Customer Images Keep Rolling In!

With the recent cold snap, we are getting more and more images of our beautiful, high efficiency stoves from customers in different parts of the country. Below are a few of our newest images, and we're sure more will be coming!

Customer Installations!

Customers have been submitting some wonderful installation images of and comments about their Woodstock Soapstone stoves recently, and we wanted to share a few of them here on our blog. 

This group is a nice representation showing one of our newer wood stoves, the Progress Hybrid, our largest gas stove, the Fireside Franklin, as well as one of our original models, the Fireview/Model 201 (built before 1996). Enjoy!

What a Hybrid Wood Fire Looks Like!

Woodstock introduced the first hybrid wood stove
in the USA in 2011

The pictures of a Progress Hybrid below just came in last week from a new customer in Pennsylvania.  The pictures show one thing that many of our customers like about our hybrid stoves - there’s a lot of flame activity, especially at the top of the firebox where secondary combustion occurs.  The flame activity can be quite mesmerizing, and can also be adjusted by changing the amount of air feeding the fire.

Hybrid Secondary Combustion Flames:  they occur at the top of the firebox, where we introduce combustion air to ignite exhaust gasses.

Ouch!

It was an "ouch" moment for us, but it has been turned into an "ahh" moment for you.   We had an unfortunate morning last Friday, when our website went down.  We apologize for this mishap, and hope you did not encounter the same frustration we experienced.  This issue has been addressed and resolved, so should not happen again.

We have extended our "Plain and Simple Sale" for one week as our way of apologizing for any inconvenience you may have had while trying to access our website.

The good news is; our sale is extended for one more week.  The bad news is; this too shall end.  Please check out the fantastic savings we are offering on our newest steel hybrid wood stove, it may be just

Absolute Steel Simple Prairie
Charcoal with Blue - Right Side Door

what you and your home will need this winter.  We are also offering discounts on our other hybrid wood stoves, the Progress and the Ideal Steel, along with savings on our three older models, the Fireview, Keystone, and Palladian.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Q&A about Hybrid Stoves

As a factory direct company, we get calls everyday with customers asking questions about our hybrid technology. If you are curious about hybrid technology but have not called, please read our Q&A addressing some of the most commonly asked questions, and be sure to comment below if you have a question that we have not addressed here.

Q . What is the biggest difference between the new hybrid stoves and the more traditional wood stoves made at the Woodstock Soapstone Company (the Fireview, Keystone and Palladian)?

Durafoil Steel Catalyst

A. The biggest difference is that hybrid technology allows us to achieve ultra-low emissions.  We developed hybrid stoves as part of a quest to achieve lower wood stove emissions. The traditional stoves (Fireview, Keystone and Palladian), are similar to a reliable, fuel-efficient, family sedan (think Honda Civic). The smaller fireboxes and stainless steel Durafoil catalysts allow our catalytic soapstone stoves to burn cleanly and have great low emissions performance.  The hybrids have bigger fireboxes and spectacular emissions performance at all outputs.

Nine years ago (in 2007) we started to research ways to make our stoves burn cleaner.  We knew that new EPA regulations were coming.  Our 2007 wood stoves (Fireview, Keystone, and Palladian) already met what are now the 2020 emissions standards, but we made them even better.  We improved the longevity and performance of the catalysts in these stoves by making them out of Durafoil.

But until we introduced the Progress Hybrid Stove in 2011, all wood stoves used either a catalytic combustor or a secondary combustion system to meet EPA emission standards.  By combining the two (catalytic combustor and secondary system) we were able to achieve efficient, low-emission burns throughout the entire burn range (low-medium-high) that were dramatic, consistent and predictable.

Q . What is the difference between catalytic combustion and secondary combustion? Is one better than the other, or better together?

A.The difference really comes down to the temperature needed for each system (catalytic system and secondary air system) to begin to clean up emissions.  A stainless steel catalytic combustor heats up very quickly and depending on conditions (wood, draft, operator) it can be engaged within minutes of loading the stove, or as soon as the internal temperature is around 400°. Catalytic stoves burn best at low to moderate burn rates, which tends to be the most common way to operate a wood stove for overnight and daytime burns while at work. Catalytic only stoves test with lower emissions and greater efficiency than their secondary air system counterparts, and do require periodic cleaning of the catalyst to work most effectively.

The secondary air system requires higher temperatures (between 1000-1100° internally) to start burning the combustible gases in the wood smoke. Most secondary air only stoves burn best at moderate to moderately high burn rates, when the internal temperature is at its peak. Due to the high temperature requirement, secondary air only stoves have a higher tested emissions level and a lower efficiency than catalytic style stoves.

If you combine these two separate means of lowering emissions and increasing efficiency, you have what we would consider the “Gold Standard”, a hybrid stove that will burn cleanly throughout all the variations in burn rates and customer operation.  Hybrid technology is uniquely effective at high burn rates where either system may struggle alone.  The hybrid design is also very effective with large firebox stoves, which can produce a large volume of combustible gas and particulates.

Cutaway view of the Progress Hybrid

Q . Are there differences, other than emissions, between the hybrid woodstoves and your traditional woodstoves?

One example of custom art for the Ideal Steel Hybrid

A.  Yes.  As part of the hybrid development process, we have developed ways to make our new hybrid stoves more efficient, more affordable, and customizable.  These are all “extra” benefits from doing extended R&D over the last nine years.

