# My review of the Woodstock Progress



## fire_man (Dec 25, 2011)

I am used to the Fireview, so I will be comparing it with the new Progress. I have completed the official Dennis break in fires, and ran one overnight 12 hour low-burn fire. I have not pushed the stove hard yet - still babying it a little but I think it's ready to get pushed (if it ever gets cold!).

1. The time to get from a stone cold stove to engaging the cat is MUCH quicker than with the FV. This surprised me, since the Progress is a much more MASSIVE stove. I can load,light, and engage the cat within 25 minutes (other FV owners may routinely engage in 25 minutes, but I went slower). Reloads are also very quick, the flue temp and stovetop temps respond much quicker than the FV.  I think this is because there is just more air entering the firebox. There is Primary,Secondary and anti-backpuff air entering the box. Once the fire gets going, I noticed secondaries develop even before engaging the cat - unlike with the FV. 

2. Hearth temps are amazingly cool with the attached ashlip. I don't understand why this stove needs a higher R value than the FV. I could hardly hold my hand on my hearth when the FV was cranking, but my hearth is barely warm with the Progress. The stove sits so high, and the lip deflects the heat very well. My nearby Hardwood floor used to shrink up during the winter and develop big gaps directly in front of the Fireview. I will be interested to see what happens now.

3. WS installed a smoke baffle. Its a hinged plate about 5 inches wide that mounts inside the firebox and hangs down about an inch or so below the door opening's  top edge. It gets in the way a little when you try to load a split at the very top of the door opening. It was added to prevent smoke spillage when reloading. I removed it, and sure enough I got some smoke -  nothing terrible but I see why the plate was added.

4.  The window stays crystal clear. Now that my break-in fires are finished, I have noticed the window is perfectly clear, even after burning overnight at 
draft lever = 0 (low burn mode).

5. The secondaries seem to last about 2.5 hours, then there is no flame on the wood unless you raise the draft lever above zero.

6. Burn times do seem as advertised (12 hrs easy). I loaded up with 16" splits of oak and soft maple, and tried to add a few loose chunks to fill the rest of the 22" wide firebox. I engaged the cat at 6:30 last night. This morning at 5:30 there were good coals, stovetop was at 225, and I reloaded no problem. This was using a slow burn. I think it would have been even better if I had true 22 inch splits. Room temps (in stove room) are about 5 degrees warmer than with the FV at the same outdoor temp.

7. The stove definitely heats the room quicker than the FV. I think there are 2 factors at play: 1. The glass area is HUGE, tons of heat spills out. 2. The stove has no airspace between soapstone panels, unlike the FV.  It's an inner steel firebox directly in contact with outer layers of soapstone, so there is quicker heat transfer to the outside world.

8. The stove does "Woof", ignites built-up smoke while on low burn. But happily the woof does not seem to be exiting the stove thru the draft inlet, as did the FV. So far, NO woofing smoke has entered the house.

9. I keep setting off the smoke alarm, each time at a higher stove temperature. I am pretty sure its the paint curing. Highest stove temp so far is 550 on top.

10. The iconel screen gave me fits at first, but after speaking with WS all is good. It was not formed into the correct shape, so it did not lock into place. It was easy to fix, but I only noticed it because I remembered the guys at WS showing it to me at the BBQ.

11. The loading door feels like I am closing a bank vault. It's heavy and very solid. The latch sucks it nice and tight into the gasket - it feels top quality.

12. Cat cleaning looks every bit as simple and quick as the FV. Now that I understand the iconel screen, it's also very easy to clean.

13. I don't have good stove temp vs time plots yet (hopefully Ciccio will chime in, I think he has some good records). 

This was from my 4th break-in fire, which consisted of some cottonwood and soft maple filling about 40% of the firebox:

T= 0 stone cold stove
T= 30 minutes engage cat, stovetop (center) = 250 F
T=60 minutes  350 F
T=90 minutes 425 F
T=2 hrs  410 F
T = 2.5  400 F
T= 3 hrs 360F
T=3.5 hrs 350F
bedtime.

So far I like this stove a lot it and I am REALLY excited, - it definitely looks like a keeper. But I want to get used to it under different conditions before making final determinations (shoulder season burns, Arctic cold, operation by wife , etc). Stay tuned....


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## HollowHill (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks for the review.  Have you noticed a smoke smell when on draft 0?  Right above the door hinge I can detect a whiff of smoke.  I don't see anything, but can smell it.  Is this something that I should be concerned about or is it normal?


