So, who has the biggest 6"...?

I see you can understand my pm concerning converting an older stove for 2ndary air.

 

Corrosion hole in BlazeKing, KEJ1107

Under left fan housing just above firebrick

 

On a 6” the IS seems to a great value. Only 3.2 cubic feet according to the manufacturer and Woodstock way overestimates the volume. It will feel really small compared to the king. I’ve been unimpressed when reading about so many of the internal parts melting.

How about a PE summit? Heck, the nc30 has a pretty dang happy group of users at 3.5 cubes.

If a king at full boogy isn’t enough then I can’t imagine any stove being much better. You can certainly use the furnace plus a stove to just keep the house warmer.

 

Great thread. I need more than an nc30 can produce but only have a 6” flue in the shop. So I’m selfishly listening.

 

Yeah, that's not right. I went through the tread, I don't understand why that would have happened. I've never mic.'ed the plates. edit- just did- 10G. backer (.1406 thick steel) I assumed they were 3/16 (.188) thick , I am disappointed now. With this new information, I'll proceed until I figure out.... something.

 

What parts on the I.S. are "melting"? I haven't kept up on this stuff so fill me in.

 

The IS has a heat shield over Cat combustor because the cats on top of stove, the heat was scaling the steel, basically looked like it was flaking rust, Woodstock addressed it couple years ago with stainless.,.. Steel shields..

 

You should read the long IS threads. Seems there are some bits and pieces that aren’t up to the heat. Something called a radiator and a sled. None of these bits are on a bk. I hope that these parts are removable without cutting/welding but I do not believe that any steel or iron parts should be “wear” items needing replacement other than cats and gaskets.

Oh and you don’t need to have all the fancy colors or metal cutouts in the shape of your grandmother’s face. It’s like face tattoos, you either love hem or you think they’re tacky.

Price is decent but you must add shipping and apparently the dang things aren’t UL listed which might be an requirement for your insurance company.

It’s easy to find IS positives, the negatives are a little tougher but any buyer needs to know the whole picture.

 

Highbeam and Beetle-Kill .. The sled radiator is same piece I described above.. No welding needed comes right out held down by gravity.. I would take a pic but stoves running..

I believe BDF might have a pic and good advice on stoves.. Not trying to be a fanboy!! I looked at several models before I chose Woodstock and Brian (BDF) looked at similar stoves.

The piece in question called a sled rad or CAT combustor heat shield is about 18 inches long 10 inches wide and 2 inches tall about 15 pounds and guessing 3/8 solid steel. I do not know price as Woodstock just mailed me the upgraded version when I called with a question..

 

I think this is a pretty fair post- the I.S. does have a part or two that does need occasional (every few years) replacement due to heat damage / warping. The part (called the 'radiator') is not expensive or difficult to change but it does need attention.

I also agree about the internal volume: I find it a somewhat difficult stove to fill, at least fully fill.

Also, some of us do tend to be fanbois about Woodstock stoves although I have to say their customer service tends to make any customer lean a bit that way. Still, it does not make a better stove, just a stove with a cheering section.

All of that said, I have owned an Ideal Steel for several years now and overall, am happy with the stove and have not seen anything that I believe is better, at least for my needs and wants. But I believe everyone should make an informed choice and try to get the product that fits him /her best. There are a lot of choices out there and different people have different needs and wants; some do not like a steel stove, others do not care for cast iron so a lot of the stove choice may have little to do with actual wood burning or heating.

Best of luck with whatever you end up with!

Brian

 

Wasn’t there some other large part that was warping and causing a large gasket to leak? Like the whole top?

The recent thread about replacing that sled gasket was another “con” for this stove.

Not an attack. I can and have listed the failure points of my stoves too. It’s not a mine is better than yours post but all stoves have some issues.

 

Not sure who you are responding to but I certainly did not take your earlier post, or this one, as any type of attack or even negative. In fact, I said your earlier post was good IMO.

The sled is a large part in an I.S. that carries the combustor, along with other parts, and arcs forward and backward to make a bypass for cold start up. Honestly, I do not remember what the deal was with sleds warping but it does ring a distant bell. No real matter though because Woodstock will cover stuff like that although it is on the woodstove owner to actually change out the parts.

There is another shield above the radiator and screwed to the bottom of the top plate that warps. In fact, I believe I was the one who found this originally, at least on this forum. Not a big deal but absolutely something that should be looked at, say, annually. Still much easier than trying to re-seal all the parts of most cast iron stoves every couple of years to prevent them from leaking badly enough that they become uncontrollable.

As far as the gasket goes, that is pretty standard maintenance IMO and all modern stoves require such maintenance. Non cat. tube stoves require the upper insulation layer(s) to be replaced occasionally, as well as the tubes cleaned and replaced occasionally. Doing a bit of research will show that all stoves require some maintenance to remain give best performance, and most, if not all stoves have their own weak spots.

To sum up these thoughts, not buying any wood stove because it requires <something> be maintained / replaced occasionally is not an effective shopping method. It would be the same thing looking to purchase 'the' brand of car that does not require maintenance or repair- it just does not exist though there are some lousy brands / models of cars that should probably be rejected. I would not put a Woodstone I.S. in the category of requiring a lot, or extra, or excessive maintenance compared with other stoves and further they seem to generally be easier to work on and maintain that most other types (no fasteners for the cat., no fasteners for most stove top parts, etc.).

But again, I agree with what I am taking as your point- everyone should do his / her own research, reject obvious adulation posts or threads, and try to get to the facts about the products he / she is interested in.

Brian

 

Thanks Brian. I just don’t want to upset anybody. This is a high performing stove.

 

Highbeam I always found your points to be fair and balanced.. I was just trying to clarify the part I knew had warping issues, (2015 model) because thread explaning it is 100+ pages with everyone calling it something different!

We are all good

 

Just a quick hit to say the IS is UL tested to 1482-2011 by Omni Labs. I only know that because the guys who installed my chimney made me look it up before they pulled the permit.

 

No one should be upset by any posts in this thread IMO. We are, and always should be able to have, a rational and polite conversation about wood stoves, wood burning, etc. on this forum, otherwise there is little point to it.

 

That other forum... some moderation problems... I like stove people... too honest I guess... eggshells

 

Your advice and wisdom is always appreciated

 

You're good, didn't read anything but honest questions and answers. I appreciate your direct questions, same as back at the other place. Keep it up.