Woodstove

Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove
Winner of the 2013 Wood Stove Design Challenge

On Sale through February 28, 2020

• Award-Winning Wood Stove  
The Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove was developed in 2013 as Woodstock Soapstone Company’s entry in the Woodstove Design Challenge. The Design Challenge had 14 finalists from 5 countries competing for a $25,000 grand prize awarded for the best overall performance in 5 criteria: affordability, efficiency, emissions, innovation and market appeal. The Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove was the grand prize winner! Click here to read about the Ideal Steel Hybrid in Popular Mechanics Magazine.

• High Efficiency Wood Stove  
The Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove has a record 82% EPA tested efficiency and average emissions of 1.04 gm/hr. It will easily burn 12-14 hours, and will heat large areas comfortably. It’s high efficiency means that it will produce up to 131,000 more BTUs per day than a standard non-catalytic stove, making it one of the best wood stoves on the market.

• Affordable Wood Stove  
To make the Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove affordable, we changed from cast iron to steel as our basic building material. Steel costs about half as much per pound as cast iron. We believe that the Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove is the most efficient, cleanest, and longest burning stove in its price range. Click here for our current sale prices.

• Custom Artwork 
We offer low cost customization on the Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove. You can choose a design for the sides, the top, and the andirons from our design book, or you can design you own parts using our GEARED 2U DESIGN SERVICE.  We can produce almost any two dimensional graphic design for your stove!

• STEAL of the Month 
Every month we add a new design set to our Geared 2U Design Book, and we highlight the new design set as our STEAL of the Month! When you order the monthly STEAL, you will receive that months design for FREE, and we'll include a FREE tool set and hanger to ship with your stove. 

Helpful Links:
Reserve Online: Reservation Page
Color Viewer: Standard Color Options
Design Options: Geared 2U Design Book
STEAL of the Month: Design & Sale
Owner Comments: Owner Comments
Ideal Steel Hybrid Manual: Manual pages

GEARED 2U DESIGNS

The Ideal Steel Hybrid Wood Stove offers the unique option of customization. Choose from over 100 (and growing) design options for the Side Medallions (shown above), Center & Small burners, as well as the Andiron set. Order our pre-packaged sets, mix & match, or customize your own. To see our full design book, use the link below.

Click to visit the GEARED 2U DESIGN BOOK

Plus, you get options and performance not available in other steel stoves:

1. Top or Back Vent Option
2. High Heat Output
3. Adjustable Leg Height
4. High Efficiency
5. Low Emissions
6. Optional Ash Pan
7. Customizable (both design & colors)
   
8. Soapstone or Firebrick Firebox Liner

CUSTOMIZABLE
Everyone’s house, hearth, and décor is different, so, why not your stove? Lots of people decorate their mantels, their refrigerators, bookshelves, and dining tables with images, photos, symbols, and memorabilia and centerpieces that are important to them. So, why not do the same thing with your wood stove?

The Ideal Steel Hybrid wood stove is the first woodstove that can accommodate owner designed artwork. The sides, andirons, and the cooktop burners can incorporate your design visions. All you have to do is send us a drawing, photograph or image of what you would like to see on your stove and let our artists do the rest. If you are not feeling creative, you can choose a design from our GEARED 2U Design Book. And if you are really adventuresome, you can create a “Trophy Stove” like the Moose Stove and the “Poisson de Manon” pictured at the right. In any event, you get to choose between the 4 basic design options below, and then add any of our standard colors. To view the Ideal Steel Standard Colors, click here.

The IDEAL STEEL Hybrid offers high efficiency heat, a great fire-viewing experience, clean burning and an opportunity to express your own design ideas if you choose to do so.

• Essential Wood Stove: We’re always happy to make a stove with no ornamentation (see image on right). All you have to do is tell us what color you want.
                                                    
  
• Design Book: Choose a design from our, always growing, Design Book. There are a lot of good ideas there. Feel free to mix and match designs to develop a look that suits you.
  

• Custom Design: We have a Geared 2U Design Service. Tell us what you want, and give us an image, drawing or photo to work with, and let us show you what we can do.
  
  
• Trophy Wood Stove: We can extend the stove well beyond the confines of the basic box. Whether it’s for a special occasion or a special person, we can make your stove into a Moose, a Fish, a Genie, an Angel, or a Mermaid.

Cut-Away View of the Hybrid Wood Stove Combustion System

Secondary combustion occurs across the top of the firebox. The fireback slopes so that you can easily see the secondary flames. Secondary air is preheated by passing across the back of the stove before entering the fireback.

Any exiting smoke and particulates not burned by secondary combustion must pass through a catalytic combustor, where they are ignited at temperatures as low as 400 degrees. The catalytic combustor is made of stainless steel foil, tested and approved for continuous operation at 2,100 degrees F. The thickness of the foil is approximately 50 microns (the thickness of a human hair), which is why it heats up and “lights off” so quickly.

Both the secondary combustion and the catalytic combustor produce heat. Without a hybrid system, some of this heat would be lost up the chimney.

The catalytic combustor is located right under the cooktop, so you get the full benefit of its heat. A radiator also transmits catalytic heat to the sides of the stove. Complete combustion, achievable only through a hybrid combustion system, and good heat exchange are what makes for record 82% efficiency. If the catalyst pointed toward the stack, as opposed to the cooktop, more heat would be lost and efficiency would drop.

The catalytic bypass damper interlocks with the loading door. You cannot open the loading door without opening the bypass damper first. This helps to ensure smoke free loading.