Hello guys. It's had a couple seasons under it's belt now and I am curious as to any users that have found a problem with the Ideal Steel Hybrid stove that would have made them choose another brand/model? This is a very open thread, so please speak your minds on the overall satisfaction of the stove if you are an owner. Thanks in advance.
Ideal Steel Hybrid - Any reason not to buy?
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Good stove, but ultimately, any stove is only as good as it's ability to meet your needs.
Without more info on what your needs are (24/7, supplemental, layout of the home) all anyone here can do is say what I did, it's a good stove but it's not the only good stove in the marketplace.
What are you looking for and what do you need?
Do you have a stove now? If so, what are the concerns with the current setup?
Without more info on what your needs are (24/7, supplemental, layout of the home) all anyone here can do is say what I did, it's a good stove but it's not the only good stove in the marketplace.
What are you looking for and what do you need?
Do you have a stove now? If so, what are the concerns with the current setup?
I'll be using the stove to heat about 3200 sp ft of two level home, as much as possible anyway. I realize this wont do the whole house but when propane goes back up I am looking to regain my investment back then. I just couldn't justify the $3500+ for a Blaze King King for supplemental heat.
Just looking for overall performance and issues if anyone has had any.
Just looking for overall performance and issues if anyone has had any.
Woodstock makes a great stove but with that size house I'd go with the king or a kuma sequoia, more expensive but would pay off in the long run.
While I may agree with this, the stove will be in the finished basement which is roughly 1500 sq ft. I'm sure this stove will heat us out of the basement if it's pushed and I don't want that much heat built up down there since its our living room and kitchen. If I can keep the basement at 75-78 and the upstairs in the mid 60's that will be just fine.
A bit of conflicting info (or maybe I am just confused
) - but, are you trying to heat 3200 sqft as in your second post or 1500 sqft as in your last post? If 1500 sqft is your main goal then the IS shouldn't have a problem. If it is 3200 sqft the IS is gonna struggle.
) - but, are you trying to heat 3200 sqft as in your second post or 1500 sqft as in your last post? If 1500 sqft is your main goal then the IS shouldn't have a problem. If it is 3200 sqft the IS is gonna struggle.The total sq footage is 3200 on two levels, the basement is where the stove will be and it's roughly 1500-1600 sq ft.
Yep - that part is understood. The question is are you gonna heat the 1500 and be good with any residual heat that may make it to the upper floor, or are you intentionally gonna try to heat the 3200 with a heat management strategy. There is a vast heat load difference between the two.
I'll try to heat the whole 3200, but i am realistic in my expectations in that the propane furnace will need to assist in the upstairs heating needs.
Long term I am looking at a geothermal install to heat and cool, another reason to buy a good $2200 stove and not a $3500-$4000 Blaze King.
Long term I am looking at a geothermal install to heat and cool, another reason to buy a good $2200 stove and not a $3500-$4000 Blaze King.
I've had one for one and a half COLD winters and if I had to buy another stove (if I built a new house) I would buy another Ideal Steel. The only other stove I think I would be looking at is the Progress Hybrid but only for the additional stone and its aesthetics. I think Blaze Kings are great too I’m just completely happy with the IS. I am pretty sure nearly all beta testers ended up buying them. We earned a discount but, really, a true wood burner would never settle for a stove they didn’t like to use because of the price.
That sounds like a plan to me. If geothermal wasn't in the plan I'd look at investing in the larger BK King, realizing you need a proper 8" vent for it, and if you were OK with the looks. That's also assuming you could get enough heat to the upper level. If you have just a narrow closed off stairway off in the corner then maybe you need 2 stove, the Ideal could be one or both.
If your basement install has a primary intent of heating the 1500 sqft down there, the IS should do a nice job. With your willingness to let the rest of the heat load upstairs be handled by another system, it should work (understanding that you will get some residual heat from the basement).
huauqui
Burning Hunk
I see a flaw in your plan and a reason you should not buy the IS! It is a flaw many of us have found to late in our plans. You will get the IS installed and start using it and soon find that you enjoy the warmth of the wood stove a lot. Your wife will also enjoy the warmth and will soon start hinting it is cold upstairs. Soon there after you will begin to wonder if a second IS or some other stove in the upstairs wouldn't just be the ticket and shortly there after you will be buying a second stove and putting it upstairs. SOO Save yourself and just buy two to begin with. Problem solved!
On a serious note I love the look and functionality of the IS and think with your current plan it would probably do the job well.
Make sure you let us know how it goes ether way.
huauqui
On a serious note I love the look and functionality of the IS and think with your current plan it would probably do the job well.
Make sure you let us know how it goes ether way.
huauqui
In reply to your question, the issues I have seen are clogged cats and evolving design so if you get a new one you should get a fully updated one. Supposedly some folks are getting cat cloggage every few weeks.
I would love to try one out in the shop. It would be a great high output heater and reports indicate that the burn time at low is much longer than Woodstock specifies. It only needs 6" pipe but if you decide you need a bigger cat stove you need to use 8" so your chimney choice will be tough.
He's looking for IS problems guys. Anybody have any?
I would love to try one out in the shop. It would be a great high output heater and reports indicate that the burn time at low is much longer than Woodstock specifies. It only needs 6" pipe but if you decide you need a bigger cat stove you need to use 8" so your chimney choice will be tough.
