Hearthstone Heritage

Bump - quite a few Heritage burners here - some will be around soon I'm sure. I have a Mansfield, so if you are asking questions about soapstone, etc., I might be able to help. Cheers!

Is it a new one or bought used ? Maybe the latch was damaged and was bent somewhere along the line. Could be misaligned. Might call Hearthstone direct and talk to a tech guy there. My Heritage is a year old and closed snug and tight from day one. good luck.

RORY12553 said:

Having trouble with the side door and not sure if i need to buy a new handle or if it is something else. Also think i should replace the gaskets they look pretty worn. possibly take a picture of what they should look like around the doors?

Click to expand...

Ours is 2 years old. Last year I noticed it was burning too fast and I couldn't turn the air off enough to reduce the heat.

The dollar bill test was worthless. I put new gaskets in both doors, and now everything is fine again.

I make sure to "whisk out" the ashes that might fall into the gasket indentations, so when I close the doors, there is no ash in them which might create small openings for air to go through.

Both doors closed properly.

We are happy with the unit.

I've shoved just under 25 cords through mine. It's been a fine stove but nearing the point of needing some significant attention after only 4 or 5 (?) seasons. The weak spots that I've found are the black paint is falling off, the hinges are wearing on the cast iron side causing the door to sag, and the door latches catch on a very small tab of cast iron that is very prone to wear (mine is now razor sharp).

The gaskets are very small and of a special high density type. This makes them not tolerate saggy doors very well. I have witnessed a flame front leading from the side door gasket. Also leaks from the internal secondary air manifold joints. My gaskets are original and my burn times are fine. I don't think I will be replacing the gaskets, maybe replace the stove!

The heritage is a fantastic looking stove. It is about as small (with non-cat technology) as any full time burner should buy if they intend to burn overnight. I easily get overnight burns and easily heat my 1700 SF home 100% with wood.

The door latches are flimsy and a pretty bad design but they do shut positively when working correctly. I have found it necessary to oil them with 90 weight gear oil that will distribute itself into the shaft and makes turning the handle very easy. I have determined that the 90 weight is the best lube for hinges and latches, it doesn't dry up and get caked up. Try lifting the door at the handle side to get the latch to align better.

When I got the Mansfield they had to replace the latch twice. The first time didn't do the job and right about then they changed the mechanism design in some way.

When they installed the new latch mechanism that fixed the problem. The latching is now much smoother and firm. No more problems. Hearthstone was great to work with on that problem.

Never had that problem. I agree the door handles are flimsy.

Highbeam said:

I've shoved just under 25 cords through mine. It's been a fine stove but nearing the point of needing some significant attention after only 4 or 5 (?) seasons. The weak spots that I've found are the black paint is falling off, the hinges are wearing on the cast iron side causing the door to sag, and the door latches catch on a very small tab of cast iron that is very prone to wear (mine is now razor sharp).

The gaskets are very small and of a special high density type. This makes them not tolerate saggy doors very well. I have witnessed a flame front leading from the side door gasket. Also leaks from the internal secondary air manifold joints. My gaskets are original and my burn times are fine. I don't think I will be replacing the gaskets, maybe replace the stove!

The heritage is a fantastic looking stove. It is about as small (with non-cat technology) as any full time burner should buy if they intend to burn overnight. I easily get overnight burns and easily heat my 1700 SF home 100% with wood.

The door latches are flimsy and a pretty bad design but they do shut positively when working correctly. I have found it necessary to oil them with 90 weight gear oil that will distribute itself into the shaft and makes turning the handle very easy. I have determined that the 90 weight is the best lube for hinges and latches, it doesn't dry up and get caked up. Try lifting the door at the handle side to get the latch to align better.

Click to expand...

To HighBeam:

Our Heritage is the purple porcelain version. I recently looked at the side door hinges. Other than the little pins that go through the hinges, I don't see how these could wear out for you. However, the side door latch is starting to wear off a little bit as you observed.

Here is a potential solution for your problem: Get someone with a wire feed welder, and have them lay a thin bead of "extra" metal on the "wearing edge" of the inside latch that you now say is razor thin! Yes, I could see how extreme use (5 cords per season) would wear this out!

We don't go through as much wood as you do. We use a basement wood furnace for overnight heat, and the Heritage is only used for evening living room fires. This sort of preserves the unit, and it will last longer.