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

HollowHill said:
			
		

> Thanks for the review.  Have you noticed a smoke smell when on draft 0?  Right above the door hinge I can detect a whiff of smoke.  I don't see anything, but can smell it.  Is this something that I should be concerned about or is it normal?



I have the start of a miserable cold, so bad time to check for smoke leaks. Is it kind of a sweet, woody smell? I noticed a slight smell at the rear right lid corner. I just sniffed the door hinges but nothing there. Most of the time the air leaks draw *into* the stove, except when the stove back puffs, so unless you notice backpuffs it's probably not a problem. I remember the same sweet smell near the lid of the Fireview.


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## Buck1200 (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks for the review, fire_man.  I just installed mine today (Merry Christmas to me!), and short of the open windows required to clear the stink of curing paint, the stove is working as advertised.  

I'm replacing a Hearthstone Heritage, which has done admirable, but overworked, duty keeping our house warm enough for the last 6 years.  It was the ability to burn at low outputs in combination with big stove firepower which attracted me to the Progress.  It's also a really pretty stove.  

I'll post more comments as we get a few days of cold weather behind us.


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## HollowHill (Dec 26, 2011)

fire_man said:
			
		

> HollowHill said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, sweet woody smell at the rear right lid corner, you nailed it!  It's above the door hinge, but more toward the top, you're right.  And it doesn't smell acrid.  I'm not really sure how to tell if it back puffs.  Is it a sound or ???


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## HotCoals (Dec 26, 2011)

You guys have it all..gas grill tubes and a cat!
Do they both actually work at the same time?


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

HollowHill said:
			
		

> fire_man said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You would likely know if your stove backpuffed - you get a lout "WOMPH" noise and it looks like an explosion of fire clouds inside the firebox. My old VC Resolute used to pop it's top loading lid into the air when that happened! So far with the Progress its been a quick pop in the firebox, and no smoke  blew out anywhere. I don't think the sweet woody smell is a problem, my FV had it. It might not be a bad idea to discuss it with WS if it bothers you. Please post back if you speak with them.


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## begreen (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks for the review Fire_Man. Have you tried waiting a bit longer before closing the air down to eliminate puffbacks?


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

BeGreen,

Next time I will give that a try, but the woofing does not lead to smoke in the room, just a burst of flame in the firebox. The FV used to spit smoke out its air inlet when that happened.

I know I don't want to wait too long to lower the draft, because once those secondaries get going, the stove makes Hell look like a chilly place. Keeping the secondaries tame is critical to keeping the stove in "cat" mode. It likes to switch over to burn-tube mode once it gets hot. I wish I had some smaller sized splits, I think my small splits that Todd joked me were like splinters last year are causing the secondaries to kick in kind of early.


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## begreen (Dec 26, 2011)

I thought the stove would run cat and secondaries together when in a robust outgassing stage of burn. Is this not correct?


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

yes, it is running in both modes at the same time, but for a slow, low heat mode I want all cat action, with very little secondaries. The secondaries eat at the wood and heat up the firebox. Running cat only gets the lid hot, giving low BTU's and very long burn time.


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## HotCoals (Dec 26, 2011)

fire_man said:
			
		

> yes, it is running in both modes at the same time, but for a slow, low heat mode I want all cat action, with very little secondaries. The secondaries eat at the wood and heat up the firebox. Running cat only gets the lid hot, giving low BTU's and very long burn time.


Very interesting..thank you. Cheers!

I bet when it's gets really cold that stove will throw some huge heat on high!
If you do that can you or will you by-pass the cat to help with flame damage or are you not concerned.
I'm really interested in this stove to maybe recommend it to friends in the future.
Seems like it has all the bases covered.
Fire box size?


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## keninmich (Dec 26, 2011)

Thats a really comprehensive and well done review!

Thanks for taking the time to post that...


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

2.75 cu ft firebox. No worries according to Woodstock about flame impingement, and no need to bypass the cat at high burns. The only bad thing you could do is 
burn on way to high a draft setting - not sure how high is too high, but any more than 1/2" from zero is already a lot when the secondaries kick in.

The cat lives very far away from the flame, and the iconel screen blocks it further.

I used to live in Rochester, NY - cold place, great Hot Wings, I miss  it!


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

keninmich said:
			
		

> Thats a really comprehensive and well done review!
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to post that...



thanks, Keninmich. Hearth.com has given me so much good info over the years and hooked me up with so many great people, it's the least I could do to give some back.


