Production Woodstock IS

That is some very interesting reading. And it does a good job describing what takes place when burning a stove: Heat input, delivered heat, and the three loses up the pipe. It seems flue temp really is important because the higher the flue temp, the less heat will be involved in the "delivered heat" stage which is what heats the home. Makes sense that every wood stove will perform differently when it comes to the delivered heat. Also interesting about the LHV, HHV rating they talk about. Does anyone know if all wood stove manufacturers rate their stoves with both of these values?

 

That is why we came to this thread also. The Ideal Steel won an award for efficiency so discussing it's efficiency is interesting to the wife and I since we are considering buying it.

 

I let the Ideal burn out and go cold as to allow for a thorough cleaning and checkup....ash pan, combustor, clean the glass, flue temp probe, check the chimney pipe etc. We've got a brutal cold spell coming and the Ideal has to be ready to rock.

 

Yep, same here. Time to rock and roll. The Ideal has had a nice little vacation so far this week. Tonight into next week will be no mercy.

 

Yeah, cold snap coming here too- it was 7F this morning (which is cold for us) although the hallway was 70F. The stove is and has been ready but I am running low on splits in the trailer; no problem getting more wood but now we're going to have to do it at some very low temps as well as trying to get in-between the snowfalls that are coming. Between Sat. and Wed. the forecast is calling for between 19" and 32" of snow and I would rather not be loading and driving the trailer up steel ramps in any of that :-( So tomorrow looks like our last shot to load in the 'dry'.

I was raking the coals around last night and got sick of sitting in the output of this stove full of active coals, at the end of a 30" long rake; even with gloves to my elbows, it is hot on the arms, face, eyes, etc. So I went out to the garage and got a regular (steel) garden hoe, used that and it was really quite pleasant. Sure it looked funny but it put a few feet between me and the 'crucible'.

Brian

 

I know what you mean....
My welding gloves have one index finger burned through.
My shovel is now deforming from raking coals.
I need a new coal rake.
The IS puts out some heat from the open door when coaling down.

Jan 1st was my install. I have yet to let the stove go out or clean the glass.

 

What's the cats warranty from Woodstock?

 

Here it is from the owners manual.

 

Ok there is is. I see blaze King has a 10 year warranty. I guess that's why they are said to be more expensive?

 

A Condar 'SteelCat' combustor for a Blaze King King is $335. http://www.woodstovecombustors.com/blazeking.html

I was told a new combustor for an Ideal Steel was $125 from Woodstock although I cannot find a price on the W.S. page. I <believe> the I.S. combustor is the same one as used on the Fireview, which is showing on the W.S. page at $150. So either I am mistaken about them being the same or perhaps there was a price increase. Either way, less than 1/2 the price of a B.K.K. combustor.

The B.K. is warrantied for 10 years apparently, while the I.S. is guaranteed for 3 years and then [pro- rated] warrantied for an additional 3 years.

My personal opinion is that combustors deteriorate long before 10 years, and very probably before 6 years too. So far, I have not been able to get more than 2 years out of a combustor and have it perform well but that was with a side- catalysist stove, and these top catalyst stoves should have the combustor last a bit longer as they are in the direct 'hot spot' of the gasses exiting the stove.

Brian

 

I toned my post down too. The IS guys have so much time invested in this stove that it comes out in the forums. It's just a friendly debate at best. And I agree the BK stoves should have their own thread similar to this one. Both stove companies create great products and good reputations. It comes down to personal preferences and the numbers game in the end.

 

Do you or anyone else know what the warranty is on the firebox for the Ideal Steel? We can't seem to find it on their website.

 

Unless the stove is overfired for a while, I highly doubt you need to worry about a firebox warranty. I'd consider that a non-issue.
If you overfire it, the warranty is voided anyway.
Lesson,...... don't overfire the stove.
I think there may be a general stove warranty though.

 

Defective parts , material or workmanship, one year from purchase.

This was taken from the warranty information from the inside cover of my stove manual.

 

Yep, just found it on another forum...one year, parts only. Doesn't seem like much of a warranty compared to some of the other stoves we've researched.

 

The firebox is just the inside of the stove so it would be covered under the general stove warranty I would think. As someone else said, not much to worry about failing there, especially as the I.S. firebox is fully lined either with firebrick or soapstone.

Brian

 

Exactly, good point Brian. The IS is lined with soapstone on my stove and I can't think the steel would ever be in a compromising position with 1" of stone protecting it. The secondary burn plate and the radiator may be the only two parts to be in the line of fire that might be damaged. And of course the cat will produce much higher temps in the top portion of the stove than the firebox would.

 

The stainless steel plate in the top of the firebox also takes a beating but it is replaceable and not a part of the stove itself. And as it is S.S., I expect it to last a long time anyway. But that thing sure does move and buckle as the fire licks at it.... (which is to be expected and perfectly normal for this stove IMO).

Looks like we are going to get another hard test drive in with the stove over the next week, starting tonight- going down to single digits overnight and negative numbers tomorrow. And I have to get a trailer full of wood tomorrow night :-( I would wait until the weekend but it looks like we have another 12" to a foot of snow coming Sat / Sun.

Brian

 

Minimum cat warranties are part of EPA law. If a manufacturer warranties it longer than the 3 year warranty, that is there choice. The type of fuel, draft, how many hours are on a cat and how hard/hot you run a cat will vary the length of time it lasts.

A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it, I found that one out the hard way with my last stove purchase.

$125-150 is minimal compared to replacing an OEM cat on an import car.

 

If there were problems with Woodstock stoves routinely requiring warranty work, with all the online forum discussions we would know about it already. The problems with various substandard products from various stove manufacturers are well documented online.

On the contrary Woodstock is known for exceptional workmanship and truly exceptional customer service. They are not known for needing warranty work. They are known for sending out upgrades for free to many stove owners and taking care of their customers in a just and equitable manner.

If warranty problems were an issue, we would already know about it. Since they are not an issue lets not insert the false claims of other manufacturers' fanboys from other forum discussions into this thread. Start another thread for it.