Absolute Steel Hybrid

Woodstock Soapstone Co. Blog: New Hybrid Dimensions and Specifications

 

Smaller doesn't do me any good (I actually asked them if there was any plans for a larger stove in the near future when I ordered the IS last year) but agree with the side load comment. Of course that is hearth-specific, some can't even utilize a side load. But my wood is always stacked near one of the sides of the stove, and the stove door always opens the wrong way!

I can't tell if it has an ash pan...? If so is it more like the PH since it is side load? The IS ash pan works ok but I think the larger grate and pan on the PH is ideal.

A ratcheting air control sounds neat... I thought it couldn't get any better (except for automatic control) than the IS with a large sweep and pretty fine marking, and pointer close enough that it's pretty easy to get an accurate setting, but this is pretty cool.

 

Smaller, but the plan is to also run the PH, once we get another liner installed. I think she is feeling the IS would dominate the living room more than this will. We are trying to get heat spread out horizontally.

This has the IS grate and ash pan. I also like the PH pan, but she likes the IS pan better because it is easier for her to handle when it is full and hot. Plus the IS pan sits up on rails and does not drag ash out the door onto the door gasket.

We found the PH firebox door let less ash out than the IS door. I think the smaller door will stay sealed better over time. The door latch on this new stove is still a work in progress.

 

She can radiate some heat running like this. This was about an hour into a normal burn, when I decided to see what happened with the air shut off all the way. I did not expect this reaction. It ran like this about five minutes, and then gradually, over about 15 minutes went to black (no flames). I think it eventually starved the cat; after an hour I opened it back up. I'll try some more reasonable approaches to a low, slow burn once we get some warmer weather.

 

Did the cat stall at this point and the reason why you opened it back up? If I remember right it has a small separate feed for cat air?

 

That cat air supply is for a high burn rate. It doesn't do much with the air shut off.

 

I think the reason it ran like that is the same as with any secondary air stove. When you shut the primary air completely closed like that the only air coming is is the secondary air up top in the fire box. No primary air coming in at that point means the wood smoldering more and there is more off gasing raising up to the air in the top of the top and at that point in time there is plenty of heat built up in the stove to ignite and you get all that secondary flame action you see in that picture. Then the firebox cools after the 5 minutes like you mentioned and the flame goes out. I suspect the wood not burning down below in the firebox is cooling since no primary air for flames on the wood thus you can not maintain secondary action.

 

Can someone here give a brief review of the air supply systems for the PH, IS and AS? Given the stoves were produced in this order, I would like to understand the progression of air supply systems for the three stoves. Thanks.

 

My stoves sit with the back flush with the fireplace opening so there's not much light to see the control, except in the afternoon. If I've just reloaded, and the stove (and lever) isn't too hot, I'll ride my thumb flat on top of the lever, and I can feel the marks. I close the air so I can feel the "0" mark, then open up to "1" or so, feeling that mark with the tip of my thumb. If I want .75 or whatever, I back it off some.

If the stove is hot and I want to adjust it, I have to look with a flashlight if the light isn't good; Too hot to lay my thumb on the lever. I have my fingers on the other end of the lever where the rod is connected; It isn't as hot as the handle. I love the feel of the lever, and the cast plate sliding...I wouldn't want a "clicker," myself.

 

One thing I have read is that the air supply for high burn rate. The cat they found at high burn rates was starving a little for air as all the air was being consumed so they piped in a little more air right to the cat and not at the primary air location. By doing this the cat at higher burn rates burns more efficiently as its not starving for air. It has some kind of automatic control for this feature.

I would think they used the same technology on this new stove. I am not sure it is used on the progress stove. I think it started on the Ideal Steel stove.

 

Kind of agree with you about the lever and sliding plate. What I really want is ease of setting. Of course there will be no retro-fit air control ... just a bit of silly talk to get a point across.

I've come up with a simple plan to set the air ... just need to go make it and try it out. If it works like I'm hoping, I will post a picture.

 

I think the cat eventually stalled. I should note that I was not trying for a low burn (I would not let the firebox get so hot) - this was a "Gee - I wonder what happens if I close the air completely now". As JA600L notes, this does not cut off the cat air supply (tertiary air).

