Woodstock Progress Hybrid with short legs install (pics)

[Nater]

Looks really good - do you need a hearth pad in front?

No, with the ashlip only 8" of clearance is needed and since the hearth is raised, I did not need one. It does however need slightly more ember protection around the door. I have something there temporary, but it is not in the pictures.

So, it's still 8" clearance with the short legs? Seems like it would be at least the 8" + 5" (lost leg height), but then again, maybe this is why I'm not an engineer and can't even play one on TV :lol:

They measure from the base of the stove. They went over my whole setup and made sure I would be all set before I picked up my stove. I had originally planned on building a hearth extension, but was told I didn't need it.

 

[binko]

I still have the original air control valve in mine. I do have an unusual flue set up from the stove where I have a 4 foot lateral run that has only a 6" rise before going into my chimney. Therefore I have an Exhausto fan on top of the chimney.
Although unusual, I can create any draft that the Woodstock folks recommend (from .04"WC to .08"WC) by just turning the fan control knob. Having said all of that, I am now rid of all issues with my stove. The smoke smell is completely gone since I changed the gasket in the door to a softer and thicker gasket that is far more complaint. I now run my Exhausto fan at the lowest setting that creates .04"WC draft and I have a flue damper in line as well. We load the fire up for the night (even filling to the max on cold nights) and once established turn everything down to 0 (draft control and flue damper). This keeps the secondaries in total control and allows the stove to run in primarily cat mode. We have more than enough embers to re-light the following afternoon at 4 or 5 PM. This is perfect since there is no one home during the day and I don't have to bother with a morning reload (except on weekends when we are around the house all day).
All of my issues went away with the proper sealing of the door. Although the Woodstock folks use that heavy hard material for the door gasket (who am I to argue-they are the experts) for our situation the softer gasket is what did the trick.The key for us was to put a thinner gasket in the door first (using the minimal cement to hold it in place, then the softer thicker gasket on top of that so that it sticks out slightly beyond the channel. Now when you close the door, the gasket pushes up against the mating surface completely and you have a good seal all the way around. I can see a channel in the gasket now from where it meets the mating surface so I know that it is butting up against it all the way around. With the original gasket I did not see that and was actually starting to see smoke stains that were seeping thru with time.

 

[Nater]

I still have the original air control valve in mine. I do have an unusual flue set up from the stove where I have a 4 foot lateral run that has only a 6" rise before going into my chimney. Therefore I have an Exhausto fan on top of the chimney.
Although unusual, I can create any draft that the Woodstock folks recommend (from .04"WC to .08"WC) by just turning the fan control knob. Having said all of that, I am now rid of all issues with my stove. The smoke smell is completely gone since I changed the gasket in the door to a softer and thicker gasket that is far more complaint. I now run my Exhausto fan at the lowest setting that creates .04"WC draft and I have a flue damper in line as well. We load the fire up for the night (even filling to the max on cold nights) and once established turn everything down to 0 (draft control and flue damper). This keeps the secondaries in total control and allows the stove to run in primarily cat mode. We have more than enough embers to re-light the following afternoon at 4 or 5 PM. This is perfect since there is no one home during the day and I don't have to bother with a morning reload (except on weekends when we are around the house all day).
All of my issues went away with the proper sealing of the door. Although the Woodstock folks use that heavy hard material for the door gasket (who am I to argue-they are the experts) for our situation the softer gasket is what did the trick.The key for us was to put a thinner gasket in the door first (using the minimal cement to hold it in place, then the softer thicker gasket on top of that so that it sticks out slightly beyond the channel. Now when you close the door, the gasket pushes up against the mating surface completely and you have a good seal all the way around. I can see a channel in the gasket now from where it meets the mating surface so I know that it is butting up against it all the way around. With the original gasket I did not see that and was actually starting to see smoke stains that were seeping thru with time.

Thanks binko! Good info there. I am pretty sure mine came with the new gasket too. You have to push hard on the door before it will even begin to latch. I haven't noticed any smoke smell either.

So you are getting around 16+ hour burn time? That's amazing. What is your stove top temp in the morning and in the afternoon before reload?

 

[binko]

Stove top temp in the morning 275 and in the afternoon 150. The afternoon stove temp is not that high and the house is cooling down somewhat (into the lower 60s on a 30 deg day) but what is convenient is that I just put more wood in and not have to bother with starting a new fire from scratch.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Nice install & looking stove ... I am just updating my hearth in preparation for a Woodstock stove, right now I am
leaning towards the fireview, what are the big advantages to the Progress ?

Thanks,
DPBurn

Welcome to the forum DPBurn.

