Race to Zero: EPA Testing Underway

Exciting News!  Our Commander-in-Chief, Tom Morrissey, has been in Quebec, Canada, testing our newest steel hybrid for EPA certification and UL listing.

The first of the EPA testing, the high burn test, went very well (data coming soon).  Another EPA test is on the calendar for tomorrow, and we expect the EPA testing phase to be finished early next week.  Then we move on to UL and clearance testing. 

We have been working with the EPA to be the first company to test with cordwood.  Unfortunately, the EPA has not yet approved a cordwood test protocol.   Meanwhile, we are testing with the standard Douglas fir “cribs” which consist of Douglas fir 2x4s and 4x4s, with spacers stapled to them in a precise method described by the EPA (photo below).

Douglas Fir "cribs" with spacers

We are looking forward to continued successful testing, and getting our newest steel hybrid in production soon.  Stay tuned!

New Design Preview: Modified Designs

We are still working on our designs and changes to our beta designs. Thanks to everyone who responded to our Design Preview and Survey!

We had almost 600 surveys and over 1700 comments so far on our beta designs. The Tall Shaker design has elicited the most number of comments and questions. Based on those comments, we have new previews of a few potential design changes. The stoves have been digitally placed in a home setting to help give a better visual perspective.

New Hybrid Dimensions and Specifications

These are projected dimensions and specifications for our new steel hybrid.  They won’t change much, but as noted below don’t build a hearth or install a chimney thimble based on these specifications.  EPA testing is scheduled to begin in 3 weeks, with UL testing (clearances) following immediately thereafter.

"V-Dubbing" Proposed Test Protocols

The video below shows the “endpoint” of a high burn, according to a new draft protocol industry has suggested for cordwood testing.  This “endpoint” would also be the “start-point” for medium and low burn cordwood tests.

Cordwood High Burn Test Data

Below is data from 2 Cordwood High Burns (which followed the Cordwood Cold Starts on 11/24 and 11/27 – see previous posts).  These are R & D Tests.

Each load was about 25 lbs. (in a 2.5 cu. ft. firebox).  The fuel was all Hard Maple with average moisture content of 22%.

Answers to questions about cold starts

Here are answers to a few of the questions asked about our cold start post:

1. Are you using special kindling or fire-starter?

No, we generally use the same hemlock 1x4s that we use to crate stoves.  We get the same results if we split test wood (+ 22% moisture maple) into kindling and shavings, but the 1x4s are easier and faster.  The keys are surface area, and some elevation (i.e closer to the fireback is better).

Cordwood Cold Start Test Data

We have shared “beta” aesthetic designs for our new hybrid, and we also plan to share “beta” test results for those who are interested.  This is the first of what will be several posts about beta emissions/efficiency testing for our new (and still nameless) Model 211 Hybrid, which is scheduled for EPA emissions testing in January, 2016.

New Stove Design Preview

Form & Function! As a wood stove manufacturer it has always been important for us to produce stoves that will perform year after year to keep you warm, as well as compliment the home. The wood stove is often a central fixture and the majority of our customers want a design that will look good all year round. As part of our Beta testing process for our R2Z Stove, we are presenting a few designs with varying styles. Our goal is to offer a stove that is versatile; tall or short legs, ash pan or no ash pan, right or left loading door option, as well as top or back venting. Going one step further we would like to offer a basic version without the Franklin style wings for those who prefer a clean look, as well as several embellished options. 

Click here to look through our current designs, then we welcome you to fill out our design survey and let us know what you like and don't like about our proposed designs...and if you have other design suggestions, don't be shy, let us know!

New Stove Design Preview

2015 Owners Open House

Thank you to all of our stove owners, over 500 of you, who attended our 11/7/15 Owners Open House. We served over 450 lunches, had John & Ida Mae Specker performing live music, and had an all around wonderful time connecting with stove owners. We certainly hope everyone that joined us had a great time! Below is a sampling of images from the Open House.