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## HotCoals (Dec 26, 2011)

fire_man said:
			
		

> 2.75 cu ft firebox. No worries according to Woodstock about flame impingement, and no need to bypass the cat at high burns. The only bad thing you could do is
> burn on way to high a draft setting - not sure how high is too high, but any more than 1/2" from zero is already a lot when the secondaries kick in.
> 
> The cat lives very far away from the flame, and the iconel screen blocks it further.
> ...



Wow..that stove sounds great..almost fool proof and trust me some of my friends need all the help they can get...lol.

Yeah Rochester..love hate thing.
I love my Dinosaur BBQ... and Nick Tahoes..Charlotte Beach!
I'm actually in Brockport.


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## Todd (Dec 26, 2011)

Thanks for the review Tony. I still think Woodstock has some work to do to cut back that secondary air supply to the baffle otherwise it sounds like it's going to act more like a non cat stove with a cat back up to clean up whatever is left? Maybe that's what they're shooting for but I'd rather be able to choose either cat, non cat, or both together to get the best of both worlds.


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## Waulie (Dec 26, 2011)

Great review, Tony!

I'm still taking it a bit easy with mine.  Also, this warm weather makes it tough for me to get a full gauge on what I'm seeing.

When I got home yesterday, it was readily apparent that the back door had blown open while we were gone because it was 50 in the house!  My toddler loves unlatching that door for some reason.

So, I got the Progress cranking with maybe 5 small splits at 3:00.  I burned them fairly hot and fast to warm the stove and get a nice coal bed.  Those secondaries are amazing!  

Then I loaded her about 40% at 5:30 and it was cruising on a medium-low burn at about 450.  I had tons of coals at 10:30, stove top at 350.  The house was up to about 68 by now.  I then loaded up for the night, but I only filled the box about half, it that.  After it got going fairly good (but not too good), I began reducing the draft and settled in just above 0.  Stove top was about 460, some lazy floating flames, with occasional secondary bursts.  When I got up at 8:00, stove top was at 200 and I was able to start the days fire with just kindling, but there weren't a ton of coals.

So, on a half load of wood I went 9.5 hours.  Granted, there was much heat the last few hours.  But, I consider this very encouraging for shoulder season burning.  With some adjustments to my technique, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to do two 12 hour cycles during shoulder season without overheating the house or lighting a match.

This stove seems amazingly controllable to me.  I know some have had issues getting a low burn.  I haven't had any problems yet.  It might be a different story when I really load it full and get the stove above 500.  But, with a half load I can pretty much kill the secondaries almost instantly when I turn it to 0.  Since such small adjustments to draft really change the fire, I'm sure everyones particular setup is going to really affect how the stove is best run.  

My window got a bit dark during the break in fires, but it has cleared up nicely now.

I cannot detect any smoke out of the chimney once the cat is engaged, no matter what stage of the fire I'm in. 

Another happy burner so far!  Just need so colder weather to play with a hotter stove.


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

Waulie:

You have some good info in your last post. Half a load of wood, 9.5 hrs burn time, 200 stove top, yup that's about what I see. I have definitely noticed that the stove remains in cat mode much easier when the box is only 40% filled. My first two full loads resulted in major secondaries. Last night I loaded up and engaged at 250 stovetop, and the secondaries lasted for over 3 hours. 13.5 hrs later I was able to restart with only kindling, but there were not many coals left. 

This morning I loaded with about 1/3 full of chucks and uglies, the secondaries were very lazy, stove stayed purely in cat mode, good heat from the lid but very cool firebox. It's 37 F outside right now and the room is at 70 F, perfect. I will be very interested to see how you do when you fully load and get the stove above 500F.

I also got some dark glass at the lower corners during beak in, but that has nicely cleared up. I have consistently seen white smoke out the chimney in the early burn stages.

I don't think building up an annoying coal bed is going to be a problem with this stove. It incinerated the wood into nothing. I have been mixing in cottonwood,which does not leave many coals anyway.

Waulie: what width splits are you using? Mine are 4"-5". I think bigger splits may be better for this stove to keep the secondaries quieter. The trick for shoulder season will likely be to not load the stove more than 40%.


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## Waulie (Dec 26, 2011)

I've been using a mix of split sizes.  My half load last night had a couple of 6 or 7 inchers filled in with 4 inchers.  

I think smaller loads will be key in shoulder season.  Mainly, because you will still get very long burns and enough heat.  Why load more wood than you need?

I'm cruising in cat mode right now with another half load.  Draft is set just above 0.  39 degress and sunny outside, 72 inside.  Firebox almost completely dark.  Stove top at 390 and has been for a couple hours.  This is the first time I've ran it with no flames at all.

