Not Just Another Day...

End of a long day

As our team winds down their delivery and installation of the new stoves on the Navajo American Indian Reservation, we thought we’d take a moment to share a little of their adventures.

Mud Season comes early in the Southwestern part of the United States.  This was only one of the challenges for our crew.  Needing to be up on the road before the sun melted the frozen mud ruts, then park the rental truck on higher ground to be able to drive out when the job was finished.  Some locations required a hike out at the end of a long day.

Hiking back to the truck

Another challenge was figuring how to install Class A pipe in a Navajo American Indian Hogan.  Maintaining proper clearance, with safety first practices – the most difficult aspect of this was installing the pipe and the flashing.  Our crew was up to the task and came through with flying colors.

Finding stoves that did not have proper clearance was another problem to repair, whew, this one was close!  

Each day brought new adventures!  New challenges presented themselves, but the crew persevered. Installations were completed, chimney pipe was connected, and inspections were passed. 

Connecting the roof flashing

Roof flashing, support boxes, storm collars - oh my!

Attaching the support box

The general consensus is; it was a successful journey.  We now wait for feedback from those that are using the stoves to determine what works well, and what needs improvement.   We will most likely make a return trip in about a month to check-in with our testers, and we will install a few more stoves at that time.

Cleaning the mud off!

We look forward to our crew returning to our factory!

Resting at the end of the day

The Navajo Stove: The Rumors are True...

Navajo Beta Stove - Gasket is Added

Here at the Woodstock Soapstone Company, we have been very busy.  For the past 3-4 months, we have been fervently working on a stove designed for use by Navajo American Indians who live on the Navajo Nation Reservation at the “4 Corners”  (where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet).  The first beta stoves were shipped by truck transportation to the Navajo Nation earlier this week, and three of our crew are flying out on Sunday to install the stoves, train operators, and learn more about how the stoves will be used.

The Wood/Coal Challenge:
On the Navajo Reservation, the residents burn wood and coal in their stoves – and not just any coal, but sub-bituminous coal.  The coal is mined on the Navajo American Indian Reservation, and is used for the Navajo Generating Station near Page, Arizona, but is also used for residential heating on the reservation to achieve extended burn times at night.  It is a low-density coal with high water content – and a very high-energy content.

The dual fuel design requires two different airflows – one for wood, and one for coal.  Our design turned out to be a small hybrid wood stove for clean wood burning, and a coal draft system powered by under-fire primary air and lots of secondary combustion.  Needless to say, we are really looking forward to beginning the field-testing of our design.  Beta testing will begin next week in Navajo American Indian homes in Arizona and New Mexico.

Doors are painted, handles are added

Race to Zero Emissions:

This project fits perfectly with our mission to design cleaner and cleaner stoves.  We have always focused on wood, but when the EPA asked us if we could try to design a  dual fuel stove specifically to meet the needs of the Navajo American Indians, it fit right in with our interests, so we jumped at the opportunity.  We expect to learn quite a bit in the  next six weeks of beta testing!

Keep your eyes on our blog, we will be posting more after we are "on the ground" in the Southwest.

Smiling Faces Abound at Our Open House!

Although the weather was dreary on October 22nd, our Open House was anything but!  We saw smiling faces around every corner. 

The beer was flowing, the burgers were grilling and the stoves were getting a lot of love and appreciation.   

We would like to thank everyone who made the trek to our Factory to visit and enjoy the day with us. 

The bookends, moose racks, lazy susans and tables were a big success.  

We had our “professional” painters hard at work, customizing colors to order.  

We are going to be adding these items to our inventory.  If anyone would like additional items, just give us a call, we will be happy to take your order.

Stoves were moving out and stoves are moving up – just take a look at our newest stove, the Absolute High Style.  We heard a loud murmur of appreciation for the high style loading door – no bending necessary.

We can't wait for winter!

It's All About the Leaves...

Crisp apples, cool evenings and leaves of gold and red, that’s what Autumn in New England is all about.  Millions of leaves turning red, orange, gold and yellow showing off their colors across the green and white mountains.  This is the quintessential picture that comes to us during this time of year.

Here at the Woodstock Soapstone Company, we want to hold onto our thoughts of this most wonderful time of the year, and we can do this by putting maple, oak and birch leaves on our Ideal Steel Hybrid woodstove, you can too – just purchase this month’s Ideal Steel Steal of the Month!

You can customize your Ideal Steel Hybrid woodstove by choosing the body color (black, charcoal or metallic brown), and adding the accent colors of your choice.  Our accent colors include; moss green, metallic blue, surf sand, copper, metallic gray and of course metallic brown, charcoal or black.  Mix and match – make your stove unique. 

This month’s Ideal Steel Steal of the Month makes it easy to keep the beautiful Autumn Season in your home all year long.  By providing you with maple and oak leaves on your stove, together with the birch leaves on the tool set, you get the full gambit of Autumn.  Grab yourself a hot cider, sit back and enjoy the red, orange and golden colors of the flames.  You may just think you’re in New England!

There’s going to be an Open House & Wood Stove Sale!

When Fall comes to New England, it is a time of harvest, homecomings, and open house gatherings.  Here at the Woodstock Soapstone Company, we are indeed having an Open House on October 22, 2016, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – mark your calendars! 

If you are able to come by, we would love to see you.  We will have a Barbeque, which will start at noon and will end when the food is gone. We are also going to have our newest stove, the Tall Absolute Steel available for viewing and purchase. 

Factory specials, pick-up discounts, and free gifts will make our Open House an event you won't want to miss - October 22, 2016  –  9:00 to 5:00.  We look forward to seeing you!