My brother was a beta tester for the IS. We met Tom in DC at the EPA's Wood Stove Decathlon to pick the stove up. Woodstock won the contest. Wood Stove Decathlon Big Winners Revealed
I had a Woodstock Fireview. It was great. Customer service was great. The only thing I didn’t like was the side loader door. Kind of small. Have to keep that in mind when loading. I had a tapered split that was gnarly on the fat end. Got it wedged in the door on a hot reload. Pretty miserable unwedging it. Singed the welding gloves to a crisp. I had to keep removing them to cool my hands. It took about ten minutes to get it out of there and by that time the end that was inside was lit. I had to toss it in an ash bucket and run outside with it. Lesson learned the hard way.
During the summer, I ride bike around canoe creek in Scotch Valley. It’s a long ride starting at the trailhead in Alexandria
Thats a keeper memory, betting you never did that again. Not all welding gloves are created equal, bought a nice thicker pair rated at a higher temperature, they dont get hot very quick at all.
Without hesitation, I would pick Woodstock. I had one on order but the $800 shipping to Ca killed the deal when a local dealer quoted the same price for a Blaze King delivered to the hearth. No regrets. Also my 2 helper buddies began to complain about their sore backs and didn't really want to help with the install.
Sure was. Met you and Judy, Tom, and Hearth's owner, Craig, and NW Walker (Matt) from Washington state. ?
I've had my IS since 2015 and love it. It's currently chugging away as I type keeping the house nice and warm. I live in Northern Nevada and am 2800 miles from their factory but that didn't stop me from ordering one. Their customer service is second to none, the best in the industry in my opinion. They took my stove back after 6 years for a design flaw which caused the earlier stoves to suffer a tear in the steel above the door hinge. Shipped it 5600 miles round trip on their dime, fixed the stove with the repair and made the stove that much better, and added upgraded parts all at no cost to me...!!! Thousands of dollars in shipping and repair and Woodstock didn't let me pay a dime for any of it. Superb business and product.
That is standing 100% behind your product. That is a whole lot of integrity on their part. It would be so easy for a company to collectively shrug their shoulders and mutter your problem not mine. I have a fireview and it heats as good as it looks. Any maintenance on it can be done with just a few box wrenches. They sell a gasket maintenance kit, I bought one just to have on hand. Super happy with the stove and customer service.
i also had a hearthstone heritage for several years but sold it (dumped it) when I started getting major component wear and the company nicely told me that these wear items couldn’t be replaced without tearing the stove down to a pile of rocks. No, I do not recommend a hearthstone for actual wood heating. They look great though and mine always delivered the heat as advertised. I might have upgraded to an IS I’d it had been invented but instead went for a BK. Love the long burn times.
What really gets me is they made a new frame for the front door with a replaceable latch . They know it’s an issue . They did nothing to fix the side door which is what we use all the time . Of course as you said I had to tear mine down to a pile of rocks to replace the frame on the side door that wore out . Not gonna do it again . I’ve already been searching for a replacement stove for next year . As long as I can convince/teach the “ warden “ on how to use a cat stove then I’ll go that route . The wife just likes to put wood in and open the damper and thats it .
Brave man to attempt that rebuild. I also exclusively used the side door. It worked great for loading the little stove. Even the newest hearthstones use dainty little hardware. A cat stove is not as simple to use but the extra steps are worth it to me.
When you start burning for the season let me know as I would like to take you up on the offer if it still stands.
For now a Quadrafire Mt Vernon pellet stove with a Harman wood furnace in basement when it gets much colder