My review of the Woodstock Progress

[fire_man]

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.

 

[pen]

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

 

[fire_man]

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

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.

 

[Todd]

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.

 

[fire_man]

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.

 

[Waulie]

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!

 

[Flatbedford]

I've got to get me one of those!

 

[fire_man]

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.

 

[ddddddden]

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.

 

[Waulie]

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!

 

[Flatbedford]

. 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.

 

[Todd]

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?

 

[Waulie]

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.

 

[fire_man]

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!

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.

 

[Waulie]

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.

 

[VCBurner]

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!

 

[ciccio]

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.

 

[Waulie]

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.

 

[Waulie]

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.

 

[yukiginger]

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

 

[pen]

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

 

[yukiginger]

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

 

[Nater]

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: (broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf)

 

[Todd]

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.

 

[pen]

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: (broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/Compliance/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf)

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