i am thinking of buying an ideal steel stove before the sale ends. i know it is a 3.2 cuft firebox. just wondering what the useful volume was in LxWxD and if the angled area on top is useful. trying to compare against my old stove to see what it is capable of. old stove didnt fit much wood and i need to push it to hard when it gets cold for long periods of time.
ideal steel firebox?
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Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
Useful is 20" if you load e/w, and 18 if you load n/s. That being said 18 is a little tight so if you cut just a hair under its perfect. Or take out the andirons. You can technically load 22 but it's a pain. This has been my fist year with it and I have decided to cut to 18 from here on out. That solves both e/w and n/s loading. What you can do it load splits e/w against the left or right side, then to take up the room on the opposite side load a few n/s. That really fills the firebox big time.
The slanted ceiling occasionally annoys me when loading n/s, but I combat that by loading n/, and then tossing a smaller split or two on top of the load to take up the space. When loading e/w just save some thinner splits for the top layer.
If that sounds complicated I apologize, it's really not. It's become second nature to me now.
This stove can throw heat. I'm unsure of your old stove but the IS is no slouch when it comes to running low and slow or when pushing it a bit. I loaded mine with red oak this past winter on a really cold day and literally had to move my couch a foot to 18 inches away from the stove.
The slanted ceiling occasionally annoys me when loading n/s, but I combat that by loading n/, and then tossing a smaller split or two on top of the load to take up the space. When loading e/w just save some thinner splits for the top layer.
If that sounds complicated I apologize, it's really not. It's become second nature to me now.
This stove can throw heat. I'm unsure of your old stove but the IS is no slouch when it comes to running low and slow or when pushing it a bit. I loaded mine with red oak this past winter on a really cold day and literally had to move my couch a foot to 18 inches away from the stove.
thanks for the info. can you clarify something for me though? i said LxWxD in my post. based on what you are saying i should have labeled my dimensions WxDxH. with the height varying along the depth of the stove. would you say W is 20(max) and D is 18(max)? any way you can measure the H for me? just trying to compare against my old stove.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
The inside of the firebox is 22 inches wide. It's 18 inches deep. The reason I say you don't want to use 22 inch wood though is because the door opening is only 17 inches wide so getting 22 inch wood in there really isn't realistic, especially with a hot stove.
Now if we want to talk firebox height it's going to vary due to the slope. The back wall is 12 inches high from the floor to the ceiling. The front is approximately 16 inches high from floor to ceiling. Although technically at the front there's no ceiling, there's open space for the exhaust to go up and out. I also measured the midpoint of the stove for height too. It's approximately 14 inches from floor to ceiling in the middle.
I was just suggesting to cut a hair shorter than 18" so that you u can load both e/w and n/s without having to pick thru your wood to find correct sizes. Are you familiar with what I'm talking about when I say e/w and n/s loading?
Now if we want to talk firebox height it's going to vary due to the slope. The back wall is 12 inches high from the floor to the ceiling. The front is approximately 16 inches high from floor to ceiling. Although technically at the front there's no ceiling, there's open space for the exhaust to go up and out. I also measured the midpoint of the stove for height too. It's approximately 14 inches from floor to ceiling in the middle.
I was just suggesting to cut a hair shorter than 18" so that you u can load both e/w and n/s without having to pick thru your wood to find correct sizes. Are you familiar with what I'm talking about when I say e/w and n/s loading?
