Progress Hybrid tips, tricks, and expectations?

[Air_cooled_driver]

I wanted to get input of the community's collective wisdom on my new stove install. Overall I am delighted with the stove and am familiar enough with it after a few weeks of use to want to fine-tune things. I have it running through an interior brick chimney with a 6" uninsulated ss liner about 23' long. Block off plate installed in flue. Rear exit.

I am burnng mostly oak at about 19% moisture content. The stove wants to settle around 450* as measured with the thermometer sitting on the top exit blockoff plate. It will stay there for three to five hours or so and then gradually drop to about 300* as it burns down. Takes about 10 hours for the stove to start to get "cold," dropping under 200*.

The house is an OLD colonial farmhouse with several different wings and we are primarily using the central air fan to move heat around. The stove is as centrally located as it can be. Insulation and drafty old windows are issues. I acknowledge this aspect of things as a huge challenge.

In the morning I have started taking the coals into a pile at the front and can get the temps up a bit longer as those burn down with a bit more open damper.

What should I be thinking about/changing/doing to get more out of the stove, or is this about what to expect? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Jags]

In some situations, you would be amazed at how a central furnace fan mutes the heat of the stove. I would consider using small floor fans to help move the air.

 

[Tenn Dave]

This is my second season with the PH. During the winter I live in the SE Tennessee mountains just west of Chattanooga where winters are moderate with an occasional very cold streak. My house is a newer construction ranch of 1500 sq. ft. with good insulation. The PH is installed via rear vent on an outer wall in the great room (approx. 850 sq. ft.). Room has cathedral ceilings and a lot of windows for the views. I run the stove on a 12 hour reload schedule which fits nicely into my daily schedule. (shorter burn times during really cold weather). I find that most of the time the stove is set on its lowest air damper setting with stove top temps of 475* to 500*. I burn very well seasoned oak and hickory (16 to 17% MC), and usually only load it 70% full ( 1 really large split in the back surrounded by 3 other medium sized splits on top and in front. Sometimes I will place a fourth medium split in if the temps are really low. On reloads I get the stove top temp up to 350* before I engage the cat. I turn down the air by 25% until the temp reaches 370* and then turn it all the way down. The stove usually then goes dark for a while as the stove temps climb to 475 - 500*. In about a half hour or so the secondaries start up. If the stove starts to back puff I open the air just a crack. I have never timed the secondaries, but I get a nice long beautiful fire show. With a nice glass of wine or Macallan 18 year old scotch, it's better then watching TV. About 10 to 11 hours into the burn, the stove is well into the coaling stage and temps are about 300*. I then open up the air and get the coals glowing bright red. An hour or so later, I reload and start the process all over. The room the stove is in has three ceiling fans I use on occasion. But what I really like to do is use a super quiet table top fan directed at the back of the stove. It gently moves some of the intense heat on the back side of the stove into the room a little faster. But to be honest, on days when I forget to use the fan, the room is still very comfortable. I think the advantage to the fan is to bring the room up to temp just a little faster and more evenly distributes the heat in the early stages of the burn. But on a cold winter night with the TV off, I do not want to be hearing the noise of a fan running. The rest of the house normally stays about 5* cooler then the stove room. Sometimes I will place a small very quiet box fan in the hallway blowing cold air toward the stove room. This works well but I usually do not need to do it. I like the bedrooms on the cool side. The average winter temp in my great room is 74* with the stove running on its lowest setting. Not all stoves work in all situations, and each of us wood burners have different priorities. But for my situation, this stove has been a real blessing. I just love its looks and performance.

 

[weatherguy]

Sounds like you're doing ok, I run mine a little hotter when it's cold but it seems to like 500. I agree with Jags, I did an experiment with the central fan running and it was actually cooler in areas I had a thermo.

 

[Woody Stover]

I would consider using small floor fans to help move the air.

Use them to move cool air toward the stove room, and that will set up a convection loop.

 

[alforit]

I wanted to get input of the community's collective wisdom on my new stove install. Overall I am delighted with the stove and am familiar enough with it after a few weeks of use to want to fine-tune things. I have it running through an interior brick chimney with a 6" uninsulated ss liner about 23' long. Block off plate installed in flue. Rear exit.

I am burnng mostly oak at about 19% moisture content. The stove wants to settle around 450* as measured with the thermometer sitting on the top exit blockoff plate. It will stay there for three to five hours or so and then gradually drop to about 300* as it burns down. Takes about 10 hours for the stove to start to get "cold," dropping under 200*.