Inside the Race to Zero Stove- Part 1

Our Goal:  Flatline Emissions

The race to zero has begun.  Wood stove emissions are measured in grams per hour of particulates at different burn rates (low, medium, and high).  As a general rule, all stoves have higher emissions at higher burn rates.  The more BTUs per hour a stove produces, the more emissions per hour it produces.  We hope to overcome this “rule”.

Open House for Owners!

Dear Woodstock Owner,

We hope you will join us on November 7, 2015 to help us celebrate 37 years in business, to enjoy a pig roast and some local craft beer, and to take a look at our newest hybrid woodstove, which is our latest and, we hope, most successful attempt to produce an affordable Zero-Emissions Woodstove.  Please save the date!  More details will be posed shortly on our website.  We hope you will join us!

Please click here to RSVP so we know you're coming!

Warm regards,

Tom Morrissey
for Woodstock Soapstone

Click here to read more articles

Zero Woodstove Emissions... Is It Possible?

Hybrid: Version 3

We are finally building beta stoves for our next (as yet un-named) steel hybrid. This will be our third hybrid:  first the Progress, then the Ideal Steel, and now a high performance woodstove with record-low emissions.  The combustion system in this version has some significant innovations to lower emissions.

Ivan welds the top on a new beta

Hittin’ the note!

We’ve been spending a lot of time the last few weeks testing our Franklin inspired steel hybrid in the lab. We hope to begin beta-testing this next new model in the early fall.  So far the results are good.

First Cuts: Our Next Steel Hybrid

Firebox with Franklin front wings and ash lip.
Available as box stove or Franklin. Left or right door.

When designing a new stove, we typically start out with just a box (i.e. the “firebox”), and see if we are in the ballpark with emissions and efficiency.  This time we decided to cut the skirt, wings, and some legs so that we can experiment with a steel Franklin style stove from the beginning.  The guys in the shop like it, even though it is really only the “first cuts”.

Glass retainer goes over the front.
We can modify the wings, glass retainer and
surface detail to create period detail
-Modern, Arts & Crafts, Federal, etc.

Right now, this steel hybrid stove has a 2.6 cu ft. firebox (at least in current drawings), and would be available either as a plain box or as a Franklin.
Left or right door.

Don’t read too much into the appearance - it’s early.  Names anyone?  FranklinSteel Hybrid? Louise W. (aka Rideau) - can you help us?

Playing with legs.  Cut and folded steel.
There’s a lot we can do with cutting and folding.

v1 of the Franklin Steel Hybrid running in our test lab.

The NEXT Gearhead Hybrid Stove

Basic version

The next Gearhead Hybrid Stove is under construction right now (prototype only).  We are building a slightly smaller firebox (about 2.6 cubic feet), and version 3.0 of our hybrid combustion design. The Ideal Steel Hybrid (going into production soon) had the lowest high burn emissions on record, and with new regulations coming, there’s an incentive to flatten the emissions curve even more.  One of the most important things for us is the combustion design, but we'll do a lot of testing over the summer before “going public” with the internal workings of this stove.

This stove will definitely be sideloading (left or right), and have a top and rear vent. We plan to make an inexpensive basic version - a utilitarian workhorse that is easy to use but has some nice details (see Basic Version, at right).  Then we think we will make a steel Franklin stove.  Some of our favorite antique soapstone stoves have Franklin stove designs, and we manufacture three gas stoves with Franklin designs, including our unique 17 inch tall Mini Franklin gas stove.

Franklin Stove Design lends itself perfectly to steel fabrication.  We plan to alter the shape of the wings, ash lip, and door as well as the stove ornamentation, to reflect different periods:  Arts and Crafts, Gothic, Transitional, or Modern for example.  The sketches at the right and below are not final by any means, they are just offered to show the general direction we are heading in.

1800's Franklin Soapstone

We plan to beta-test this stove extensively next winter, and have it available in June/July of 2015.