The Heritage was $5000 installed. A very pretty wood stove! I could see how the black paint would fall off, since it is very thin, and the outside heat of the unit (400-500 degrees) is very high. I believe the porcelain finish was $300-400 extra when we bought it.

It seems everything on this stove is expensive to replace. The glass alone was about $150 to replace when I accidentally cracked it while replacing the gaskets. But I would try to fix it before getting a different stove.

I personally believe these units are really intended as a room heater instead of a whole house heater. Most of the heat is radiant, and cant easily be sent to other rooms of the house...per our dealer.

You don't understand hinge wear? Well imagine a hinge there are holes on the door and holes on the frame. There is a pin that slides through both the door holes and the frame holes. Now imagine that those holes become egg shaped from wear. The hinge pin can now float around inside that egg shaped hole and the door will no longer be plumb.

5 cords is not extreme. People that actually use a stove for heat which is very possible with this stove easily consume much more than 5 cords each year. 5 cords is actually pretty low for a non-cat being burnt for about 9 months of the year.

Good job getting the porcelain. It was a few hundred more dollars and certainly will keep the stove looking better longer than the paint. Perhaps I got a bad factory paint job or perhaps I just need to expect to repaint every few years. Neither are a problem with the ceramic. I didn't know that Hearthstone sold a purple version.

Yes stoves are space heaters. The space I'm heating is my whole house and the heritage is more than capable. From what I understand, wood furnaces continue to be illegal in WA. Same with wood boilers.

My Heritage does a good job heating 1600 sq feet...not just the room it's in. The heat makes its way everywhere.

Highbeam said:

You don't understand hinge wear? Well imagine a hinge there are holes on the door and holes on the frame. There is a pin that slides through both the door holes and the frame holes. Now imagine that those holes become egg shaped from wear. The hinge pin can now float around inside that egg shaped hole and the door will no longer be plumb.

5 cords is not extreme. People that actually use a stove for heat which is very possible with this stove easily consume much more than 5 cords each year. 5 cords is actually pretty low for a non-cat being burnt for about 9 months of the year.

Good job getting the porcelain. It was a few hundred more dollars and certainly will keep the stove looking better longer than the paint. Perhaps I got a bad factory paint job or perhaps I just need to expect to repaint every few years. Neither are a problem with the ceramic. I didn't know that Hearthstone sold a purple version.

Yes stoves are space heaters. The space I'm heating is my whole house and the heritage is more than capable. From what I understand, wood furnaces continue to be illegal in WA. Same with wood boilers.

Click to expand...

Were existing installations grandfathered? Can't imagine spending thousands on a new furnace only to find out I had to tear it out.

Typically, if the original installation was legal, it is grandfathered. Then you would need to find home insurance for a now "illegal" wood furnace. When you try and buy a furnace from Englander as sold at Home Depot you will find that furnace is unavailable in several states including WA. It may be that the furnaces are unable to become EPA certified which is funny since the EPA only certifies stoves.

If I had ductwork installed and a home that could take advantage of it, I would love to have a wood furnace.

Highbeam said:

You don't understand hinge wear? Well imagine a hinge there are holes on the door and holes on the frame. There is a pin that slides through both the door holes and the frame holes. Now imagine that those holes become egg shaped from wear. The hinge pin can now float around inside that egg shaped hole and the door will no longer be plumb.

5 cords is not extreme. People that actually use a stove for heat which is very possible with this stove easily consume much more than 5 cords each year. 5 cords is actually pretty low for a non-cat being burnt for about 9 months of the year.

Good job getting the porcelain. It was a few hundred more dollars and certainly will keep the stove looking better longer than the paint. Perhaps I got a bad factory paint job or perhaps I just need to expect to repaint every few years. Neither are a problem with the ceramic. I didn't know that Hearthstone sold a purple version.

Yes stoves are space heaters. The space I'm heating is my whole house and the heritage is more than capable. From what I understand, wood furnaces continue to be illegal in WA. Same with wood boilers.

Click to expand...

dunno if you replied to it or not, but my phoenix has the same "egging" issue. mine is 7 YO. ive remidied it right now with a little al foil over the post. works ok since i want to keep burning. after the season i plan to take the door to a machine shop and see about getting it reemed out and sleeved for a brass bushing. will report success/failure in a few months.

My egged out holes are on the frame side. The door holes are still tight. Bummer.