Hey guys, been a while since I posted. My wife and kids and I are moving into a larger house. For the past 4 years I’ve been burning in a Jotul Oslo 500 and while we love the stove and the heat, it can be a bit much in a 1500 square foot house. The room it’s in is a 20’x20’ living room on an exterior wall, and the radiant heat really cooks that room. Now the new house is approximately 2800 square feet so maybe the version 3 Oslo would be a good fit but I’m leaning towards Hearthstone, primarily because of the soapstone heating qualities. I like the idea of a gradual convective heat but have no experience with hearthstone. Was hoping to get the lowdown from some people that have hearthstone or other soapstone stoves. Thanks, and happy 4th!
Hey Old Nate - CONSIDER this... What you described with your Jotul 500 is what I experienced with my old VC Vigilant. Great stove in too small a house, in my estimation. Overheated in some respects, but also didn't quite give me the burn times I wanted. I think Hearthstone has some beautiful stoves, and I think you'll find folks here are big fans of soapstone in general, but I'd suggest considering a stove that had a catalyst either alone or in conjunction with another secondary burn system--> the Hybrid stoves are made by a number of companies now. I went from the Vigilant to a hybrid stove and... well, there's no true zealot like a convert. Back in college, a girlfriend of mine had a hearthstone at her family's house- can't remember what model. Looked a bit like the Mansfield they have on the website now but I remember the stove being bigger I think. The stove was beautiful and was like a piece of art in the living room. Couldn't tell you anything about efficiency or burn times, but that house was warm.
Yeah, I’m leaning towards something with a Cat but I’ve never operated one and am just dipping my toes in right now. I really like the hearthstone look. I need to do a little more research. As of right now we’re not even moved in yet, so I have some steps to do before I buy a new stove. Are there any other cast iron soapstone stoves out there? I know of Woodstock but am not a fan of the Woodstock aesthetics at all. Nor do we like soapstone on the outside of a stove.
The Hearthstone Heritage checks a number of your boxes: Heritage - HearthStone Stoves 26% tax credit going on currently, so says the website.
The price you don't like - 26% of the purchase price from there. It's your house / your stove. You'll live there any look at it every day, and like many of us, stare at it all winter. You only live once.
Hearthstone has been around over 40 years and they make some great looking stoves. Having a dealer nearby is a plus. Soapstone on the inside is not really a big plus compared to firebrick. I like soapstone exterior for the look and function. 2800 sq ft is a big space, but if well insulated you should be ok!
You’re right about that. I still don’t even know where I’m going to put the stove in the new space. We have plans to open things up but all in time. I’d love to hear from someone who owns this stove. I’m just stoked I finally have room to store all of my wood piles! Currently the majority of my stash is at my dads place.
Hearthstone is now dealing with new tech which may improve the performance of it's stoves.The only earlier model that would heat your spot would be their two largest ones which they don't make anymore.I think the best you can do now is the hybrid Mansfield.Anything smaller and you'll be disappointed unless your new spot will be seriously insulated. How are you insulating ?
Old Nate I have one, had it installed in 2015 in the basement of my ranch style home. I wasn’t a member here at the time and knew very little about wood stoves. Was remodeling the basement ( water damage and mold when we bought it) took out the open fireplace and put in the Manchester. I settled on it based almost completely on the looks and appearance. ( gloss brown to match a gun safe that ultimately ended up in a different room) I bought the blower kit with it. It takes right at 45 minutes from a cold start until the fan kicks on. The stove does probably 90% of our heating, only run the electric baseboard heat in the master bedroom because it is difficult to get the warm air back there. It has always burned hotter and more completely on the right hand side which has the side load door. (Which I hardly ever use anymore) I thought maybe the gasket on the side door was leaking so I replaced it, but it didn’t change anything. Now I think it’s probably getting extra air through the ash grate at the bottom, maybe the clean out door gasket? Don’t use that either, just scoop ashes out through the front door. After 6 seasons I’ve just learned to live with it. So… after 6 years and knowing what I know now as opposed to when I got it, would I get the same one again? I would probably look into something a little bigger. It keeps us plenty warm even on the coldest stretches, but I have to keep vigilant about tending the stove. I love the look of it and all visitors comment on how nice it looks. Overall I’m pretty satisfied with it.
Hearthstone has always had beautiful stoves. We considered one and it ended up #2 or #3 on our list. Sadly we found no dealers who knew much of anything about heating with wood but just knew some sales pitch. Still, we came close to buying a Hearthstone. After much searching and reading, etc, we bought a Woodstock soapstone stove. We had spoken to them a couple times but had not yet decided, but one day they called me to ask if I would be interested in visiting with one of their customers. Long story short, what that man told us convinced us to buy from Woodstock. We have never been sorry. We had been been having problems during the coldest part of winter but after installing this stove we found we did not need nearly as much wood and we also keep our house around 80 degrees all winter! Running a cat stove is not complicated but it indeed does require dry wood. Cut and burn in the same year is the worst practice there is and if one does that with a cat stove they will find that catalyst will be worthless. This is just one of the reasons you will find folks on this forum promoting the 3 year plan. That means to always be 3 years ahead on your wood supply; cut to stove length, split and stacked. Then top cover the wood to keep it dry. You might find this interesting: (10) Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage | Firewood Hoarders Club
Backwoods, I think I’ve read that primer on here previously. And I know all about staying up on firewood. I’ve been hoarding since before I got my Jotul in 2017. I currently have more than 20 cord (not all css though) but I’m definitely on top of it. I like what I hear about the Woodstock stoves but I just don’t like the looks of them, and since this is something that I need to like the way it looks esp considering how much I’m going to spend I am going to make sure I like to look at it for the next 20-30 years.
I initially was going Hearthstone, but they failed to answer my emails. Then my first choice was Woodstock, but the $800 shipping to Ca. was the same price as the Blaze King delivered and installed on my mantle. I'm so happy with the BK. As much as 20 hr burns in the spring and fall. Highly efficient and clean burning.
Old Nate hearthstone factory store is in Morrisville VT. End of season have a seconds sale still qualifies for 26% rebate.. 25% off
Sandhillbilly your stove will burn better if you fill up the ash tray with sand.Don't use it just shovel out the ashes.The ash tray lets too much air into the firebox and causes the fire to burn too fast.A pipe damper would also give you longer burn times if your able to use one.
I’ve had my Hearthstone Heritage close to 12 years I believe . It’s a nice looking stove and really like the side loading door BUT you couldn’t give me another one . They have latch issues that wear out and I had to tear mine down to replace the entire side door frame . Hearthstone didn’t fix the problem like they did on the front door where they made a “ replaceable “ plate that could be easily changed . The side door has still the same issues and mine is ready for another tear down and repair …….that or someone can use it for a boat anchor ?
This actually isn't too far off from a buddy of mine I went to high school will with his Hearthstone. I don't keep great touch with him so I don't know what the current state of affairs with it are. Come to think I do know someone with a Jotul 500 who has a side loading door latch problem and it's been frozen in place for I think 4 years. If Woodstock didn't exist I don't really know what I'd have gotten. MAYBE the smallest BK, or one of those Englanders?
I seen one at a dealers showroom with the latch and door frame broken. It sat there like it for a few years. Hearthstone finally fixed it for them. Beautiful stoves but if a dealer has issues getting one fixed then I don’t want any part of owning one of their stoves. Too bad as they are the best looking stoves made, in my opinion.