The house is an OLD colonial farmhouse with several different wings and we are primarily using the central air fan to move heat around. The stove is as centrally located as it can be. Insulation and drafty old windows are issues. I acknowledge this aspect of things as a huge challenge.

In the morning I have started taking the coals into a pile at the front and can get the temps up a bit longer as those burn down with a bit more open damper.

What should I be thinking about/changing/doing to get more out of the stove, or is this about what to expect? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

If you have no expectations then you wont be disappointed

 

[fire_man]

Your experience seems about right for this stove. You seem to have figured it out quickly.
I used to have backpuffing issues but since I added 2 feet of pipe (now I have about 16 feet) its much better.
I think you will find the stove is a little slower to get hot once the cat breaks in. The SS cats are hyperactive for the first 10 or so fires.

Best think I did for this stove was to add the ashpan option. No more mess scooping out ash!

 

[Tenn Dave]

Best think I did for this stove was to add the ashpan option. No more mess scooping out ash!

I second that on the ash pan. Very well designed.

 

[Berner]

On reloads I get the stove top temp up to 350* before I engage the cat. I turn down the air by 25% until the temp reaches 370* and then turn it all the way down. The stove usually then goes dark for a while as the stove temps climb to 475 - 500*. In about a half hour or so the secondaries start up.


Isn't the stove going dark is a no no? I thought on reloads you want active flame for a while to keep flue temps high?

 

[Tenn Dave]

On reloads I get the stove top temp up to 350* before I engage the cat. I turn down the air by 25% until the temp reaches 370* and then turn it all the way down. The stove usually then goes dark for a while as the stove temps climb to 475 - 500*. In about a half hour or so the secondaries start up.


Isn't the stove going dark is a no no? I thought on reloads you want active flame for a while to keep flue temps high?

I keep active flames until the stove hits 350* and the cat is engaged. Then I still keep active flames until it raises to 370* so I am sure the cat is active. Then I turn the air way down and the flames go out thus creating a lot of smoke which feeds the cat. The stove top temp then raises rather fast to the operating temp of 475 to 500*. Works every time for me and my setup. I have good draft and never a smoke smell issue.

 

[Berner]

I keep active flames until the stove hits 350* and the cat is engaged. Then I still keep active flames until it raises to 370* so I am sure the cat is active. Then I turn the air way down and the flames go out thus creating a lot of smoke which feeds the cat. The stove top temp then raises rather fast to the operating temp of 475 to 500*. Works every time for me and my setup. I have good draft and never a smoke smell issue.

I've got really good draft as well. But last year I had lots of creosote. Burning 2yr seasoned wood might have something to do with that. However I've been trying to run hotter fires this year to make sure I keep the creosote down. What are your creosote levels at using your method?

 

[Tenn Dave]

I've got really good draft as well. But last year I had lots of creosote. Burning 2yr seasoned wood might have something to do with that. However I've been trying to run hotter fires this year to make sure I keep the creosote down. What are your creosote levels at using your method?

Not bad at all. At the end of last season I got about 3 cups of black soot out of a 23 ft chimney. And cap was nice and clean.

 

[Nick Mystic]

I second the advice of weatherguy regarding the use of the central heating system fan to circulate air around the house. When I tried doing this it was very ineffective and you are running that big squirrel cage fan all the time. I have the best success just running our living room ceiling fan on reverse and blowing the hot air trapped up in the cathedral ceiling back down the walls to the lower part of the room.

 

[Air_cooled_driver]

This is great. Keep it coming. That is solid advice about the central air fan--we left it off late yesterday and today, and at worst everything is the same as with the fan, so I think we will scrap that. I am getting a small fan to experiment with.

I also got the ashpan. It is pretty great.

 

[Flamestead]

Don't confuse Fall and Spring burn times with cold weather burn times. A PH at 200 degrees is a shooting offense here. We reload at 400-450 degree stovetop (our reload is based on coals, not on stovetop temp). You get the real heat from this stove (any stove) by burning wood, not by stretching across as many hours as possible. In this weather (-4 and dropping) we sacrifice some efficiency, as noted by higher stack temps, in order to get more heat into the house.

 

[alforit]

Don't confuse Fall and Spring burn times with cold weather burn times. A PH at 200 degrees is a shooting offense here. We reload at 400-450 degree stovetop (our reload is based on coals, not on stovetop temp). You get the real heat from this stove (any stove) by burning wood, not by stretching across as many hours as possible. In this weather (-4 and dropping) we sacrifice some efficiency, as noted by higher stack temps, in order to get more heat into the house.

