New Larger Woodstock Stove?

[Todd]

Nope, Just got of the phone with them. They aren't building a larger stove, they are making an efficiency upgrade to the current ones. It will be a new retro fit baffle that can be installed in current stoves. It will still incorporate the catalyst. She told me it is a kind of a hybrid and so far the results are great and could be ready for sales by next season.

 

[Shari]

"efficiency upgrade"....... wonder if that has anything to do with the (hopefully) 2009 federal $300 rebate for 75% eff. stoves......

Shari

 

[karri0n]

Honestly, I don't like the sounds of this at all... The only complaint people have with secondary burn systems is that it puts extra air in when it's not necessary and burn the load faster. Unnecessary with a cat. Sounds to me like a way to cut your fireview burn time by at least 1/3.

 

[Todd]

I don't know how they can get any more efficient? I've been told the Fireview has tested 80% independent lab. How much more heat can you rob from the chimney till you lose draft? Maybe this is an upgrade to make the cat last longer and put less stress on it?

 

[BrotherBart]

I am betting it is to whip up the flames in the firebox more to capture the "see the fire" crowd that the non-cats attracts.

 

[karri0n]

Makes sense, but I've seen vids of pretty nice secondaries going on inside the fireview.

Maybe it really is something cool, and they aren't releasing all the details yet. In any case, all we can do is wait.

 

[Todd]

I hope they also install some kind of thermostatic control like the BK and VC's.

 

[Todd]

Another thought on this. The current baffle takes up a lot of room, maybe 6" of the top. Maybe the new upgrade squeezes this down to make the fire box larger, thus a bigger stove? So maybe the rumor is true on a larger stove?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

That would be a winner Todd.

 

[Easyellis8]

Any ideas on how much this upgrade will cost?

 

[Highbeam]

I got a funny email back from the woodstock site after inquiring about the larger stove.

They said no, they don't manufacture a larger stove (Well duh) and that the fireview can heat 1600 SF.

But then the guy demonstrated his lack of knowledge by stating that I'll get more heat out of a fireview than my current stove BECAUSE Hearthstones are actually cast iron stoves with soapstone panels attached to the outside.Ugh.

 

[Todd]

Atleast you got a reply, I've sent out 2 e-mails over a week ago and got nothing. It's better to just give them a call. I hope you emailed him back and set him straight!

 

[Wet1]

I got a funny email back from the woodstock site after inquiring about the larger stove.

They said no, they don't manufacture a larger stove (Well duh) and that the fireview can heat 1600 SF.

But then the guy demonstrated his lack of knowledge by stating that I'll get more heat out of a fireview than my current stove BECAUSE Hearthstones are actually cast iron stoves with soapstone panels attached to the outside.Ugh.

It really turns me off when manufacturers bash other brands, especially when they don't even know what they are talking about.

 

[Highbeam]

I did reply and set him straight. He wrote that woodstock stoves use 1.25" thick soapstone in the firebox, then a 0.125" air gap and then a 0.75" thick slab of stone for the outside. I knew they were double wall but not that they were 2" total thickness! Was he wrong there too?

I don't think he meant to bash the hearthstone but he did display his ignorance.

 

[Todd]

Well, he got that part right, I can confirm from their video I received a few years ago.

 

[bjkjoseph]

i had a thermostatic control bad idea they stink,i took mine off.

 

[Todd]

i had a thermostatic control bad idea they stink,i took mine off.

On what stove?

 

[Chief Ryan]

I did reply and set him straight. He wrote that woodstock stoves use 1.25" thick soapstone in the firebox, then a 0.125" air gap and then a 0.75" thick slab of stone for the outside. I knew they were double wall but not that they were 2" total thickness! Was he wrong there too?

I don't think he meant to bash the hearthstone but he did display his ignorance.

The thickness sounds correct. I was at the factory in the spring and saw the stoves from start to finish.

What Backwoods says may be right. It would make sense to raise the baffle increasing the size of the firebox.

 

[jpl1nh]

I was at the factory about a year and a half ago. They had a fireveiw cranking at about 700 stove top. Being a concerned stove citizen I told them that was too hot and asked them just what they thought they were doing? :roll: They were experimenting with injecting secondary air into the combustion stream to try to increase the efficiency but at the time were finding it just reduced the effectiveness of the cat and at least in the way they were doing it then, it was decreasing efficiency. Tough to burn a waste stream twice I guess. However, at least you know they were tinkering with the concept. I agree Todd, reduce the space the baffle takes and it could increase firebox capacity by maybe 10-15%? And perhaps they do have a new twist, though hard to fathom what that might be. The intrigue is good publicity anyhow.

 

[Chief Ryan]

Yeah when i was there they had temp sensors all over it testing everything. I asked them is the cat engaged and they said "this stove has no cat!!" It was a "Test Stove". I didn't ask anymore questions just because i didn't know what to ask. They were burning Doug Fir.

 

[Todd]

I wish I was close enough to take a ride over and get the tour. I'm getting kind of bored not working, maybe a road trip is in order? When I talked with them last time I mentioned the 700 degree over fire temp and that it seemed easy for me to reach it. She told me don't worry too much about 700 unless the firebox is raging full of flames. If there is little flame and the cat is taking most of that 700 degree heat it will be fine, they are more worried about the internal cast iron parts in the fire box.

 

[Highbeam]

I was at the factory about a year and a half ago. They had a fireveiw cranking at about 700 stove top. Being a concerned stove citizen I told them that was too hot and asked them just what they thought they were doing? :roll: They were experimenting with injecting secondary air into the combustion stream to try to increase the efficiency but at the time were finding it just reduced the effectiveness of the cat and at least in the way they were doing it then, it was decreasing efficiency. Tough to burn a waste stream twice I guess. However, at least you know they were tinkering with the concept. I agree Todd, reduce the space the baffle takes and it could increase firebox capacity by maybe 10-15%? And perhaps they do have a new twist, though hard to fathom what that might be. The intrigue is good publicity anyhow.

In my recent cat stove research I came upon the dutchwest large cat stove. It has two air controls. One for primary and another for cat air. You adjust how much oxygen is being injected at the cat to support secondary combustion and help deal with the smoke load. The dutchwest cat setup looks eerily similar to the woodstock but it has a much larger firebox and an 8" flue requirement. I couldn't tell what materials were used in the stove.

 

[Todd]

I always liked the looks of those Dutchwest's, the big one weighs 634lbs wow! The small or medium would look ggod in my fireplace.

 

[Highbeam]

The medium and small dutchwest use a 6" flue and sideload much like the WS. I worry about VC quality, warranty, and design issues. It is another reasonably attractive VC stove though. I wonder if the cat is held up by the famous VC ceramic playdough setup or if this stove is cast iron throughout. Also whether it is true cast iron with cement, with gaskets, or if it has a welded steel firebox(kinda doubt it). You've got to unbolt the top of the stove to access the cat.

Does anyone own a dutchwest cat?

 

[rob bennett]

With the economy the way it is right now, I hope Woodstock is selling lots of stoves. I would like to get one in the future.