Absolute Steel Hybrid

That is a Fantastic idea- trimming a whole stack of wood! Now how am I going to apply that to a holz hausen?

Brian

 

So, you are getting into what might be a good use of FB. News and updates and sharing info you don't want to clog up the web page but that some customers might be interested in hearing.

That is different than what should be on the web page. The web page is where I would expect to find info on the stoves that are in production and ready to be ordered (mostly there) and info and pricing on the accessories and parts (not there for the steel models). I would hope to find a decent photo gallery and maybe a few videos, especially for a product that has a lot of options a potential customer needs to weigh. Things to help a customer decide what they want to order shouldn't be hidden away or in a timeline format like a blog or FB.

 

I agree with you but I think we have to cut them a bit of slack because they are a small, owner- operated company with limited resources. And they seem to spend a significant amount of those resources for customer service rather than website updating, parts numbering and pricing, etc., which I think is an excellent choice, at least for existing customers. Recently I called and asked the price for an entire door assembly as well as an Absolute Steel grate and they could not give me prices for either one immediately as they had never sold those parts. They got back to me w/in a day or so with pricing but my point is that they are not putting the man- hours into making part schedules / prices, updating the web page with the same and so forth but instead seem to be concentrating on manufacturing and customer service.

The other nice thing about Woodstock IMO is that they are great to talk to and get answers to questions quickly (usually immediately- their staff all seem to be very well informed and very familiar with their products, all the way down to parts), and that goes a long way to overcoming their web pages which are not complete or quite up to date.

As a person who has a commercial website that I use to sell products, I can say with confidence that the web page is the last thing to get my own limited time, so maybe I am quick to forgive them for the same faults.

Brian

 

Well, we finalized our stove choices today so I am a lot less concerned. Waiting on info on the toolset, but I can always get those later or from someone else if they are not ready to sell them.

 

Looks like you are experimenting with a baro? I have similar draft and chimney as you and tried this with the fireview, it ran rock solid with the baro setup (used a manometer to set it ) but after running a cord of bone dry, standing dead elm, split and stacked 3 years, I was not happy at all with the buildup in the stack. Most of the accumulation was in the single wall pipe to be fair, but it was more than I liked.

I'll be interested in your results.

 

Facebook is great for small businesses. Want to put up a few pictures or some updated information? Easy. Anyone can do it. If you have a Web page you have to have a tech guy on staff or pay a site administrator to do it. Might take a few days for that.

 

1995 was a long time ago. There are web authoring tools that can put together image galleries sorted by product line in the same amount of time and effort as posting to Facebook.

 

Yet plenty of small businesses are still hiring people for this kind of stuff because whether it's 1995 or 2016 there's still a lot of computer illiterate people out there.

 

Facebook is one of the biggest DISSASTERS to ever hit the face of the earth!! It's membership is starting to go down finally, and it will be gone, a relic, before you know it. And thank goodness for that! And FYI, I'm an IT guy.

Your not in the minority, it's just that "Facebook" cool aid drinkers as well as Facebook themselves, would like you to think that. The majority does not have a "facebook account". Those who don't will be REALLY happy they don't when the sh_ hits the fan one day. The same people who broadcast their lives on the likes of facebook, are the same ones complaining about the lack of privacy today. I don't get that. The smart folks will keep their lives off facebook, and thank me later.

Worse! It's a direct link into your private life, and believe me when I tell you, they are collecting and using every single last tid-bit of it.

It's a HORRIBLE tool for a small biz. Unless your selling funny T-shirts or something.

 

Sam, quick question, when you build a cold start fire, do you build a kindling fire first then a couple of stages of small splits then big splits?

Second part of this question is do you use any part of the box, near the front ot rear?

 

Ditto on the PH. That is my ONLY complaint on the PH. I have suggested many time that they make and sell a "retro-fit" kit to replace the air control mechanism. I have to do the same thing, go all the way down, then back up a bit to set it, usually having to re-adjust once or twice to get it right. I really wish there were some clicks to it or something, a more "fine" mechanical geared type movement of the handle instead of a the "willy-nilly" type it is now.

I bet Woodstock would sell a bunch of them too! It would be easy to replace, just remove a couple bolts, and bolt the new one on in it's place. I'd pay for it in a NY minute!


So, how would you compare the new stove to the PH heat wise? and control wise....?

 

Sam, I am wondering what you this Condar probe is and where you are placing it? Can you explain that?

I am experimenting with where to put the magnetic thermometer, but where I have it now is to the left or right (I don't think it matters) of the flue pipe on the rear stove top step. Then I have one on the flue about 18 inches up the stack. My STTs will run 500'F or slightly higher at a steady state, but then slowly drop down to the mid 400' range and then finally for a long period of time down
into the 350'F range. During this time, the STT will be 100 to 150' less, which is not as big a differential as compared to my Fv temps but I think I can easily point to the fact that on this AS the STT temp guage placement isn't ideally situated to get the highest temp possible from the Stove Top.





The highest temp would be center and slightly forward and above the CAT output, on the lower level lid, where some of the decoratative "bling" is sitting currently.