It is speculation, but I think I could load to 60 to 70 percent with big splits and get a cat only burn, especially in shoulder season when draft is lower anyway.  I have an oversized chimney, so maybe it's easier for me to get the low end burn?  My wood is also not perfect.  However, I'm having no problems burning it in the Progress.  It fires right up!

Just for fun, I turned up the draft on the dark firebox to about 40%.  Within 90 seconds, the ghost flames with secondary bursts started.  Within 3 minutes, I had a fairly engulfed firebox.  I let it run like that for 10 minutes, then shut it back to just above 0.  Got ghost flames with bursts for 5 minutes, now my box is mostly dark again.  I have nothing to complain about!

EDIT:  FYI, my wood is mostly ash, with the occasional hard maple, beech, or ironwood split.


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## begreen (Dec 26, 2011)

fire_man said:
			
		

> Waulie:
> 
> You have some good info in your last post. Half a load of wood, 9.5 hrs burn time, 200 stove top, yup that's about what I see. I have definitely noticed that the stove remains in cat mode much easier when the box is only 40% filled. My first two full loads resulted in major secondaries. Last night I loaded up and engaged at 250 stovetop, and the secondaries lasted for over 3 hours. 13.5 hrs later I was able to restart with only kindling, but there were not many coals left.
> 
> ...



Good info folks! I hope we get some softwood burners trying out this stove soon too.


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## Waulie (Dec 26, 2011)

Well, it's been 3.5 hours since I loaded it half way and turned it down.  If my stove top wasn't at 400, I would think the fire was completely out!  Sides and front of stove are relatively cool.  No smoke out of the chimney and the house temp is perfect. 40 degress outside.  I've maybe burned through maybe half of what I put in.  I'm just going to let her run like this and see what happens.


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## HotCoals (Dec 26, 2011)

Pretty cool eh?


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## Woody Stover (Dec 26, 2011)

Waulie said:
			
		

> I cannot detect any smoke out of the chimney once the cat is engaged, no matter what stage of the fire I'm in.


Run it any way you want, with no smoke. Excellent!


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 26, 2011)

Tony and Waulie, many thanks for the reviews and a good job with them too. I get more excited about this stove the more I hear. As for the black glass during burn-in, we also got that with the Fireview and that was the only time we've had black glass. As for backpuffing, we get it only occasionally and then it is not bad. With our old stove we used to get backpuffing and you heard it big time when it happened and then the house stunk with smoke. Not so with the Fireview.


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

This morning, I loaded about 40% full with cottonwood and odd chunks, closed the bypass when the stovetop hit 250F, and I got a perfect cat burn for 7 solid hours (minimal secondaries). The wood just slowly cooked, the stove was rock solid steady around 350F,  and the room stayed 69-72 degrees all day! Plenty of coals for an instant reload, the next reload took right off.

When I fill the firebox, I seem to get more intense secondaries that tend to take over for 2-3 hours. I may try engaging on a full load at a lower setting next time, too see if I can quiet down those secondaries.


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## pen (Dec 26, 2011)

That's sounding more like it.  I guess the purpose of the secondary air is so that the cat doesn't get overwhelmed since this thing can load up so much more wood than their other stoves.  I'd assume that means the cat on the BlazeKing is larger?  Don't know.

Definitely try turning it down sooner.  Experimentation is 1/2 the fun.

I'm on year 3 w/ my current wood stove and still seeing what tricks this pony can do.

pen


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## fire_man (Dec 26, 2011)

pen said:
			
		

> That's sounding more like it.  I guess the purpose of the secondary air is so that the cat doesn't get overwhelmed since this thing can load up so much more wood than their other stoves.  I'd assume that means the cat on the BlazeKing is larger?  Don't know.
> 
> Definitely try turning it down sooner.  Experimentation is 1/2 the fun.
> 
> ...



I hear ya, I like experimenting, too. But the wife  says I better giver her exact instructions for how to operate this stove when I go back to work! I am trying to figure it out within the next week or so, with this stove it's possible she may not even have to worry about it! 

With the FV, we were  reloading after 5-6 hours on really cold day, and she had to do it.


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## Todd (Dec 27, 2011)

I wonder if you could burn this kind a like a masonry heater? Fill her up, burn it hot and let that 700 lbs radiate for the rest of the day.


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## fire_man (Dec 27, 2011)

Todd:

That's kind of how this thing is behaving. Normally when it was below 25F outside, and the lid temp on the Fireview got down near 250F, I was racing to get those coals burned down to get ready for the next load. Otherwise, the house got cold quickly. With this stove, it's now 26 degrees out and the indoor temp is stuck at 70 but the lid is only at 200F!  

I noticed the stove itself is extremely uniform in temperature no matter where I measure - sides, top, front. I wish I recorded some of the IR readings on the side of the Fireview when I had the chance - I'm pretty sure it was less uniform and lower.


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## Waulie (Dec 27, 2011)

Yep, turning it down early seems to work for me.  I am able to turn it down after it really gets rolling, but for a real steady low burn it seems best to "keep ahead" of the secondaries with draft, notching it down each time they just start to get crazy until it's closed or almost closed.  I'm sure I'm going to appreciate those puppies when it's single digits, though!


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## Flatbedford (Dec 27, 2011)

I've got to get me one of those!


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## fire_man (Dec 28, 2011)

Two more comments about the Progress:

1.  I swear that this stove throws more heat into the room with the same amount of wood as the fireview. 
    I loaded four  16" small size (4") splits of fuzzy Cottonwood onto a bed of coals, and it  burned great in cat mode for about 5 hours. Stovetop peaked around 400 and 5 hours later it's  down to    200F. This heated my house the whole time to 70F in the stove room when it was 40 degrees out. The heat exchanger fins in the rear of the stove seems to be performing as advertised. 

2.  I don't have to waste as many splits  getting the stove up to cat light-off temps from a cold start. The Fireview used to take a much longer time and used up a bunch of wood just to get the lid to 250 F  light off temp. Once you get a decent flame going in the Progress' firebox, the lid temp rises very quickly. 

Bottom line: This stove looks good so far for shoulder season.


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## ddddddden (Dec 28, 2011)

Yeah, that heat exchanger seems like a good idea.  The top of the Progress probably also warms up more quickly because the bypass door is at the front, so heat still passes across the top instead of out the back when in bypass mode.  I have a thermometer on the appliance adapter at the flue that I go by instead of the top of my Fireview.  It would be nice if they fit this plumbing to the FV. . .and made it available as a retrofit for cheap.     They could drop that silly "Fireview" name and call it "a Lil' Progress"  :cheese:     Oh yeah, congrats on the new heater.


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## Waulie (Dec 28, 2011)

Finally got some cooler weather last night.

I loaded up the Progress with 4 large ash splits, the top at 240, and the house at 70.  There was plently of room for more wood.  Stove peaked and was cruising at about 460 when I went to bed a couple hours later.  I left the draft just a hair above closed and I did have some mild secondaries going.  10 hours after I loaded, stove top was at 250 and house was at 68 with plenty of coals for a reload.  It probably would have stayed above 200 for a couple more hours with enough coals for a reload.  Low teens and windy last night.  Not bad!  I still haven't gotten the stove top above 500, but I haven't really tried.  I'm sure I just need to turn it down slower and put more/smaller splits in if I want to get a hotter stove, I just haven't needed it yet.  Large splits are great for calming those secondaries.

I really wish I had longer splits.  I do have some 18 to 20" splits for next year and I'm going to start cutting 20 to 22" from now on.

Once the house is up to temp, it doesn't take a very hot Progress to keep it there.  With all that thermal mass, even a stove at 250 or 300 does provide quite a bit of heat.  I am amazed at how easy it has been to keep the house between 68 and 74 with this stove.  I've been loading three times a day; at night, in the morning, and a small load in the evening.  With the warmer outside temps, I could certainly get away with two loads.  But, I've been around the house and keeping the loads smaller helps to keep the house temps more stable.  Plus, it's fun to play!


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## Flatbedford (Dec 28, 2011)

Waulie said:
			
		

> .  Plus, it's fun to play!



Mrs Flatbedford always asks why I keep messing with the stove when it goes just fine for her if she just leaves it be when I am at work. She just doesn't understand.


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## Todd (Dec 28, 2011)

Has anyone filled this stove up full yet to really see what it can do? Seems like everyone just puts a few splits in at a time. Anyone doing consistant 12 hour burn?


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## Waulie (Dec 28, 2011)

> Anyone doing consistant 12 hour burn?



I seem to recall Ciccio was running 12 hour cycles.  You may want to check his install thread.  

I may load earlier tonight and put more wood in to see what 12 hours actually looks like.  I am positive I won't have any issues getting consistent 12 hour burns.  The advertised 16 might be pushing it.  But then again, if you really filled it with 22" splits it can probably be done.  It's tough to really load a long firebox with 16" splits.


