Progress Hybrid too much stove for me

[pro5oh]

Got my new stove in and running in my 1500sq ft home. With only 3 1/4 splits it was over 75 in an hour and the stove was still warm to touch in the morning. The outside temp was 28f overnight in the morning the house was still 70. I'm looking to trade for something smaller if anyone is interested...fireview, jotul, etc

 

[TomB]

Before you trade or replace your stove... If the weather is sub zero and the wind in blowing one of those Nor Easters for you, would a smaller stove keep you warm? I have a indoor wood furnace. I installed the "larger" furnace. 100,000 BTU Yukon Eagle. I had the same thoughts your having about being too big. Well, 2 years ago we had those subzero temps for a week. I am glad I had the larger furnace. It kept us with the heating demand created by not only the temp but the wind.

thought I would share my experiences. thanks. Tom

 

[Pallet Pete]

Tom is right on that we had a (supposed 75000BTU) box store stove that could crank the heat a few years back and the winter was a real freeze with a lot of snow ! Well I wished at that time I had a bigger box and a better stove because even with the stove going full blast the furnace had to run every half hour. So this time I bought a good stove that is much larger on the box size. The advantage is one to two very small loads a day right now but when the temps plummet we will have the power to warm up really well. I am not sure how last winter went for you but here it was really warm and I overheated the house a few times but I know that wont last and winter will return with a vengeance. I can live with a bit too much warmth early on in order to be just right through the winter. Plus all the neighbors will know where to go when the power goes out

Pete

 

[oldspark]

No need to throw the baby out with the bath water just yet, give it a chance, burning practices can make a difference also.

 

[Huntindog1]

Dont know what the inside of the stove looks like but there have been guys put in another layer of fire brick during the shoulder season to basically make the fire box smaller.

But most stoves will take 3 good size splits so that wont help you.

You need to get the stove shut down quicker but yet the cat is active so that you get the stove in a cat only mode and at low setting should have less heat.

Another idea if you can find the air inlets, all of them, the primary inlets , secondary inlets , the dog house inlets. Take some of that metal aluminum tape made for duct work.
If the stove wont operate in a low enough cat mode try covering partially some of the secondary holes to slightly reduce the air when the stove is at its lowest setting then check to see if the cat is still active. I think these progress hybrids could have been designed to run at a bit lower settings. You will just have to play around with it to get a feel for it.

 

[Huntindog1]

Pro5oh,

Do you know if the Secondary baffles where firing off during that burn?

 

[Todd]

Give it more time, it's not even cold outside yet.

 

[milleo]

Think of all the wood you will save! Crack a window and enjoy.

 

[fire_man]

Pro5oh

You say the PH is too big and want to trade for a Fireview, but you already owned a Fireview which you say you made the right choice with back in 2011?

Your signature indicated you have had the Progress since last February but your initial post in this Thread seems to indicate you just got it.

Why did you ditch the Fireview??

 

[ddddddden]

Got my new stove in and running in my 1500sq ft home. With only 3 1/4 splits it was over 75 in an hour and the stove was still warm to touch in the morning. The outside temp was 28f overnight in the morning the house was still 70. I'm looking to trade for something smaller if anyone is interested...fireview, jotul, etc

You are the second guy in Maine I've seen complaining about too much heat (Bub381 was the other. . .downsized from a Rangeley to a Fireview.) If I lived in Maine, I'd want the biggest stove I could get. . .maybe 2 of 'em! 75 = target temp here in the tropics.

I agree with the above posts on reserve capacity vs. too small, but if you're sure that you would be happier with a Fireview, I'll bet that Woodstock would swap with you, especially if you were to show up in NH with a barely burned-in Progress in your truck. . .well, maybe call first. I think it's not unusual for them to extend the 6-month guarantee until the end of the year for stoves sold in the spring (through Dec. 31 was the term for my purchase.) The whole idea is to let you try the stove in heating season and make sure that you are happy.

I noticed in your sig that you used to have a Fireview. Was this in the same house?

 

[rwhite]

I haven't owned but 2 stoves so I may be way off here but it seems that the thermal mass between a small stove and a large one is small and the big difference comes in with the size of fire you can build. I think there is such thing as overkill and not wanting to spend money for a larger stove but if you have it it would seem that you just build a smalller fire. You can always build a small fire with a big stove but you can get any bigger with a small one.

 

[corey21]

Give it more of a chance you may need that heat when winter really gets going i over heat my house a lot this fall.

 

[begreen]

I know the bigger is better crowd likes to cheerlead for the max stove size, but that is not always the best fit. Houses vary a lot, even in the same location. And people have different lifestyles and heating options. If one only has about a week or two of very cold weather and a good backup heating system then a bit smaller stove running efficiently for the 80-90% of the heating season may make a lot more sense than having reserves for that last 10%. Running the backup furnace in the basement may also save pipes from freezing during that cold snap.

pro5oh, what was the main motivation for changing out the Fireview to the Progress? This info will be helpful in understanding what you are looking for.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Got my new stove in and running in my 1500sq ft home. With only 3 1/4 splits it was over 75 in an hour and the stove was still warm to touch in the morning. The outside temp was 28f overnight in the morning the house was still 70. I'm looking to trade for something smaller if anyone is interested...fireview, jotul, etc

Hold on coach! This is October, not January! We can also heat our house the same as you have described but what happens in October is certainly not comparable to what happens in January. And if you can heat your house that easy, thank the Lord! Just think how much less wood you will be burning.

