Got my new Progress Hybrid installed yesterday. Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together, as it went quite smoothly. I spent a bunch of time rigging up ramps, made a platform to transition from the entryway to the raised hearth in our sunken living room without having to go down and back up. Rented Home Depot’s largest appliance dolly, and had three helpers.
I’ve had two fires so far, and yesterday for the first fire I let it get up to 400 F with the thermometer placed on the cover over what would otherwise be the top flue exit. Lots of stink to burn off, lucky me it was over 50 degrees in Feb and we could open the windows. For today’s fire I let it get up to 500 F, and much less smell, so I think we’re over that issue.
Lots of plusses with this stove compared to our old 20 yr old VC Defiant (already sold for $200, multiple calls from interested parties):
· I’m super impressed with how easy and clean it burns, haven’t seen any visible smoke from my chimney.
· Catalytic mode seems to work very well, although I don’t have a cat thermometer to measure temps to tell when it’s active. Love how easy it is to access the catalyst for cleaning or replacement.
· View of the fire is really outstanding, especially fun to see the secondary air igniting the smoke through the pattern of small holes in the ceiling.
· I’ve found that for my chimney and draft I’m able to set the air control on the lowest setting, get a good burn, and no back puffing or soot on the glass. Wondering if in cold weather with stronger draft I may need to install a chimney damper to prevent it burning too hot even at the lowest setting.
· The way the stove holds heat is noticeably better than my old stove, definitely a plus! I’m looking forward to a cold snap, so I can experience the heat output and efficiency.
· Love the giant ash drawer.
· And last but not least the stove is gorgeous in our living room!
The top loading of the old VC is still hard to beat in my mind, compared to side or front loading. But on the other hand, no need to move my water kettle when loading, and no debris on the top of the stove.
In the interest of continuous improvement, there are a few minor things which could easily make this terrific stove even better:
· First, there is no means of leveling the stove. I’m on an irregular limestone slab hearth, which isn’t perfectly flat, and I’m wondering how I can raise up the front about ¼”. The reason is the tip is just enough for the side load door not to stay open, which is annoying. Looking for any clever ideas on what to put under the feet. I’m half considering having them drilled and tapped, but doesn’t look like there’s a lot of casting to do that. My old stove had a leveler bolt on each foot.
· Second, there isn’t any way I can see other than gloves to be able to operate the bypass control when it’s hot. I don’t see how the current fall away handle would engage it, but seems like it would be simple to design it so that it would have features to engage the bypass control as well as the loading door.
· Last, the lifting tab on the top center stone aligns almost perfectly with the tab which is used to lift the cast iron top beneath the stone. Therefore, when the stove is hot and you want to flip up the stone to put something on the griddle, you have to use a screwdriver or something narrow to separate the two tabs to where you can get your gloved finger under the stone’s tab. If the stone’s tab were 1/8” longer you could catch hold of it more easily.
Sorry about the sideways image, not sure how to load it straight. My file shows it straight.
![[Hearth.com] WS Progress Hybrid installed and running! [Hearth.com] WS Progress Hybrid installed and running!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/223/223709-849c437094a5d356d3a1947efd86edc6.jpg?hash=MwrpXeX2nm)
I’ve had two fires so far, and yesterday for the first fire I let it get up to 400 F with the thermometer placed on the cover over what would otherwise be the top flue exit. Lots of stink to burn off, lucky me it was over 50 degrees in Feb and we could open the windows. For today’s fire I let it get up to 500 F, and much less smell, so I think we’re over that issue.
Lots of plusses with this stove compared to our old 20 yr old VC Defiant (already sold for $200, multiple calls from interested parties):
· I’m super impressed with how easy and clean it burns, haven’t seen any visible smoke from my chimney.
· Catalytic mode seems to work very well, although I don’t have a cat thermometer to measure temps to tell when it’s active. Love how easy it is to access the catalyst for cleaning or replacement.
· View of the fire is really outstanding, especially fun to see the secondary air igniting the smoke through the pattern of small holes in the ceiling.
· I’ve found that for my chimney and draft I’m able to set the air control on the lowest setting, get a good burn, and no back puffing or soot on the glass. Wondering if in cold weather with stronger draft I may need to install a chimney damper to prevent it burning too hot even at the lowest setting.
· The way the stove holds heat is noticeably better than my old stove, definitely a plus! I’m looking forward to a cold snap, so I can experience the heat output and efficiency.
· Love the giant ash drawer.
· And last but not least the stove is gorgeous in our living room!
The top loading of the old VC is still hard to beat in my mind, compared to side or front loading. But on the other hand, no need to move my water kettle when loading, and no debris on the top of the stove.
In the interest of continuous improvement, there are a few minor things which could easily make this terrific stove even better:
· First, there is no means of leveling the stove. I’m on an irregular limestone slab hearth, which isn’t perfectly flat, and I’m wondering how I can raise up the front about ¼”. The reason is the tip is just enough for the side load door not to stay open, which is annoying. Looking for any clever ideas on what to put under the feet. I’m half considering having them drilled and tapped, but doesn’t look like there’s a lot of casting to do that. My old stove had a leveler bolt on each foot.
· Second, there isn’t any way I can see other than gloves to be able to operate the bypass control when it’s hot. I don’t see how the current fall away handle would engage it, but seems like it would be simple to design it so that it would have features to engage the bypass control as well as the loading door.
· Last, the lifting tab on the top center stone aligns almost perfectly with the tab which is used to lift the cast iron top beneath the stone. Therefore, when the stove is hot and you want to flip up the stone to put something on the griddle, you have to use a screwdriver or something narrow to separate the two tabs to where you can get your gloved finger under the stone’s tab. If the stone’s tab were 1/8” longer you could catch hold of it more easily.
Sorry about the sideways image, not sure how to load it straight. My file shows it straight.
![[Hearth.com] WS Progress Hybrid installed and running! [Hearth.com] WS Progress Hybrid installed and running!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/223/223709-849c437094a5d356d3a1947efd86edc6.jpg?hash=MwrpXeX2nm)
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