Soapstone woodstove - Hearthstone Homestead

Missy M · #1 02/21/08, 05:22 PM

Looking for folks who have or have had this stove. I'm considering it as a sole heat source for a thousand square foot house. What was or is your experience?

NEOhioSmiths · #2 02/22/08, 11:21 AM

I can't tell you about this specific stove. Just that stoves with soapstone in general take a bit longer to get going and radiate heat slowly after a fire is at the end of it's cycle. I would suggest you take a look at: www.hearth.com

Excellent forum and you can check out user reviews for many, many stoves. If you post your question there I'm certain you'll get very specific information

Let us know how it goes and if you get the stove.

**Cabin Fever** · #3 02/22/08, 12:08 PM

Cheribelle wasn't very happy with her new Hearthstone stove. Read this thread --> http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=230335

turtlehead · #4 02/22/08, 12:24 PM

We have a Hearthstone soapstone stove but I don't know the model. We like it quite a lot.

It does take longer for it to start radiating heat, but it radiates more slowly and evenly than a "normal" wood stove.

You have to clean out the little air intake ports every once in a while for it to draft well. We shovel out the ash and coals and, when we're SURE everything is dead, dead, dead, we vacuum out the air intake ports with a shop vac.

It has glass doors on the front which is great for viewing the fire while it burns; it also has a snap-in wire grate if you want to open the doors wide and burn it more like a traditional open fireplace, just for ambience.

It has a door on the side, too, so you can get at the wood from front or side. That's nice!

It has a heat controlled intake port in the back with a little "flap" thing and as the stove warms up the flap closes; as the stove cools off the flap opens. This controls the air intake nicely.

We really like it.

turtlehead · #5 02/22/08, 12:30 PM

Oh, I forgot to add...
Our home is about 900 feet downstairs and 900 up. The woodstove can easily keep the whole house warm until temps get into the teens. When temps dip into the single digits or below zero, it still does well if DH fills it up late right before going to bed, and I get up early and fill it again.

A LOT of how well it will be able to heat your space will depend on where it's located, how well your home is sealed and insulated against drafts, and how the heat flows.

When we first moved here the place was so drafty we literally had to sleep on the sofa and keep getting up and feeding the stove to keep the pipes from freezing at night on very cold (-5F to 15F or so) nights.

Now we have replaced the windows, sealed most of the drafts, and we use fans to circulate the air inside the home. It's LOTS better.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, the stove is great but you can't heat a screen porch with it

okiemom · #6 02/22/08, 01:15 PM

My sister has a stove from harthstone and loves it. We are going to get the bigger model for our house. I'll let everyone know how it works later.

grayrecliner · #7 02/22/08, 01:23 PM

We put in the Hearthstone Homestead last fall after using a cast Kingsman for 20+ year. Like it from the standpoint of glass doors, heat retention of the soapstone along with having coals in the morning. We both work so we were use to a quick hot fire in the evening and then didn't start a fire in the morning. It's a steady heat no doubt with stone still warm/hot in the morning. They are a fair chunk of change though. I think the cost wasn't that much different than our new LP furnace a few years back.

I prefer to shovel out the ashes rather than use the little turning grate that dumps into an ash pan. Haven't figured out yet when I go to clean the chimney exactly where the soot will come into the stove.

So I guess my feeling are mixed. Good product just not sure if it's worth the price.

Jolly · #8 02/22/08, 01:25 PM

I've heated with wood since I was old enough to tote a stick of firewood. I've run Ashley, Blue Ridge, trashburners and no-names. I've cut my share of firewood, split it and stacked it.

For the last 24 years, I've run a Hearthstone. Not the big one, but the next size down, similar to this stove:

http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/wood_stoves/heritage/

It's a mighty good stove, I heat 2000 sqft with it. Up north, I reckon it would heat closer to the manufacturer's claim of 1300 sqft. And yep, I looked at an Earthstove back in the 1980's...while the Earthstove of today looks nothing like the Earthstove of yesterday, the Hearthstone is still quite similar...which means parts are still available for my 24 year-old stove. I also think if something has been manufactured that long without significant changes, the company must be doing something right.

Soapstone does not run like a plate steel or a cast iron stove. We're talking thermal mass...it takes awhile to heat up and it takes awhile to cool down. But even living in the South, I find it no problem, if you just mind your p's and q's. As with most stoves, burn good, seasoned hardwood and adjust your fire and burn times to meet your needs, keeping in mind that the stove will not produce or quit producing heat instantly...I've told folks you run that heater 90 minutes ahead of where you think you are, and it works just fine.

Whatever you buy, size the stove according to your needs, and buy a well-tested design from a reputable manufacturer.

Wood heat is unlike anything else. Enjoy it.

I do.

Jolly · #9 02/22/08, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grayrecliner

We put in the Hearthstone Homestead last fall after using a cast Kingsman for 20+ year. Like it from the standpoint of glass doors, heat retention of the soapstone along with having coals in the morning. We both work so we were use to a quick hot fire in the evening and then didn't start a fire in the morning. It's a steady heat no doubt with stone still warm/hot in the morning. They are a fair chunk of change though. I think the cost wasn't that much different than our new LP furnace a few years back.

I prefer to shovel out the ashes rather than use the little turning grate that dumps into an ash pan. Haven't figured out yet when I go to clean the chimney exactly where the soot will come into the stove.

So I guess my feeling are mixed. Good product just not sure if it's worth the price.

Just saw your post, so I'm sorry for two-in-row. I've got a slip-joint on my pipe where it transitions through the ceiling. When I clean the stovepipe, I just slip off the pipe and attach (or usually get smebody to hold) a plastic garbage bag under the pipe.

As for the top of the stove, I vacuum that out with a wet/dry vac.

Of course, you do all of this when you have no chance of any live coals or fire...

LamiPub · #10 02/22/08, 01:55 PM

We got the woodstock fireview soapstone stove eight years ago and like it. Here is a handy link with comments and customer ratings on woodstoves. There are a lot on Woodstock and Hearthstone you may find helpful.

http://hearth.com/ratings/all.php

Rockin'B · #11 02/22/08, 02:21 PM

We have a Hearthstone Bennington and like it a lot. Not sure what the problem was on the thread that Cabin referred to but ours will hold fire for most of the night. the type of wood used makes a big difference. Oak burns a lot longer than cherry, for example.

I'd buy another one.....