Languid Progress Hybrid owners

[Flamestead]

As I sit here by my old stove on a day of icy drizzle, waiting for my Progress Hybrid to be built, and neurotically checking the forum for updates from the lucky ones already burning their's, I am disappointed on both counts. I've developed a mental image, based on the pattern of posts here, of Progress Hybrid owners excitedly sharing the story of the arrival of their stove, its installation, and initial fires, but then falling into a trance beside their new stoves, induced by its steady heat and beauty.

I'm also looking out over grass-covered fields, wishing this freezing rain was snow so I could begin cutting trees and skidding them to my woodyard. So my mind turns to my hearth area, which is functionally ready for the PH (should almost be a plug-n-play swap between the old and new stoves), but is asthetically challenged. This is an install into an old, wide kitchen fireplace (1790's), so I don't have concerns about clearance to trim on the sides. When we bought the house there was a mantel and barn-board paneling above the fireplace. We removed it all when we installed the box stove, in part because it did not fit in as being original to the rest of the house, which is largely as it was when built. The exposed brickwork is not very pretty (evidently not intended to be exposed), and to make it worse, the original granite lintel above the fireplace was replaced in the 70's with angle iron and finished with bricks that do not match, bonded with cement instead of lime mortar, and the joint is dressed with a ridge that is out of character.

Long story shortened, I'd like to cover the brickwork above the fireplace with a drywall-like finish, but need it to be safe for being almost directly above the stove. To complicate the matter, my approach to the old house is to do no harm to its original character, so applying a finish directly to the bricks is not an option and I do not wish to bolt anything into the brickwork. Any thoughts for a material to use?

 

[HollowHill]

You are dead on about the trance My Progress is just performing so well as I slowly learn how to operate her. I love this stove and so does the rest of the family (they who teased me mercilessly all these long months as we waited for the Progress arrival ).

As to the mantel area, I wish you luck, but have no ideas. I'm the one that has a house of somewhat similar vintage (mine's Federal, have a feeling yours is older?) and am struggling with what to do about my mantel. I ordered the dang Home Saver Mantel Shield and it has arrived twice mangled. Cut it down to get rid of the mangles and it's not doing the job, so going to try cutting down the other one and living with the mangled corners, just to get an idea if it is deep enough. Then I'll try to figure out something more appropriate, but with similar dimensions. I applaud your desire to do nothing that is not reversible, I think that is the right direction to go in. I'd look through some old house books and get some ideas from there.

 

[jharkin]

I would recreate the paneled wall that was certainly there originally. Clearances may be an issue, but if so put in a metal heatshield. It can always be removed in the summer when you are not using the stove. This is what we have.

Im envious you still have the original fireplaces, our central chimney was torn down to the hearths and rebuilt by a PO. The new one is not bad but its all new brick. Im sure the old brick could have been saved and a poured in liner done if they had wanted to save it.

 

[fire_man]

Flamestead:

I figured readers were getting tired of us new Progress owners spouting about our new stoves. Guess that's not entirely true.

As far as the area above the stove goes, my only word of advice is to be conservative and pay attention to stated clearances to combustibles, use mantel shields, etc. I was
amazed how hot my mantel shield got, 21" over the stove after it was cranking for a while. They are not kidding when they say to add that shield, over time a wooden mantel will definitely overheat without it.

I have not pushed the stove with a load of 22" splits yet, its been too warm and all our wood was cut 16" for the Fireview. Next week will be the first real test. Hope you get your Progress soon and the icy fields turn to snow...

 

[sam_j]

Would you please post how the stove does with 22 inch splits? I"m thinking of buying one and would love to know if 22 works well or if the splits need to be 21 or 20. When I got my Fireview, they recommended 18 inches, I believe. That turned out to be too long, so I use 16. Be interesting to see how the Progress works with 22.

 

[fire_man]

Would you please post how the stove does with 22 inch splits? I"m thinking of buying one and would love to know if 22 works well or if the splits need to be 21 or 20. When I got my Fireview, they recommended 18 inches, I believe. That turned out to be too long, so I use 16. Be interesting to see how the Progress works with 22.

I am nearly certain WS recommends 16" splits max with the FV. You can probably fit a couple 18 " lengths near the bottom, but not too many.

I cut a couple 22" lengths (not split or even seasoned yet) just to see how well they fit in the progress, I will try them out and repost when the stove cools, probably tomorrow. I can't believe how warm it's been.

 

[ddddddden]

Yes, 16" = recommended log length for the Fireview. I think 18" fit fine (20" inside the door frame), but maybe 16" allows more room for outgassing @ the ends of the splits. . .

