i called the factory following difficulty engaging the cat. the lid had to be lifted to engage the cat handle otherwise parts would conflict and/or rub. mike h. there requested pictures. as it happens, the cast iron assembly over the catalyst, the radiator, was warped, as well as the 1/2" bar that goes across the front. he is sending me both at no charge. they have redesigned the radiator with a shield to redirect the blast of heat off the catalyst. mike told me to blow the cat out every 6 weeks to be sure of no obstructions to air flow. honestly i have been running the stove low right along. as well as any potential user error this stuff is common with manufacture in that there is an 18 to 24 month shake out period with goods where potential issues are addressed and parts changed. it happens. any history of this here?
plenty in the other threads. Woodstock has redesigned and shipping with new. Although, the bar warping is something new.
Yes chucker my guess is it has been out of alignment for a while.. hence the bar.. idk.. had same problem on mine with out bar issue.. new one has very very little bend 18 months later..
I think Oldman47 has a thread going about this recently. But I am getting older myself, so I may have it wrong. A search should find it.
okay not surprising that this is a dedicated issue. funny in a way though, cast iron parts are infamous for cracking in stoves rather than warping. it will be nice to replace the bar and all but everything seems functional as is. otherwise the stove is a home run. the house has never been this even and comfortable as well as diminished wood use.
Actually I asked because I was seeing all the posts on the IS thread, Production Woodstock IS, about the warped radiators and wondered if there was a quality problem.
Those running it low tend to see more warping on the old design radiators. More dependence on the cat vs. secondaries. I have one of the early stoves (pre laser jet) and still run the original radiator with only a little bend. I think we all have agreed I run mine on the hotter side. The newer replacement radiators have been successful as far as I know.
Yes BDF explained it well I will try to recap.. steel glows and bends (easy boys) at 900 degrees and very easy to get cat to 1000 degrees even in slow mode.. basically steel get hot enough to bend under it own weight. my new design has had no issue and works great after 18 months.. I run her low slow in shoulder season but single digits and 30 mph winds stove top been over 450 since umm March 2nd
I still have the original bar that works the sled in my stove. It warped slightly in the beginning but hasn't really changed since then. The warpage doesn't affect any of the other parts and functions so I left it. The radiators have taken a slight beating over the last few years, a wear item for sure. Since the steel chips were found to be falling into the upper part of the cat, WS has modified it. The new radiators feature a SS plate and help with the heat and any flaking that might happen, to hold it from falling into the cat. I picked up a new radiator at the WS open house last fall and it has been working fine so far. There is some minor warping but I think the air space created by the SS plate helps.
Oddly enough I went to engage the cat today and it didn't engage as smoothly as usual. I looked and it pushed my probe thermometer out too. Pick up the lid. Take a look. Very warped. Be calling or emailing tomo.
thanks a lot guys all this has been <very> illuminating. it makes sense that it's a steel part as the IS is rationalized to be a value priced steel fabrication. i had no idea the temps above the cat were so intense but now the warping makes total sense. my warped bar doesn't seem to interfere with the function of the door opening and closing but it will get replaced with the new piece. now the business of running the stove low, causing more heat warping, that is the IS all over. i have run plenty of wood stoves and the air flow engineering through the IS is singular and completely different than the entire rest of them. whatever you know about how stoves draw and operate, the IS is not going to work that way and is a different page in the book. i guess that's where you have to go to make products that will perform on the next level. these guys aren't finished either. they are working out stove designs in their sleep. now i'm happy with the IS and all that and could run it for 20 years but i have no intention of doing so. as we roll along into the next decade i am going to give WS an order for their next generation atomic wood atomizer or whatever it is they are selling at that point. if they can make something as off beat as the IS they can produce an encore given a number of years. we will see. what i would like is another massive and weighty large firebox design that will sip wood, hold heat, and run long. i'm not betting against the factory. they pretty well have my next order. honestly i am glad to have had this problem and to wake up to what is going on inside the stove.
here is service to which this beer budget guy is not accustomed. i was talking and exchanging email with mike hartigan from WS yesterday, and this morning a UPS package is on my doorstep with the bypass rod assembly and the radiator assembly with shield. the radiator is indeed steel, a bent and formed piece of 1/4" plate with an affixed stainless heat shield. WS is making it awfully hard to do business with anyone else. i tend to be loyal in business connections and once at the quite satisfied state will do business with you forever. jeez it must get blasted hot top of that catalyst to where you can bend up thick plate.
chucker , Mike H us a really nice guy. He is my initial contact when I starting the purchase process a few years ago. I agree with you, when it comes to service they do make a good effort in making WS customers happy. I'm glad things worked out for you
chucker yeah Woodstock customer service is great! I am not usually brand loyal guy because no product is perfect BUT the service after sale makes you sure you bought the stove from the right company! had friends over and we're admiring stove.. Asked if he could buy one sent him a link to Woodstock he says no he wanted my stove.. my answer was 1000 more than I paid to get same stove.. My wife was even more clear NO WAY!
