So, the old "country comfort" insert just won't go anymore, so moving to a new stove. Pulling out the insert and going to run a free standing on the hearth in front of the insert space. The space is a coal an old coal burner from a house built in 1909, so clearances are an issue in some cases as to what I can use. H-30" x W 30-1/2" x D -13 1/4. Decent hearth space, so figured I would sit in front of space and run up the pipe going through the chimney. Criteria for new stove is A) Cast Iron B) Heat a 2,100 sq.ft. space C) aesthetics of the stove (large viewing window, and design that matches our old farmhouse). The stove I'm looking at is the Hearthstone Manchester (brown enamel). I understand there were issues with side loading door back when introduced in 2013. Can't confirm these issues where solved, but believe that has been dealt with based on feedback I've seen on the internet. So to the experts I come ! Is this a good choice? The best offer on the table was $3599 with blower before tax. Thanks so much for any feedback. This is a huge investment for our family as I'm sure you can understand !! ; )
I can't speak to this model. We had a Soap Stone II model from them. It lasted for a very long time, and I loved that stove. In the end it was overdue to replace it. While I love our current steel stove, I really wanted to go with the Hearthstone Mansfield. The only reason I didn't at the time was our bank account. The Lenox Country Canyon came in $1500 less. Don't get me wrong, the Country Canyon performs very well. Easy to light, warmups quick, easy to maintain temps, long lasting burn, and great secondary burns achievable. Given the opportunity to do it over again, I'd have opted for the Hearthstone Manchester. There is just something different about they type of heat that soap stone emits compared to a steel stove.
Don't get hung up on any stove out of the gates! Look and research deeply before pulling the trigger. You have all sorts of research sources available. Here. And elsewhere. Likely to be many makes/models that will fit the bill. Good luck.
Friends have a hearthstone Mansfield. They like it. For my money I went with a Woodstock our house size is similar to yours. Welcome to the forum Dougintennessee
I owned a Hearthstone Phoenix, then a Mansfield. Loved them both. (Phoenix was enamel and was prone to chipping). Moved into a house that had a Jotul Oslo that I tuned up. 2 weeks of using that stove I was desperate as...well I'll keep my opinion to myself, and I began researching a decent stove that would fit in the hearth. Woodstock Progress short leg. As much as I liked the Hearthstones, this beat them by a mile. Advantages: 3 stovetop cooking temps, catalytic, 2 panes of glass so (in my case) it never gets black. And you mention cast iron. As much as this is considered a soapstone stove there is quite a bit of cast iron in it.
Thanks for all the feedback. Let me pause for a moment and check out the Woodstock. Before I jump into this, my best quote on the Manchester w/Blower was $3600. What would I be looking at for Woodstock Progress, and would I even need a blower? Looks like you deal with factory direct?
Yes, factory direct.. Many here myself included have been to factory. Customer service is 2nd to none and 6 month money back guarantee.
We too looked at Hearthstone before we settled on a Woodstock Fireview. I have to say there was not much comparison except the Hearthstones do look really nice. But as to the build and especially customer service and satisfaction, it is Woodstock hands down. When the Progress came out we fell in love with it and almost bought one. Later we were glad we didn't as it would have roasted us out of house and home as that thing is a heating beast! But I really love the cooktop especially on that Progress. To me one of the best things about the Woodstock soapstone (they have more stone than Heartstone) is the way it heats. You can run the stove hot (700 degree stovetop) and still stand right next to it and not roast. Yet, move to the far end of the house and it is still very comfortable. I understood radiant heat and wanted it but did not understand the "soft heat" they spoke of; now I do understand and love it. But the very best thing about the Woodstock soapstone stoves is the way they give off so much heat with using so little wood (as long as the wood is dry, which is necessary for any wood stove). For example, in our old house we used to burn from 6 up to 7 cord of wood per winter with the average closer to 6...and we still about froze. We researched and finally after visiting someone who had the same stove that we thought about buying, well, he convinced us that we would not be wrong buying from Woodstock. In addition, I leaned hard on that 6 month guarantee and we bought. Never have been sorry and now we are good friends with many folks at the Woodstock factory including Tom Morrissey. And we've watched them finally making some newer stoves made of steel and they have some big winners there. Speaking of winners, they also won top honors in the clean burning contest sponsored by Popular Mechanics a few years ago. But back to the stove. Yes, the Progress is soapstone but as in all soapstone stoves, there is also a good amount of cast iron. So you get the best of both worlds. As for the factory direct, don't let that sway you one way or another simply because of the guarantee and yes, they do stand behind that 100%. You are dealing with real people who know their business. In fact, most of the sales people have been in the business for many, many years. You can call them most anytime and you will find they are extremely helpful. They want to help because they appreciate your business. Tell them Dennis sent you. PS. Thank you brenndatomu
Emailed them. I will let them know you sent me ! In terms of efficiency and heating ability, looks like they've cornered the market ! WoW 800+ pounds. I'll would need an army to get this in place !! My concern is having to move to short legs, losing the ash try, and allot of the beauty of the unit. My opening is 30"H x 30-1/2 W. Says on line the center for standard legs is 27-1/2" so looks like I may miss it by and inch or so.
Don't forget to tell Mike Hartigan that the guy who made the "how to check your cat video" recommended also!
Wow you've sold me. I'll get you my address. Just let me know when you are shipping my Fireside. . You didn't mention in your story about wood stoves going from 6-7 cords of wood. Once you started using the fireside, how many cords were you burning? Jason from RI
Whoops. We went from 6-7 cords down to 3. Not only that, we went from keeping our house in the 60's to now we keep it around 80 all winter long! One exception was one day we woke up to -24 or somewhere around that and the temperature did not raise much along with wind. Had a problem getting the inside temperature over 78. lol
We worried a bit when we got the Fireview as it is without an ashpan. This is our first stove like that. As it turned out, we like it! It really is not difficult cleaning the ashes so I doubt it would be a problem for you. The weight can be a problem but then, things can be done to help. Like with our stove; we removed the top lid completely (very easily done by simply lifting it up). Removed the firebox door (2 pins). Removed the firebrick. That drops the weight a lot and doing this on the Progress will remove even more weight. In addition, I recommend to not get the stove out of the crate until it is directly in front of the hearth as that could save from an accident when moving the stove.
