Absolute Steel Hybrid

You're a beta tester for this one too flame?

Nice, I'll be looking forward to your reports, you did a good job with the other one.

begreen said:

The firebox opening seems small, but I'm used to a larger stove. What is the opening size?

Click to expand...

12"w × 10"h

http://blog.woodstove.com/2015/12/new-hybrid-dimensions-and-specifications.html?m=1

That handle above the loading door- is that the bypass? What kind of burn times are you getting out of it so far?

begreen said:

The firebox is larger than I thought at 2.5 cu ft. Is it possible to load that amount of wood through the small side door?

Click to expand...

Flamestead said:

I think you would need to play Jenga to completely fill to the top due to the height of the door relative to the height of the firebox. The PH opening, for comparison, is 9 wide x 10.5 high, and the smoke shielding blocks off some of that.

Click to expand...

These door sizes might sound small if you've never run a side-loader, but it sounds to me that the PH smoke shield would be a bigger impediment to loading full. The Keystone door is 9 wide by 9.5 tall. I think the Fireview door may be a little taller but has that 'Indian temple' shape, where the top corners cut in. Even that's not hard to load. As the box gets full, you have to put the top of the back row in first, when you still have room to slip the split back into position. Then the top front and lastly the center. When packing the small side-loaders, it helps to have a few flat splits on hand to finish off the top.

Flamestead said:

The front andirons feel a bit short to me (they lift right out for cleaning the glass

Click to expand...

Nice! The Dutchwest has the lift-out andirons and I wish the Keystone and Fireview did. Don't really need 'em on the Dutchwest since the front door opens to clean the glass, but they sure would be handy on the stoves with fixed front glass. The Dutchwest andirons aren't very tall either, but you'll find you don't need much height to do the job.

I took the smoke shield off of my PH, it was a pain the arse.

With that fine tune air control I feel like it would be hard to find the right overnight sweet spot.

I would be curious to know who their target market is for this stove and their pricing. If you only sell it for $2-300 under the Ideal Steel it might look like less bang for your buck. I'm guessing maybe it will be around $1500?

I just figure if they price them too close there will be a thread on here everyday asking which to buy. Is there a definite difference in size, burn time, heat output, etc ?

The less important things like control, emissions, internals, don't really matter as much as meeting your heating needs.

We have always grouped the Ideal Steel and Progress Hybrid together as both being able to heat larger spaces. I wonder if this would fit that bill or be better grouped with the Fireview.

The Absolute Steel will be a good addition to the Woodstock lineup.

JA600L said:

I would be curious to know who their target market is for this stove

Click to expand...

I didn't want to put the way-oversized IS in here, and try to run it super-low most of the time. A bigger stove takes longer to get up to temp, and burns up more wood doing it. With a stove that has adequate output most of the time, yes, I may have to reload quicker when it's unusually cold and windy out. That's where the grated ash system comes in. I can swirl the poker through the coals, leaving big, clean coals which I can burn down in a short time since the air can move through the coals better, and the stove stays hotter while doing it. The AS bumps up output and fire box size a bit over the Fireview, and would give me the big window and ash removal system I want. I think it will fit nicely into Woodstock's lineup.

JA600L said:

I would be curious to know who their target market is for this stove and their pricing. If you only sell it for $2-300 under the Ideal Steel it might look like less bang for your buck. I'm guessing maybe it will be around $1500?

Click to expand...

I would perhaps be in the 'target market' group, though I don't know that for sure.Been looking for the perfect wood stove for the home we are building.
1450 sq. ft. on a tight budget, slab floor/R24 walls/R50 flat ceiling/no vault/stove centrally located in open floor plan home in the mild mid-west, Missouri Ozarks. Needing the low/slow burn of cat stove and heat output of secondary stove when called on.
We have too much shoulder season in our neck of the woods for a small, well insulated home to capitalize on a lot of stoves that are either to large and/or too pricey for the numbers to work well. ROI and Time spent operating must be considered. (wood heating as a hobby is a possible overriding factor for some of course, I get that)
But I need a stove that cost less than my brand new High efficiency furnace and A/C combined for Pete's sake
That I can use when it's 30 F outside at night and not run us out of the house, (yes we could open a window)
And still producing heat in the morning. reload and good till I am home in the evening)
Far as I can tell, a Cat stove is the only one that can do this.

My guess is that the heating industry is figuring out that the trend in building is smaller and tighter housing. And those who are building this way and considering wood heat as an option need options in various price ranges, not just the $3000+ flue pipe options.
Maybe this stove will be what fills the bill?

IS or PH? To much heat. Fireview, BK Ashford 20/30? nice stoves and Very Expensive.
Hoping the Absolute Steel Hybrid performs as hoped, for space like ours and priced to fit a budget like ours. But built to last like the BK should.
Too much to ask?

Looks like they will be advertising their introductory pricing this week per their Facebook post.