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
Where are you located in NJ? I'm in NJ as well. If you want to come see it for yourself lemme know. I'd be happy to show you.
weatherguy
Minister of Fire
The woodstock fireboxes are pretty roomy with no obstructions so you can fill it no problem. Mine has a side door so I load 20-21 inch splits e/w so that slope doesn't cause any problems. If they advertise 3.2 you should be able to use almost all that area.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
The sloped firebox is worth it for the flame viewing. It holds a lot of wood. Usually more fits in than I can carry in one trip if I decide to pack it.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
I've got one of those canvas tote bags with the handles and a full bag won't fill the stove. Close but not all the way.
i am at exit 74 off gsp, i would have loved to come look at one but i want to order in next day or so for the sale price. at 22x18x12 the useable space is around 2.75cuft which is double my old stoves useable space. i plan to load N/S as all my wood is cut at 18 inches. i have been using a 2190 encore to heat with for the last few years. my father used it for a year then moved to a new house. it was sitting in the garage for almost 20 years. i can get 9 hour reloads with coals but only 5-6 hours of good heat in the dead of winter. i went this season without using the furnace once but it was mild. the reload times are too close though and i know im running it too hard.
posting this on my phone is proving difficult. anyway, the encore only fit between 1-1.5 cuft of wood and i am heating 2000 sqft with it. this should be a real good upgrade as i should be able to get all the heat my house needs on a 12 hour reload schedule or longer.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
I'm literally 2 minutes off of exit 100. You are at the forked river exit. I'm home by 1pm if you want to check it out real quick.
huauqui
Burning Hunk
You just have to love this place, way to help out a fellow forum member/wood burner Badaganoosh!
JA600L
Minister of Fire
I loaded up last night around 10pm with some decent hardwoods (not the best). I kept it at the same lower air setting the entire time and didn't touch it. I just got home from work. I can put my hand on the stove top, but it is definitely still making heat. I opened up the air and got some nice glowing coals. It would be an easy reload but it's not going to be cold tonight so I turned it back down. It will probably give a little heat to keep the inside temperature decent. It's 71 in here and 46 outside almost 24 hours later. It definitely burns longer if you load east and west.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
He stopped by today. I had made a small fire last night around 6pm with some soft maple. Maybe half a load. There was still some hot coals around 2pm today and the stove surface was reading as high as 94 on the ir thermometer.
I think he's really going to like the stove. He's going to order one tomorrow. I found it funny how he correctly guessed that I wasn't married due to me having an electric splitter in my den near the hearth.
I think he's really going to like the stove. He's going to order one tomorrow. I found it funny how he correctly guessed that I wasn't married due to me having an electric splitter in my den near the hearth.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
Just want to say thanks to babaganoosh for showing me the stove yesterday. What more can i say, i put the down payment on my stove today. The firebox is almost double the size of my old stove so i think this will work out well. Would have posted earlier but my 1/2 hour trip home turned into a 2.5 hour wait on the gsp due to an accident. I work nights so this really cut into my sleep.
OhioBurner©
Minister of Fire
Good luck with the stove 2190, that should be quite the upgrade for you.
Interesting as I am a bachelor too hearing a few other are. Usually that doesn't work out so well with wood burners as someone needs to be home all day to feed the fire while the other is at work - oh wait this stove can go all day! Also interesting, since usually the biggest negative of the stove is that the wife didn't like the looks.
Interesting as I am a bachelor too hearing a few other are. Usually that doesn't work out so well with wood burners as someone needs to be home all day to feed the fire while the other is at work - oh wait this stove can go all day! Also interesting, since usually the biggest negative of the stove is that the wife didn't like the looks.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
Woodstock actually called me the next day and left a voice mail that they heard I invited someone into my home to check out my/their stove and that in appreciation they want to send me a tool set. Pretty cool.
DBoon
Minister of Fire
That's a great photo...I definitely have an understanding wife, but a wood splitter in the family room isn't going to happen in my house.
I may have let it slip that some awesome guy from NJ invited a total stranger to his house to look at a stove and that it sealed the deal for me purchasing said stove.
About the splitter in the stove room, my wife didn't think it was a bad idea. I have a covered porch though so no real reason for that.
About the splitter in the stove room, my wife didn't think it was a bad idea. I have a covered porch though so no real reason for that.
Ash
Burning Hunk
That's impressive. Not many companies roll like that anymore.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
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