Ideal Steel update

[JA600L]

Hi guys,
I figured I would give you a little update on how the Ideal Steel is doing after a few months of burning.
1. The stove is very capable of running low and slow. I am away 11 hours a day and it keeps my house warm (70 average) while I'm gone ( 3 bedroom rancher heating from basement ). I always have charcoal bodies of the logs when I get home. So I can stir them up a bit and get even more burn time if I want. I was getting 16 hour weekend burns when I was home during late shoulder season.

2. It survives single digit weather for 11 hours. It did this without flaw.

3. When you burn this stove hot, it really pumps heat. On a 12 degree day I took the upstairs thermostat from 69 to 76 degrees in 1 hour on a hot burn.

4. The stovepipe stays clean. I just get a light soot that easily cleans up.
5. The catalyst really reeks havoc on the radiator plate above it. I have seen this plate bright red. It flakes the metal so you have to clean that off the cat from time to time. I can see that part eventually thinning out and needing replaced.

6. The stove really leans toward a cat burn. The secondaries are very effective when you ask for it, but when you turn down the air it loves to settle into a cat burn. The box goes black and the temps really increase then stabilize without overfiring. 500-650 hot spot temps are common. At this point the cat and plate above are Red. You can see this by tilting the lid up slightly.

7. It is not great at burning down coals. The primary air is not as effective as my Quadra-fire was during coaling. The good news is this makes for a prolonged burn during shoulder.

Basically, my heat pump has not come on once this winter. I can burn overnight on 3 medium splits of hardwood and have coals in the morning with 70 + temps. It is an effective whole house heater.

 

[Badger]

Thanks for the update! I'm very interested in this stove.

 

[JA600L]

Thanks for the update! I'm very interested in this stove.

If you have any questions let me know.

 

[begreen]

Good information. It's good to hear that it is heating well over a wide temp range.

 

[kuhner]

Dont want to hijack your thread JA600L. I just installed my Ideal Steel first week of December and have pretty much have the same expiriences as you have.
I like the stove. My last stove was an old non-epa Brunco Fireglow. Heated my house no problem, but really hated it duriing the fall and spring, choking it down pretty much plugged up my chimney with creosote. I burned that stove for about 25 years. I did like the fact it had a thermostatic damper and you could load it up and walk away. As you know you will never do that with an Ideal Steel, but thats the nature of the beast, the cost for efficiency.
I routinely get 10 "strong" hours out it burning it at the notch below the big quarter mark. It will still have coals and be down to about 125 top temp. at 12 hours or so, a few small pieces and about 30 minutes and the cat is back up and working. I havent noticed the radiator plate having damage on mine and have never had to burn mine for any length of time past 475 or so, about 1/3 damper.

I will add that I ordered my stove as a plain jane, no decorations at all, legs and ash pan, and soapstone lining is all.

 

[begreen]

Hey kuhner, welcome. Can you post a picture of your stove? I'd like to see it without all the gearhead nonsense.

 

[JA600L]

Welcome Kuhner, what kind of wood are you burning in yours? I'm burning premium hardwoods. Ash, locust, mulberry, and oak.
Depending how much heat you need, this stove will burn over 16 hours on a low setting.

 

[kuhner]

Here you go. Hope it works. I burn mixed hard woods. Been mostly oak and hickory. It's been seasoning for about a year.
Today I loaded 4 large pieces and a small 3" round. Box was about 3/4 full. After 12 hours stove top was 216 degrees. Had good coals left. I am burning between 1/4 and 1/3 less wood.

Thanks moderator for adding post

 

[Tenn Dave]

Here you go. Hope it works. I burn mixed hard woods. Been mostly oak and hickory. It's been seasoning for about a year.
Today I loaded 4 large pieces and a small 3" round. Box was about 3/4 full. After 12 hours stove top was 216 degrees. Had good coals left. I am burning between 1/4 and 1/3 less wood.

Thanks moderator for adding post

One year of seasoning for oak and hickory is not nearly long enough. As the wood seasons longer your stove performance will improve.

 

[fire_man]

Why can't you open up the draft for the last 2 hours to burn down the coals?

If you want them burned down it probably means you want more heat and opening the draft will do both.
One nice thing about the Progress is it religiously burns down the coals even when on a low setting. But It does not burn as low as the IS for shoulder season.