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## fire_man (Dec 28, 2011)

Waulie said:
			
		

> Finally got some cooler weather last night.
> 
> I loaded up the Progress with 4 large ash splits, the top at 240, and the house at 70.  There was plently of room for more wood.  Stove peaked and was cruising at about 460 when I went to bed a couple hours later.  I left the draft just a hair above closed and I did have some mild secondaries going.  10 hours after I loaded, stove top was at 250 and house was at 68 with plenty of coals for a reload.  It probably would have stayed above 200 for a couple more hours with enough coals for a reload.  Low teens and windy last night.  Not bad!  I still haven't gotten the stove top above 500, but I haven't really tried.  I'm sure I just need to turn it down slower and put more/smaller splits in if I want to get a hotter stove, I just haven't needed it yet.  *Large splits are great for calming those secondaries.*
> 
> ...



Waulie - I had a feeling this was very true. 

My splits are way too small (narrow) for the Progress. I got carried away with my new toy splitter and could not resist overusing it. You could cut the draft down more with the FV, so it was fine. But with the Progress the secondary plates always let in some air. I have a couple years of small splits to get through, then I fortunately started splitting much bigger. I have already reached stovetop 550 with my smaller splits, not even fully packed. The secondaries were cranking for over 3 hours! I am hoping the bigger splits calm it down some.


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## Waulie (Dec 28, 2011)

Tony:  My splits last night were up to 9" wide.  I'm sure if I loaded the same volume of wood with smaller splits, I would have seen temps higher than 460.

I think a combination of large splits, engaging the cat early, and turning down before the secondaries get really rolling are the keys to a long, low burn. 

Frankly, I can imagine how much heat it must put out at 600 and I doubt I'll be burning that hot too often.  I will certainly be nice to have it when I need it though.

Tonight, I will pack it full at 6:00 pm with large splits so I can report on what it looks like after 12 hours.


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## VCBurner (Dec 28, 2011)

Great thread, I'm still in love with those woodstocks.  The progress sounds like a great stove!
Someday I'll have one in my livingroom.  Thanks for the review!


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## ciccio (Dec 29, 2011)

Todd said:
			
		

> Has anyone filled this stove up full yet to really see what it can do? Seems like everyone just puts a few splits in at a time. Anyone doing consistant 12 hour burn?



Todd I have been filling the stove up as best as I can mostly with splits that 13 to 14 inches in length some pieces longer...what I usually do is fill the stove EW and what ever space I have left by the loading door I put in 2 splits NS but even that is not filling the box up tight.
I can tell you I been having no problems getting 12 hour burns even 13 hour burns and still being able to light up small kindling to start another reload, I am positive if I had your wood or Dennis wood the results would be much much better...like I said before next year is when I can give every one a better report because my wood will be better and I will have plenty of splits in the 20 to 22 inch range.
I am very happy with the stove so far I get plenty of heat right now with a slow burn to heat my house but the temps outside have not been really cold yet but it is nice to know I can open my damper some and really crank out some heat when I need it.


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## Waulie (Dec 29, 2011)

I can't get a 12 hour burn!  But, only because of my schedule.  My plan was to load early yesterday so I could see the results after 12 hours.  Problem was, I was only home for 10.5 hours yesterday.   :shut: 

I still packed the box pretty full (with 16" splits that is).  I could have fit another couple small splits.  After 10.5 hours, stove top was at 290 and there were LOTS of coals.  It was a bit early to reload but I did anyway since I needed to leave.  So yeah, 12+ hours should be very easy.

A 22" split has 38% more volume than a 16" split of the same width.  So really, I could see reloading after 16 hours with 22" splits.


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## Waulie (Dec 29, 2011)

I can't get a 12 hour burn!  But, only because of my schedule.  My plan was to load early yesterday so I could see the results after 12 hours.  Problem was, I was only home for 10.5 hours yesterday.   :shut: 

I still packed the box pretty full (with 16" splits that is).  I could have fit another couple small splits.  After 10.5 hours, stove top was at 290 and there were LOTS of coals.  It was a bit early to reload but I did anyway since I needed to leave.  So yeah, 12+ hours should be very easy.  If I didn't have to leave, I would have let the coals burn for another hour at least.

A 22" split has 38% more volume than a 16" split of the same width.  So really, I could see reloading after 16 hours with 22" splits.


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## yukiginger (Jan 5, 2012)

I would really like to hear some opinions on whether this stove is a "monster" heater or not. The firebox isn't very large at 2.7 cu. ft., but the thing weighs a ton. The question is does it put out heat like a 3 cu. ft. plus steel stove? I know about the differences between the radiating properties of soapstone vs. steel, etc., but the question remains of whether it is really heating as well as a Hearthstone Mansfield, Lopi Liberty, Hearthstone Equinox, etc? Did Woodstock go big enough with the Progress?

