Production Woodstock IS

I had this happen 1 time and it was windy. chimney back puffed and smoke came from around stove pipe around seam. Just a little smoke can smell house up. Co2 detector never registered anything or smoke alarms.

 

Mine is still giving off some smoke from the paint curing on the stove after burning it 6 or 7 times. Maybe it was that?

 

That could be a possibility. It's interesting how the entire house had a hint of this wood smoke odor in it.

 

Anything is possible but I would want to lean away from that idea only because the odor was distinct, wood only. I really didn't catch any chemical residue in the smell. GLO

 

Probably got a back-puff from a flash-over of smoke built up in the box from weak draft, with outdoor temp in the 40s. If the secondaries weren't burning, that smoke build-up could happen...

 

I like that answer...TY

 

I am a new to this site and have really enjoyed reading this thread because I have a keen interest in this stove.
Here are a few questions for you IS "veterans".
1) What length wood works best N/S and E/W?
2) Anyone burning all softwood? That is all I have access to and mainly fir, aspen, pine.
3) What do you think burn times will be using softwood? I would like to at least have an overnight burn.
4) Do you need a stovepipe dampener? The reason I ask is that in the extreme cold and windy conditions, I have an extreme draft.
5) Anyone with a rear vent set-up? Any issues?

I have a Hearthstone Homestead and I can't get a descent overnight burn on the 2.0 cu. ft. firebox in a cabin at over 9000 feet elevation and really need a little more BTU's.

Thanks for any answers you might have.

 

Welcome to the club, I am sure you will get many replies soon...

 

Welcome to the site! Just stuck my measuring tape in the firebox, and it's 22" E-W, and 18" N-S. No problems loading, as the door is huge.

My first burn I loaded some spruce at around 9 pm and had coals in the morning. That was with much less than a full firebox. Have only used the stove twice so far, but the second time I loaded a big, gnarly piece of cherry at around 3 pm Sunday afternoon. It was my last load, not on top of much of anything else, and I still had coals the next morning. Couldn't believe it.

Glad to be able to help, as I feel like I receive more than I give here.

 

I used 20" EW with pretty good luck. If you are trying to do a full load, you will be frustrated with 21+" wood for the last several pieces as you will have no room to maneuver inside the door frame. Loading NS is more forgiving: 18" max for the first course or two, and then you could go slightly over 18" once you clear the ash lip. I'd shoot for just under 18".

I would start out with no stovepipe damper. I have great draft, and had no trouble. The air control on this stove is just wonderful.

I ran a rear vent. No trouble/issues at all. Makes for a nice clean/clear stovetop.

 

Here's a thread I did about burning a big load of lodge pole pine last year in the Beta Ideal Steel:
http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/for...le-pine-in-woodstocks-ideal-steel-stove.2504/

I burn a lot of cherry and the lodge pole pine had similar burn times to the cherry. I can't help much with other softwoods but I suspect you could pack this stove tight with softwoods, let it get hot, then dial it way down for a cat burn, and I'm certain you'd get at minimum an honest 8 hour burn even with softwoods, probably longer. I get 10-12 hour cycles on cherry, putting out a boatload of heat.

 

Welcome to the forum Comanche, lots of good questions you have here. But as you may know, most of us are new to this stove and still have some of the same questions as you. The beta testers are the only ones that have any 'real' experience with this stove.
I have had only 5 or 6 burns in the IS so far, all of them were a learning experience for me.

So far I have only burned E/W, the splits just seems to fit in the firebox better that way, and any of the empty spaces can easily get a split of a smaller size to fill the void.
I only have hardwood here, occasionally some pine makes it's way in as a starter piece.

I have had one instance where I planned for an overnight burn. I loosely packed the stove with some soft maple and went through the motions for a catalyst burn. At 8pm the IS was at 10% on the air and the cat engaged. Stovetop was 600, stovepipe 275. At 8 am the next morning I still had shaped splits in the firebox in coal form. The house was 69 deg and the outside was 38. I left the stove as it was for the next 2 hours and reloaded a small shoulder fire after that.

I had a stovepipe damper on the Oslo (before the IS) and was able to have better control on windy days. I have had a few windy days when burning and I can't say I noticed any difference with the draft drawing too strongly during that time. I don't think WS recommends a flue damper but don't quote me on that.

 

Good information-Thanks!

I hope y'all keep this thread alive though out the heating season.

With good, really dry wood do you have a lot of coals to deal with or do you end up with ashes? I know that the way you operate the stove will effect this but I end up with a lot of coals when I have that extreme draft going with the Hearthstone.

 

Another good question, something we have all asked each other. When should we do a reload? Should the coals be small and the bed short? or when the coals are medium to large?? On my overnite burn I mentioned above, the coals were small and the bed was short. Using a small amount of pine kindling on the base of the reload and the splits on top, it didn't take long to get the stove up and going again. I'm sure this will also be part of the learning curve and talked about as we get into 24 hr burning. Shouldn't be long now.

 

Last March I had enough coals to easily start a new fire 56 hours after last touching my stove. I admit I did have a good ash bed going at the time.
Without the ash pan, I used to shovel the ashes out about once per week when it was going 24/7.

 

Nothing wrong with a new thread but just my opinion that this one could work fine for those of us new to the IS. The upside is that while it will turn into a long thread, there will be LOTS of information about the IS here I think.

Personally, having only used mine for a few days, and relatively warm days at that, I am having quite a transition from an older, bottom draft stove to this new, front / level draft fella'. First and foremost, I am having a hard time starting fires and getting the wood in the stove to engage. Even after flogging the stove for a while, it just does not seem to get that hot. I have never had a stove top temp. anywhere near 600F yet (over 500F just one time). Now I have digital temperature data from several points in the stove and perhaps that is what is getting in my way; the internal stove temps. easily top 1,300F long before the stove top gets to even 450F. Maybe I just need to let the internal temp. get quite a bit higher? As I said, it is unusually warm here and that is no doubt killing my chimney's draft.

None of this is a complaint about the stove- in fact, I am simply amazed at the low stack temps. at the thimble! Very efficient stove.

Brian

 

Have had the same issue on start up. Much more of a struggle to start than the PH, but on the other hand, I've been able to get the stove up to 600 and keep it there for a while no problem.

 

Hey Darrin,
Compelled to add one more reassuring thought regarding that day you experienced the smoke smell in the house.
I believe Woody Stover nailed the answer, "Probably got a back-puff from a flash-over of smoke built up in the box from weak draft, with outdoor temp in the 40s. If the secondaries weren't burning, that smoke build-up could happen..."
I would like to add that any negative pressure in the home can momentarily neutralize a weak shoulder season draft. Negative pressure in the home can occur as a result of, but not limited to: exhaust fans, furnaces, water heaters or other wood burning devices. A small amount of smoke may have been "dragged" out of the IS air intake by a puff back or negative pressure. Probably an isolated incident in your case - and nothing to worry about.

 

+1 on that, same thing here