We are into our 5th year with the Fireview and absolutely love it. We've owned several stoves and this one is the best we've ever had. We were a bit reluctant at first as I just was not totally convinced the stove would heat our old drafty home. At the time we were heating with an Ashley which was a much larger stove. We used to close off a couple rooms and still had problems keeping warm when the temperature was down below 10 degrees.

After installing the Fireview we were pleasantly amazed to find that not only were we staying warmer all the time but we were suddenly using only half the wood we had been using and we also quit closing off rooms. Now we heat the whole house. In addition, we used to clean our chimney 2-4 times per year and since installing the Fireview we've cleaned it one time to get about a cup of soot from it. We do get some fly ash that we clean when cleaning the cat. For cleaning the cat, that takes 2-4 minutes maximum and we've found it works well for us to clean it one time mid-winter and then again during the annual summer cleaning. There is usually very, very little fly ash on the cat and we just brush it with an old paint brush.

So now comes the Progress. We saw the stove while in Research and Development and it really looked interesting. Then last October we were at the Open House and got to see the final product. We spent 2 days talking about the stove and just before leaving I just could not leave without putting a deposit on that thing. Still, we were no and still are not totally sure we can use the stove. We made some big changes in the house over the summer with an addition plus more insulation, new doors and new windows. Now the type of winter we are having really leaves us confused. So do we just continue with the Fireview or still install the Progress. They are both great stoves.

To answer your question, the biggest difference is that you will get a lot more heat from the Progress than with the Fireview and you will get longer burn time. We're finding that even with the Progress running between 400 and 500 that it gives more heat than the Fireview will at 600. Of course you can put much more wood into the Progress and it will take a longer log than the Fireview. As for emissions, the Progress is fantastic but so is the Fireview. As for the beauty, we still prefer the Fireview as we just love the way it looks. That does not mean we don't like the Progress as it too is beautiful but I think the Fireview is still the best but each to his own tastes. Also with the Progress, you get the two technologies; secondaries and catalyst which make for a super clean burn.

Just beware that no matter which, to get the best results you need good dry wood. We usually let our wood dry a very minimum of 2-3 years and most times even longer. At the Open House we took some of our wood that had been cut, split and stacked outdoors in December of 2002. It was white ash and cherry. It burned excellently too in both stoves. At home we are presently burning wood that was cut during the winter of 2008-2009. It was split and stacked in April of 2009. It was top covered in November or December of 2009 and Mother Nature did the rest.

Good luck to you no matter which you choose. The size of your home should determine which will be the best for you.

 

[jackofalltrades]

Good looking stove Nater! I have a question about the height with the short legs on the stove. How high is the center of the flue outlet in that configuration. The last I had looked they were only working on that solid base for a low install, but that looks good to me.

 

[Nater]

Good looking stove Nater! I have a question about the height with the short legs on the stove. How high is the center of the flue outlet in that configuration. The last I had looked they were only working on that solid base for a low install, but that looks good to me.

It is about the same height as the plinth base, about 28.5" tall and the center flue height is about 22.5". I ordered a plinth base, but due to delays they offered me short legs after looking over my hearth to make sure it would meet clearances, etc.

 

[WarmInIowa]

Woodstock is offering custom length legs to suit the application after reveiwing the hearth, if it is acceptable. In my case, I have a 6" exit pipe centerline of 23.0" (from my Woodstock Fireview) which they are matching.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Right: the plinth base gives the identical flue height as the Fireview. Or the shorter legs will also give the same.

 

[smitty79]

I just had the Progress Hybrid with the short legs installed yesterday. So far, so good, i'm just getting used to the stove. I have never owned one before. The Hearth that the stove sits on is made of irregular stone, and the whole hearth is slanted slightly from back to front. As a result, my stove is only sitting on 2 legs and barely resting on a third. One of them isn't touching at all. I emailed Woodstock yesterday asking if they could cut me 2-3 legs at custom sizes. They are going to send me some shims to try first... I don't think I am going to like the look of 3/4" of shims under the front two legs, but I guess I'll give it a shot

 

[begreen]

That's cool looking. Almost hobbit-like. I would shim the legs with small squares or disk of steel. Large flat washers would work.

 

[Nater]

Congrats! Nice looking install! My front legs don't sit flush and I've thought about putting some shims in there, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Are you saying this is your first stove ever?

 

[smitty79]

Yep, first stove ever.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

smitty79, that is a beautiful install. First stove, I predict you'll love it.

 

[HollowHill]

Very nice, smitty79, very nice indeed. That is a perfect setting for the Progress short leg.

 

[Dirtsurgeon]

Wow, two great looking installs.
I love the rustic look of both.

The Progress is a pretty cool looking stove but
I'm so happy with my new Fireview that I'm
still in the honeymoon stage.

Dirt