MarkG


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## pen (Jan 5, 2012)

yukiginger said:
			
		

> I would really like to hear some opinions on whether this stove is a "monster" heater or not. The firebox isn't very large at 2.7 cu. ft., but the thing weighs a ton. The question is does it put out heat like a 3 cu. ft. plus steel stove? I know about the differences between the radiating properties of soapstone vs. steel, etc., but the question remains of whether it is really heating as well as a Hearthstone Mansfield, Lopi Liberty, Hearthstone Equinox, etc? Did Woodstock go big enough with the Progress?
> 
> MarkG



Looks can be deceiving but when I saw the progress I swore it would hold more wood than my NC-30.  Not sure if the 2.7 cu foot is an honest figure and the 3.5 of mine is exaggerated a bit or what the deal is.  When I heard the progress was only 2.7 cubes after seeing it in person, I was taken back.  Wish I had brought a tape measure w/ me. 

pen


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## yukiginger (Jan 5, 2012)

I also see a post from just yesterday on Woodstock's blog with the EPA data. The statement there is that it has the highest heat output of any freestanding stove tested in the last 20 years.

Does this mean it beats the Hearthstone Equinox's heat output, claimed by the manufacturer to be up to 120,000btu/hr?

MarkG


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## Nater (Jan 5, 2012)

yukiginger said:
			
		

> I also see a post from just yesterday on Woodstock's blog with the EPA data. The statement there is that it has the highest heat output of any freestanding stove tested in the last 20 years.
> 
> Does this mean it beats the Hearthstone Equinox's heat output, claimed by the manufacturer to be up to 120,000btu/hr?
> 
> MarkG



According to the EPA, the Equinox is rated at 12000-37900 btu/hr.  The Progress isn't in that report yet, but the Fireview is, and is rated at 10900-42900 btu/hr.

Found here: http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf


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## Todd (Jan 5, 2012)

yukiginger said:
			
		

> I also see a post from just yesterday on Woodstock's blog with the EPA data. The statement there is that it has the highest heat output of any freestanding stove tested in the last 20 years.
> 
> Does this mean it beats the Hearthstone Equinox's heat output, claimed by the manufacturer to be up to 120,000btu/hr?
> 
> MarkG



It's probably true as far as EPA numbers go. Hearthstone's numbers were probably from an independant lab where they test with real cordwood not pine 2x4's. It would be interesting to see Woodstocks cordwood numbers.


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## pen (Jan 5, 2012)

Nater said:
			
		

> yukiginger said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That site confuses me.  For example, they have the Englander 13 listed as 11,579 to 32,017 btu/hr but the big brother, Englander 30 is only listed as 11,950 - 28,337

pen


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 5, 2012)

Right. Don't put too much faith in the EPA figures. For sure they are necessary for the manufacturers but don't mean that much to most homeowners.


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## HotCoals (Jan 5, 2012)

yukiginger said:
			
		

> I also see a post from just yesterday on Woodstock's blog with the EPA data. The statement there is that it has the highest heat output of any freestanding stove tested in the last 20 years.
> 
> Does this mean it beats the Hearthstone Equinox's heat output, claimed by the manufacturer to be up to 120,000btu/hr?
> 
> MarkG


What it could mean is through the whole burn..btu's into the house.
Almost have to be a lawyer to guess at statements like that one..lol.


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## Todd (Jan 6, 2012)

I wonder what the real world cordwood efficiency and BTU numbers are for this stove?


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## yukiginger (Jan 6, 2012)

HotCoals said:
			
		

> yukiginger said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, Hotcoals, you're correct. I saw somewhere a very different figure for EPA BTU rating and the "cordwood" rating. The EPA test is done with "EPA test fuel," whatever that may be. So, Hearthstone's spec on their website for the Equinox is almost certainly not meant to represent the EPA rating.

MarkG


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## rdust (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm enjoying reading everything about this new stove.  I'm not a fan of soapstone but since it's a bad steel stove wrapped in some pretty stone I may be able to get on board with it!   

I think at this point my biggest knock is the 22" wood lengths, oak takes long enough at 16" I don't want to do anything to make it worse!  :lol:  If I was making a stove I would make it to fit what most people or wood suppliers consider firewood length.  I could be wrong but for me that's 16-18 inches.  What is the size of the firebox if you figure it using 18" lengths?  People who just bought these stoves won't have oak that is ready in 22" lengths for 3 years!  I'm not a fan of side loading stoves either but that obviously fits a lot of peoples needs since plenty of stoves are offered this way.    