And why would anyone make a snap decision after only one fire?!

This is sort of the reverse of what we usually see. Folks get a new stove and throw the wood to it in October and November; even early December and they are amazed at the heat. However, when winter hits (just a few days before Christmas is the start of winter), then it is an entirely different story. Also, in December through February, we don't have long daylight hours but do have cold temperatures so we get very little benefit from the sunshine. And here in the Great Lakes area, we don't get a lot of sunshine anyway because we have cloudy days on top of cloudy days. No benefit of sun warming things.

 

[Rich L]

Got my new stove in and running in my 1500sq ft home. With only 3 1/4 splits it was over 75 in an hour and the stove was still warm to touch in the morning. The outside temp was 28f overnight in the morning the house was still 70. I'm looking to trade for something smaller if anyone is interested...fireview, jotul, etc

I have a woodstock classic stove used one season that's in excellent shape and I'm trying to sell if you want a swap.My name is Rich and I can be reached at my home office 781-483-8291 seven days a week.Take care.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm with the "Wait a while longer before you trade down" crowd . . . temps now are anything but typical come January or so.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Dont know what the inside of the stove looks like but there have been guys put in another layer of fire brick during the shoulder season to basically make the fire box smaller.

But most stoves will take 3 good size splits so that wont help you.

You need to get the stove shut down quicker but yet the cat is active so that you get the stove in a cat only mode and at low setting should have less heat.

Another idea if you can find the air inlets, all of them, the primary inlets , secondary inlets , the dog house inlets. Take some of that metal aluminum tape made for duct work.
If the stove wont operate in a low enough cat mode try covering partially some of the secondary holes to slightly reduce the air when the stove is at its lowest setting then check to see if the cat is still active. I think these progress hybrids could have been designed to run at a bit lower settings. You will just have to play around with it to get a feel for it.

Before attempting to modify a stove with additional firebrick (not possible with the stove) and restricting the air flow on a stove that the user just bought and has little experience with, I think the best course of action is to attempt to burn the stove with smaller loads so the owner can learn how the stove operates better.

 

[Huntindog1]

BrowningBar is right you should learn how to use your stove before trying anything, as it may just work for your situation.

 

[Highbeam]

Before attempting to modify a stove with additional firebrick (not possible with the stove) and restricting the air flow on a stove that the user just bought and has little experience with, I think the best course of action is to attempt to burn the stove with smaller loads so the owner can learn how the stove operates better.

First thing is to build with a smaller load, cut the splits in half. You're burning a hybrid and not a cat stove so you need to know that the fuel load has more to do with heat output than the air setting. The fireview could do low and slow, the PH, not so much. Use the thermal mass to your advantage and burn small fires to charge up the stone. Let the stone cool until your room temp is too low and burn another quicky. This is standard non-cat operating procedure.

Browning: Why is it not possible to add additional firebrick? Seems extremely easy to just throw them in the firebox so I can't understand why you say it is not possible. I don't think that it would help much but it is possible.

So is the stove going into secondary mode with lots of flame? Can't stop that can you? The fireshow probably looks great.

 

[Flatbedford]

I always read here that you can always build a small fire in a big stove, but you can only go so big in a small stove. I think you should stay with what you've got and take some time to learn what works best for you, and to see how the stove performs in January.

 

[mfglickman]

I say wait too but hey if you want to swap I'm open - with all our drafts we need a bigger stove.

 

[Wood Duck]

It seems to me that you can't get much smaller than three splits and still have a fire. Not only must your stove be very efficient, but your home must be really well insulated too.

 

[Waulie]

First thing is to build with a smaller load, cut the splits in half. You're burning a hybrid and not a cat stove so you need to know that the fuel load has more to do with heat output than the air setting. The fireview could do low and slow, the PH, not so much. Use the thermal mass to your advantage and burn small fires to charge up the stone. Let the stone cool until your room temp is too low and burn another quicky. This is standard non-cat operating procedure.

Browning: Why is it not possible to add additional firebrick? Seems extremely easy to just throw them in the firebox so I can't understand why you say it is not possible. I don't think that it would help much but it is possible.

So is the stove going into secondary mode with lots of flame? Can't stop that can you? The fireshow probably looks great.

This is not correct information.

With 3 splits, you should absolutely be able to burn a low, all cat fire (unless maybe if they were HUGE splits on very hot coals). The key is to turn the draft down at the right time. The procedure and timing depends on if you're loading on coals are starting a fire from scratch. It takes a bit of practice to figure out setting for the heat you want. Maybe the OP can post more information? For all we know, he had a low, cat fire and it still overheated his house.

 

[dafattkidd]

Pro5oh, I'm also curios as to why you switched from the fireview to the PH. In a well insulated home I can see the possibility of having too much stove. My house is super drafty so more firepower is very helpful.

 

[Highbeam]

No such thing as an all cat fire in a PH, this is a hybrid stove. Always a combination of both which explains the low burntimes.

Your opinion, Waulie, of what is not correct is not correct.