I like your honesty and straightforwardness Flamestead. You don't fluff things like some others do.

 

[Air_cooled_driver]

Rocking the secondaries this morning.

 

[Slow1]

Jumping in here to share a few observations...

This year I've started burning a bit different after 2 seasons with the PH. Most noted is that I'm letting the stove get a bit hotter before 'shutting down' the air. Previously I pretty much would fire it up, get the cat engaged, then set the air to where I wanted it and walk away. Easy, sure, but perhaps (based on recent experience) not the optimal way to operate. So now I'm filling stove, engaging cat around 300*, then leaving it running with more air (about 3/4?) until it really has taken off and is getting hot (450+ on surface). Then I turn air down in steps and have been ending up at about fully off.

Results? It SEEMS I'm getting longer burn times (i.e. enough coals for re-light time extended). I don't know if the house is any warmer etc, but not getting any complaints. Running it hotter seems to have eliminated any backpuffs/smoke smells. I also have am making more regular use of a floor fan pointed low at stove to force household mixing.

I've used about a cord of wood so far this year - a tad more. Seems to be on track to previous years. Yesterday I loaded 3 times (mid-afternoon in anticipation of single digits overnight) and this morning house was nice and warm - didn't even feel need to feed the stove until back from dropping kids off.

Happy camper

 

[TJL]

I wanted to get input of the community's collective wisdom on my new stove install. Overall I am delighted with the stove and am familiar enough with it after a few weeks of use to want to fine-tune things. I have it running through an interior brick chimney with a 6" uninsulated ss liner about 23' long. Block off plate installed in flue. Rear exit.

I am burnng mostly oak at about 19% moisture content. The stove wants to settle around 450* as measured with the thermometer sitting on the top exit blockoff plate. It will stay there for three to five hours or so and then gradually drop to about 300* as it burns down. Takes about 10 hours for the stove to start to get "cold," dropping under 200*.

The house is an OLD colonial farmhouse with several different wings and we are primarily using the central air fan to move heat around. The stove is as centrally located as it can be. Insulation and drafty old windows are issues. I acknowledge this aspect of things as a huge challenge.

In the morning I have started taking the coals into a pile at the front and can get the temps up a bit longer as those burn down with a bit more open damper.

What should I be thinking about/changing/doing to get more out of the stove, or is this about what to expect? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I am in the midst of the third year with the Progress Hybrid having used a Fireview for 20+ years. I replaced the Fireview because the internals were distorted, probably from chronic overheating. My story includes some good news and some not-so-good news, but first I want to clearly state that Woodstock Soapstone Company is a fine organization with an excellent product and excellent customer service.

The mostly-good news:
The stove is very attractive, easy to load, and relatively easy to empty ashes with the ash pan. It provides a lot of heat and can burn all night with enough coals by morning to restart by simply adding wood. Soapstone has much better heat retention qualities than an equivalent weight of steel. This means longer time to heat up, but also longer time to cool down. I have a lot of "storage mass" in the room with the stove (brick wall, tile floor over concrete) so even is the stove cools somewhat by morning, the floor and the room are never cold. I burn mainly black locust that is several years old (from storm damage mostly) and have a lot more of it to use. I normally operate the stove with the inlet damper just slightly open. Last year I kept it mostly closed and had a lot of hard soot buildup in the chimney liner at the end of the season.

The not-so-good news:
I normally need to empty the ash pan every week. It I go much longer than that, I need to empty it more than once. At that time I also clean the glass and brush the screen. No problem with that. The problem is that I also need to remove and clean the catalytic converter almost every week because it is blocked with fine dust. Cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner is not a problem but taking the stove apart every week to do so is a BIG PITA. If the cat is not cleaned, the stove must be operated with the bypass open to get any decent draft. AFTER 2-1/2 YEARS, I HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP THE BYPASS OPEN ALL THE TIME AND NOT ENGAGE THE CAT. I could never see any difference in performance or stack appearance with it. When the stove is heating from a cold start I get some smoke regardless of bypass position. When the stove is up to temperature (>300) I have a perfectly clean stack regardless of bypass position. I did complain to Woodstock early in the game about the cat and they sent me a new one, no charge. It did not make any noticeable difference. I always engaged the cat in accordance with Woodstock's suggestions. Perhaps the cat does reduce emissions and improve overall efficiency, but not enough for me to justify weekly cat cleaning. I have read that others have a cat that is perfectly clean when the inspect it. Great for them but that is not my experience. Perhaps the quality of my wood is a factor, but my wood supply is what I have to work with for years to come.