Focusing on combustion design to reduce emissions also helped us to make our stoves more efficient.  We discovered that we could make high performance stoves that were completely affordable if they were fabricated from steel rather than cast iron.  Then we realized that we could customize stoves made of steel, which would have been prohibitively expensive with cast iron. Plus, making stoves out of steel has the added benefit of being fully fabricated in our NH factory, which ties back into greater affordability and the ability to customize.

Q . Why are you promoting only the Hybrids during this sale?

A. Partly it’s to focus attention on the Absolute Steel Hybrid, which we are introducing during this promotion.  We’ve made a big commitment of time, energy, and resources to cleaning up wood burning technology, so of course we want to talk about it and of course, we want to keep improving our combustion designs.

Baby It’s Cold Outside! Optimize Your Wood Stove Experience

The temperatures have dropped and it is freezing outside!  At least it is where we are.  This is when it is especially important to optimize your wood stove, to get maximum heat and enjoyment for minimal wood usage.

To really get the utmost benefits from your Woodstock Soapstone Stove, it is important to make sure the following maintenance and precautions have been done: 

• The pipe needs to be clean.
• Chimney cap (if you have one) needs to be free from obstruction.
• Combustor needs to be clean.  Vacuum all sides.  If you have a stainless steel combustor, you can spray the combustor with a solution of 50% distilled water and 50% white vinegar.  Let it drain, then rinse well with clear distilled water and let dry completely before putting the combustor back into your stove.  Using the vinegar solution may help to clean baked on fly ash.  You can learn more about cleaning your Progress Hybrid combustor here, the Fireview combustor cleaning information is here, and the instructions for cleaning your combustor if you have a Keystone or Palladian stove is here.
• The ash pan should be clean, and the bottom of the stove should not have too much ash.  
• Wood should be dry.  For the best heat output from your stove, wood should be well seasoned. Most wood will take one to two years split and stacked, and covered on the top (tarp or other protection) to dry properly.  If your wood is not dry, you will find much of the heat your stove is generating will be absorbed by burning off the moisture in your wood.  If your wood is not as dry as you would like, mix it with kiln dried, or with compressed wood chip logs (available at most hardware stores, lumber yards or home/garden centers in the heating season), or you may need to leave your air setting open a bit more for more heat in the firebox.   
• Check your gaskets (when the stove is not hot).  If you think your stove is getting too hot, check your gaskets for leaks.  This is a primary cause for your stove to overfire.  The paper test is an easy test to check the door gaskets.  Simply take a strip of regular paper, put it into the side of the door.  Close the door.  If you can easily slide the paper out, you need new door gaskets, or perhaps you need to adjust the door latch.

Progress Hybrid

Now that your stove is in prime condition, and your wood is in good condition, it is time to sit back and enjoy the dancing flame show that only a Woodstock Soapstone Stove can give.

Pour your favorite beverage, or perhaps put a pot of cider on the top of your stove (a little cinnamon never hurts) and you can enjoy a tasty beverage and wonderful smells while you watch your light show.

Absolute Steal of a Deal

We are celebrating the introduction of our new Absolute Steel Hybrid’s arrival onto our website by offering a huge discount to our customers. Check out our website for all of the wonderful details regarding the new Absolute Steel Hybrid stove and the big introductory sale now in progress. When you place your order for an Absolute Steel Hybrid stove, you could save as much as $600.00!!

Burning with Patriotic Pride: "Spirit of Fire" Through July 4th

A toaster... a lamp, hairbrush, a car...when was the last time you bought something that was all-American made? It’s a fact that manufacturing in the United States has waned over the past few decades BUT there are exciting stories of companies like Woodstock Soapstone who are firing-up the old Yankee spirit and still manufacturing products state-side that are cutting edge in design...highly affordable...AND supported after the sale by real people who work right here, and have built, owned and used our stoves and are readily available by phone.

Hybrid Sale Through April 10, 2015

If you are curious about becoming a Woodstock Soapstone owner, we are happy to announce that our Hybrid woodstove are on sale thru April 10, 2015. Visit our sale page for details of this special Hybrid sale.  FREE SHIPPING, up to $250.00, is just one part that we are pleased to offer.

Progress Hybrid- EPA Certified Wood Stove List

After much delay, the Progress Hybrid has finally made it's debut on page 10 of the EPA's Certified Wood Stove List!

New Progress Hybrid Cook Top/Soapstone Lid

Click on the image below to read about our new Progress Hybrid cook top design.

NH Chronicle Video

Click on the link below to view the Woodstock Soapstone segment that aired on NH Chronicle, WMUR Channel 9:

Catalytic Combustors & Wet Wood

From time to time people inquire about how well catalytic stoves perform when fueled with wet wood.

Progress EPA numbers

Below are EPA test report numbers for the Progress Hybrid Wood Stove.

For more information about our Progress Hybrid Wood Stove, click here.

Click to Enlarge

It's Official!

The EPA certification is here

Progress Hybrid Corner Clearance

On Wednesday we completed our corner clearance testing on the Progress Hybrid. With the use of the rear heat shield, the bottom cast corners will need to maintain a 12" the combustible wall.

Progress Hybrid with Front Ash Lip

Below is a digital view of the Progress Hybrid with the front ash lip. The ash lip will be used to reduce front hearth clearances and temperatures.

Progress Hybrid Clearances

Here’s an update on Progress Hybrid clearances:

What makes the Progress a "Hybrid" stove?

This question has been the most commonly fielded questions thus far about our new stove.  Below is an explanation of just what we mean by "hybrid". 

Progress Hybrid Introductory Pricing & Availablilty

We will introduce the Progress Hybrid at our Open House on October 7 & 8, 2011 and then plan to begin shipping during the last week in October. We are offering great introductory pricing-