Seriously considering the Hearthstone Manchester wood stove

I cut mine 22-23" ( I have a sharpie mark on the side of my saw) but this year I've been using a lot of 18+" that I had processed for the old stove. I'll find out next year I suppose. And the grates should be closed if the ash door is closed, the door won't shut without closing it- on my stove anyway. I have thrown a few longer pieces in this year and didn't have any issues. I only clean mine out maybe once a week also, so I usually have a nice coal bed even if I am gone for 6-8 hrs to get it going again

Maybe that's what I need to do... leave ashes in the bottom. I have been cleaning them out every day.

My last stove was a Quadrafire 2100 with max log length of 16". It's a lot more work cutting, splitting, and handling all of those short logs. That's why I chose this stove. Every time somebody gave me firewood, it was too long, and cutting off logs is a pain in the rear.

After shoveling out a stove with no ash tray for so many years, cleaning out the ashes in the Manchester is almost enjoyable for me haha!

TNTall said:

Maybe that's what I need to do... leave ashes in the bottom. I have been cleaning them out every day.

My last stove was a Quadrafire 2100 with max log length of 16". It's a lot more work cutting, splitting, and handling all of those short logs. That's why I chose this stove. Every time somebody gave me firewood, it was too long, and cutting off logs is a pain in the rear.

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You can use those cut-offs for shoulder season. I have a pile of them just for that

A little update: I have been a very very squeaky wheel for a while now and finally they agreed to replace my stove. Long story short, my new stove is sitting at my dealer about 2 hrs away waiting for me to pick it up. I am up in the air as to whether I should keep the replacement stove or sell it and get something I have a bit more faith in... maybe an Ashford? or a Jotul f500 or 600? maybe? Don't know, I have really mixed feelings. Anyone in the market for a brand new Manchester?

PYRO, If your dealer agrees to take it back if it does not perform to satisfaction, I say plug it in and burn it.

Motor7 said:

PYRO, If your dealer agrees to take it back if it does not perform to satisfaction, I say plug it in and burn it.

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I have a bad taste in my mouth and little faith left in my dealer or Hearthstone. Where'd you get your Hearthstone, Motor? I used to work for a Hearthstone dealer in East TN. Lived in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area. That's one reason I went with this stove, back then they seemed like a much better company.

Rescued it from the front yard of a farm in KY.....it was in rough shape. I have not bought a new HS since 1983-ish & never needed any CS support then. I will say that when i was rebuilding the H1 a few years ago Jim Casavant with Hearthstone went above and beyond with tech support & in helping me locate parts.

I hear ya on the bad taste, & only you can decide which way to go. If you still want stone take a look at Woodstock.........

Motor7 said:

I hear ya on the bad taste, & only you can decide which way to go. If you still want stone take a look at Woodstock.........

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We'll see...when I get the nice shiny new stove home I may decide to give it another shot. As I've mentioned before in other posts: the stove I received just seems like the "last car built on a Friday" type of deal. It seems that it was time to clock out, let's just throw it together and get it out the door. The Manchester is a newly released stove so I can see there being some bugs to work out and if Hearthstone had handled this in a timely fashion and made things right when they went wrong I would most definitely give it another try.

I have been considering Woodstock's new Ideal Steel stove but sometimes I look at it and think 'ahh that doesn't look too bad' then other times I look at it and it's uglier than all get out. I do like the progress Hybrid though, just wish it was a few hundred cheaper and wish it had both a front and side door. Seems it would be a pain to clean that glass and there are times when I use both doors on the Manchester just to get the splits packed in there good and full. The more I look around at stoves the more the Jotul f600 grows on me but then again my closest dealer is 2hrs away just like it was with the Manchester.

Decided not to keep the new stove, looking at replacing it with the BK Ashford, the PE T6, or the Jotul f600... Maybe.

BrotherBart said:

Hopefully...

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Looks like it might get replaced with an Englander 30, BB... I was going to order one last week on the HD sale but they were sold, now they're back in stock. Can't beat $649!

Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar said:

I have been considering Woodstock's new Ideal Steel stove but sometimes I look at it and think 'ahh that doesn't look too bad' then other times I look at it and it's uglier than all get out. I do like the progress Hybrid though, just wish it was a few hundred cheaper and wish it had both a front and side door.

