First Season with Ideal Steel in the Books!

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Now that's its May I'm pretty much done burning for the season. House temp can remain now in the mid to upper 70's just by solar gain during the day. I took time today to clean out the stove pipe and this is what I got:



That is one cup of beautiful brown powder!!

I am beyond happy with the performance of the Ideal Steel, even if some over 20% MC wood got tossed in over the season. So if anyone asks if I would recommend this stove? Yes I would!!

 

[Ashful]

Nice. How many cords burned?

still burning here, every evening this week dipped into the 40F’s.

 

[Highbeam]

We’re still burning too. I get more creosote than that by scraping the window!

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Nice. How many cords burned?

still burning here, every evening this week dipped into the 40F’s.

I was burning full time starting the week before Halloween and my last fire was April 19th. This burning season I put close to 4.5 cords though the Ideal Steel, and I should say that 1.5 of those cords were shoulder season stuff.

 

[Tar12]

What kind of wood was you burning and what were your burn times like?

 

[Highbeam]

I was burning full time starting the week before Halloween and my last fire was April 19th. This burning season I put close to 4.5 cords though the Ideal Steel, and I should say that 1.5 of those cords were shoulder season stuff.

Wow, in just a 6 month season you shoved 4.5 cords through that stove. What kind of wood? We had a thread where it seems so many eastern folks are only burning like 3 cords! I go through 4.5 but it’s doug fir and my climate is not so cold. We have a long 9 month heating season.

Is it safe to say you didn’t let that IS smolder much?

 

[Ashful]

Wow, in just a 6 month season you shoved 4.5 cords through that stove. What kind of wood? We had a thread where it seems so many eastern folks are only burning like 3 cords! I go through 4.5 but it’s doug fir and my climate is not so cold. We have a long 9 month heating season.

Is it safe to say you didn’t let that IS smolder much?

Yeah, I’ve always looked dubiously at these claims of “full-time” burners who claim only using three cords per year. They must only run their stove 9-12 weeks out of the year, to use such little wood on a “full-time” schedule.

WBIW’s quoted 4.5 cords in 6 mo’s is only 3 cu. ft. of wood per day, really not much to heat a house in WI weather, it could be as little as one load per day in that 3.2 cu.ft. firebox of the Ideal Steel.

I know a lot of people claim they’re “full-time burners”, and running only 3 cords per year. I’ve even repeated these reported averages to new burners, when they come here asking how much wood they will use, although I always round that up to “3-4 cords”.

But if you do the math on a real “full-time” assumption, it just doesn’t add up. Even in a modestly-sized stove, 3 loads per day means a third of a cord per week, and 2 loads per day means a quarter cord per week, in all but the smallest of stoves. In fact, if you read back thru some of those threads discussing wood usage, you’ll see some of the same folks claiming 3-4 cords per year also claiming they use 1/4 to 1/3 cord per week. Their year must be shorter than the rest of us,I guess.

String together 25-30 weeks of heating season for anyone north of the Mason-Dixon, and you’re using a lot more than 3 cords, to run “full time”. A lot closer to WBIW’s reported 4.5 cords, actually. I suspect 90% of these“full-time” burners are not nearly as full time as they report to be.

Looking at my own usage, I put 5 cords thru one stove in 7 months at a relatively low burn rate of 1-2 loads per day. I put an additional 2 cords thru the other stove in just three months at 1 load per day. These are medium 2.65 cu.ft. stoves, a whole heck of a lot smaller than the 3.2 cuft Ideal Steel.

This has nothing to do with heat demand or size of the house, it only depends on firebox volume, and loads per year. If you’re only burning 3 cords per year, you are just not running many loads per year, unless you’re running a very, very small stove.

 

[Highbeam]

Yeah, I’ve always looked dubiously at these claims of “full-time” burners who claim only using three cords per year. They must only run their stove 9-12 weeks out of the year, to use such little wood on a “full-time” schedule.

WBIW’s quoted 4.5 cords in 6 mo’s is only 3 cu. ft. of wood per day, really not much to heat a house in WI weather, it could be as little as one load per day in that 3.2 cu.ft. firebox of the Ideal Steel.

I know a lot of people claim they’re “full-time burners”, and running only 3 cords per year. I’ve even repeated these reported averages to new burners, when they come here asking how much wood they will use, although I always round that up to “3-4 cords”.

