Ok- so both the Ideal Steel and the BK Princess have catalytic combusters (more maintenance for the cat but lower emissions) but the Ideal Steel has a secondary combustion capability as well- right? Also, the Ideal Steel has the soapstone liner...
The Ideal Steel in black
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Ok- so both the Ideal Steel and the BK Princess have catalytic combusters (more maintenance for the cat but lower emissions) but the Ideal Steel has a secondary combustion capability as well- right? Also, the Ideal Steel has the soapstone liner...
Ok, sorry for picking the thread apart with my newbie questions, but what is the difference between the Ideal Steel and the Progress hybrid, beyond the steel outer envelope for the Ideal Steel, and the price point? I ask this sincerely, because we were thinking strongly about a Progress Hybrid- but if there is new, better technology and a lower price point with the Ideal Steel, it may be best for us to wait for it. We aren't installing the wood stove this season. We are serious enough that we will probably buy wood to sit for another year or so, but no wood stove this year. Is it worth waiting out the beta testing on the Ideal Steel?
Visit the blogs for the Ideal stove. There are significant design challenges that they had to overcome in order to reach the low price point target. As a tricked out full soapstone stove the Progress Hybrid is almost the opposite. It is a high-end design with a different cat setup, full soapstone body, ash pan option, cooktop etc.
Aha. Will do. I do remember that the Ideal Steel has a cook top with different burner designs, etc. If I'm going to have a wood stove, I'm going to have a cook top. The point is to save on propane in our particular application. We have a gas range at that location, fueled by propane. If I've got the wood stove cranked up, I'm going to cook on it. The ash pan is a must have accessory. I am not familiar with catalytic combusters in wood stoves. My limited, dated experience is way older than that technology, even. During the time in which my friends and family were burning wood to reduce utility bills, a room blower was considered high end.
So yeah, I've got a learning curve ahead of me on catalytic combustion, much less catalytic combustion plus secondary combustion. We may end up buying a Progress Hybrid because the technology is well-tested and established, just to avoid mixing our learning curve up with the shake down cruise of a new technology.
The tech on the cat/secondary hybrids has only been on the market for about a year. the PH came out about this time last year. The Cape Cod after that. We have no long term reports yet and won't for a few more years to come.
Oldhippie
Minister of Fire
- Dec 18, 2011
- 570
Aha. Will do. I do remember that the Ideal Steel has a cook top with different burner designs, etc. If I'm going to have a wood stove, I'm going to have a cook top. The point is to save on propane in our particular application. We have a gas range at that location, fueled by propane. If I've got the wood stove cranked up, I'm going to cook on it. The ash pan is a must have accessory. I am not familiar with catalytic combusters in wood stoves. My limited, dated experience is way older than that technology, even. During the time in which my friends and family were burning wood to reduce utility bills, a room blower was considered high end.
Just to get you going in the right direction with your choices, i would strongly suggest following the Woodstock Blog about this stove at this link.
http://blog.woodstove.com/
The $1500 price keeps being brought up but anything coming out of Woodstock reads like the underlined below. I have no idea where $1500 comes from, but I believe there is no final pricing. They do run special deals at certain seasons or when new products get announced, so take any prices you hear with a grain of salt unless they are recent and come from Woodstock. Here's something I just copied off their Blog. 11/11/2013 The primary design focus has been affordability, and our goal is to offer the Ideal Steel Hybrid stove at a retail cost of $2000.00 or less.
The Ideal Steel pics I have seen have an ash pan, it may not be as nice as the one on the PH. Remember, the design is still evolving and what comes standard, versus optional etc, may change.
All else being said, it's pretty clear that the technology implemented inside the Ideal Steel is a spin off of all lessons learned from the PH, so In a general sense it's pretty safe to say the Ideal Steel will be similar to the PH in many ways. Weather that equals the performance of the PH remains to be seen, but field units are now out in people's homes and reports are starting to come in. The one thing to know about Woodstock is that they are very good at back engineering any product updates into already sold and operating stoves.
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They were talking a target goal of ~$1500 at the decathlon. I made them repeat that to be sure I heard it correctly. Whether that ends up being overenthusiasm or fact we'll have to wait and see.
