Woodstock Soapstone Ideal Steel Long/Overnight Burn

[@keithmcallister4917]

I pretty impressed by this stove and your honest review on it. I think it’s a really great looking stove. I’m going to be looking into getting one this year

[@DesertRatGardener]

Just saw your new video here. Gosh, I began burning with my stove two years ago, in Dec 2019, and don't have a probe catalyst thermometer. Mine came with a stove top thermometer. I like your catalyst thermometer with the probe. In my area we have pine, fir, aspen, plus pinon, juniper, oak and pecan firewood. When I stuff mine full of pine and fir only, I get 12 hour burn times before needing to reload. But when I put in with pine and fir pieces of pecan or oak, I get 14 hour, sometimes 15 hour, burn times before needing to reload. Enjoy your new stove and thank you for your videos on it.

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Mine didn't come with the probe thermometer, but the manual describes it. When I called Woodstock they told me it wasn't in stock when I picked up the stove, and they sent it to me right away free of charge. Apparently it is a new EPA requirement to ship them with new stoves, even though you can run just fine without it. I haven't stuffed the stove full yet because I'm still nervous about overfiring it. I'm going 10-11 hours overnight with "soft" hardwoods (Poplar is like pine, or worse with respect to energy content). During the day I don't go as long because I don't load as full, plus I like keeping the stove temps up for heat. I'm heating a 2600 sq ft colonial built in the 1790s with the stove, and that takes a hotter stove with the short winter days/low sun and New England temperatures.

[@tiny5500]

@@ProductiveRecreation This gives us hope. We are in Maine ( central) just bought a hall. Worried about the heat. 1st floor 1500sqft with 11 foot ceilings from 1873. Top floor we are putting another stove ( progressive hybrid) 1500sqft with 14ft ceilings. Drafty, old windows. Hope with both they do the trick!! Thanks for your post!

[@ProductiveRecreation]

@@tiny5500 The thing that will get you is ceiling height. There's a lot of air volume with high ceilings! My ceilings on both first and second floor are only 7'-5". We also had the roof insulated with spray foam, so while the windows are a little leaky, the roof is tight! The bad thing about high ceilings like you have is the heat rises. I have a partly cathedral ceiling in the entryway adjacent to my stove and it is a definite heat trap. If I reach up in that area it definitely feels much warmer. I hope the Progress works well for you! It is a beautiful stove. I was initially leaning toward it, but went with the Ideal Steel instead because it is a little lighter, less expensive, and can be loaded with logs oriented front to back or side to side.

[@tiny5500]

@@ProductiveRecreation Exactly! Will put ceiling fans for sure. Ideal steal down stairs! Both I think are great! We had a fireview in Sierra's CA. Worked well! Thanks for, be safe 👍

[@MrFanatical1]

I also own this stove… almost 7 years now. It’s my 3rd wood stove over the years and this stove is by far the best. Great stove and great company support. I also like a mixture of harder and softer woods for this stove using the softer wood to burn down coals in the am.

[@wobdeehomestead]

Woodstock is a great company, I owned a Fireview and Keystone in a previous home.

[@Jay__EL]

Ideal steel owner here. Also got mine in Dec 19. Just wanted to point out. The spot you have your thermometer by the flue exit on top is the hottest part of the stove in my opinion. I prefer to use that spot to determine stove temp as you should use the hottest spot. So it may be closer to reality than you think. Enjoy the stove and dont be afraid to let her rip. People have burned these crazy hot!! I do have the soapstone box and panels so not sure how that would affect "hot spots"

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Part of why I got the stove was the favorable discussion I've seen on forums about how it runs. I have the soapstone as well. Based on my IR gun thermometer the hottest spot by 50-100F is on the front above the door, beside the cat probe thermometer. I think this is because that spot is the closest downstream of the catalytic combustor without shielding (the lift top is shielded by the radiator and the stainless steel on the underside of the lid). On the stove top the hottest spot is definitely right next to the flue collar. My magnetic thermometers just gives an indication, but the reading is not spot on with my IR gun, which I believe is more accurate. The manual indicates temps of 700+ for extended time is overfiring. Personally, when I've seen about 730F on the front above the door, that's as hot as I want to see. Things are glowing inside around the catalyst at that point, which is definitely stressing the stove and potentially shortening the life.

[@idahobob180]

I have the same stove here in Idaho, love it wake up in the morning and throw three logs in it and its cooking by the time my coffee is ready, it's been burning for three months straight two ash cleanings

[@apuuvah]

Would definitely want one. I'm not saying it's better than a Scandinavian / Russian style masonry heater (it's not), but it's half the price and less than quarter of the weight. And it puts out 10x more heat, if need be. This just might be the best metal stive and he best solution for a lot of situations. Masonry heaters sure as hell are EXTREMELY slow... basically U never let them get cold.

[@tiny5500]

Thanks great info!

