Ideal steel/cat wood stove…?

Wow… love the color you chose. I have been thinking about replacing our pellet stove and on the fence, but this is just what we like. Too bad they need to be ordered so I likely won’t be able to get one until next heating season. They are projecting late feb/ March if I order now.

 

Danno, welcome to FHC, I can only tell you, it's worth the wait. These stoves are that good and the service is even better. You get more stove for your money and the service is world-class.

Go for it! Also stick around and enjoy all these is to learn and have fun here.

 

What I've done for years is to take a propane weed burner ( or my oxy/acetylene torch in my shop) to heat up the stove top and flue for about a minute or so. I only do this in late May June when the weather is dreary like that. Helps to get smaller fires going without a full load light off. Weed burner in my garage and sauna, and torch in the shop. House never needs it as I let her chooch for 8 months a year. I doubt I use more than a gallon of propane a year doing this in my shop. I have the same weed burner and propane tank for a few years.

 

Welcome to the FHC Danno
Order the stove and keep splitting and stacking firewood til it sets delivered

 

I’ll modify an old arborist joke: when’s the best time to order a Woodstock stove? Answer: 6 months ago
When’s the second best time to order a Woodstock stove? Answer: today!!!

I’m sure you will still need shoulder season fires in March… welcome to the club!

 

Thats what i do.
I have a flue cleanout right below the stove connection.

 

Works great don't it?

 

****
The only concern I have is I am reading about people who were shipping stoves back to the factory for repairs? Is this the norm for Woodstock? Hopefully no repairs will be necessary.

 

….
I have a Harman wood furnace in the basement and a pellet stove in the living room. I will continue to use pellet stove to finish this heat season as I have for the last 15 years. The Ideal steel will enable us to maybe just heat from the living room for most of the year and provides heat when the power goes out, which appears to be the future of this country considering the idiots who are running the show.

 

All manufacturers have warranty claims, but I can only think of 2 wood heater manufacturers that are well known for going above and beyond in taking care of warranty repairs, sometimes even after the warranty period, Woodstock, and Lamppa MFG (Vaporfire furnace)

 

Woodstock paid shipping and repairs on my 5 year old stove that was 4 years out warranty and made it look like it was brand new!! On a new model stove; including gaskets paint and updated parts..

would Stihl do that on a 461 and give me a 462?
Samsung a new fridge?
LG a new washer

No obligation just cause it’s right thing to do

 

An understandable concern. I think you'll find they have an excellent reputation and that comes with making repairs when necessary over long periods of time. This company stands behind its products.

 

Just a update, so I now have a few weeks under my belt with the new stove…. All I can say is I am glad I made the switch from the jotul to the ideal steel…. They both put out great heat, but the burn times are everything Woodstock says they are, I am just blown away with how long this thing throws heat and has coals…. I am heating from the basement and am having no issues keeping my 1850 square foot house warm. It’s actually heating more like 3700 square feet with no issue at all ! If this stove was in my living room I could easily heat myself out of the house….

Danno…. I too looked into these issue and spoke to Woodstock about it. Ultimately it seems to be the few not the many. Like anything it’s easy to get caught up on a few people with issues… let’s me honest most people aren’t on firewood forums daily talking about there wood stoves unless there is a problem….

 

Good point. It's only natural for most folks to be concerned about the product, and the intents of the companies that make and sell them, as most companies aren't going to make it good. When my transmission in my GMC Envoy failed at 63K miles, GM told me to go pound sand, and pay the $4K cost plus labor for the new transmission. This, just after we as a nation had bailed them out of bankruptcy after the 2008 crash of Wall Street. Even though my maintenance had been up to date from the GM dealer I bought the product from brand new.

They weren't even nice about it.

The Woodstock Soapstones of the world, can be counted in very small numbers. They are a very special breed and when I find a company like Woodstock I know the people behind it make all the difference. The factory is one state and a 2+ hour drive for me, (or ride if I take my motorcycle) but I still love to visit and say hello. It's that kind of company.

Oldhippie aka Steve LeBlanc
Ashby Ma.
Burning since 79
Woodstock stoves (2 of them) since 2012.

 

Most people on these forums on a regular basis are far more informed, experienced, knowledgeable than those who just show up here reporting problems.

They show up here looking for posts counts as somewhat of an indicator in whether or not to put any faith into that person’s knowledge/comments. They need someone to trust, and they look to forum members for that help in the right direction possibly before contacting a dealer/manufacturer or when they have an issue with dealer or manufacturer services.

 

Well said Steve! I agree Woodstock is a great company to deal with. You can tell it’s about more than just making a buck for them.