He's looking for IS problems guys. Anybody have any?
JA600L
Minister of Fire
The cat clogging issue has been seen more in the Progress Hybrid. There are a few items that showed slight warpage. The items include andirons, sled (bypass), and radiator plate. The radiator plate is a sacrificial part of the stove so I consider that normal. The andirons are a cosmetic piece that comes right out and straighten. The sled warpage they are aware of and investigated. I will be sending all of these items in to them for further review when I am done burning.
The sled warping seems to come from the high heat when warming the stove up in bypass mode. They may have reinforced this already.
Other than all of that, my only other concern is the really really big door. When you open the door smoke spillage is unavoidable unless you have optimum draft. The best thing to do is let it burn until all smoke is consumed before opening the door. This is the main reason i urge you to spend the money and get your flue lined and properly insulated.
With that out of the way, it is a really great stove and it functions exactly as it is advertised. More heat with less wood. Very controllable with great output in frigid weather.
The sled warping seems to come from the high heat when warming the stove up in bypass mode. They may have reinforced this already.
Other than all of that, my only other concern is the really really big door. When you open the door smoke spillage is unavoidable unless you have optimum draft. The best thing to do is let it burn until all smoke is consumed before opening the door. This is the main reason i urge you to spend the money and get your flue lined and properly insulated.
With that out of the way, it is a really great stove and it functions exactly as it is advertised. More heat with less wood. Very controllable with great output in frigid weather.
I don't have any good reasons not to buy it, as long as you like the looks. I found the andirons to be more of a pain, so I just removed it (it's 1 piece, simple to take out). Haven't seen any warpage of anything yet but I haven't used it very much. Agree that smoke spillage is an issue if you open it up mid-burn, best to pack it full then leave it until the next reload. Best stove I've ever burned with.
I haven't run one but in my reading (I have it on order) I hadn't heard of any excessive clogging and that seemed to actually be a strong point of the stove - that the cat burns very clean and many don't clean it until end of season. Though its really easy to flip the lid and inspect/clean it.
Woodstock did use what they learned from the PH to improve the air supply to the IS cat.
The cat clogging problem is indeed with the PH and not with the IS. And only a very small % of owners of the PH have the cat slogging issue: it is surface clogging that seems to occur primarily in a setting of excessive draft and no ashpan. Installing a chimney damper and ashpan solves the problem for most.
If you like the IS, I wouldn't hesitate to advise you to purchase it. You can feel confident that if any issues do come up in the first years of burning with the stove, then Woodstock will investigate, find solutions, and provide updates/improvements to owners as necessary. There are folks who have done some rigorous testing of how the IS burns in their homes, with lots of scientific date and sophisticated monitoring, and are very happy with the stove. Any ideas they have had for possible changes, they have shared with Woodstock.
Just a suggestion, if you call customer service at Woodstock and ask them if there have been any issues with the stove, they will be frank with you.
The cat clogging problem is indeed with the PH and not with the IS. And only a very small % of owners of the PH have the cat slogging issue: it is surface clogging that seems to occur primarily in a setting of excessive draft and no ashpan. Installing a chimney damper and ashpan solves the problem for most.
If you like the IS, I wouldn't hesitate to advise you to purchase it. You can feel confident that if any issues do come up in the first years of burning with the stove, then Woodstock will investigate, find solutions, and provide updates/improvements to owners as necessary. There are folks who have done some rigorous testing of how the IS burns in their homes, with lots of scientific date and sophisticated monitoring, and are very happy with the stove. Any ideas they have had for possible changes, they have shared with Woodstock.
Just a suggestion, if you call customer service at Woodstock and ask them if there have been any issues with the stove, they will be frank with you.
Rearscreen
Minister of Fire
I have short legs and no ashpan on my PH. I have cleaned my cat about 5 times this winter. No big deal at all. Sure if they improve it thats great but now that I know when it needs cleaning just by feel, there are no issues.
I don't know who this Frank guy is but I would ask for Loren if you call.
I had the cat clogging problem with my ph but it only happened when I burned wood from one two cord rack, when I burned ash and sugar maple it didn't happen.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
You can be confident with this purchase. The firebox itself is extremely well constructed. I personally enjoy how much stuff you can take apart and do easy maintenance.
As far as secondaries go, there is no baffle board or blanket to fool with and replace. No tubes to remove. It is a well thought out design. Serviceability is top notch. I'm a mechanic so I always appreciate when a company builds a product that is easy to work on.
As far as secondaries go, there is no baffle board or blanket to fool with and replace. No tubes to remove. It is a well thought out design. Serviceability is top notch. I'm a mechanic so I always appreciate when a company builds a product that is easy to work on.
Mine is also on order. The only real complaint was from 1 user. His was leaking creosote out the back. His did get some damage from a forklift at the shipping company but in the end, Woodstock is sending him a new stove so that they can see what is wrong with his. I have a raised ranch 3000sf with the stove in the basement as well. Current stove is 2.0 cf.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
There are two people with creosote dripping on their hearth. We have determined that the leak area is connected to the secondary air controls inside. The possibility exists that they are burning in a manner that is allowing creosote to get into the secondary holes and down to the secondary inlet. Woodstock is going to cut the one stove open and investigate just to confirm that there are no weld issues.
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