Woodstock vs Hearthstone

I've burned the Homestead and it's got about the same size fire box as the Woodstock Keystone. I use to get 8 hour burns with a full load of hardwood. If your burning Pine figure on 4-6 hours. My Keystone seems more efficient and can go 12+ hours on a full load. If I were you I'd go with the PH.

I would get 5-6 hours of usable heat from the Heritage with hardwood.

I'd say Hearthstone's customer service is the worst. The only communication I've been able to make w/ the manufacturer has been to "flame" them on their facebook page. They promptly deleted my comments and PM'ed me w/ contact your dealer. The dealer won't do anything except blame the wood I'm burning as the problem. Like I said previously I'm burning ash cut 1 1/2 years ago w/ a moisture content of less than 16% and old growth douglas fir cut 2 1/2 years ago w/ a moisture content of less than 15%. It doesn't get much drier than that, at least here in Oregon. None of this makes any difference when it pukes smoke & fly ash out into the room when you open the door or can't get a fire started in a cold stove. I've used more wood already this season than I'd use in a whole season w/ one of my previous stoves and you can't convince me it burns any cleaner since I see what's down the chimney when I have to go up and clean the cap screen every 2, 3 or 4 weeks. The dealer has since removed the cap screen completely. How's that for solving a problem.

BrowningBAR said:

Do not do this. The dealer is wrong and you will damage your stove.

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I know this. I just mentioned this to show another example of how incompetent the dealer is.

As for trying to help w/ cold starts the dealer after several complaints added a 2' section of pipe above the masonry chimney and left it 1/2 a bubble off plumb in two directions. It was so bad I had several people comment on it before I went up and straightened it myself. I know how far off plumb it was because I took a magnetic torpedo level w/ me when I went up to straighten it.

Poppafixit said:

I know this. I just mentioned this to show another example of how incompetent the dealer is.

As for trying to help w/ cold starts the dealer after several complaints added a 2' section of pipe above the masonry chimney and left it 1/2 a bubble off plumb in two directions. It was so bad I had several people comment on it before I went up and straightened it myself. I know how far off plumb it was because I took a magnetic torpedo level w/ me when I went up to straighten it.

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The guys here should be able to help you to get that stove burning more efficient, its hard to go from a pre epa stove to a modern one and change your burning habits. With the added 2 feet how long is your flue?

weatherguy said:

The guys here should be able to help you to get that stove burning more efficient, its hard to go from a pre epa stove to a modern one and change your burning habits. With the added 2 feet how long is your flue?

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Not necessarily hard but one has to sort of relearn how to operate the stove correctly.


Poppsfixit, may I suggest you start a new thread and explain your problem. Being a new thread this will get more people involved and perhaps we can help, or at least be of more help than the dealer has.

For what it is worth, we've burned wood a lot longer than you have and yes, we did have to sort of relearn a few things but we could not be happier. Compared to our older stoves, we now burn only half the wood we used to burn and keep a whole lot warmer. We not also heat the entire home rather than closing off part of it in winter time and have even added a room. We keep our home at 80 degrees or warmer all winter long and have no problem keeping overnight fires. 12 hour burns are quite the norm which is just about perfect.

Poppafixit said:

I'd say Hearthstone's customer service is the worst. The only communication I've been able to make w/ the manufacturer has been to "flame" them on their facebook page. They promptly deleted my comments and PM'ed me w/ contact your dealer. The dealer won't do anything except blame the wood I'm burning as the problem. Like I said previously I'm burning ash cut 1 1/2 years ago w/ a moisture content of less than 16% and old growth douglas fir cut 2 1/2 years ago w/ a moisture content of less than 15%. It doesn't get much drier than that, at least here in Oregon. None of this makes any difference when it pukes smoke & fly ash out into the room when you open the door or can't get a fire started in a cold stove. I've used more wood already this season than I'd use in a whole season w/ one of my previous stoves and you can't convince me it burns any cleaner since I see what's down the chimney when I have to go up and clean the cap screen every 2, 3 or 4 weeks. The dealer has since removed the cap screen completely. How's that for solving a problem.

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I agree.....cap screens are for the most part counterproductive in the drafting process.
It seems like to me we should take a closer look at your chimney/flue/hearth.
Is your flue an exterior type?
Did they properly insulate the liner (seems like they may "dropped the ball" on other aspects of the installation)?
Does you flue extend above the roof line?
How tall is your chimney?
How often do you shovel/clean out your ash from the firebox?
On our Homestead, we can't get by for more than a couple of days (unlike the older airtights).
What are your typical weather conditions - windy....damp & still....etc???
Is your stove a basement installation, and thus suseptible to the "stack effect" of you house?

This is all a mystery to me....as our Homestead works just fine for us.......

Backwoods Savage said:

Poppsfixit, may I suggest you start a new thread and explain your problem. Being a new thread this will get more people involved and perhaps we can help, or at least be of more help than the dealer has.

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I agree. As a Hearthstone dealer I can speak to the quality of the stove they build and will be happy to help with your issues in another thread.

To the OP, if you have a local Hearthstone dealer I suggest you go in and have a conversation and see if they and the stove are a fit for you. The Heritage or Mansfield will likely be a better fit as others have stated.

Poppafixit said:

I'd say Hearthstone's customer service is the worst. The only communication I've been able to make w/ the manufacturer has been to "flame" them on their facebook page. How's that for solving a problem.

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You may get more bees with honey. Just saying.

After all is said and done...in a few months if you get no satisfaction, then maybe post on one of the internet complaint boards.

Whether for better or worse, the way most of this industry works is through dealers. Buy a $5K Harman or a Travis or most any dealer product and it's the dealer who is responsible for 95% of the support.

We sold Hearthstone at our store for many many years and never had any problems to speak of. That doesn't mean something is not wrong with your setup - maybe it's the wrong stove for you, your wood, your heating needs, etc.
Maybe it's got some build problems.

Only your dealer can usually help....and I'm not going to judge a dealer or a person from afar. I will say this - when our shops were in business we blew all the competition away because we tried to help our customers (just like here), while most of our competition didn't. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make all dealers more supportive, but we can only do what we can do.....

I understand your frustrations. Two points though - first, as you already see, this is not a complaint and flame board. We'd rather try to help. Secondly, although some here can offer suggestions and help, it's a bit like medical diagnosis over the internet - only goes so far. So many factors are at play....especially the different wood types which may be used out west, etc.

Don't forget the return policy Woodstock has!

Hache Pe said:

I made the leap. Ordered a Progress Hybrid and should be arriving around Feb. Enough time to beef up the floor. Will be entertaining getting it to my place since its about a mile from where I park. Gotta love the snow and packed trails!!

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You'll love it! It is a great stove and an ATV or snowmobile with a sled attached is a great way to move the stove in the snow. It will arrive in a very sturdy crate. Also, we used round dowels between 1" and 3" to move the crate into the house once it was at floor level. We did the "Egyptian pyramid roll."

Look forward to pictures of you getting it in.

You'll love the stove, I'm sure. Now that it is ordered, it'll be hard waiting until you can install and crank it up.

Have fun!

Hache Pe said:

I made the leap. Ordered a Progress Hybrid and should be arriving around Feb. Enough time to beef up the floor. Will be entertaining getting it to my place since its about a mile from where I park. Gotta love the snow and packed trails!!

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What did you have to do to beef up the floor? I was hoping to install on my fireplace hearth. I have a Dutchwest about 450 lbs. the Woodstock hybrid is 700