Have been doing lots of research on what I want for a stove. Have never burned in a cat stove. I really like the idea of long burns. Would the Woodstock ideal steel suit my needs? I will need to heat about 1500-1800 sq ft. Live in western wa and burn mostly fir and alder. How will the cat hold up? What will burn times be? I like the price point of this stove. Also what is the warranty and durability of this brand? My country stove lasted 20+ years!
ideal steel?
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This stove is just now coming on to the market which makes it impossible to answer some of your questions about longevity, cat servicing etc.. There are some folks here that participated in their beta program for this stove. Search for "Ideal Steel" to read their experiences. Burn times seem good and in general folks like running the stove. It has received favorable reviews. Woodstock is a good company and they stand behind their products.
One thing you want to check on are shipping costs to the west coast. They will make a difference in the bottom line. As an alternative, BlazeKing makes high-quality steel cat stoves in Walla Walla.
One thing you want to check on are shipping costs to the west coast. They will make a difference in the bottom line. As an alternative, BlazeKing makes high-quality steel cat stoves in Walla Walla.
I'm most likely gonna get an Ideal Steel.
I'm only allowed to install a wood stove with a 1.0 gm/ hr or less emission rating due to my county's regs in Washoe County NV due to our inversions during the winter.
This leaves me the three Blaze Kings (Ashford, Sirocco,Chinook) the Lopi Cape Cod and now the Woodstock Ideal Steel.
The Blaze Kings range from $2,900 to $3,200 on average plus any state sales tax. Lopi Cape Cod, $3,000 to ,$3,600 give or take plus state sales tax. And the Woodstock Ideal Steel, $2,200 for the "works" and then $462 for freight shipping. No sales tax with the Woodstock for a final price of $2,662.
So, there's my reason for getting the Ideal Steel.
As far as preformance, I can't help as don't have the stove yet....
I'm only allowed to install a wood stove with a 1.0 gm/ hr or less emission rating due to my county's regs in Washoe County NV due to our inversions during the winter.
This leaves me the three Blaze Kings (Ashford, Sirocco,Chinook) the Lopi Cape Cod and now the Woodstock Ideal Steel.
The Blaze Kings range from $2,900 to $3,200 on average plus any state sales tax. Lopi Cape Cod, $3,000 to ,$3,600 give or take plus state sales tax. And the Woodstock Ideal Steel, $2,200 for the "works" and then $462 for freight shipping. No sales tax with the Woodstock for a final price of $2,662.
So, there's my reason for getting the Ideal Steel.
As far as preformance, I can't help as don't have the stove yet....
The Ideal Steel is a hybrid, not a straight cat. If ultimate burn time is the goal, I think BlazeKing has the lead, but the Ideal Steel is a cleaner all around burner I think. With a reported 12-14 hr burntime, it's no slouch. I think however, BlazeKings can be found for a bit less locally and have a thermostat that helps avoid temperature swings. They are well suited for our extended shoulder season burning with 20-24 hr burn times being common in milder weather.
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Cheapest I found a blaze king was the sirocco 30 which was $2,700 and change for just the stove. Add legs, door, fan and shields and were over $3,000.
They're nice stoves but I like the look and function of the ideal steel, and it's price even with the $462 freight charge....
They're nice stoves but I like the look and function of the ideal steel, and it's price even with the $462 freight charge....
True, I think WA state prices are a bit better. I have heard of $2700 out the door, complete last year. Not sure if it had the blower though.
Huntindog1
Minister of Fire
If you enjoy viewing the fire thru the glass The ideal steel should be a better choice for this. I would add the ideal stove won the $25k grand prize for the wood stove decathlon competition which had competitors from all over the world.
JA600L
Minister of Fire
The ideal steel has an automatic cat only air feed built in. So in a sense you can set the primary down to next to nothing and get a cat burn. The nice thing here is it supplies air to the cat (as needed) instead of pulling it across the firebox. What's not to love?
Give it some air and watch an awesome flame show.
