time with just the stove damped down. It also requires the flue damped closed as well.
fire_man
Minister of Fire
4wheelcycle said:
That's something I am gonna have to try now! This sounds like one more reason to have a cat in the house!
fire_man
Minister of Fire
Double post - how do you delete a post and not have to be an all powerful and somewhat omni-potent MODERATOR?
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