Absolute Steel Hybrid

[Flamestead]

I installed an early model of the Absolute Steel Hybrid yesterday, and we are very much enjoying it (despite paint smell when it is 20 degrees outside!). My wife is loving the air control - it is at least as good as the Ideal Steel. We liked the Ideal Steel, but were not sure we needed such a large stove for our second (the Progress Hybrid will remain the workhorse).

 

[weatherguy]

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

 

[Flamestead]

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

Yes, my wife arranged it both times. She called on Friday, and by noon on Saturday we had the stove in the truck, headed back home. I think I owe her!

We cleaned the PH and set it off to the side, so this is running on the same liner as the PH and IS.

 

[weatherguy]

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

 

[Flamestead]

Loaded for the night.Primary draft acts more like the IS than the PH (the PH has a stronger draft coming down across the glass).

 

[begreen]

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

 

[Dairyman]

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

12"w × 10"h

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

 

[begreen]

Thanks, now I see that this is a side loader. It looks like the front glass is 14.5"W x 13"H. 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?

 

[drz1050]

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

 

[Flamestead]

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

Yes, the bypass handle comes down across the door - must open the bypass to open the door.

The stove is undersized for our house/insulation - we are testing it to see if we'd like it as a second stove, but right now only have one flue lined. So I'm not trying any low and slow fires yet. Going 7 hrs overnight we are having excess coals in the morning (still finding the right overnight settings, finding we can give it a bit more air than we have been).

 

[Flamestead]

Thanks, now I see that this is a side loader. It looks like the front glass is 14.5"W x 13"H. 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?

I tend to not load right up to the fireback on these stoves - usually leave a couple of inches. The front andirons feel a bit short to me (they lift right out for cleaning the glass (hear that, PH owners?!)), so I'm not crowding the front, either. 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.

{edit: I just looked in through the glass on the Absolute Steel - the top of the door opening is flush with the top of the fireback at the back (lowest part) of the sloped roof to the firebox. - You can pack it quite full if you wanted to.}

 

[Woody Stover]

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

 

[Flamestead]

...snip...
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.

 

[weatherguy]

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

 

[JA600L]

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

 

[JA600L]

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?

 

[Flamestead]

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

You mean like my wife, at the grocery store, trying to pick out one piece of fruit?

I like the IS and Absolute Steel air designs because I can easily fine-tune it in the general vicinity of the sweet spot - I might not find the absolute, ideal sweet spot for each night's draft conditions, but I have a broad range of control level motion in that vicinity.

 

[Flamestead]

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?

We didn't talk pricing. I've read that we should know soon. In our case my wife knew right away, once installed in the kitchen, that she wants this stove over the IS due to this stove's size and lines for the place we want to eventually install it.

 

[JA600L]

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.

 

[LocustBurner]

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

 

[Woody Stover]

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

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.

 

[Tavery]

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 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?

 

[Flamestead]

Like the IS, we are finding the hottest STT readings come back where the thermometer is in the photo below. The front lid has extra heat shielding underneath to protect it from the heat of the cat, so it doesn't get quite as hot. I'll get an IR thermometer soon, and check for hot spots. One of the hottest spots on the IS was just above the (front) door, which sort of surprised me, and was hotter on the right side than the left.

 

[freeburn]

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

 

[begreen]

$1795 introductory price.