When I load the hot stove full of wood, the temperature often rises to 500-600. At this writing, the stove is less than half full of wood (bypass open) that was added about an hour ago, the stovetop temperature is 500 and the stove pipe temperature about 2 feet up is 260, just about perfect. The damper is and has been just slightly open.

I welcome any comments, but you needn't explain the catalytic converter to me. I have two degrees in chemical engineering and have operated cat stoves for over 20 years. (I abandoned that catalytic converter on the Fireview after the first replacement for reasons similar to above.)

Thanks for any comments.

 

[begreen]

Interesting report, thanks for posting. Some others have been not too pleased about the cat cleaning cycle. Locust is a great fuel, I love burning it.

Welcome to hearth.com!

 

[Tenn Dave]

I am in the midst of the third year with the Progress Hybrid having used a Fireview for 20+ years. I replaced the Fireview because the internals were distorted, probably from chronic overheating. My story includes some good news and some not-so-good news, but first I want to clearly state that Woodstock Soapstone Company is a fine organization with an excellent product and excellent customer service.

The mostly-good news:
The stove is very attractive, easy to load, and relatively easy to empty ashes with the ash pan. It provides a lot of heat and can burn all night with enough coals by morning to restart by simply adding wood. Soapstone has much better heat retention qualities than an equivalent weight of steel. This means longer time to heat up, but also longer time to cool down. I have a lot of "storage mass" in the room with the stove (brick wall, tile floor over concrete) so even is the stove cools somewhat by morning, the floor and the room are never cold. I burn mainly black locust that is several years old (from storm damage mostly) and have a lot more of it to use. I normally operate the stove with the inlet damper just slightly open. Last year I kept it mostly closed and had a lot of hard soot buildup in the chimney liner at the end of the season.

The not-so-good news:
I normally need to empty the ash pan every week. It I go much longer than that, I need to empty it more than once. At that time I also clean the glass and brush the screen. No problem with that. The problem is that I also need to remove and clean the catalytic converter almost every week because it is blocked with fine dust. Cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner is not a problem but taking the stove apart every week to do so is a BIG PITA. If the cat is not cleaned, the stove must be operated with the bypass open to get any decent draft. AFTER 2-1/2 YEARS, I HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP THE BYPASS OPEN ALL THE TIME AND NOT ENGAGE THE CAT. I could never see any difference in performance or stack appearance with it. When the stove is heating from a cold start I get some smoke regardless of bypass position. When the stove is up to temperature (>300) I have a perfectly clean stack regardless of bypass position. I did complain to Woodstock early in the game about the cat and they sent me a new one, no charge. It did not make any noticeable difference. I always engaged the cat in accordance with Woodstock's suggestions. Perhaps the cat does reduce emissions and improve overall efficiency, but not enough for me to justify weekly cat cleaning. I have read that others have a cat that is perfectly clean when the inspect it. Great for them but that is not my experience. Perhaps the quality of my wood is a factor, but my wood supply is what I have to work with for years to come.

When I load the hot stove full of wood, the temperature often rises to 500-600. At this writing, the stove is less than half full of wood (bypass open) that was added about an hour ago, the stovetop temperature is 500 and the stove pipe temperature about 2 feet up is 260, just about perfect. The damper is and has been just slightly open.

I welcome any comments, but you needn't explain the catalytic converter to me. I have two degrees in chemical engineering and have operated cat stoves for over 20 years. (I abandoned that catalytic converter on the Fireview after the first replacement for reasons similar to above.)

Thanks for any comments.

I guess there is nothing more to say - you said it all. But I will say that my experience has been completely different then yours. And I don't know why. Perhaps it is the strength of the draft or the different wood that we burn (I burn 3+ years seasoned oak & hickory). But I wish you the best of luck..

 

[Tenn Dave]

Interesting report, thanks for posting. Some others have been not too pleased about the cat cleaning cycle. Locust is a great fuel, I love burning it.

Welcome to hearth.com!

