Anyone burning the progress hybrid in this subzero snap?

8 degrees out and a 10 mph wind tonight, with moonlight reflecting off the icy crust. A nice night to be in by the stove.

 

Yes, the IS was much better for us at the very low end. We did a nice cat-only burn in the PH a couple of days ago in the warmer weather, but then had a backpuff, so we cracked the air a little. The PH probably would not settle into a cat-only burn at all on a cold breezy night like this due to too much draft here. The IS would, easily.

 

Burning corn? In what?

 

That is what I have experienced with the fireview, settled into a nice cat burn and poof, very random and worked every angle trying to diagnose it other than give it more air.

That is what I have gathered regardless of stacks height and all the other variables is it seems the progress is more prone to low cat burn backpuffs but it seems that has been fixed with the newer design on the IS stove?

 

Magnum Countryside P3500, 3 dollar corn this year was a no brainer.

 

That bad boy is cranking..... I rarely have to run it that hard, it would bake out my entire neighborhood. But your in VT as opposed to on LI! You must go thru a lot of wood burning like that, no?

 

That is the challenge when you have a draft old house, temps that go from 40 degrees to -30 coupled with nasty wind storms. You need serious firepower, control of the stove and the ability to throttle it down.

I am sure its been tempting or thought of, but what about blocking the secondary air feed on the progress or IS during shoulder season burns?

 

Yes, about 8 cord per year. We cut it on our land, in part to increase the value of the trees we leave behind to grow for timber, and in large part because I love being out in the woods.

 

Flamestead are you running both stoves or did you return the IS and just run the progress again?

 

I don't know about backpuffing in the Progress, but this was the only type of behavior I could even compare to backpuffing that I saw with our Beta Ideal Steel stove all last year:

It was not accompanied by any sounds or smoke smell or anything else alarming.

 

The PH has one secondary air inlet down low, front center, while the IS has two, at either side of the front door. Also, the IS secondaries coming in from the top are lower velocity. Woodstock went from the one to the two low inlets to get better mixing/movement of gasses in the firebox at the very low settings. A thread a day or two ago discussed the IS backpuffs - I think of them as a soft flaring rather than the more explosive type in the PH. We did not get any smoke smell from the IS backpuffs.

 

Sigh. They came and took the IS in the spring, so just the PH now. We are going to line another chimney, and hope to beta test the next new stove they are working on. I expect we will end up with two stoves for more even heat distribution (and more insulation, too). We are not sure if the second stove needs to be the IS size, or if the smaller stove would do the trick.

 

I don't know about backpuffing in the Progress, but this was the only type of behavior I could even compare to backpuffing that I saw with our Beta Ideal Steel stove all last year:

I experimented with a barometric damper and it took all the pulsation that you posted on the video away but moved away from it due to safety risks and a bit of extra pipe soot accumulation.

 

No need to adjust the IS airflow by blocking anything - it really is an excellent design. I do think of modifying the PH to get more precise control, but I don't think blocking the secondaries would help with the backpuffing (not sure, really).

The PH damper the same basic design as an in-flue damper, except it is in a long, thin rectangular housing. I've thought of modifying the rotating flap to have a cam shape so the lever at 50% closed would actually be blocking closer to 75% of the opening.

 

Thanks for pointing to the post under the IS thread, must have missed that portion regarding the intermittent secondary/whuffing.

I'm still on the fence, if I bring in a stove that is more prone to back puffing that is going to to lead to one unhappy wife standing with crossed arms.

 

Flamestead, By PH damper, you mean the air supply?

I have not had a backpuff in my PH in probably two years. Had a few the first year, but never unless the air was completely closed. And some of them were exciting. So now, in above freezing weather I close the air all the way then crack it slightly open. No backpuffs. Simple fix.

It is true that once the PH gets to a temperature, it will sit there for a long time, even if the air has been turned way down for a long burn. But, more importantly, it is easy to stop the temperature climb at any point by closing down the air. When you close down the air the temp stops climbing immediately. So, it is easy to set the stove at the temp at which you wish to burn, and the duration for which you wish to burn, by controlling the type and amount of wood and the timing of shutting down the air supply.

There is air to the secondaries coming in at the back of the stove. The hole at the front center is not really "secondary" air, it's primary air that gives a boost to the fire in the front. I always try to keep ashes and coals raked away from that area.

For me, shoulder season burns present no problem with the PH, and there is no need to block any air at that time.