Anyway awesome stoves, I look forward to reading more good things about them.  I'd really like Todd to get his hands on one since he's burned so many stoves he'd be a great source of comparison information.  Todd maybe can you send you one on "loan"??


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## pen (Jan 6, 2012)

rdust said:
			
		

> I think at this point my biggest knock is the 22" wood lengths, oak takes long enough at 16" I don't want to do anything to make it worse!  :lol:  If I was making a stove I would make it to fit what most people or wood suppliers consider firewood length.  I could be wrong but for me that's 16-18 inches.  What is the size of the firebox if you figure it using 18" lengths?  People who just bought these stoves won't have oak that is ready in 22" lengths for 3 years!



Been thinking about this myself.  Surprised I haven't seen anyone yet cutting some wood in 1/2 lengths to load perpendicular to the door over in this void opposite the door if their main wood is 16-18 in length.  Or even set a few pieces in there vertical on the far side of the loading door to fill the thing right to the gills.

I'd love to be able to cut 20-22 inch wood.  Stacks are more stable w/ longer splits.  The rounds may take a bit longer to season being a few inches longer, but the splits really shouldn't see that much of a difference in seasoning time.  

pen


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## fire_man (Jan 6, 2012)

pen said:
			
		

> rdust said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm already doing this. My short splits (14") fit nicely N/S along the door. I don't think it's as good as loading true 22 inchers, but those will be ready in a year or so! I just cut up some 2" beech, guess I should get it split soon. Its a shame, I cut 6 cord of oak this past year figuring I'd end up getting the Progress, but I figured if I cut to 22" I'd jinx myself and never get the stove.


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## pen (Jan 6, 2012)

fire_man said:
			
		

> pen said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well there we have it!  Notice much of a difference by adding those few extra splits?

pen


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## HotCoals (Jan 6, 2012)

rdust said:
			
		

> I'm enjoying reading everything about this new stove.  I'm not a fan of soapstone but since it's a bad steel stove wrapped in some pretty stone I may be able to get on board with it!
> 
> I think at this point my biggest knock is the 22" wood lengths, oak takes long enough at 16" I don't want to do anything to make it worse!  :lol:  If I was making a stove I would make it to fit what most people or wood suppliers consider firewood length.  I could be wrong but for me that's 16-18 inches.  What is the size of the firebox if you figure it using 18" lengths?  People who just bought these stoves won't have oak that is ready in 22" lengths for 3 years!  I'm not a fan of side loading stoves either but that obviously fits a lot of peoples needs since plenty of stoves are offered this way.
> 
> Anyway awesome stoves, I look forward to reading more good things about them.  I'd really like Todd to get his hands on one since he's burned so many stoves he'd be a great source of comparison information.  Todd maybe can you send you one on "loan"??


16' is the standard face cord length..3 face cords = 1 cord..16"x3=4ft.
No where around here could you buy 22' length.
Maybe if I payed more for it they may cut it for me..but I'm going to pay..you can count on that.
22"x3 would be like 5.5ft.deep instead of 4ft deep.


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## fire_man (Jan 6, 2012)

Adding the extra N/S splits near the door does not seem to get the stove any hotter, but what I do notice is more red hot coals after 12-13 hours. When I do load the extra splits, there is definitely a healthier coal base in the morning.

So it's making more of a difference in total burn time, and extends how long I get useful heat, but I still max out at the same peak temps.


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## Todd (Jan 6, 2012)

rdust said:
			
		

> I'm enjoying reading everything about this new stove.  I'm not a fan of soapstone but since it's a bad steel stove wrapped in some pretty stone I may be able to get on board with it!
> 
> I think at this point my biggest knock is the 22" wood lengths, oak takes long enough at 16" I don't want to do anything to make it worse!  :lol:  If I was making a stove I would make it to fit what most people or wood suppliers consider firewood length.  I could be wrong but for me that's 16-18 inches.  What is the size of the firebox if you figure it using 18" lengths?  People who just bought these stoves won't have oak that is ready in 22" lengths for 3 years!  I'm not a fan of side loading stoves either but that obviously fits a lot of peoples needs since plenty of stoves are offered this way.
> 
> Anyway awesome stoves, I look forward to reading more good things about them.  I'd really like Todd to get his hands on one since he's burned so many stoves he'd be a great source of comparison information.  Todd maybe can you send you one on "loan"??



Hey, if you guys all want to chip in and get me one I won't complain.  :lol: I don't see the 22" lengths as a problem, I have lots of shorties to fill in as needed. How tall is the fire box? Could you fill it with 16" splits and have enough room to stand another one straight up vertical next to the door?


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