Comparing the Ideal Steel to Progress Hybrid

8" is a LOT of travel, easy to adjust in small increments. Are you saying the Steel is more controllable than the PH, or just easier to control?

 

The PH has a similar amount of travel (longer lever), but my first adjustment from wide open at start-up was always straight to 50%, so half that travel was wasted.

One last photo for the night...

 

Flame, can you post a pic of the PH on your hearth? I'd like to see how big or small it looks compared to the steel on there....

 

Here she is. I won't post a picture of her current condition because she looks sad and neglected (dirty glass, ash pan and heat shield off...)

 

Todd I remember hearing something about a secondary cat air inlet that at certain times during the burn the cat can be starved for air and this control lets more air in automatically to get a clean burn plus this also balances out the air flows thru the stove and stabilizes the burn as when hte stove is burning at a higher level it needs to be calmed down a little or balanced out. Allowing more air in the top of the stove at the cat means less air being sucked in at the wood coal level and so the wood coals burn slower while the cat burns hotter at the top of the stove.

 

Visual Dimensions:
I think if you made a custom-fit box to set each stove in the dimensions would be very similar. The PH has many design elements that downplay its size (angled corners, stepped-in top), which makes it look smaller. Since I don't have the stoves side-by-side, I've taken pictures with a stick in each photo as a reference. I modified the length of the stick for each dimension (height, depth, width), and for each dimension kept it the same length for both stoves (I used the Ideal Steel to set the length).



(Flush with the PH front top casting)

 

Optical illusion. This stick is flush with the outside of the legs.


Really close to the same...

 

Height: Note that the Ideal Steel has adjustable height, and we are set near the low end of that. Also note the PH has two leg heights, and we have the tall legs.


(CD case on top, so you can see the top of the soapstone despite the white background)

 

Nice, thanks. Man, I just love the look of the PH and all it's soap!

 

A blower would rock. Especially when run at the lower temps. Please let there be a blower.

 

Why would anyone want a "blower"? I dispise hearing a blower! Get soapstone and you don't need a blower.

 

I've had soapstone. Blower helps move the air better. Hearthstone offers blowers.

 

Say NO to blowers!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

A blower allows you to move heat around a lot more efficiently. It helps with poor layouts and stoves wedged in a fireplace. Of which I suffer from both.

 

What type of blower is on the T-5?

 

Don't you have a forced hot air duct?