I was thinking it might be an idea to take that decorative steel off, and see what the STT temp is at about the center/forward position and if it is a good spot to see highest STTs then cut a circle that would be a nice fit for the magnetic thermometer.

I only see this as a way to get the best picture possible of how the cat is behaving. With the Fireview I can bend down and look right up at the cat, it's in pretty plan view. But because of the secondary burn plate the CAT in the AS is totally hidden from the user unless one opens the top lid, and of course we won't do that with the stove operating.

Thoughts?

 

Yes, usually in stages. A small nest of kindling, then gradually bigger pieces. We rarely do cold starts, though. With our draft it only takes one or two coals, and I can usually find a few down in the ashes even if we let it go a day.

 

Much finer-grained control than the PH, quite similar to the IS, but different due to the cat air supply (affects the firebox burn, unlike the IS cat air). Less top-end heat than the PH, and less than the IS. The PH will scorch you back away from the glass when burning full-out much more than this stove. I think of the PH firebox as being taller and narrower front-to-back than either the IS or Absolute, which might contribute to how much heat can come off the front at once.

 

Our Condar flue probe goes through the top of the 'T' and through the liner (it kind of pins the liner in place, in addition to the clamp that holds it to the 'T').


I've found the hottest temps on top to be on the back edge of front lid, right where it starts to roll down. This would be back further than the gasket material.

The overall hottest spot is just above the door. Ken thinks it might be due to the door being so much larger than the door opening and it is holding the heat there.

The shielding in the top lid seems very effective - I don't think it gets anywhere near as hot where it is.

 

We just had some warm temps on the stove - 620 Stovetop, 800+ just above the door. My wife filled it this evening with some of the cut-off ends from when I shortened the splits this weekend, and they off-gas very well. Now a very deep bed of coals with blue flames.

 

Hello, new member...
First, tell me if this should be a new post but I kind of am focussing my question to the people here as I am considering an AS or IS for a new stove.

Back Story
I am currently (past 7 years)burning a 30ish year old Woodstock Classic-Third owner. I love the stove however I have two small children now and the stove is definitely not clean, inside the house or obviously outside the house. I burn 1-2 year old wood, mixed batch-mostly maple and black cherry-about 4 cords a year, have a 18ft. external block/clay lined chimney, and the stove top fill lid and side feed door are both not tight anymore. It is, and needs to be, a rear vent with about a 2-2.5ft horizontal run (through a brick wall/hearth thing) to the external chimney. We do have lots of trees around the chimney which is uncapped, and the ones that I can I try to prune at or below level of the top. Thanks to this sight and other unmentionables I have improved our inside smoke issues greatly (we used to regularly fight a smoke filled room and back puffing late night/early mornings) by 'sealing' the external clean out door and buying a soot eater (which is awesome) to aid in more routine cleanings through out the winters because we get a lot (5 gallon bucket+) of creosote build-up(perhaps do to the oversized stove-see question 2).

Here are my questions:
1)will an IS or AS help my smoke-in-house and soot/dust escaping into house every time we fill the stove or burn it on frigid nights? My wife and I are starting to get concerned about our health and especially the kids. It is our primary heat source and would like to keep it that way.(we also have a Harmon pellet stove actually-8years and running strong)

2) Do you all think the Absolute or Ideal is more appropriate? The stove is in a very cold 20x30 single floor addition with high cielings (9ft) which is only open to the house by a regular door opening. We don't burn the Classic full tilt often for the shoulder seasons but do in the heart of a normal winter. THis is probably leading to the creosote (as well as the external chimney) and am hoping/thinking a more efficient stove will help this problem as well.

So, in conclusion
I want less smoke in the house and less dust escaping every time I fill it. (I understand some dust is inevitable when it comes to wood heat.) Do you all think an AS or IS will solve this issue or are there bigger issues that need to be addressed before spending money on a new stove?

A lot to ask I know, just trying to be thorough. I have followed Flamested here and elsewhere, saw that OldHippy got one...and LOVE my Classic except for all it's short comings. Very happy with Woodstock as well, will go visit before I purchase.

Thank you all-again should this be a new post?-thanks for your experienced input.

 

I think if you run a liner down that chimney and get either stove you will see a huge increase in performance. You will use less wood too.

I have an IS that's installed in a garage converted to a den. It's a cathedral ceiling at least 12 foot high. It's only got a standard doorway into the kitchen, followed by a standard doorway into the rest of the house (not sure why the small kitchen doorway but it's getting opened up.) I can heat my entire house with that setup. It's not ideal but it requires a ceiling fan in the stove room and a fan 2 rooms away blowing along the floor into the room. I've got 1400 feet that I'm heating that way. I'd also say my house is not well sealed at all.

If you line that chimney and go with a newer one of these stoves I think you will do away with all of your issues and gain a lot of btus in the process. These stoves also excel at low burns so you can run them in the shoulder season as well.

 

Welcome aboard

 

Is it an external chimney? It sounds like you need an insulated liner. Once that is installed you could try adding pipe to raise the total height of the chimney. That is usually the first thing to try when draft issues arise. The cold exterior clay liner is going to be very sluggish with any air tight stove.