With blaze King it may not be a hybrid, but on a very low air setting arnt they just pulling a set amount of air through the box to keep the cat active? Isn't Woodstock doing the same thing?
Give it some air and watch an awesome flame show.
With blaze King it may not be a hybrid, but on a very low air setting arnt they just pulling a set amount of air through the box to keep the cat active? Isn't Woodstock doing the same thing?
Yes, Reno Patio and Furniture in Sparks on Glendale carry Blaze King. They're not bad, but I already dropped $5,000 with them this year on a large aluminum patio cover so funds are a little low for the wood stove project at this time. I've given them enough money in my opinion. Time to give it to someone else....
Plus I like the looks of the Ideal Steel contrary to some.
This is a hard one for me. My local blaze king dealer quoted me 2090 on a sirocco 30. . This is plain black and no blower. But still thats a pretty good price. Its 500 to ship the ideal steel to Washington. The grandview 230 was quoted at 1800. So i'm leaning towards the BK. Only problem is after pulling my old country t-top pipe that ran right into the chimney i noticed there was a massive offset to deal with when piping the new stove. I hope the 6 inch flex liner will bend enough or there is going to be some masonry work to do. I do have about 18' of draw so I hope even with a bend or two it will be okay. thanks for all the input.
Great price on the Sirocco 30. I agree with your "leaning". Is the stove going on a hearth in a fireplace? Pictures of the current Country setup will help.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
I would strongly suggest you go to Yahoo Search and type in Ideal Steel Stove Forums. There are a lot of Beta tester reviews out there. The more information you have about Beta testing results, the better your decision will be. Some testers have been getting very long burn times using good dry hardwoods. Also do a thorough search of this site - there is a ton of good information if you search for it. Just try to avoid being distracted by advice that may be biased. After all, we all have our favorites.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
When the first prototypes came out for the stove, I just laughed at some of the silly designs. However, the stoves has evolved into a somewhat handsome machine. I still prefer the looks of the Progress Hybrid, but the Ideal Steel has come a long way in a short time.
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Have to agree that when I first saw the IS, I was amused, then it became a lot more attractive as I realized that a big hulking chunk of black looks very odd in my living room. I think Woodstock's design is the way of the future for wood stoves.
I visited 3 Blaze King dealers in my region and phoned a 4th. I could not find ANY dealer in Ont. that stocked a King and none of them were interested in talking decent discounts, even though it was mid summer. How much is it fair to add on when all you are doing is stocking the item for one day?
On another note - I got a quote from one dealer for stove plus installation. $700. for labor for a 1/2 day install plus all the pipe & accessories were 2.5X the price of the identical parts at HD. I can understand the high labor charge if you want to charge your cost +15% on parts, but I refuse to be gouged on both. Sorry to vent on your thread.
I visited 3 Blaze King dealers in my region and phoned a 4th. I could not find ANY dealer in Ont. that stocked a King and none of them were interested in talking decent discounts, even though it was mid summer. How much is it fair to add on when all you are doing is stocking the item for one day?
On another note - I got a quote from one dealer for stove plus installation. $700. for labor for a 1/2 day install plus all the pipe & accessories were 2.5X the price of the identical parts at HD. I can understand the high labor charge if you want to charge your cost +15% on parts, but I refuse to be gouged on both. Sorry to vent on your thread.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
No I am NOT. BK is a great stove. I am not in love with the looks of some BK's, but their performance is not in question. Both BKs and Woodstocks are great machines.
![[Hearth.com] ideal steel?](/talk/data/attachments/136/136890-bb0a0fe6d66f66a3abb3f2c8d66ef285.jpg?hash=HWIkGvWMFQ)
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
Another question. I like the look of a nice slow fire. To run a bk correctly how much of this do you get and for how long? Or do these stoves just kinda smolder. The ideal steel is nice because you can burn it like a non cat when wanting the nice slow fire and then turn it down when you want a long burn. At least that's what I'm thinking.
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