Thanks T.Jeff. I should clarify though, I am a new member here, but I dont have an AS. I'm still looking, reading , researching and wanting. Wanted to get Westczek's thoughts on his new stove if he's run it yet.
I am a first winter AS stove owner also. Dry Dry wood is a big factor in these stoves. I have oak and ash that is 20-22% ... it makes good heat, but is finicky and dirties up the glass. I thought that I may not have enough chimney, so I borrowed an arm full of good dry oak from a friend... Holy Moly will this put out the heat !!!! Nothing wrong with the install...
Yeah I have had my Ideal Steel for 4 years and the first year was a struggle. I didn't have the best wood and it was a learning curve for sure. Dry seasoned wood is a must for these hybrid stoves. Once you figure them out they are great heaters. Last night I had 3 big pieces of pine in the stove and it was 82 downstairs in the basement where the stove is, and 77 upstairs. Too hot in my opinion but it shows these stoves can pump the heat.
Actually heard the Oil furnace this morning. I shut the primary down too much last night, Chazsbetterhalf said it was charcoal this morning. Still enough hot coals underneath that she just cracked the door for a bit and it was burning hot again. Just goes to show, you can starve these stoves of air.
Im sure this stove can heat you out of a room, but compared to a 'standard' steel stove, is it more controllable? Dont want ro highjack the thread, but trying to figure out if the AS (or any hybrid that's steel) can be run to give a 'gentler' heat like a cast iron or soap stone stove if needed.
Can't compare it to many other stoves, as I've limited experience with others. This is the second wood stove I've owned/operated in my life. But it is immensely superior to the old stove we had. EDIT.. We have an IS, and not an AS stove.
The IS is very controllable in my opinion. My father in law has a Kuma Ashwood steel stove. I can easily move the air control with the IS and watch the flames grow and die, the Kuma Ashwood I'll move the air control and see nothing... That stove is full blast the whole time and it seems like your throwing wood into it every 2 hours. I can reload the IS (and assume the AS is very similar in operating) every 8 to 10 hours if I load it up full.
Our Absolute Steel is finally in place. We are building the house it is going in (my dad and I are doing everything ourselves), and had to get the floor down before we could position it. Mudding drywall seemed to take for ever. Now I need some single wall stove pipe to reach the chimney about 15 feet above the stove.
Woo hoo getting there! Do you think you will have it running this season? Really looking forward to hearing how it performs for you and how you like it. Can you narrow down some what part of Va you're in?
I hate mudding drywall. Like you said, it seems to take me about 3 days to sand it out. Hoping all the while that I don't get overly aggressive in spots. Good luck with the build and install.
Have you thought of using double wall pipe from the stove to the ceiling? Will be safer and last longer.
Cat stoves tend to run low flue temps at low burn rates...doublewall helps keep the temps up for more consistent draft and cleaner flue...and as Jeff mentioned...will last a lot longer too because most DW is stainless on the inner layer...Ive seen regular steel stovepipe with holes in it after only 2 seasons.
