Just ordered a Woodstock Progress stove today!

[Photog200]

Exactly! Sometimes I even close the air control level completely depending upon the temp outside. FYI, you're not the first person to make the comment regarding scale markings on the stove. Glad that you are enjoying the stove.

I can see where I will be closing the air control off quite often too, the only problem with that is the glass soots up. Oh well, I can always open a couple windows and get some fresh air when I want to watch the fire. I knew the stove was going to be a little too big for my home so I will have to just live with those adjustments and I don't mind. I know I will have plenty of heat when those temps go way below zero. My home is not all that well insulated so there are times when the back part of the house is very cool. Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to mention the fact that I have noticed the back of the house is also warmer with this stove. I will have to wait for colder temps to see how that pans out. It might just be because the stove room is also warmer too. Lots of tinkering to do and having fun doing it.

 

[toddnic]

I can see where I will be closing the air control off quite often too, the only problem with that is the glass soots up.

If you are burning dry wood (sub 20% moisture), you won't have much issue with the glass sooting up. Also, if it does soot up, as soon as you have a hot fire, it will clear up.

 

[Photog200]

If you are burning dry wood (sub 20% moisture), you won't have much issue with the glass sooting up. Also, if it does soot up, as soon as you have a hot fire, it will clear up.

The last time I checked with the moisture meter it was averaging 15-18%. I have not checked further down the pile...will check that today. My wood shed has a couple of clear roof panels so the top layers get dried better than the lower parts where the sun hits them. I am cutting down some maple trees in my back yard so I can plant fruit trees. With this wood and what I purchase this year, I am hoping to get enough for two years, that way it will be a lot drier. I also think I am going to have a few face cords left over from this year. The wood I dried in the greenhouse burned really well this year but that is gone now.

I have seen where it does clear up with a hotter fire. The Jotul did that as well

 

[John Kuhn]

The last time I checked with the moisture meter it was averaging 15-18%. I have not checked further down the pile...will check that today.

Given the dryness of your wood, makes sense to me that the air control would have to be shut down so low to keep the burn where you want it. My VC experience has been that with wetter wood I have to crank the air up to get it to burn better.

 

[Woody Stover]

1. The air control lever is very sensitive, you only have to open it a hair (1/16") and the fire takes off.

I notice with my stove with a scale of 0-4 on the air control, when I get down around 1.25, smaller air adjustments have greater effect.

4. The stove quality is top notch and much attention to detail. I am very happy with this purchase.

Yep, the more you look the more you like. It's like when I work on my Toyotas, see something, and say "This is the way to do it right! What were the guys that made the LeSabre thinking?"

I am sure that after getting use to the stove and use in some colder weather, I will be able to fine tune the usage.

You are at the start of a fun adventure..enjoy! Read up on the threads both here and other forums..loads of good stuff and insights. Lots of other variables as well such as wood species, how you load the stove, and on and on..

I remember being surprised how much clicking it made heating up. You do start running it by ear after a little bit. I think it becomes quieter over time or you get used to it. I’m not sure which it is. I don’t even notice now except when I’m listening for it on a reload.

Yep, I've done the same with several different stoves, not just just my Keystone. I think it probably does get a little quieter as you get some ash dust in those interfaces, and as they wear in to where it's easier for them to move.

 

[Photog200]

Well, have been running the stove now for a little over three weeks so thought I would give a little update. I am starting to get use to the air intake lever. (hated it at first) I was having issues with too much air getting in with just the slightest opening of the lever and I am talking only moving the lever 1/16"...just a tap with my thumbnail. I called Woodstock and they agreed that was not right and said it sounded like my chimney was drawing too hard. So I was glad I installed the pipe damper and started using it...has improved tremendously. I hesitated using it because all of the literature I had read said that rarely one was needed. My chimney is only about 12' but I live across from a wide open field and get wind often and have very good draft.