In some cases it seems that not having the ash pan or an overly strong draft has caused more frequent cleanings. Usually once a month on a warmer day I will shut her down and clean her up. But the cat has never been clogged, just a little dusty.. I could easily switch to a 2 month cleaning schedule with no ill effects.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I am in the midst of the third year with the Progress Hybrid having used a Fireview for 20+ years. I replaced the Fireview because the internals were distorted, probably from chronic overheating. My story includes some good news and some not-so-good news, but first I want to clearly state that Woodstock Soapstone Company is a fine organization with an excellent product and excellent customer service.

The mostly-good news:
The stove is very attractive, easy to load, and relatively easy to empty ashes with the ash pan. It provides a lot of heat and can burn all night with enough coals by morning to restart by simply adding wood. Soapstone has much better heat retention qualities than an equivalent weight of steel. This means longer time to heat up, but also longer time to cool down. I have a lot of "storage mass" in the room with the stove (brick wall, tile floor over concrete) so even is the stove cools somewhat by morning, the floor and the room are never cold. I burn mainly black locust that is several years old (from storm damage mostly) and have a lot more of it to use. I normally operate the stove with the inlet damper just slightly open. Last year I kept it mostly closed and had a lot of hard soot buildup in the chimney liner at the end of the season.

The not-so-good news:
I normally need to empty the ash pan every week. It I go much longer than that, I need to empty it more than once. At that time I also clean the glass and brush the screen. No problem with that. The problem is that I also need to remove and clean the catalytic converter almost every week because it is blocked with fine dust. Cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner is not a problem but taking the stove apart every week to do so is a BIG PITA. If the cat is not cleaned, the stove must be operated with the bypass open to get any decent draft. AFTER 2-1/2 YEARS, I HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP THE BYPASS OPEN ALL THE TIME AND NOT ENGAGE THE CAT. I could never see any difference in performance or stack appearance with it. When the stove is heating from a cold start I get some smoke regardless of bypass position. When the stove is up to temperature (>300) I have a perfectly clean stack regardless of bypass position. I did complain to Woodstock early in the game about the cat and they sent me a new one, no charge. It did not make any noticeable difference. I always engaged the cat in accordance with Woodstock's suggestions. Perhaps the cat does reduce emissions and improve overall efficiency, but not enough for me to justify weekly cat cleaning. I have read that others have a cat that is perfectly clean when the inspect it. Great for them but that is not my experience. Perhaps the quality of my wood is a factor, but my wood supply is what I have to work with for years to come.

When I load the hot stove full of wood, the temperature often rises to 500-600. At this writing, the stove is less than half full of wood (bypass open) that was added about an hour ago, the stovetop temperature is 500 and the stove pipe temperature about 2 feet up is 260, just about perfect. The damper is and has been just slightly open.

I welcome any comments, but you needn't explain the catalytic converter to me. I have two degrees in chemical engineering and have operated cat stoves for over 20 years. (I abandoned that catalytic converter on the Fireview after the first replacement for reasons similar to above.)

Thanks for any comments.

You don't by any chance ever open the loading door and move the coals around with the cat engaged? I read a post on another site about the cat being clogged and it turned out that the stove owner was pushing the coals and ash around with the cat engaged and creating a dust storm that went straight into the cat.

 

[fire_man]

alforit - great post explaining your points- I have a couple comments:

[quote="alforit, post: 1883155, member: 26545"

The Woodstock PH sort of ran away on me 3 different times ... I woke up to a overheated hearth that I couldn't touch with my hand . I lost confidence with the stove after that. I will Not risk my safety to a stove like that.

WOW that surprises me. You must have had the short stove legs with no ashlip installed. I have the long leg model with an ashlip and the hearth barely gets warm. It's got lower Hearth R value requirements than the Fireview or Keystone models. I'm not sure about the "runway" part. I never had that happen.

Cleaning the glass was also a real PAIN in the....... Having to reach through the side to access the glass and harpooning my hand on the Andirons.

I have to agree with you on this one - What a pain cleaning the glass but I'm not sure what they could do differently.

 

[alforit]

alforit - great post explaining your points- I have a couple comments:
WOW that surprises me. You must have had the short stove legs with no ashlip installed. I have the long leg model with an ashlip and the hearth barely gets warm. It's got lower Hearth R value requirements than the Fireview or Keystone models. I'm not sure about the "runway" part. I never had that happen.
I have to agree with you on this one - What a pain cleaning the glass but I'm not sure what they could do differently.

I had the long legs on my PH.......And yeah it freaked me out the first time it happened........I was half awake from just getting up when I discovered it. Then it happened two more time after that.......I literally could not touch the hearth or it would have burned my hand.