To be more clear about what I did, I had an reasonably full firebox, about one hour into a normal burn, running 500 degrees STT and 400 degrees stack temp, with the air set somewhere around 2, and moderate, lazy secondaries. Then I fully closed the air (it goes below one (maybe they have a computer programmer who knows the first setting should be zero?)). The secondaries immediately flared and ran that way for almost 10 minutes. The STT stayed at 500, and the flue temp dropped a little. Then the secondaries subsided, and eventually went black. After an hour the STT was 450, flue temp dropped to 325. I went outside (after dark) and looked for smoke - there were whisps of smoke, so I came back in and opened the air back up.

No back-puffing at all, which is how the PH would have responded at about the 20-30 minute mark.

I did not run either the IS or PH at the zero air setting, so I did not expect this to be the way to get a long steady burn - I was just playing with the new toy.

Right now it is 550 STT and 450 flue (Condar probe), with air at 2 and secondaries. I dropped the air to 1.5 to drop the flue temp.

 

Yes, yes, and yes. They call the cat air the tertiary air. The PH has none, the IS has one bimetallic control, and the Absolute Steel has two (it has to be hotter for the second to open). The IS introduces the air closer to the cat than this stove does. This stove introduces the tertiary air right at the front leading edge of the top of the firebox. Tom said it is there to allow mixing before reaching the cat, and to expect to see some secondaries there on a hot burn.

On the early IS we had a coil bimetallic control, and there was a viewing window. Then they went to the flapper style. The Absolute Steel has the flapper style, and they are behind a cover for the whole backside, so no pictures.

All the air enters through the OAK adapter, which is built into that back panel. We didn't talk about rear shielding (non-issue for my install), but I can touch the metal 6" above the OAK inlet barehanded while running at 55o STT.

 

I wonder if the cat air is feeding the cat and the baffle; When you cut the primary air, the cat/secondary air was still open, with the chimney draft now pulling more air in there, causing the secondaries to bloom? Eventually, as the stove cools, the secondary air is cut. EDIT: Just saw your post with Tom's comments, makes sense.

Oh, I don't like to hear that. I don't like smoke. I guess it's no big deal, since emissions are very low...

 

To add to my post above about the tertiary air... The PH is an elegant, beautifully cast, properly proportioned stove with an air control that is adequate but clearly not up to the degree of control of the later stoves. We start a load with the air full-open, and then our first adjustment is to about 3/4 closed (so about 3/4 of the range of motion is wasted on us). The mechanism is a long rod with short bent handle, with a long, narrow flapper attached (about 16" long flapper, no more than 2" wide. The handle motion is a 7" arc. The flapper closes off the air the same way an in-pipe key damper does.

The IS is a rectangular plate that closes off the air in a guillotine fashion. Plus it is designed to cut off more air in the first part of the motion (from full-open), then less and less as you approach fully closed. The secondary air is in the same plate, but separate gradations (none of them let you completely kill the secondary air). The plate is controlled by a handle, at the front bottom of the stove, that sweeps about a 7" arc (from memory), and is connected to the guillotine plate by a straight connecting rod.

The Absolute Steel has a dinner-plate sized flat disk with a shaft coming out of the center. The handle attaches perpendicular to the shaft, is 13" long, and sweeps a 13" arc. The dinner plate has the same style gradated openings that the IS has (different patterns. pretty, artistic cut-outs - a shame it is all back out of sight).

 

Thanks for the clarification, "tertiary air". Thanks for the prompt updates on this beta test. It doesn't sound like a total stall on the part of the cat, maybe given more time with the setting near zero the cat temp would have increased and chewed up the smoke.

 

On both sides of the window, inside the stove, are some vertical metal pieces to help keep wood off the glass. We heard from some of the Woodstock folks that they are thinking the andirons will not need to be any higher if the wood is cut long enough catch these on both sides (they are about 15" apart). The wood in there in the pic is a couple of long pieces running kitty-corner (cater-cornered?).

There is more distance between the andirons and the glass than on the PH - the glass would be easier to clean even if the andirons did not remove.

 

nice looking unit. not exactly to my taste, but it is nicely executed. the wings are a bit off putting. i am curious what point is being proven with the absolute. not just the effluent stats, some advantage in burning and running. i will be following the story with great anticipation.

 

Intro sale prices are up...
SALE PRICES

 

So are the IS and PH!