DevilsBrew
Minister of Fire
- Apr 21, 2013
- 687
Oldhippie
Minister of Fire
- Dec 18, 2011
- 570
Very interesting. If it comes out at $1500 that will attract a lot of buyers and I would really love to see that. On the Woodstock site, they just keep quoting what I posted above. But I'm really glad to hear it came from the Decathlon folks, makes it more credible to me, ...and I'm not surprised you asked them to repeat that!
If it happens I'll believe it, till then I'll be a skeptic.
For what little I know, under $2000 is a great price for a Woodstock, along with their customer service. I fell in love with the Woodstocks the first time I fell backwards into their web site. I love the soapstone look, but I like the Ideal Steel just fine as well. I don't need the side bling but I do love the cook top.
I appreciate the feedback from everyone even though I hijacked the thread into my personal shopping service.
I think I said this before, but the simple, clean lines of the Ideal Steel (without the side bling) appeal to me. Throw some nice burner trivets on the top and I'll be happy. I was really happy to learn, at the Decathlon, that it has a soapstone liner. I like the idea of the soapstone mass.
I'm going to go read the blog.
Thank you again, everybody!
Haven't seen it posted here, just the one that I believe you're already following by Brian.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
Oh, ok. I thought you were talking about another one on Hearth.com. Surely there must be some other beta testers around. I wish they would start posting some of their test results.
My Progress Hybrid was installed December 2011 - TWO years ago. Stove has been up and running for two years. It certainly appears that Woodstock has this stove running the way they intended at this time. A beautiful stove, a very good heating appliance, easy to operate but very responsive to owner manipulation.
RockyMtnHigh
Feeling the Heat
I think it's a good looking stove, although I kind of dig the "workhorse" look. In the shop I always kind of define the steel stoves as a workhorse look and the cast iron models as functional furniture.
I'd definitely buy one at that price though, $1500 would be a kickin deal for that stove especially if that was MSRP.
I'd definitely buy one at that price though, $1500 would be a kickin deal for that stove especially if that was MSRP.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
I have to admit that when I first saw the new stove I was less then thrilled with the way it looked. Not the stove so much, but all the silly add ons. However, as time passes, the stove's looks are starting to grow on me; especially the all black clean version. And if it performs somewhat like the Progress Hybrid, and sells in the $1500 - $2000 range, I think it will be a smashing success !!
RockyMtnHigh
Feeling the Heat
The key to this stove will be low end operations with marginal draft( shoulder season/less than ideal chimney setup). Being all steel I would think some sort of blower setup may be in order.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
I might be wrong about this, but I think the goal of Woodstock with this new stove is to achieve Progress Hybrid like burning results ( maybe slightly longer burn times), but at a more affordable price point. And also offer a degree of customization to the purchaser. I do not think they are looking for 40 hour burn times. This stove is not intended to be a smudge pot that sits and smolders all day. It is intended to be a strong heater with a nice fire show with moderate to long burn times that will easily get you through the night with plenty of heat even on the coldest days of winter, and still have a big bed of hot coals for the next fire. Some folks, especially those with no backup heat source, put a huge amount of importance on super long burn times. But for me and the vast majority of stove owners, getting through the night with plenty of heat and a good coal bed in the morning is what counts. 12 hour burns times are great because they usually fit nicely into most people's working schedule. I know I like to check my stove before I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning. And even if it doesn't need any wood, I'm still going to check it for peace of mind. After all, this is a fire you have burning inside your home.
The following was just my opinion and I hope no one takes offense.
So far I was told there are no plans for a blower. My guess is because that would have a dramatic effect on price. But who knows, may be later it will show up as an accessory?
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
I hope you are right. I know blower fans serve a purpose, but I hate the noise and the look of the power cord coming out of the stove.
Not all blowers are noisy and not all stoves are in a location where noise matters. I think this may be an oversight on their part coming from soapstone stoves. A blower should be optional IMO. All homes are not created equally. Some stove locations benefit from a boost in convection.
I think the intended purpose is about more than function. At least I hope so because if the focus is on performance then they failed with only a 10-12 hour burntime as BG quoted. Perhaps it would be wise to shift the emphasis to a low cost, basic, stove that performs almost as well as the other woodstock stoves?
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