Fireview Thoughts

Just too warm is my guess. I have been pumped since my install to test my little rock with some cold temps; takes a bit of the fun out of the whole game for me. Low and slow is fine, but the game becomes one of keeping your house from becoming too hot instead of keeping your house warm.

 

I keep a small flashlight near the stove too for setting the air control. I find mine cruises best at a setting of 1.

Getting to 700'F STT takes dry wood, a cold day and a good draft. Mine usually tops out at 550~600ish.

I wish I had an ash pan that I could rake the ashes into and not the coals.. ala' the Progress or the IS, but then it would need taller legs and change the look of the stove too much. I think the Fireview is a beautiful stove and love it's dimensions.

 

Update: paint curing has completed on my replacement door and no more smoke leaks! I now have 14 days left in my trial run ... odds are I will be keeping the Fireview .

Have had a couple neighbors over and they all like the Fireview (and the nice warmth it produces) and they are surprised such a small stove can heat the home. Some times I forget how small this stove is compared to other stoves. I remember a post from Backwoods Savage where his first impression was something like "that little stove will heat my house?". I'm really hoping for at least a few days of near zero temps and wind so I can see if the Fireview can keep the house warm where the old Hearthstone could not. When we finally do get those temps, I'll be sure to post and let everyone know how the little blue rock performs.

 

It's not a huge stove. They call it 2.2 but it's more like 1.8 usable. That said, I bet it will beat the old Hearthstone, and use less wood doing it.

 

My neighbor has a Hearthstone. It's a tad smaller than my Fireview, and I'm not sure what model it is, but I help him clean his chimney flue, and so became familiar with it. It's a pretty stove, and has that polished stone look, and weighs a megaton! ...but I'll take my Fv any and every day of the week, for looks and heat.

There's a elite dealer near us who sells high-end stoves and high-end prices. Jotul, Hearthstone and he was carrying Vermont Castings too, last time I looked around his shop. He always has one of the big Hearthstones going as a demo in his shop. It is beautiful, in a kind of "I'm Rockerfeller" kinda' way.

Not that many soapstone stove companies anymore now that I think of it.

 

Looks like my Fireview just got cheaper. Woodstock website lists breaking news of $300 tax credit for qualifying wood stoves purchased in 2015 retro-active to 1/1/15. Spoke with Penny and she said certificate information would be available shortly and most likely an e-mail would be sent to those who purchased in this calendar year.

 

Lot's of good info. Some is a bit of a mystery to me inasmuch as I am not familiar with the stove adjustment levers and so forth. Its similar story some what as I am gradually mastering the art and working of the big Regency F5100 hybrid. The tropical weather this fall is complicating things as we have to open the windows and cannot wander around in our underwear to spare the neighbors a scary scene. Once things get back to normal I will offer my HO on the Regency F5100. A few things are obvious already. Can now burn without mucking up the glass. Can go overnight easily with just a half load. Can put the house above 90 degrees if not careful. Pretty sure 100 degrees possible if so desired. Got what we wanted - more heat - and then some. These sort of threads are really great!

 

But that's one more than my stove. I'm not sure I could figure it out.

 

I agree totally Dennis. Complicated - no not at all. There is however a learning curve for each person and each new stove in the particular climate and house design and fuel source. To be fair I cannot make generalizations for all wood burners based on my experience with one or two.

 

Amen to that Dennis! We just survived a 36 hour power outage. The generator got us through but not very smoothly as it just lights up one side of the panel with the double ended male cords plugged into an outside outlet. We were able to shower and get into the family evening service last evening. with a diet of 3 spits every 8 hours the house stays at 80 in the main area where the stove sits. One or two spits doesn't work very well due to the cat needing a certain amount of heat to get going. It is capable of holding about 8 or 9 splits and the learning will continue once we reach that point. Eventually I will feel qualified to do a review of the Regency F5100 hybrid stove. I think I have been so used to a good EPA stove that the cat aspect requires a bit more savvy to keep between the white lines. I trust you had a rewarding Christmas and look forward to more threads to enjoy.

 

Decided to let the stove go out yesterday so that I could do a mid-season cleaning. I am still below a full cord burned for the season. Cleaning the cat of my Hearthstone was a tedious cursing event as it required I extract it from the back of the stove in tight quarters operating blind - just hated it. Another star for the Fireview ... so much easier.

Only a small amount of fly ash on/around bypass cover, no creosote on lid


Fly ash below combustor on top side of scoop


Top side and bottom side of combustor; only small amount of fly ash on bottom, cells completely open.


Looks like liquid stains; not sure how and when these occur as any moisture should be steam when here. What say the experts?

 

I don't like the looks of those stains at all. It looks like water got in there and has been sitting there long enough to do some pretty nasty staining. What I can't tell from the picture is if it has gone down through the paint, or if that is just a brown stain on top of the paint?

I know in my house, any time the woodstove is not active for more than a couple days, it becomes a new opportunity to act as a plant stand.. and my wife has been caught numerous times over-watering and hence staining the top soapstone. But, in your case the only way water is going to get down into that location is around the perimeter of the top frame and through the gasket material. Which just doesn't even seem possible. Especially in a fairly new stove.

So some questions? HOw old is this stove? Did you buy it new? Was it not like that originally? ...just trying to figure out how it got some water in there. I seriously doubt it has anything to do with moisture content in the wood.

Can you brush that stain off with a bristle brush?

 

The cast piece under the lid is not painted. Only the thermometer goes on top of the stove. This staining is a result from the combustion (somehow).

Brand new installed in May. No, it was not. This has happened as the result of combustion. All my wood is dead standing cherry, elm and long dead oak. It all measured under 20% with most of my cherry at 15% and the elm just a few points higher.

It is just surface.

I consider it an oddity at this point. Not concerned at all, mostly just curious how it could happen. My stove is still under warranty even though it is past 6 months. Since I had the smoke leak issue, I can still return the stove until me and WS agree we are past the smoke issue to both our satisfaction. I need to send WS a follow-up regarding the smoke issue and will send them this picture to see what they think.

Here is what it looked like at install: