Woodstock Soapstone Blog

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 ..

We’ve made a number of improvements to the IDEAL STEEL Hybrid over the winter, and many were based on comments/suggestions from our beta testers.  We’ll try to cover some of the changes on this blog over the next few weeks. We eliminated hinges from the top.  The top lid stands up in a slot, and..

We’ve added a port for a catalytic temperature probe just above the center of the loading door.  The probes are simple bimetallic coils attached to a stainless rod.  We have been testing the bimetallic probe against a thermocouple:  it’s certainly “in the ballpark” and gives a good idea of catal..

We are offering pre-production prices for the IDEAL STEEL Hybrid for the next several months (see below).  We won’t actually begin shipping IDEAL STEEL Hybrids until June, for one simple reason:  it’s still cold and we haven’t quite finished with Beta testing yet. Our Beta testers have provided in..

As a result of the recently proposed EPA regulations, non-catalytic stove manufacturers (and their surrogates) have stepped up attacks on catalytic stoves in comments to the EPA, and public meetings with EPA. Why? It’s really very simple. The industry trade association has lobbi..

Our Geared 2U Design Book for the Ideal Steel Hybrid is now live on our website. We're still working on getting all of our designs into the book, but we have a good start. Click here to see our Geared 2U Design Book ..

Several people have recently asked about how BTU output is determined. BTU/hr rating is basically a speed and efficiency rating.  The (1) greater the number of POUNDS OF WOOD CONSUMED PER HOUR, and (2) the higher the OVERALL EFFICIENCY, then the HIGHER THE BTU/hr OUTPUT RATING.  For example, if we..

It's nearing the end of February and we are still working on getting few more Ideal Steel Hybrid beta stoves out in the field for the last couple months of burning. So far, the information we've received from our beta testers has prompted several changes/improvements, with a few more being worke..

We received the very sad news today that a very active customer of ours, Charlie Wolz, passed away on February 8th. We first met Charlie in person in May of 2012 when he and his wife, Maribeth, came to see our stoves. This meeting was just the beginning of our relationship with Charlie.  Charlie ..

When Doug and his wife Amanda came in to pick out the colors for their Ideal Steel beta stove, Amanda quickly took over the reins to create a color combination that would work well in their home. Speaking honestly, when Amanda told me she was interested in light colors (Almond body/Surf Sand acc..

Two weeks ago we got Nick, another beta tester, up and running with a beta version of the Ideal Steel Hybrid. Nick was the first to submit his own artwork of a maple leaf and mountains motif, which Nick generated using AutoDesk. With a little bit of translation on our side we were able to get a f..

One of the interesting aspects of our Ideal Steel Hybrid, is that the side medallion, burners, and andirons can be customized. Kurt, our beta tester in Bow NH, decided to submit a photograph for a customized art set. Below is the file Kurt originally sent,  followed by the side medallion and andi..

"I just wanted to send a quick note.  First off, thank you for including me in this beta test and thank you for the quick ship on the parts. It's all up and running!  The house is nice and toasty again.  Here are a couple of quick pics from last night. I already like it.  It puts out..

Have you cleaned your combustor lately? Or checked the protective inconel screens at the ceiling of the firebox?  This winter has been particularly eventful with drastic changes in the weather. Making sure that your combustor and its protective screen are clear of ash build up will help ensure t..

We are very excited to share this video from Brian K, one of our Ideal Steel beta testers. Brian's video is a 16 hour time lapse, with ever 4 seconds representing about an hour of burning.  Below the video you will see some of Brian's description of the burn and a link to his forum post for more..

This week we delivered a beta stove to the door of Laurie and Sam in Chester, Vermont. Sam was so excited about the stove he started posting images while our guys were still getting the stove hooked up (or shortly thereafter!). Sam and Laurie are heating a large, old Vermont farmhouse and went throu..

The Ideal Steel Hybrid achieved weighted average emissions of 0.54 gm/hr using method 5G3, and an “Adjusted Emissions” of 1.04 gm/hr.  The adjustment factor was created in 1988 to account for prospective differences in test methods, and is currently the result published by EPA.  The new EPA regulati..

Our first Moose Trophy Stove was ordered right away (we can make more!), and we have prospective orders for Stove Buddies (we are still experimenting with high-temp coatings for the buddies).We’ve had some requests for Dog Trophy Stoves, and the illustrations below are ruff rough, but will hopefully..

How long will the Ideal Steel Hybrid burn?  It's an important question that many people will ask.  We have designed the Ideal Steel Hybrid to achieve easy overnight burns, and we will likely advertise burn times of 12-14 hours because this is both conservative and completely validated by our indepen..

Last evening Tom Morrissey accepted the grand prize in the Wood Stove Design Challenge, as well as the award for most affordable. In doing so, Tom shared a portion of the $25,000 award with two other innovators that had come to DC on a shoestring budget and with no corporate support.Matt Remine from..