Strongly Considering the Ideal Steel - Input Appreciated!

Cool, Unhdsm! Any good pit stops you'd recommend between Boston and West Lebanon? Good breakfast and/or lunch spots in the area or on the way? Towns to see? Fun things to do on a day trip around that area or anywhere between here and there? I haven't done much research and am not familiar with this part of NH. We have the day off from work and our kids (7, 9 and 17) have the day off from school, so it's a family outing! I think the kids are going to find Woodstock very cool (I know I will!), and what a good education for them to get to see a place where things are actually made!

I already told Lorin on the phone that she and Woodstock had many fans here on Firewood Hoarders Club! She is very fond of the site and said she used to come on here more often and should check in soon. I'll say hi from folks here again tomorrow!

 

Actually its not...if you have the right tools.
I sat the Fireview down off of 12" blocks and moved it out of the way, and moved the IS into place and lifted it up onto 4" blocks myself. I did have Mrs TD there to position some blocks of wood.

First you NEED this (I rent them at a local rental center for $30/day)
Roll and Kari dolly


Me and a friend moved a 900 safe into the house with this same dolly.

Here's a short vid of BrianK 's boys rolling the IS in

 

TurboDiesel, this is very cool. The only problem is (based on a quick internet search) that this dolly is over $650 plus another $100 in shipping. I'm sure it's worth the money if you're moving heavy objects on a regular basis, but seems like a lot for a one time use. This said, I'm open to any ideas!

 

Aha! I guess I was reading quickly and missed where you wrote that you can rent these for $30 a day! Now we're talking! Thanks for pointing this out again. I'll wait to see what the chimney company says for install price. I could consider renting a truck, one of these dollies and getting the stove into place on my own (or with a friend), and then having the chimney company just hook it up to the liner. I know that part could also be a DYI, but I'd probably feel better having a pro do it, plus the insurance company would prefer it. Thanks TurboDiesel!

 

I edited it in between the time you read it and replied.

 

Should you decide to set/install on your own, you will NEED at least one helper to manhandle the stove. The dollies are great, but may not do everything you need.

I had the old stove still set up, but prepared everything before my friend go here. He showed up at about 10AM and around 12:30 we had a fire going in the IS after install.
It's not an impossible nor insurmountable task, but does take a bit of foresight, and some fortitude to move the beast.

It's obviously up to you, and your insurance, as to how you handle the install.
Enjoy the day at Woodstock tomorrow, and ask them any questions you have. I'm sure they'll have lots of great advice.

 

2 guys Did mine (buddy and I) but he's a big boy. My fire marshal for town helped ... he drank beers, opened doors, and signed insurance certificate for 25 dollar donations to fire dept.. Installed.

 

Just got back after a nice visit to Woodstock and afternoon in NH! As people around here say, everyone at Woodstock is super nice, and it was very cool to take a tour and see all the stations and people building their stoves - one person cuts soapstone, another assembles the IS's, two people were assembling the Progress Hybrids, a few other folks welding... We saw the laser saw cutting the steel. The water saw that cuts the artwork wasn't running, but we saw that too. The people there took the time to explain everything. Backwoods Savage, I said hi from you - you were right, no last name necessary! They know you well!

In their showroom, they have one of each of their stoves on display. The IS they had was charcoal with copper accents - Chaz , to my surprise, my wife seemed to want to go with those colors! We're going to keep looking through the other color options, but I think there's a good chance that'll be the one! I do gotta say, the PH was also tempting - man, that stove is a real beauty too (in a different way). While I know it's about the same size as the IS, it gives the impression of being a bit smaller with the cut edges. I know there are some threads here about the IS vs. the PH, but any quick thoughts on this thread about if folks think I should just stick with the IS or possibly even consider the PH? I'm happier with the IS price tag, but this is a long-term investment, so if you look at it over the course of many years, that has less of an impact. I'd also have to go with the short leg kit with the PH, so I wouldn't be able to get the ash pan, and with the IS I will be able to have the ash pan. Any opinions are welcome.

Here are a handful of pics from this afternoon:

 

Sounds like a great day!!

I won't weigh in on the PH vs IS choice.

Ashpan is nice, but you know somewhere inside which one you want.

As to the colors, Jill & I love the look of the charcoal and copper. Only one change I will make is to add charcoal accent inside of center burner.

 

OK.. I take it back. I will weigh in.

I took another look @ the PH and I think the PH would work quite well with your decor.

What can I say, I'm fickle.

 

That makes two of us! Especially in regards to this decision!

I feel mixed on this one - the PH definitely fits the overall decor in my home better, and I'm sure it would look great and fit in well. I also think the IS could create a really nice, artistic contrast, and I like the idea of that too. My home has a lot of beautiful old features. Many would argue to honor that, and I do in that I preserve those old features in my home. I also think there is something nice to contrasting the old with the new... (Man, am I being fickle or what! ). Speaking of these old features, just for fun, I'm attaching a pic of one of the doorknobs in my home - is this the coolest thing you've ever seen or what? I assume it was made in the 1890s like the rest of my home.

Getting back to the stove, I guess it mainly comes down to how one will perform vs. the other in regards to overall job heating my home, getting heat to the second (and possibly even third) floor, heating the whole home while not blasting us out of the stove room, etc. I'm trying to read all the threads I can on this site and I see differing opinions. Any thoughts/opinions folks want to add here would be great. Ash pan and price are also considerations, but perhaps a little less so than the other things mentioned here.

Thanks!

 

How bout incorporating that door knob design into the IS?

I believe the PH is a bit smaller, so less but output per reload?

What about clearances for the PH?.

I really wanted a PH , but I'm very happy with the IS

 

I love that doorknob. Now that adds character.

 

Tough decision, I love Ashpan, I love looks of PH, I needed front loader so IS was my choice..

 

Well obviously this is a personal preference...but as for the ash pan part of the decision...I wouldn't give you $0.02 for an ash pan...I own several different burners with ash pans...don't use any of them...my one wood furnace is a 2012 model...the ash pan has never had anything but spiders in it. Its easier IMO to just take a scoop out once in a while than to rake it down the ash hole...one mans opinion...

Edit: Also, I find by letting the ashes build up a little, that helps hold coals better, and seems to "reduce" the amount of ashes. I'd say I get a about a 50% reduction this way. The ash bucket is at least twice as heavy with ashes that have been raked around and left in the stove for a bit than ones that were raked straight into the pan.

 

That was my opinion on most Ashpan brenndatomu, then I used Woodstock wouldn't have stove without it. Works great, leaves hot coals in stove, gets ash out takes 1 minute.

 

It's amazing how good the ash pan works on the IS. The coals burn up completely and only ash goes into the pan. And holding coals is not a problem with a cat stove. Actually the coals built up more than I liked...a little mod took care of that though

 

Yeah I don't know for sure, but I suspect on these the ash pan door/drawer is probably sealed and then it just has a grate the ashes fall through...I have a furnace that I'm running currently that is this way...and I do agree that it is a much better setup than the ones with a plug that has to be removed to rake the ash through a hole...those are a real PITA. But even with the grate setup, I used it a couple weeks and then just let it fill up so I can just take a scoop out of the firebox every now and again...the ash was just so fluffy when I used the pan. Plus like I said, mine didn't hold coals well without a nice layer of ash.
Like I said, just my two cents...now back to my previous "read only" setting...