Production Woodstock IS

Welcome. Are you interested in the Ideal Steel? We would be happy to answer any questions for you.

 

Thanks. I am browsing a lot of posts and came across this one about the hybrids, so just looking and reading.
I am very content with my Pacific Energy, but always ready to learn about new technologies.

 

Thanks, and welcome! ps- that's a mighty big pile of wood in your profile pic!!

 

Pile of wood is from a charity cut that I help with in the Des Moines, IA area. And yes it is a big pile.....helps a lot of people in need.

 

Fantastic!

 

We are almost into August, nearly the back side of summer. Before you know we will be doing the finishing touches in preparation of the upcoming burning season and moving stacks from there to here.
I was talking to a fellow at work the other day and we both keyed in on how much we both enjoy the fall over any other season, it's my favorite time of the year. Cool, crisp days, football, shoulder fire etc...
Looking forward to season no. 2 with the IS. With all the tips and tricks we have shared with each other it should be a better season than last.

 

It was so much fun doing the whole start to finish burning last year while learning tricks from each other. Woodstock sends one with the stove, but we wrote the real world manual on here.

For example, I have learned that during the coldest parts of the winter I need to burn more softwoods to keep my coal bed down. Last year I fed it way too much locust one load after another. Things got out of hand.

This year I plan on having various softwoods available to burn while I'm at home to get a hotter burn and less coaling.

 

Totally agree with that one Jeff, I remember the hardwood coal beds burned so long that reloads got smaller and the burn times suffered.

 

Then there was the mysterious air supply to the coal bed. .....

 

Looking to avoid that this year if at all possible. But in the situation we were in it worked good for me, not a practice I would like getting used to, but it served its purpose.
My schedule this year has changed for the better so I have a new routine to try and make work. I'll be up at 5am and home by 3:30. If I set my morning reload to run by 5:30 I should get a decent 10 hrs out of it. The only ones that will be home is the two dogs and they know where to be to keep warm. A small to medium sized load by bedtime should get me to morning. gonna be interesting.

 

I had been loading full by 6:30 am and not getting home until 5:30 pm every day. That seemed to work very well for me. My house kept warm that whole time.

 

The Mrs. has really been enjoying my grilling this season. The charcoal is hard to find (I don't like the 'Kingsford' type charcoal, but wood charcoal) and expensive. I think I might get a coal hod with a lid and another galvanized trash can. I will keep my ashes in one trash can and transport coals to the other. That way I can reload more fully and get rid of buying charcoal for the grill! This past Christmas and Easter I used coals from the IS to smoke some pork butts!

 

Sounds good, glad to hear you made some use of the coals you had in your IS. Before you know you'll be back at it again.

 

Question for the IS folks... have any of you burnt much softwoods? I know I've read a little about it in the past but never really considered softwoods so didn't pay much attention. But for shoulder season wood I just came across a big score of pine and spruce for free. I wouldn't even consider it for the Jotul which tends to run way to hot, but if the IS can throttle it back and get decent burn out of spruce and pine than it might be worth the hassle to pick it up and split it (trees are being taken down this weekend by tree service so not sure what size pieces will be left but they are going to limb it and cut it into 'manageable sizes', I'll have to haul it to my place and possibly re-cut and split).

I barely have a winters worth of wood and nothing yet for next year so I could use anything I can get!

I plan on building the hearth next week for the IS and hopefully have it ready to go for heating season by the end of the week.

 

I burned some spruce in the IS last year and never had any problems. I was in the same boat you are in, with not enough wood to get through the winter, so I was grabbing whatever I could get. The IS is so easy to keep under control, I think you'll be fine. It never even came close to running away on me.

Now I've got to get ahead and on this three year plan I've been reading so much about. Snagging some wood I saw at our transfer station tomorrow. Every little bit helps.

 

Woodstock's latest sale price has me thinking again.

CoachSchaller, I might be knocking on your door again.

 

I saw the sale ad on my email this morning, it started today (Aug 1). The artwork with the owl designs are nice and the second nice thing is the owl artwork in the form of handtools and a hanger for the stove included in the same price, the tools are a freebie. I'd like to look into that a little further

 

The tools are nice, but even without that stuff they took a few hundred bucks off the regular price. If there really is a regular price. There's always a sale.

 

Soft wood will do great!

 

I plan on finding out. I have about a cord of cedar , and another couple cords of whatever pine we have here locally. Never took the time to properly id the species