 

[JA600L]

Well that would be ideal, but I'm not going to wake up 2 hours earlier just to open the draft. It really isn't bad. I built a nice rake and if I use that the coals burn much faster.

 

[fire_man]

Yea, I understand. I used to have to wake up early to burn down the coals in my Fireview, that was a drag. I guess the trick is to burn on a higher setting for the whole load.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Well that would be ideal, but I'm not going to wake up 2 hours earlier just to open the draft. It really isn't bad. I built a nice rake and if I use that the coals burn much faster.

I live in Centerville, where is there a dealer around here? I bought our BK at Bowman in Ephrata..... Our cat stove has been fighting heavy coaling the past few weeks here too.

 

[JA600L]

No Dealer. Manufacturer direct. My total cost with shipping was $2300.

 

[bobdog2o02]

That's real close to what we spent, if I ever need another stove a hybrid might be in order.

 

[ambull01]

No Dealer. Manufacturer direct. My total cost with shipping was $2300.

Do you feel that the "works" model is worth the added cost?

 

[TheRambler]

Do you feel that the "works" model is worth the added cost?

About half of the extra money for the works is for pure aesthetics. Its the custom sides , cooktop, and andirons. Otherwise you would just get the plain jane style with no custom designs/artwork. The rest of the additional money in the works includes things like the optional ash pan, and the soapstone liner. Ash pan or no is a personal choice, though the soapstone liner is a definite benefit as it is adding more thermal mass to the stove.

 

[ambull01]

About half of the extra money for the works is for pure aesthetics. Its the custom sides , cooktop, and andirons. Otherwise you would just get the plain jane style with no custom designs/artwork. The rest of the additional money in the works includes things like the optional ash pan, and the soapstone liner. Ash pan or no is a personal choice, though the soapstone liner is a definite benefit as it is adding more thermal mass to the stove.

The only thing I'm interested in getting above the base model is the soapstone liner. Well I would like the white paint too, not sure if you have to splurge for the works to get it though.

 

[Jags]

In my opinion, that is the best looking IS I have seen yet. The add on stuff doesn't do a thing for me.

 

[Grisu]

In my opinion, that is the best looking IS I have seen yet. The add on stuff doesn't do a thing for me.

I fully agree. The only change I may consider would be to have the sides/legs painted in a different color like the red here for the Neo 2.5: (broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/products/wood/stoves/neo-25/)
And I really dislike the handle; I wish they would offer some other option for it.

 

[Jo191145]

The only thing I'm interested in getting above the base model is the soapstone liner. Well I would like the white paint too, not sure if you have to splurge for the works to get it though.

No. Woodstock will build it anyway you want and the custom paint colors are free.

 

[ambull01]

I fully agree. The only change I may consider would be to have the sides/legs painted in a different color like the red here for the Neo 2.5: (broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/products/wood/stoves/neo-25/)
And I really dislike the handle; I wish they would offer some other option for it.

What stove/colors are you guys referring to? On the Ideal Steel Hybrid page they have a stove with Almond Body/Surf Sand Accents. That things would look awesome if it was all almond. I think it would look less commercial/cumbersome in a light solid color. The handle does look a bit strange. Reminds me of one of those all metal knives. I wonder if you could slip a some sort of cover over the handle?

 

[firefighterjake]

In my opinion, that is the best looking IS I have seen yet. The add on stuff doesn't do a thing for me.

My exact feelings . . . I've always hated the look of the IS . . . this one . . . not a bad looking woodstove!

 

[Grisu]

What stove/colors are you guys referring to? On the Ideal Steel Hybrid page they have a stove with Almond Body/Surf Sand Accents. That things would look awesome if it was all almond. I think it would look less commercial/cumbersome in a light solid color.

Check out this site: http://www.woodstove.com/ideal-steel-color-viewer You can also give them a call to inquire what potential other colors they may be able to do.

 

[ambull01]

Check out this site: http://www.woodstove.com/ideal-steel-color-viewer You can also give them a call to inquire what potential other colors they may be able to do.

I looked at those colors. Accent colors are definitely out for me, plus all the additional stuff. The additional items make the stove look like one of those open faced watches where you can see everything. Looks cool on watches but a bit too much for a stove IMO. Now all I have to do is convince the wife this is the stove we need instead of the Englander 30-NCH.