But if you do the math on a real “full-time” assumption, it just doesn’t add up. Even in a modestly-sized stove, 3 loads per day means a third of a cord per week, and 2 loads per day means a quarter cord per week, in all but the smallest of stoves. In fact, if you read back thru some of those threads discussing wood usage, you’ll see some of the same folks claiming 3-4 cords per year also claiming they use 1/4 to 1/3 cord per week. Their year must be shorter than the rest of us,I guess.

String together 25-30 weeks of heating season for anyone north of the Mason-Dixon, and you’re using a lot more than 3 cords, to run “full time”. A lot closer to WBIW’s reported 4.5 cords, actually. I suspect 90% of these“full-time” burners are not nearly as full time as they report to be.

Looking at my own usage, I put 5 cords thru one stove in 7 months at a relatively low burn rate of 1-2 loads per day. I put an additional 2 cords thru the other stove in just three months at 1 load per day. These are medium 2.65 cu.ft. stoves, a whole heck of a lot smaller than the 3.2 cuft Ideal Steel.

This has nothing to do with heat demand or size of the house, it only depends on firebox volume, and loads per year. If you’re only burning 3 cords per year, you are just not running many loads per year, unless you’re running a very, very small stove.

You might be right Ashful. I’m burning now and also today will finish filling my 5.5 cord shed for 1 year’s heat in warm western Washington. I think, wow, it would be so much easier to live in some frozen place like Maine and only need half as much wood to heat some old uninsulated house from the 1800s.

There’s nothing wrong with using your central heat for a portion of your needs. No shame in that. I would too if it was available and economical. Some folks just have a hard time quantifying the effects of this on their wood usage.

I’m happy for woodburnerinWI and his results.

 

[bcrtops]

Ashful's assessment is correct. I go through 5 cords/year +/-, if anything a bit more. Same house with old Fisher & single pane windows, went through 8 cords/year. Thermopane windows have helped more than changing to a "modern" EPA stove.

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

What kind of wood was you burning and what were your burn times like?

This past season my shoulder season wood was white birch and cherry.

Cold weather days saw oak and hickory being burned.

For the upcoming season, I will have pine, cherry and white birch for shoulder season plus about a 1/2 cord of soft maples. Cold weather burning will see more oak and hickory and ash.

Wow, in just a 6 month season you shoved 4.5 cords through that stove. What kind of wood? We had a thread where it seems so many eastern folks are only burning like 3 cords! I go through 4.5 but it’s doug fir and my climate is not so cold. We have a long 9 month heating season.

Is it safe to say you didn’t let that IS smolder much?

Not on the lowest setting, no. On the IS air control you have a series of "notches" that tell where the air level is. Large tick marks represent the main notches. Full, wide open, then half, then 1/4 air. There are smaller tick marks in-between the large ones if you want to adjust the air in tiny increments. During my day and night burns, I would slowly cut back the air till I was 3 tick marks from fully closed. By this point the flame was out and catalytic combustion was in full swing. If the stove top went over 500 degrees, secondary combustion began at the top of the stove, producing very memorizing northern light looking secondary flames. I assume with the two type of secondary burn systems going this thing was scrubbing out tons of crap from my smoke

Loading times was usually twice a day. A good load in the morning after I woke up and a lesser load before bed just to top things off. Loading from just coals regardless of it was the day or night load I would say I got in about 12 to 15 pieces of firewood of assorted sizes. Generally I loaded smaller pieces on the bottom to catch quickly and help support the burn of bigger pieces. These bigger pieces would be located right under the secondary burn tubes so when that combustion got going they could stand up to the "abuse" that the secondary flames would be giving it. It's a lot of fun watching the secondary flames pound a bunch of craters into the wood!

I would estimate average burn time on days over 20 degrees was around 10 to 16 hrs, and anything in the teens or colder was 10 hrs or less and required a small mid day load to keep temps in the house up.

 

[Tar12]

I believe Ashful is spot on...I just wrapped up year 4 with the Princess...first year in this leaky house it was very cold and I was well into the 7th cord by winters end..I was bewildered by the claims of I only used 3 cords in colder northern climates...2nd year was a entirely different story as I set about to seal this place up ...new windows,doors ,insulation plus additional fomular board,house wrap..additional insulation on the roof deck and new metal roof..what a difference! 2nd year my wood consumption dropped to just under 5 cord in another cold winter...3rd year was a repeat of year 2..last fall...winter no. 4 I installed a Woodstock Fireside Franklin for the shoulder season and anytime I wanted to leave for a few days ...I filled the 500 gal. propane tank at $1.08 per gal....I paused here to run outside and see how much I have left...the tank gauge is setting at 48%! Wood consumption this year? Slightly over 3 cord and I did not burn wood 24/7 and as the winter went on and I realized that the Franklin was pretty efficient I used it every chance I got! lol I am going to stay this course until they throw dirt on me...