The other issue I was having was when shutting down for the night, I was getting puff backs. After another call to Woodstock, I got to talk to the guy who actually built the stove and has the exact stove in his basement. He told me I have to get the stove temp up to 500º before shutting down. I laughed and told him at those temps I would have to have a naked beach party! It worked, no more puff backs. I knew this stove was a bit to big for my house but did not realize just how much of a heat beast this stove was going to be. My Jøtul was technically too big too, but nothing in comparison to this stove. I had never used a catalytic stove before and did not know just how much heat they create. I just keep a couple windows open a couple of inches when needed. When we get those below zero days, the Jøtul could not keep up but I am sure this one will and I will be glad I have the bigger stove.


I do have a question for those with this stove, as we approach spring, is it ok to leave the catalytic bypass opened and just have a small fire? The secondary burn would still work to keep it EPA compliant.

The other thing I have noticed is with the living room the same temps as I use to keep it with the Jøtul, the back rooms are about 3-4º warmer. That tells me this stove does distribute the heat more evenly...a good thing.

Overall, I am very happy with this new stove. I do think the weakest link is in the air control lever as it is very hard to adjust for consistency. I see on some of their new steel hybrid stoves, they have a more robust control with click style stops. I know it would take a complete redesign for this stove and they will probably never do that but something like that system would make minor adjustments easier. Having said that, the more I use the stove, I am starting to get more use to it and I am sure going forward won't be that big of an issue as it was at first.

 

[KennyK]

Great review! I'm considering an upgrade to the Ideal Steel and Woodstock is telling me it is a good fit for the size of my whole home, but too big for the room my stove is in and they think that room might get uncomfortably hot. How big is your whole home? How big is the room with your Progress? Ceiling heights? What kind of temps are you getting in both the stove room and other parts of your house?

 

[Photog200]

Great review! I'm considering an upgrade to the Ideal Steel and Woodstock is telling me it is a good fit for the size of my whole home, but too big for the room my stove is in and they think that room might get uncomfortably hot. How big is your whole home? How big is the room with your Progress? Ceiling heights? What kind of temps are you getting in both the stove room and other parts of your house?

The whole house is about 1100 sq. ft. The living room, kitchen and dining room is a open floor plan with cathedral ceilings. This is a ranch style with the stove at one end of the house. Master bedroom and bath at the other end. I try to keep the living room area around 78-80º so that the bedrooms and bathrooms are in the 60's. To do this, I pretty much have to just idle the stove most of the time. When in the single digits outside, I was able to open the air control a bit more so I know this stove will more than heat the house in sub zero temps with room to spare.

I also forgot to mention about wood consumption. I have seen a small improvement in cutting consumption compared to the Jøtul but not the 50% others have achieved. Since I have only been operating the stove for a little over 3 weeks, it is hard to get accurate percentages . I still have a learning curve and am going to try some other techniques like smaller fires instead of loading the stove fully. Having fun trying new techniques and getting to know the stove.

 

[KennyK]

The whole house is about 1100 sq. ft. The living room, kitchen and dining room is a open floor plan with cathedral ceilings. This is a ranch style with the stove at one end of the house. Master bedroom and bath at the other end. I try to keep the living room area around 78-80º so that the bedrooms and bathrooms are in the 60's. To do this, I pretty much have to just idle the stove most of the time. When in the single digits outside, I was able to open the air control a bit more so I know this stove will more than heat the house in sub zero temps with room to spare.

I also forgot to mention about wood consumption. I have seen a small improvement in cutting consumption compared to the Jøtul but not the 50% others have achieved. Since I have only been operating the stove for a little over 3 weeks, it is hard to get accurate percentages . I still have a learning curve and am going to try some other techniques like smaller fires instead of loading the stove fully. Having fun trying new techniques and getting to know the stove.

Thanks for sharing! Wow, 1100 sq. ft. is really small for the Woodstock Progress, but as many here say, go bigger if you can and you won't regret it! I guess with the open floor plan and cathedral ceilings that opens you up to having an oversized stove work out well too! My home is about twice as big as yours but not an open floor plan (although all rooms on our first floor open up to one another via doorways with no doors and the stove room to the living room has an oversized double door opening between the two), and 9 foot ceilings throughout, so that may be the difference and reason for Woodstock's caution. I'm still working on this and your info helps! Continue to enjoy your new stove!

 

[Rearscreen]

Just double checking. When your cat is engaged in it's active position you should be able push down with little pressure the right side of the bypass lever and it will drop easily to the 4 o''clock position. Correct? And have you taken the cat out to inspect it just to see how it's doing as far as ash etc?