 

[sam_j]

Thanks guys! I'm aware that 16 is the recommended length for the Fireview. When I first got mine, the recoemmended length was 18, I believe; then they changed it to 16. I was wondering if the recommended length for the Progress would change as more "real world" use emerged.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

No need to do that Sam. A moderator is required to delete. There is nothing wrong with your posts at all. We have burned 18" and even a 19" in our Fireview but the 16" works best.


Tony, we do not tire of your progress reports.

 

[fire_man]

Dennis:

Thanks. I will keep the updates coming. It's 50 degrees and sunny here. Last year we had 2 feet of snow on the ground right after Christmas.

I don't think you can treat the Progress the same way I have read some Blaze King owners treat their stoves. They fully load no matter what the outdoor temp, and throttle back on draft/thermostat. If I fully loaded the Progress today we would be roasted out of the house. I figure why waste the wood, firestarters are cheap and easy. I find small loads can be coaxed to last a long time and throw good shoulder season heat, thanks to the cat.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tony, it is so warm here that, although we did start a small fire to take a little chill off, it is a small fire; small enough we have not engaged the cat. I see that the temperature is now beginning to fall as it has fell 2 degrees in the last hour. Wind is picking up stronger all the time too. Snow just to our west.

 

[Todd]

Dennis:

Thanks. I will keep the updates coming. It's 50 degrees and sunny here. Last year we had 2 feet of snow on the ground right after Christmas.



I don't think you can treat the Progress the same way I have read some Blaze King owners treat their stoves. They fully load no matter what the outdoor temp, and throttle back on draft/thermostat. If I fully loaded the Progress today we would be roasted out of the house. I figure why waste the wood, firestarters are cheap and easy. I find small loads can be coaxed to last a long time and throw good shoulder season heat, thanks to the cat.

That's to bad, I was hoping this new stove could be burned like the Blaze Kings. I would much rather fill the stove full every time and regulate the heat output with the air control than having to worry about how much wood to load to keep me from over heating this place. Wish it had the t-stat.

 

[fire_man]

I'm not sure how much a T-Stat would help in this case. The thermostat would just self-regulate the air damper, which already determines the minimum burn rate when it's fully closed.

The problem is the secondary butterfly is always open a little, even when the draft is set to zero. I'm not sure why with a cat living in there, it was necessary to have so much secondary air at zero setting. I'm sure there is a reason, WS are experts with cat technology. I must admit, I have thought about trying to plug those secondaries openings a little... :blank:

Even with the Fireview, the secondaries eventually kicked in after the firebox got hot enough, and gives you those nice rolling flames for a while. The difference with the Progress is they start out slow and timid, and eventually build up and last for much longer. I still think bigger splits would help, I just don't have many.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Time to get out there cutting wood again Tony!

 

[Buck1200]

Mine is going great. I've had it in since Christmas day, and aside from being a much more appropriately sized stove to my house, it's a really nice stove to use. We've burned about 4 cord a season through a Hearthstone Heritage, and really have never been quite warm enough. Because I would stuff as much wood as possible in the Heritage, the flue gas temps were always quite high- 800 to start, 650 or so after an hour- and I was lucky to get 8 solid hours out of a load. Part of the problem was strong draft, which I eventually remedied with a stovepipe damper, but much of it was simply needing more heat than that little stove could put out. I was also obsessed with always having a clean burn, so strong secondary combustion was a requirement.

After 3 days of use my wife called the Progress 'ingenious', and that really sums up my feelings thus far. The loading door is sized just right, the andirons well placed and the operation is simple. We light the fire and shut the bypass and dial back the air once the flue gas hits 400F (the top stone is always reading about 275 at this point). If we need a super long burn, (which I have attempted just once so far given this balmy weather) I confirm the cat has lit off (the top stone heats at about 25degrees/3 minutes once the bypass is closed), and then shut down the air all the way. Eventually the firebox will heat up enough (once the moisture is driven from the wood) that the secondaries will start up, and the heat output from the front increases, but it stays pretty tame- dancing blue flames kind of like a propane stove of all things. Generally though, the flue temp will just sit, solid as a rock, at 400F for a LONG time. And the top stone is always at least 200F after burning all night.

Generally I keep the output low these days through smaller loads of wood, lots of birch, and by not letting the secondaries get big after the cat is engaged. When I have put on the fireshow we all saw at the open house, the flue gas temps have not risen over 500, but the whole stove has gotten much hotter. If I had to identify an issue here, it's that once big secondary combustion has been achieved, it cannot be quelled. The firebox gets too hot, the draft strong, and then we're committed to a lot of output. Perhaps I should ask for a larger secondary plate- we'll see how it goes.

And this stove is really nice to look at. I've let it die today (last fired at 9pm yesterday), and pulled the top stone to check the cat. Everything looks perfect at this point.

Good luck!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for the update Buck. All sounds well.