 

[Tar12]

This past season my shoulder season wood was white birch and cherry.

Cold weather days saw oak and hickory being burned.

For the upcoming season, I will have pine, cherry and white birch for shoulder season plus about a 1/2 cord of soft maples. Cold weather burning will see more oak and hickory and ash.




Not on the lowest setting, no. On the IS air control you have a series of "notches" that tell where the air level is. Large tick marks represent the main notches. Full, wide open, then half, then 1/4 air. There are smaller tick marks in-between the large ones if you want to adjust the air in tiny increments. During my day and night burns, I would slowly cut back the air till I was 3 tick marks from fully closed. By this point the flame was out and catalytic combustion was in full swing. If the stove top went over 500 degrees, secondary combustion began at the top of the stove, producing very memorizing northern light looking secondary flames. I assume with the two type of secondary burn systems going this thing was scrubbing out tons of crap from my smoke

Loading times was usually twice a day. A good load in the morning after I woke up and a lesser load before bed just to top things off. Loading from just coals regardless of it was the day or night load I would say I got in about 12 to 15 pieces of firewood of assorted sizes. Generally I loaded smaller pieces on the bottom to catch quickly and help support the burn of bigger pieces. These bigger pieces would be located right under the secondary burn tubes so when that combustion got going they could stand up to the "abuse" that the secondary flames would be giving it. It's a lot of fun watching the secondary flames pound a bunch of craters into the wood!

I would estimate average burn time on days over 20 degrees was around 10 to 16 hrs, and anything in the teens or colder was 10 hrs or less and required a small mid day load to keep temps in the house up.

Thanks for the information...my son is moving soon into a larger home and I am giving him my Princess and I am getting a Ideal Steel to try out..

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

I will also add that at any given time I like to have 4 cords of wood ready to burn, so for my 3 year plan to be effective I try and prepare by having as close to 20 cords of wood on my property as I can. Once I get done with my 4 ready to burn cords, any wood I take from newer piles might not be 100% ready to go but that's ok. I had plenty of pieces go through the stove this year that spit a little. If I end up having to go through a winter with only pine or cherry or soft maples or anything else that is a faster drying hardwood or softwood then that is fine.

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Thanks for the information...my son is moving soon into a larger home and I am giving him my Princess and I am getting a Ideal Steel to try out..

You will enjoy the IS!! It will have a bit of a learning curve but the guys at Woodstock are great to deal with if you have questions.

 

[Tar12]

You will enjoy the IS!! It will have a bit of a learning curve but the guys at Woodstock are great to deal with if you have questions.

I bought my propane stove from and they are great people to deal with...they have a very solid reputation around here..

 

[Highbeam]

I bought my propane stove from and they are great people to deal with...they have a very solid reputation around here..

So in a smaller home, where do you put the second stove? Is it in the same room as the woodstove?

 

[Tar12]

So in a smaller home, where do you put the second stove? Is it in the same room as the woodstove?

Yes its in the same room..I have a large living room and it sets diagonally across from the princess.

 

[logfarmer]

I guess you all won’t like to hear that I burn 2 cords a yr or less burning 24/7 consistently for 10 yrs(9 yrs with WS Keystone stove) I live in southwest Ohio. 10 of the 12 yrs we’ve had this farm has been heated with wood, the other 2 yrs was coal. This yr I ran a NC30 went thru 1.75 cords from early November till end of March.
Wood slave

 

[Highbeam]

I guess you all won’t like to hear that I burn 2 cords a yr or less burning 24/7 consistently for 10 yrs(9 yrs with WS Keystone stove) I live in southwest Ohio. 10 of the 12 yrs we’ve had this farm has been heated with wood, the other 2 yrs was coal. This yr I ran a NC30 went thru 1.75 cords from early November till end of March.
Wood slave

And you have no other heat source?

 

[kennyp2339]

Idk about the maximum minimum discussion, I have a woodshed that was designed to hold approx. 2.25 cords per bin, I have 4 bins and only use 2 bins a year, so I am able to alternate using only half the total sheds wood capacity. My first season with the shed was def 4 1/2cords through the stove, both bins were empty, last year I had 1 full stack left in the bin so, 3/4 of a cord out of 4 1/2cords, this year I had 1 full stack left and 1/2 a stack in front of it or about a cords worth of wood. I started burning pretty regularly mid November and just wrapped it up mid April with only having a few spot fires here and there. The majority of the time I loaded the princess twice a day, I'm pretty sure I loaded the stove 3 times a day only for a week to ten days this years as the arctic cold never really made it here in NWNJ. I didn't use the oil heat at all this year, the boiler only ran to make hot water. So I'm at 3 1/2 cords for wood consumption this season and my inside house temp never fell below 70, which is def in my comfort zone.