I find it very easy to maintain a stovetop temp just over 300, if I wish to. I usually burn around 400 in the real winter weather. Have occasionally gotten the stove to 525, when it was VERY cold last winter. I have never had my stove at 600. The Fireview got there a good number of times. My issue has been more related to my draft: it is so strong that I had rapid airflow through the stove, resulting both in cat surface clogging every three weeks or so, and high flue temps (not in the danger zone, still in normal operating zone but about 800 with a 400 stovetop) with resultant loss of heat up the chimney. An ash pan takes care of the cat clog. A damper also mitigates it even without an ashpan. Installing the damper has slowed the draft enough to reduce flue temps to about 600 with a 400 stovetop, a great improvement. And the hot air sits in the stove longer so has more time to radiate heat out the window. I'm using less wood and getting more heat. Even with the increased draft over the Fireview, I was using noticeably less wood over a given time, with greater heat output. The stove is that much more efficient, and the window is enough larger to allow a lot of heat to rapidly enter the room.
Jdonna, I doubt many people with a 30 foot chimney have a stronger draft that I do. My site is very exposed, on the top of a hill facing North Northwest up a long big lake. I get very strong winds and cold weather. The draft does not create a significant problem running the stove. I loose a bit of heat up the chimney, but I am willing to settle for that with this beautiful stove that is very efficient and much easier to run than the Fireview. If you don't have a problem running the Fireview, I don't believe you will have any difficulty with the PH.

 

Sounds like you are having success running the progress, I'd still like to see it in my situation able to cruise 500-600 degrees at times.

I've seen my stack hit .25" on the manometer, doesnt help the fact the stove room is on the northwest side of the log house which gets pressurized from the northwest winds. Not arguing that you have the strongest drafting chimney, but can relate to it being a challenge.

No need to use the damper, today I just ran the stove slammed shut and it has ran perfect.

 

Woody,

With tall chimney and strong draft and no ashpan, windcurrents pick the light ash up and pull it into the air stream, surface clogging the cat. Addition of the ashpan lets the fine ash drop out of the firebox. Damper also stops this by reducing airflow rate.

It is most efficient to get a cat burn going first. The cat will light off and burn smoke at 500. I always watch my probe thermometer and close the bypass as soon as the temp reaches 500. (Doing this allows me total control of the temp at which I wish to burn and gives me the greatest chance of getting an all-cat burn . Once my fire is established, the stovetop temp will generally sit around 325-350 on a moderate load of wood. By opening the air for a few moments, I can raise the temp to where I want it. I close the air all the way at that time, and the stove maintains the temp until it starts to cool off) . The air I have fully open only as I load the stove. Close to at least 3/4 immediately. Flame is usually established any time from before door is closed to 2 minutes into the burn. At this time, I first close the damper all the way, then reduce the air to not more than 1/2. When probe temp hits 500, I close the air all the way (a matter of minutes).

I have found it easier to maintain an all cat burn for a longer portion of the burn since installing the damper. With the strong draft I had before I installed it, I also doubt the smoke travelled through the cat slowly enough to allow it time to burn everything.

The ICC damper section is finely crafted. The damper fits tight in the pipe, ICC's initial are cut out of the section that opens and closes. This allows 20% airflow in the closed position. I have only seen pictures of the other dampers, but I imagine by comparison of those to the ICC unit I have that the ICC unit can restrict the air more. As I said, it seals tightly on the inside of the pipe. It is also nice to have the damper in the insulated pipe section that slips right into the slip section ICC pipe, maintains the integrity of and warranty on the pipe. A simple, safe, foolproof,air- leakproof installation that took 2 minutes.

 

Yes, my Fireview often ran at those temps, and I needed it. Not so with the PH, which puts out much more heat at a lower temp. But you can get the temp up if you wish and need, as Flamestead does. I didn't need the damper on the FIreview either. The rear vent makes a difference in draft.

I don't think you will have any problem running either stove. There are aspects of the IS that are intriguing. But it won't heat as large an area as the PH. Close, though. Whichever you choose, I believe you'll be happy. So I'd recommend getting the one you prefer the appearance of, since you'll be looking at it for a long time.

Perhaps someone near you with a PH has a similar chimney set up. If you call Woodstock, they will help you to find someone with a stove near you who will welcome you, if there is one near you. I'd strongly recommend calling Woodstock. Unfortunately, it's a pretty heavy stove to insert for a trial run. However, keep in mind that is you go with your heart and later decide you would prefer the other stove, Woodstock will let you trade. Still the pain of returning one stove and installing another, but it is good to know you have a backup plan.