Admitedly this post is a few months old, but I figured I would reply since I have a Heathstone Homestead.
Like any of the modern EPA approved stoves, there is always a big learning curve. I bought my Homestead used from a couple who clearly never figured out how to run the stove properly. There was so much creosote buldup, it took be a few hours to scrape it out. I now love my stove. For it's small size, it puts out an incredible amount of heat.
Here are some of the things I have learned in the three or four years I have been running it:
1. The wood has to be dry. Take one of your splits and split it in half. Hold it to your cheek. Feel cold? Then it probably needs more time. This stove absolutely has to have dry wood.
2. The stove does not like standard sized wood splits. You know the size, somewhere in the 6 to 10" wide range is pretty normal. The ideal size for the Homestead is 3 to 5" x 20" long. Basically much smaller splits work the best. I can't stress this enough, wood moisture is critical!
3. Load the stove up and get a good burn going. Move the air lever all the way back to shut the air totally off to begin the secondary burn. The original poster mentioned they had it open about 15%. On my stove, that just allows heat to escape up the chimney. If you can't retain a strong secondary burn after shutting the air totally off, then the first thing I would blame is the wood. After that, it's probably a draft issue.
4. I read once that the Hearthstones have door sealing issues at times with the ash collectors in the basement of the stove. I decided that I didn't need to use the ash collector, so it just sits there not collecting anything. I just shovel everything out. I never had an ash door leak air and probably never will.
5. I place one of those magnetic thermostats on top of the stove. Obviously it's soapstone and doesn't need the magnet part, but that's what I use. My stove typically hovers around 400 to 500 degrees when I have a strong secondary burn going. I once added a bunch of small pieces to get rid of them. The stove shot up to 600 degrees and seemed to not like it. Lots of creaking. Won't do that again.
6. As someone mentioned, the EPA approved stoves run on cycles. This one is no different. You load the stove up, get it burning and shut the air down. A strong secondary burn begins and lasts for a couple of hours. Eventually you just have coals remaining. At that point I rake the coals forward and stack them as high as possible over the air inlet by the door. I then throw new splits into the back of the stove and begin the secondary burn again.
If there are a lot of coals left over, there are times where after raking the coals forward, I will open the air halfway to speed the burning of the coals. This usually does the trick. I then add the splits in back and begin again.
7. It seems the colder it is outside, the better the stove runs. I suppose that's a draft issue.
8. The glass never seems to want to stay clean. On initial startup when there is smoke, it seems to smoke the glass up. But for whatever reason the glass never burns clean after the secondary burn happens. A little troublesome, but not a huge deal.
9. In the spring, I clean the stove well. After cleaning it, I take my shop vac hose and place it over the air inlet under the stove. This sucks ash dust from inside the stove.
After that I change the hose to blow and hold it over the same bottom air inlet. Be sure the door is closed. It will blow ash out of every air hole in the stove. Seems to work pretty well. Though someday I think I want to take everything apart and do a proper cleaning.
10. Can't think of a 10th tip. Let me think about it.
Like any of the modern EPA approved stoves, there is always a big learning curve. I bought my Homestead used from a couple who clearly never figured out how to run the stove properly. There was so much creosote buldup, it took be a few hours to scrape it out. I now love my stove. For it's small size, it puts out an incredible amount of heat.
Here are some of the things I have learned in the three or four years I have been running it:
1. The wood has to be dry. Take one of your splits and split it in half. Hold it to your cheek. Feel cold? Then it probably needs more time. This stove absolutely has to have dry wood.
2. The stove does not like standard sized wood splits. You know the size, somewhere in the 6 to 10" wide range is pretty normal. The ideal size for the Homestead is 3 to 5" x 20" long. Basically much smaller splits work the best. I can't stress this enough, wood moisture is critical!
3. Load the stove up and get a good burn going. Move the air lever all the way back to shut the air totally off to begin the secondary burn. The original poster mentioned they had it open about 15%. On my stove, that just allows heat to escape up the chimney. If you can't retain a strong secondary burn after shutting the air totally off, then the first thing I would blame is the wood. After that, it's probably a draft issue.
4. I read once that the Hearthstones have door sealing issues at times with the ash collectors in the basement of the stove. I decided that I didn't need to use the ash collector, so it just sits there not collecting anything. I just shovel everything out. I never had an ash door leak air and probably never will.
5. I place one of those magnetic thermostats on top of the stove. Obviously it's soapstone and doesn't need the magnet part, but that's what I use. My stove typically hovers around 400 to 500 degrees when I have a strong secondary burn going. I once added a bunch of small pieces to get rid of them. The stove shot up to 600 degrees and seemed to not like it. Lots of creaking. Won't do that again.
6. As someone mentioned, the EPA approved stoves run on cycles. This one is no different. You load the stove up, get it burning and shut the air down. A strong secondary burn begins and lasts for a couple of hours. Eventually you just have coals remaining. At that point I rake the coals forward and stack them as high as possible over the air inlet by the door. I then throw new splits into the back of the stove and begin the secondary burn again.
If there are a lot of coals left over, there are times where after raking the coals forward, I will open the air halfway to speed the burning of the coals. This usually does the trick. I then add the splits in back and begin again.
7. It seems the colder it is outside, the better the stove runs. I suppose that's a draft issue.
8. The glass never seems to want to stay clean. On initial startup when there is smoke, it seems to smoke the glass up. But for whatever reason the glass never burns clean after the secondary burn happens. A little troublesome, but not a huge deal.
9. In the spring, I clean the stove well. After cleaning it, I take my shop vac hose and place it over the air inlet under the stove. This sucks ash dust from inside the stove.
After that I change the hose to blow and hold it over the same bottom air inlet. Be sure the door is closed. It will blow ash out of every air hole in the stove. Seems to work pretty well. Though someday I think I want to take everything apart and do a proper cleaning.
10. Can't think of a 10th tip. Let me think about it.
