Ideal Steel Add-ons

That's a tough question. With both options, there is a lot of soapstone on this stove. Mine has both. All I can tell you is that in mild weather I can still get usable heat from this stove after 24 hours. I'm not sure if that is the soapstone or not.

I would think it's the soapstone JA I almost got the IS but got the PH and the heat really lingers. Those were the only 2 options I ordered on the IS before changing.

freeburn said:

Opinion time... I'm not interested in all the fancy add-ons for the Ideal Steel stove, and I don't want the ash pan. I'm used to scooping out ashes and like that way anyway. So my question is..
Is soapstone worth the $110 upcharge inside the stove vs firebrick?

Are the soapstone panels on the outside really worth the extra $90?

I'm really more interested in the technology and long burns of the stove. I've never had soapstone, so I'm not sure of the benefits in this stove.

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I don't think all the options are that big of a deal, especially if you actually don't want the ash pan (probably the most 'functional' of the extras) I say go for the plain stove! Soapstone might 'smooth' out the heat some but it doesn't give you any btu's. The stove is very efficient and controls great, the extras are just personal preference IMO. It's nice to customize things, but the basic stove is just as good of a heater.

I took a Soapstone brick and regular fire brick of the same dimension and put them on my stovetop. I took them off at 250 degrees.
An hour later the soapstone is still very warm. The firebrick is cold. I did that for my own curiosity. Maybe my next test will be to put them both in the stove and see what that does.

I'm sure it's not a huge gain, but it might give you some of your btus back slower. Steel heats fast and cools down fast.

Would the soapstone inside the stove be subject to breaking and need periodic replacement, like fire brick?

Just here to give some of the extras a new owners endorsement after a few months of use.

The soapstone was a no brainier for me. With 40+ degree outside temperature swings between night and daytime, the extra hours of mellow heat radiating off the stove from a load that went in the night before keep my house comfortable all day. If I were to reload in the morning when the high is above freezing, I would be opening windows at 2:00. And 90% of the time I can stir up enough coals for a matchless relight after 24 hours. Can't say that firebricks wouldn't do the same, but any extra thermal mass is greatly appreciated by me. I should also qualify this by saying that spruce, fir, and gamble oak are the best firewood we have in the region, so my burn times won't compare with those that have hardwood readily available.

I also wish that the catalytic temperature probe was a stocked catalog item at Woodstock. I burned for the first half of the winter without one. This being my first cat stove, I ran it hotter and faster than I needed to in fear of a dirty chimney. Once I got the 3-12-1 from Condar, I realized how much slower I could burn and still keep the chimney clean. I think the cat probe should be mandatory for those wanting to get the most from their hard earned firewood.

Wasn't sure about the ash pan, but now I wouldn't want to live without. I feel like I'm burning wood more efficently because I'm only removing ash and leaving even the small coals to burn completely. The house stays a whole lot cleaner as well with the sliding cover.

Didn't do the stovetop decorations so no opinion there.

I absolutely love the stove. I don't think it's combination of efficency and value can be beat at this point. With the recurring sales on "the works" versions, it sure seems like the way to go. If I knew then what I know now, it would have been even easier to throw down the credit card without hesitation. The only extra I'm waiting for now is a toolset and hanger to match my pine tree side panels.

velvetfoot said:

Would the soapstone inside the stove be subject to breaking and need periodic replacement, like fire brick?

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I've banged my ash rake pretty hard several times in my IS.
I'm pretty sure it is way more durable than fire brick; I've busted several of those over the years in my Lopi.

Here's a video showing a soapstone liner install:

freeburn said:

I'm not interested in all the fancy add-ons for the Ideal Steel stove, and I don't want the ash pan.

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CO burner said:

Wasn't sure about the ash pan, but now I wouldn't want to live without.

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If you've never had a good grated ash system before, you don't know what you're missing. I think you'll find that the vast majority of new users agree with CO burner; After you use it for a while, you realize what a pain in the arse shoveling 'em out was, and you're not going back.
Between wanting to vent through the (low) fireplace opening so I don't have to look at a pipe, and wanting a grated ash pan, there's not all that many stoves for me to pick from.

Woody is right about that ash pan.