[@Realitycheck514]

I installed my Ideal Steel over the summer and just seasoned it. The outside temp was low 30's at night all week. It kept my house very warm. So far I like it a lot. Question, what's in the pot on top of your stove? I heard some people boil water to keep moisture in the air.

[@ProductiveRecreation]

@@Realitycheck514 Exactly. It’s just water steaming. We really don’t use it anymore because we find the house isn’t getting excessively dry.

[@Jay__EL]

There are some pretty decent forum threads on the stove if you want more user experience info. I saw a stove that the guy claimed he burned 800 stove top all the time

[@neilpederson1467]

Which forums specifically, please? Thanks

[@Jay__EL]

@@neilpederson1467 lots of good threads on most any popular stove. Also experienced users giving reviews

[@johnmcneal9477]

Just wondering if your stove heat output is still adequate enough to keep your house warm as the burn slows after 8 to 10 hours or so? Especially when the outside temps are really cold? We currently are running a steel stove with secondary burn and our burn times last from 4-6 hours. We recently purchased a new hybrid soap stone stove that should be arriving next month and your video confirmed to me that purchasing a hybrid was probably a good decision. We live in Alaska and it is going to be a game changer if we can see a 10-12 hour burn cycle.

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Depends on your definition of “warm house”. Performance in that regard depends on how tight the house is too. This stove runs 400F+ on top for a long time. By 10-12 hours, it’s around 200F on top, and stays around that temp even out to 14 hours for an easy reload on coals. As it burns down, you can always open the air control for more heat output. Overall this stove heats better than I expected. You may also find my review video on the stove from last winter helpful.

[@johnmcneal9477]

@@ProductiveRecreation Many stove manufacturer claims that their stoves heat from 24 to 30 hours. Its hard to wade through the sales pitch and get good accurate data on how stoves actually perform in real life, That was some good information, just what I was looking for, Thanks!

[@ProductiveRecreation]

@@johnmcneal9477 No free standing stove really heats that long. A catalytic stove might have embers left at 24-30 hours, but very little (if any) heat. I've gotten my Ideal Steel wood stove going from embers, kindling and a little blowing at 24+ hours. It has a huge 3.2 cu. ft. firebox. I use the furnace fan to circulate air for 5 minutes every half hour in the house, and the stove is doing most of the heating for a 2600 sq. ft. updated 1790s colonial. We have the thermostat set at 58F at night, 62F during the day. The heat only runs first thing in the morning if it runs at all. If its sunny, the house is appreciably warmer than that from solar gain, even with daytime temps below freezing. Right now we are upper 20s at night, around 40 during the day, and the stove is keeping the house 65-70 without the furnace fan.

[@zackhaas3267]

@@ProductiveRecreation wrong 100%. I have gotten 24 hours burning pine with my blaze king princess, and even after 20 hours the stovetop was running between 300°f and 400°f, and still heating great, 2500sqft house at 72°f, outside temps in the 20's and 30's. It's possible, but not from many stoves. At 24 hours, it is just starting to go below 300°f on the top, and the cat is burning around 700°f, with plenty of embers to restart.

[@zackhaas3267]

@@johnmcneal9477 blaze king doesn't just claim, they do real world tests, and I can assure you they aren't lying. I can get 24 hours burning pine, and still have heat.

[@neilpederson1467]

Thanks for the guide. We just bought one and hope to get it going before the end of this winter (waiting on a room to be finished off before getting it going). Curious: have you tried cooking with it yet?

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Yes! Christmas morning I cooked bacon and home fries on it. Used deep cast iron skillets to keep the grease in the pans instead of making a mess on the new stove. Worked well for a nice slow cook.

[@neilpederson1467]

@@ProductiveRecreation - very cool. This is the very high 3rd or 4th reason why we bought this stove. IF we are generating this heat, why not cook more on it and be more energy efficient. Good news - thanks!

[@bearupfarm1818]

I think it would be how long it burns at night and the room temperature would be nice.

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Room temperature depends on outside temperature, room and house size, and house insulation. It’s not really a good metric to compare. When it’s 0 out, the room will be 58 and the furnace might kick on after 10 hours. When it’s upper 20s to low 30s overnight, it can be 66-70 after 10 hours. If it’s going to be a sunny day with good solar gain and high temps near 50, I’ve done 24 hour reloads a couple times on enough coals to get going, keeping the house at 70 (which is warmer than we generally like).

[@michaellangdonful]

What happened to the Regency insert that you had?

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Nothing. We moved and it stayed with the house.

[@ariannedunlap1781]

hi. did you get the soapstone firebox liner and soapstone side panels?

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Yes. This stove has “the works” package with the ash pan too.

[@votered1552]

250 stack temp is low. Would think you would have creosote problems

[@ProductiveRecreation]

Nope. Clean it once a year / 5 cords of wood burned. It definitely needs to be cleaned at that point, but nothing crazy. All the loose powder buildup, not the glaze. In bypass mode I can get the pipe hot, but when the catalyst is engaged those pipe temps pretty much always go to a steady 250-300F, while the stove top is 500+.