 

[Ashful]

I guess you all won’t like to hear that I burn 2 cords a yr or less burning 24/7 consistently for 10 yrs(9 yrs with WS Keystone stove) I live in southwest Ohio. 10 of the 12 yrs we’ve had this farm has been heated with wood, the other 2 yrs was coal. This yr I ran a NC30 went thru 1.75 cords from early November till end of March.
Wood slave

I’m not saying you can’t burn 2 cords or less, I’m just saying you can’t do it 24/7 for the approximately 200 days per year that most of us need heat. That would work out to just 1.2 cubic feet of wood per day, not enough to even keep a stove from going cold during the course of 24 hours. The difference here is that you’re calling your heating season 3-4 months long, whereas most here are burning 6-8 months of the year.

 

[logfarmer]

And you have no other heat source?

No other heat source.

 

[logfarmer]

I’m not saying you can’t burn 2 cords or less, I’m just saying you can’t do it 24/7 for the approximately 200 days per year that most of us need heat. That would work out to just 1.2 cubic feet of wood per day, not enough to even keep a stove from going cold during the course of 24 hours. The difference here is that you’re calling your heating season 3-4 months long, whereas most here are burning 6-8 months of the year.

This year was a crazy winter for us very warm and mild. I never scooped out any ashes the whole winter, so my coals would “stay alive” for very long periods in the deep ash bed. I would put 4 average or so pieces along the bottom and toss on smaller pieces along the top and would be good for about the day. I normally burn from mid October-mid to late April, this yr was very different for us. Sorry I wasn’t trying to make anyone mad, just stating I burn very little wood every winter. This stove is way too big for my application (paid $150 for it never used) so it would get very toasty in the house, which in return did not need to load the stove often, even when we did have single digits. Hoping to buy a stove this yr that fits better for our house. Again, didn’t mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers.
wood slave

 

[Ashful]

This year was a crazy winter for us very warm and mild. I never scooped out any ashes the whole winter, so my coals would “stay alive” for very long periods in the deep ash bed. I would put 4 average or so pieces along the bottom and toss on smaller pieces along the top and would be good for about the day. I normally burn from mid October-mid to late April, this yr was very different for us. Sorry I wasn’t trying to make anyone mad, just stating I burn very little wood every winter. This stove is way too big for my application (paid $150 for it never used) so it would get very toasty in the house, which in return did not need to load the stove often, even when we did have single digits. Hoping to buy a stove this yr that fits better for our house. Again, didn’t mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers.
wood slave

No feathers ruffled, here anyway.

My wood usage this year was about 30% lower than past years, as well.

 

[begreen]

I’m not saying you can’t burn 2 cords or less, I’m just saying you can’t do it 24/7 for the approximately 200 days per year that most of us need heat. That would work out to just 1.2 cubic feet of wood per day, not enough to even keep a stove from going cold during the course of 24 hours. The difference here is that you’re calling your heating season 3-4 months long, whereas most here are burning 6-8 months of the year.

The amount of btus needed are based on the heat loss of the house. Your barn is losing heat so badly that it requires 2 stoves and significant supplementation by oil. That is not the typical house. Also, in shoulder season I suspect that you don't have the solar gain benefit that some houses see. That can make a major difference in shoulder season heating. It's huge for our house.

My sister's house in NY state is super-insulated and has an attached greenhouse for significant solar gain. They have been heating the place with wood since the mid 1980s on about 2+ cords of hardwood/yr. I am always amazed at how well their house retains heat from just things like the refrigerator, freezer, hw heater, lights and body temps. Really good insulation and sealing make an incredible difference. We use about a cord more wood to heat our place in a milder climate because the house is old and has excess glazing. And we let the heat pump carry the load when it makes sense. Like you, we are not slaves to wood heating only. When the weather gets milder it is more cost-efficient and cleaner to run the heat pump. Point being, different strokes for different folks. I have no reason to doubt or look down on folks claiming it takes 3 cords to heat their place in the winter. If they want to shift to a more reasonable form of heat, be it gas, oil, solar or electric when the weather is milder, more power to them and their good common sense. It's a pita to start up a wood stove in April if the temp is going to go from 45 to 65F during the day, especially when the sun is heating the house from 9 or 10am on.