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Woodstock has a sale going on right now. Maybe your wish of a few hundred cheaper ($500 less, to be exact) is being granted. It's no Englander territory, though. Is your hearth up to Englander specs?

I know, still not quite there though, even with the sale it's just not quite down to what I'm willing to pay. Shipping jumps it up another couple hundred too.

I am new to the forum. I bought a Manchester in the fall of 2013. Had the black water droplet problem at first but that went away. I also had to replace the top baffle board after I had used if for about sixty days. The baffle board is basically a piece of fire retardant homosote looking sheet goods. It just sits on top of the baffle tubes and causes the fire to circulate toward the front of the stove before it goes up and out the flu. The dealer warrantied the first baffle board but now I am one season later and its all crumbled and falling apart again. I load the stove from the side door so I am sure that wood occasionally makes contact with the baffle board but you'd think they would make it out of something a little more sturdy so it doesn't keep falling apart. I called the dealer and he told me that it wasn't covered under warranty and that I would have to pay $78.00 for a new one. Forget about the fact that i can buy a sheet of 4 x 8 premium birch plywood for less than that, I'm disappointed that I should have to keep replacing this part every year. My glass door also broke this season (my second burning season). It wasn't from loading the stove. The only thing I can think of is that a log rolled while it was burning and it hit the glass. Of course the dealer tells me that the glass isn't covered, and that a new piece of glass only (no door parts) is just shy of $300.00. That seems like a ton of money for a piece of glass. So I love the stove and the way it burns when it's all in one piece but I am disappointed with the issues that I've had and, in addition to terrible customer support, I think Hearthstone is ripping people off on their replacement parts.

Welcome to the forum! I have had my Manchester for the same amount of time and burn 24/7 for approximately 5 months a year and haven't had any of those issues. Maybe I'm just lucky? I'll see what it looks like at the end of the season

Wise Guy said:

I have a few questions that I hope you folks won't mind addressing.

First, Izzyq, I am wondering if the comments made here by so many have been helpful to you? Have you made a decision? This week, as temps have fallen in Pennsylvania, I have had the opportunity to burn wood in the "Manny," as Woody Stover calls it. I've been thinking about posting a short video of the Manny in action. You and others might find that helpful. I'm thinking of focusing on the re-burn and what smoke there is out the chimney. When I first wrote to you, I explained what I think are some pros/cons about the Manny. I can add another con: too much smoke escapes out of the front door when opened for reloading. The manual states, "When opening the front door to reload or rearrange logs, it is advisable to open the door just a crack, pause for a moment then open the door completely....In addition, reloading on a bed of hot, red coals reduces smoking time..." I have found that the operative word in all of this is the word, "reduces." Yes, following this method "reduces smoking time," but it doesn't eliminate the smoking time. I don't want to see any smoke escape. I haven't been able to open the door without smoke escaping into my living room. That rarely happened with that old steel construction Haughs stove I inherited from my grandparents. I can say that I don't see that problem when I open the side door. Guess which one I try not to use

Thanks in advance for your assistance with these questions.

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I have a LOT of problem with smoke coming out of the front door of my Manchester when I open it. It makes it a pain to get a fire going because I can't open the front door to poke at it. The QuadraFire stove I had last was not like that... a log could be smoking like crazy in there, and it would all exhaust. I think the Manchester smokes like that because the front door is so big that it doesn't trap the smoke well enough. I am working with my dealer for a solution, but I don't expect one really. I think it's a design issue and not a manufacturing defect. I am debating whether to sell the stove and get a different one... I am not used to having the house smell like smoke so much.

I only load from the side door. The only time I open the front is to clean the stove and glass. Do you have this issue when side loading? Just curious as to why you load from the front, is side loading not an option?

D8Chumley said:

I only load from the side door. The only time I open the front is to clean the stove and glass. Do you have this issue when side loading? Just curious as to why you load from the front, is side loading not an option?

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There is just much better access from the front door - especially when I am loading a big log. I put logs in there a lot of times that won't even fit in the side door - especially when there are other logs already in the bottom. Even if it will fit, trying to stuff a 20"+ log in there is difficult from the side... i often open both doors for the big ones.

You are right though, it doesn't smoke much when only using the side door. It is just very limiting.

Gotcha. I use the side since the ash doesn't escape as much there compared to the front