ideal steel?

[begreen]

Have to agree that when I first saw the IS, I was amused, then it became a lot more attractive as I realized that a big hulking chunk of black looks very odd in my living room. I think Woodstock's design is the way of the future for wood stoves.

I sure hope not. Diversity in the marketplace is good. In spite of the designs, my wife still says not in our living room to the IS. The Ashford on the other hand stands a chance.

 

[Rickb]

Another question. I like the look of a nice slow fire. To run a bk correctly how much of this do you get and for how long? Or do these stoves just kinda smolder. The ideal steel is nice because you can burn it like a non cat when wanting the nice slow fire and then turn it down when you want a long burn. At least that's what I'm thinking.

Depends on how much heat you want. in the shoulder season it does smolder but once it cools off outside my BK has a great flame show for hours and hours.

 

[DougA]

Agree that diversity is good. When I bought my old VC, there was only a choice of sizes. To be honest, the standard old antique design in black looks out of place in modern homes or chalets. Some of the newer European designs look like a much better fit. Just my opinion of course.
I recently had a chance to buy a used Hearthstone Mansfield at a very cheap price but it was the 8011 model and even though the stove was an awesome deal, the 'duck feet' and extra swirly design were a deal breaker.

 

[JA600L]

I think it's funny that Blaze King had a captive market. Woodstock seems to have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. So it should be interesting to see what the future holds.

One beta tester pulled a 24 hour burn before he reloaded.

My question is how long can a Blaze King run vs an Ideal steel at half throttle when it's zero degrees out?

Your variables are fuel, air volume, and efficiency right? If they are both just as efficient as each other, with the ability to adjust the air volume the same, who's to say the Blaze King will burn longer?

Both of them have some degree of automatic control.

 

[Tenn Dave]

Well, in spite of our personal preferences and/or spouse demands about what goes in the living room, the marketplace will decide how successful the Ideal Steel will be.

 

[DougA]

My question is how long can a Blaze King run vs an Ideal steel at half throttle when it's zero degrees out?
Your variables are fuel, air volume, and efficiency right? If they are both just as efficient as each other, with the ability to adjust the air volume the same, who's to say the Blaze King will burn longer?

Here's how I see it - (perhaps we need a new thread for this)
3 cu ft. of wood has XX BTU of potential heat (energy) and that's all it can provide. If stove A is 85% efficient and stove B is 85% efficient, they both MUST be releasing the identical amount of BTU into the home over a total burn time. If Stove A burns the wood in 12 hrs. and stove B burns it in 24 hrs, it still is the IDENTICAL amount of heat (BTUs) in total, but stove A provides more heat per hour in the first 12 hours and less heat per hour in the second 12 hours. It's physics and no manufacturer can create more BTU/heat out of a pile of wood than another unless the efficiency is different.

Apart from that, some people may enjoy watching dancing flames for a longer time without reloading but for me, I want HEAT. If I want dancing flames, I will put a screensaver on my laptop and I don't need all the aggravation of cutting, splitting & storing wood and hauling ashes outside in the dead of winter.

 

[Tenn Dave]

Here's how I see it - (perhaps we need a new thread for this)
3 cu ft. of wood has XX BTU of potential heat (energy) and that's all it can provide. If stove A is 85% efficient and stove B is 85% efficient, they both MUST be releasing the identical amount of BTU into the home over a total burn time. If Stove A burns the wood in 12 hrs. and stove B burns it in 24 hrs, it still is the IDENTICAL amount of heat (BTUs) in total, but stove A provides more heat per hour in the first 12 hours and less heat per hour in the second 12 hours. It's physics and no manufacturer can create more BTU/heat out of a pile of wood than another unless the efficiency is different.

Apart from that, some people may enjoy watching dancing flames for a longer time without reloading but for me, I want HEAT. If I want dancing flames, I will put a screensaver on my laptop and I don't need all the aggravation of cutting, splitting & storing wood and hauling ashes outside in the dead of winter.

Well, to each his own. For me, the beautiful dancing flames are an important part of the wood burning experience. Nothing better then sitting in front of my Progress Hybrid on a cold winter night with a small glass of MACALLAN 18 year old single malt scotch and watching the dancing light show. If it were only heat that mattered, I would simply turn on the high efficiency heat pump.

 

[begreen]

Well, in spite of our personal preferences and/or spouse demands about what goes in the living room, the marketplace will decide how successful the Ideal Steel will be.

I hope it is very successful. The core design is a good one and there's plenty room for diverse choices. FWIW, a lot of stoves end up in the basement, out of sight, including good looking Jotuls and the like. FWIW At night I would rather be snuggled up next to my sweety in front of a nice fire than with a good scotch. Drinking late at night tends to wake me up in the wee hours.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I hope it is very successful. The core design is a good one and there's plenty room for diverse choices. FWIW, a lot of stoves end up in the basement, out of sight, including good looking Jotuls and the like. FWIW At night I would rather be snuggled up next to my sweety in front of a nice fire than with a good scotch. Drinking late at night tends to wake me up in the wee hours.

the key is to only drink a small glass, NOT the whole bottle................

 

[begreen]

I wish I could. If I drink past 9pm, even a small glass, it usually catches up with me around 3am. I wake up in a sweat burning off the alcohol. Guess I am a lightweight.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I wish I could. If I drink past 9pm, even a small glass, it usually catches up with me around 3am. I wake up in a sweat burning off the alcohol. Guess I am a lightweight.

Scotch that good needs to be savored in small amounts

Original poster - good luck in your research and with whichever stove you decide to purchase. There are a lot of good ones out there.