 

[Photog200]

Thanks for sharing! Wow, 1100 sq. ft. is really small for the Woodstock Progress, but as many here say, go bigger if you can and you won't regret it! I guess with the open floor plan and cathedral ceilings that opens you up to having an oversized stove work out well too! My home is about twice as big as yours but not an open floor plan (although all rooms on our first floor open up to one another via doorways with no doors and the stove room to the living room has an oversized double door opening between the two), and 9 foot ceilings throughout, so that may be the difference and reason for Woodstock's caution. I'm still working on this and your info helps! Continue to enjoy your new stove!

When making my decision to go with the Progress Hybrid, it was rated for about the same sq. footage as the Jøtul so in my mind it would not be that much more heat...I was wrong about that! My main reason for going with the bigger stove was so that I could fit more wood in it and get an overnight burn. I was tired of setting my alarm for 2am so as to put more wood on the stove. The Progress sure has done that. I wake up in the morning with a good layer of coals and a nice warm house. The one thing missing is viewing the fire, with idling the stove down so much.

 

[Photog200]

Just double checking. When your cat is engaged in it's active position you should be able push down with little pressure the right side of the bypass lever and it will drop easily to the 4 o''clock position. Correct?

It takes a little pressure but it is getting easier as the stove is getting broken in. I did question that to Woodstock and they said that was normal to have some resistance but it would get easier as it gets used.

 

[Rearscreen]

Something is amiss. I've owned this stove in 2 different locations and not once has the glass ever even gotten the least brown. Ash haze but not brown. I throttle it down to nothing. I also don't think I could overfire this as it never has taken off so my draft is low. As Woodstock has 2 pieces of glass the inner glass gets super heated. Remember too that the cat can get clogged real quick. When I first got the stove a few weeks in, I had to go away on business. My girlfriend took over and promptly clogged the cat. Not light tan clog, black creosote clog.

 

[Photog200]

Something is amiss. I've owned this stove in 2 different locations and not once has the glass ever even gotten the least brown. Ash haze but not brown. I throttle it down to nothing. I also don't think I could overfire this as it never has taken off so my draft is low. As Woodstock has 2 pieces of glass the inner glass gets super heated. Remember too that the cat can get clogged real quick. When I first got the stove a few weeks in, I had to go away on business. My girlfriend took over and promptly clogged the cat. Not light tan clog, black creosote clog.

I don't recall saying anything about the glass getting brown. What I did say was when I idle it down there are very little or no flames for viewing purposes. With the weather getting into the 40's today and tomorrow I will let the fire die out and will check the cat. Thanks for your input.

 

[Rearscreen]

Oh, as usual I misunderstood! Sorry about that. But yes you can run it without the cat engaged as I do at low temps.

 

[Woody Stover]

I still have a learning curve and am going to try some other techniques like smaller fires instead of loading the stove fully. Having fun trying new techniques and getting to know the stove.

Yep, sure is fun experimenting and tweaking the way you run the stove, to get what you need. I'm burning a mini-load right now..couple splits of Red Oak got the burn established easier, and one White Oak split will slowly catch later to stretch out the burn a bit. With moderate temps here now, I'll let the stove go out tonight. Even though our house is a bit leaky, and no wall insulation, it won't loose heat very quickly with warm outside temps, and the stored heat in the stone will stretch out the heat curve some.

I'm considering an upgrade to the Ideal Steel and Woodstock is telling me it is a good fit for the size of my whole home, but too big for the room my stove is in and they think that room might get uncomfortably hot.

My home is about twice as big as yours but not an open floor plan (although all rooms on our first floor open up to one another via doorways with no doors and the stove room to the living room has an oversized double door opening between the two), and 9 foot ceilings throughout, so that may be the difference and reason for Woodstock's caution.

Did you discuss with them the use of a small fan (6-8") back in cooler sections of your layout, blowing dense, cool air back toward the stove room along the floor? This will augment the natural convection loop which moves warm air out of the stove room to the cooler areas. You can experiment with different fan placements to see what works best, but you should be able to run the fan on low regardless of where it is.