Progress ( woodstock)

Capricious? :smirk:

Yeah, Flatbed, I kinda shrug my shoulders when I see folks whining about having to flip a bypass lever. These old VCs are powerful heaters, but they are notoriously fiddly to operate. When I watch the simplicity of adjusting the burn on the Progress compared to many older stoves I just start grinning from ear to ear.

Another silly complaint IMO is the need to use a specialized tool to operate the bypass and the side load door. Cripes, try opening the top load door on a raging Vigilant with your bare hands. It's a solid cast iron griddle plate with a small flange in the casting for a handle... which might be anywhere up to 850º hot. :ahhh:

Heavy-duty gloves are an essential part of any woodburner's arsenal. You could easily operate the Progress without having to reach for a fancy tool merely by using a gloved hand. The tool in nice, though. How often have you stuck your gloves in your back pocket and walked away and set them somewhere else, only to go back to the stove and find you forgot to pick them up again? It's pretty certain you will leave the special tool on the hearth when you are done using it, so it will always be there when you need it.

A new handle, or handles are in the works.

Even if you do have to use the tool on the PH, you will only have to use it once or twice a day!

The transition from shoulder season to full-on winter changes how quickly you open that top griddle. Shoulder season I crack it open a bit, pause, and then fully lift to keep smoke from spilling out. The damn griddle is too hot during the winter to pause very long even with heavy-duty gloves.

And I have six pairs of gloves now. All six pairs end up migrating to the one stove I don't need them at.

I have about six pair of gloves with a nice, hard groove baked into the crook of the right hand index finger. Bet yours look similar. ;-)

I know that groove well. It's on the left hand glove, though.

Maybe you two could work something out?

FWIW, I like the handle on the Fireview. It's like a child safety cap. Keeps curious hands from opening the stove door, which could have catastrophic consequences. It also reminds me to put on gloves before reloading the stove. . .I don't use the tool. That said, I can understand the preference for a different type of handle in households without curious hands. . .awfully nice of Woodstock to accomodate you.

Den, I also always put the gloves on and have never used the tool on the Fireview. I wonder how many folks do actually use that thing?

I never do. I don't use gloves on the controls. Only to open and close the door.

Speaking of handles... I REALLY like the door latch/handle on the PH. The design really pulls the door closed and seems to seal it shut well. Talk about a positive closure knowing that the door is sealed. Even the FV doesn't have such a nice feel to it.

That's one of the things I like about the Heritage. The air controls are low enough to the ground I can make adjustments with my feet. The easiest stove to operate of the four that I have owned, and it's not even close.

You make adjustments with your what?

Damn that rum. The post has been corrected.

Back to the Rum.