Sure, I could have just burned the last few fires of the season in the Keystone, but I thought I might enjoy playing with the Dutchwest a bit before the season ends. 
The problem with the Keystone is a front left-side vertical seam air leak which was evident from day 1, but has gotten worse. If I get a load gassing pretty good, then cut the air, you can see flame shooting from the full length of that seam, half way across the top of the glass. The inability to control the air entering the stove results in the stove going to 500 with the air cut all the way. There are probably not many stoves that leave the Woodstock plant with defects; Just my luck to get one that was put together the day after the drunken picnic....
I could probably just goop the seam with some cement, but Todd told me that the folks at Woodstock supply detailed instructions for removing the front of the stove, and it's not too big a deal to do it. Luckily, I'm comfortable doing this type of thing, and I have a backup stove on hand. I didn't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back when the defect became apparent early on, and you're on your own with no dealer (who would probably do a hack-job repair anyway....) 
So I replaced all the gaskets on the Dutchwest, sealed a couple of seams, put in a diesel-foil Condar combustor I had here, and a new probe, and fired 'er up last night. I don't know how quick the cat will light off; I just waited until the recommended 500 on the probe (which didn't take too long,) and the cat lit instantly. The cats are supposed to light really quick when they are new, and I'll experiment to see at how low a temp I can light it. We had flurries here last night, it's going into the 20s again tonight, and Wed. night is in the 30s so I'll get to burn several loads. After that, we'll probably be about done here except for a few little chill-chaser burns.
The fire box is slightly larger than the Keystone's....probably closer to the Fireview in volume. It has a convective chamber on the back and top. I have the blower but didn't put it on this time. With the little bit of air-sealing I did on the house earlier this winter, the stove easily kept the house over 70, on a night a little warmer than average for winter, but with a stiff wind. The blower will really raise room temps in a hurry, and I needed it before when the stove was back in the fireplace. With the liner and tee setup I have now, the stoves sit out on the hearth and can radiate nicely off the sides into the room. After 11 hrs. on a load of White Ash and Black Oak, the stove was down close to 200 and the cat probe was at 550, and at 12 hrs. there were plenty of coals for an easy reload.
I like this little stove a lot. Cool-looking, well-built for a cheap stove,....and it's got a grated ash-handling system. The air lever is hotter than a two-dollar pistol. 
I'll have to rig something up for that....
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
The problem with the Keystone is a front left-side vertical seam air leak which was evident from day 1, but has gotten worse. If I get a load gassing pretty good, then cut the air, you can see flame shooting from the full length of that seam, half way across the top of the glass. The inability to control the air entering the stove results in the stove going to 500 with the air cut all the way. There are probably not many stoves that leave the Woodstock plant with defects; Just my luck to get one that was put together the day after the drunken picnic....
I could probably just goop the seam with some cement, but Todd told me that the folks at Woodstock supply detailed instructions for removing the front of the stove, and it's not too big a deal to do it. Luckily, I'm comfortable doing this type of thing, and I have a backup stove on hand. I didn't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back when the defect became apparent early on, and you're on your own with no dealer (who would probably do a hack-job repair anyway....) So I replaced all the gaskets on the Dutchwest, sealed a couple of seams, put in a diesel-foil Condar combustor I had here, and a new probe, and fired 'er up last night. I don't know how quick the cat will light off; I just waited until the recommended 500 on the probe (which didn't take too long,) and the cat lit instantly. The cats are supposed to light really quick when they are new, and I'll experiment to see at how low a temp I can light it. We had flurries here last night, it's going into the 20s again tonight, and Wed. night is in the 30s so I'll get to burn several loads. After that, we'll probably be about done here except for a few little chill-chaser burns.
The fire box is slightly larger than the Keystone's....probably closer to the Fireview in volume. It has a convective chamber on the back and top. I have the blower but didn't put it on this time. With the little bit of air-sealing I did on the house earlier this winter, the stove easily kept the house over 70, on a night a little warmer than average for winter, but with a stiff wind. The blower will really raise room temps in a hurry, and I needed it before when the stove was back in the fireplace. With the liner and tee setup I have now, the stoves sit out on the hearth and can radiate nicely off the sides into the room. After 11 hrs. on a load of White Ash and Black Oak, the stove was down close to 200 and the cat probe was at 550, and at 12 hrs. there were plenty of coals for an easy reload.
I like this little stove a lot. Cool-looking, well-built for a cheap stove,
....and it's got a grated ash-handling system. The air lever is hotter than a two-dollar pistol. I'll have to rig something up for that....(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
Last edited:
How many others have your first-hand experience or hang out on stove forums, though. Most probably have never owned a stove, I would guess. Eventually they would learn something if they worked on enough of them, and if they gave a crap. It's also possible that I'm just way too cynical. 
