Production Woodstock IS

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone...yes you assumed correctly in regards to the "belly" of the stove...the bottom of the stove is lined with soapstone vs firebrick? Who here has a IS with out the soapstone liner?

 

Yes my entire Firebox is soapstone.. Except top and door, of course

 

I am wondering how the stove reacts and heats without the soapstone?

 

CBVT - did you have to special order soapstone for the bottom? Mine came with firebrick on the bottom, soapstone on the sides. Maybe the build spec changed between our purchases!

A note on andirons: they look pretty, and are functional if your splits are sized perfectly and you don't want to load to 100%.. Ours have been out since some time in November, and they'll go back in some time when we shut down for the summer. They are very easy to insert and remove.

 

Can't help there, I would assume about the same with a 30 minute delay on warm up. And however long it takes to cool off a hundred pounds of soapstone.

You can always call Woodstock and ask them..

 

BigPapi .. mine was ordered "the works" as the wife wanted certain designs Etc. I think it was a $200 up charge then..

If it wasnt running I'd go move the ash and coals back just to check but I'm sure I have soapstone on the bottom too.

 

I will give them a shout soon....I like to hear real world experiences as well...

 

Huh. We got the works package too, but definitely fire brick on the bottom. Just checked the pics of break in fire. Our package was on sale with free "the works" upgrade, maybe that was part of the discount. Have you had any trouble with the soapstone on the bottom from scraping, poking, etc? Think I'll poke around the place next time were up that way and see if I can't procure some bottoms soapstone from the good ol' boys and girls at WS.

 

I really only see the bottom of it, you know June through September. Last summer it looked fine and I check it every summer

 

Black creek eh? Black like tar? Maybe 12 feet wide? Welcome!

I owned a stone stove with stone bottom. For me in my moderate climate, I did not like the thermal mass and would opt not to have the stone liner. That delay in the beginning is undesirable for me. Many folks keep their stoves hot so the thermal mass can be desirable.

 

Yes Highbeam its "Tar12"...apparently I registered here some time ago and had forgotten about it...I could not get on with my old information..I recently started a new kennel and named it Black Creek Beagles....hence the new name...I dont think I would like the thermal mass either..

 

On the radiator warping..... not quite fixed. I pulled my new- style radiator out (the one with the SS sheet metal covers) last week to change combustors and it too was warped after one year. And as usual, it will continue to get worse unless something fundamental is done to stop it; I think a stand- off in the front of the radiator, just to the side of the temperature probe, is what is in order here so that when the steel gets hot and soft (Easy Boys!) there will be a support to stop it from sagging (boys!). I plan on making one over the summer and installing it. I will pass this info. along to Woodstock in the event they may choose to do the same. The radiator is still going to be a replacement part but once the warping is stopped, it should last a LOT longer than 2 to 3 years before needing replacement.

On the soapstone, it was an option when I bought mine back in '14; the standard liner is firebrick. The soapstone looked absolutely beautiful.... for about 2 1/2 fires, then you could not tell, and still cannot tell, that is is lined with soapstone. But beyond looks, I believe soapstone is a better material to store heat so the stove will continue to give off more heat at the end of the burn but I am not sure about that.

Brian

 

This 2-3 year replacement interval for the radiator, it's about the same as cat life for a full time burner, so maybe they should sell a kit! Are you purchasing new radiators all the time or is this a warranty replacement? How much money are we talking about?

I notice that the IS has not yet gained 2020 approval. Surely that is in process? I am again curious to see the output numbers from this standardized test to compare against my current noncat NC30. It baffles me that somehow you can get twice as much heat out of a smaller box when both are sitting at 800.

 

Got a new (for me) record yesterday. After 31 hours we were able to keep a fire going without using a match to light the wood! We placed a full load in the IS on Sunday around 2pm. I let it get going and shut it down to ~2 or 3. Came back around 9pm Monday and my wife put some new logs on and got it going from the coals!

 

The radiators go longer than 2-3 years, more like 4-5, and even then they do not actually fail but sag in the center enough to hit the cat. temp. probe. It is not really surprising because when steel turns red (and bright red, and orange, and yellow, etc.) it gets soft and will sag under its own weight. The cure for this is just to put a stand- off under the front of the radiator so it cannot sag. It will still warp but we really do not care about that.

Parts from Woodstock are usually pretty reasonable; I think the price for a new radiator was $35 if memory serves. Mine has only been replaced once and that was under warranty and also because they did come out with an updated radiator (stainless steel shields or covers to prevent the bottom of the radiator from scaling from the intense heat).

As far as twice as much heat from the same size firebox, that could only happen if one was running inefficiently. There are really only a couple reasons why we do not get 100% of the chemical energy released from burning wood: the first is that it is not perfect combustion, and the dirtier the burn, the less efficient it is. The second reason is that some heat goes up the chimney. In both of those regards, I have found an Ideal Steel to be outstanding, with very small draft openings needed and typical fuel gas temps. below 400F, which I find outstanding compared to other stoves I have owned and used.

Brian

 

Just got off the phone with Woodstock Soapstone and they have changed their policy on combustor replacement / warranty: there is NO WARRANTY on any combustor purchased from Woodstock. Very disappointing news. The only warranty comes with a new stove and any combustor warranty is attached to the date the STOVE was purchased. So if anyone buys a catalytic combustor from Woodstock, there is no warranty on it, only the warranty on the original woodstove it goes in. So in my personal case, I bought my stove in 2014, had a warranty replacement combustor replacement, free of charge, done in 2016. I then purchased a new combustor in 2016 at full retail price, believing of course that the combustor was warrantied for three years outright and pro- rated for six years only to find the only warranty that exists on the combustor purchased in 2018 is the remaining pro- rated warranty on the original 2014 stove. And next year, no warranty on any combustors from them at all in my case.

This is sort of like Goodyear warrantying tires based on the model year of the vehicle they are installed on..... 'Oh, you put a new tire on a 2010 vehicle? Sorry, no warranty on that tire you bought yesterday'. Hmmmmm

So caveat emptor: Firecat and Condor warranty their combustors but Woodstock Soapstone does not. Thing carefully about this one folks before buying any woodstove, new or used as any new combustors (components?) are only warrantied from the date of your last stove purchase.

So now I have to decide if I want to adapt a Condar combustor to my Ideal Steel or just cut and run now and go Blaze King. ?? No one makes a combustor for an Ideal Steel but that is nothing a piece of flat steel will not fix (an adapter to take a similar sized but more readily available and warrantied combustor).

Brian

 

Thanks for info BDF maybe time for a new thread.. Is Woodstock still trying to bring cat production in house?

 

I do not know. ?? But there are two different part numbers for the cat. for an Ideal Steel, and one of them is 'discontinued'. That leads me to think they might be making their own now. ??

Brian

 

So if you buy a Woodstock cat and it’s dead on arrival then you’re just SOL? That’s not what I would expect from this company.

 

Imagine my surprise. I stopped and very carefully asked exactly that: if I buy a new catalyst from your company but the stove it is going in is more than six (6) years old, there is no warranty, whatsoever? And the answer was yes, there was no warranty on the combustor. And my reaction was similar to yours; I was amazed at this situation from Woodstock, and I would never buy a product any company would not warranty.

Firecat and Condor both warranty their combustors though they have both changed their policies so that there is no outright free replacement time but carry a six year pro- rated warranty. Not as good as it used to be but still useful. The next combustor going into the I.S. stove will be a Condar.

Brian