Hearthstone Heritage burn times & blower

Time from "light off back down to 300" is so subjective and variable that there will be no way for anyone to give you a good,solid, usable answer. Every instal is different, every load of wood is different, every species of wood has a different bTu potential, the proper seasoning of the wood plays a huge part, etc etc.

Can you tell us more about your current instal etc..? Do you heat, or want to heat only with wood, 24/7?

some comments that may help you. i switched from a hearthstone pheonix (w no blower) to a steel stove with a blower. huge difference in the amount of "quick heat" it can throw. i loved my hearthstone. it was beautiful, and heated good as long as you kept her going. thats one of the downsides, it takes a while for them to throw heat because of the stones. i imagine once the stove is up to temp, a blower would be nice on them.

my pheonix had a similar sized firebox. it took about 30-45 min to go from stone cold to cruising temp usually. i would get 4-6 hours of top-end heat (shutting the primary down almost all the way), then she would begin to drop and stay between around 200-250 for another few hours. typical overnight burns (8 hr) would find the stove pretty empty, but with plenty of coals to throw the next load on and a central stone temp of 200. thats burning good dry oak or other hardwood. it was very fussy about wood moisture.

learn about convective vs radient heat. some homes are better or worse depending. some people simply prefer one or the other as well.

I pushed almost 30 cords through my heritage before I sold it three years ago. The stove always did what it promised but I wouldn't buy another because after 30 cords, the hinges and latch had either failed or nearly failed. It is not a long life stove. Very pretty though and a solid heater.

So I never picked some arbitrary number like 300 degrees but I could restart without kindling 10 hours after a reload if I did a good job of filling the stove. If I recall correctly, it is rated for 9 hours. I only burned softwood and other low btu species, packed her full.

The heritage is just barely big enough to be an overnight heater. I would never get a non-cat stove smaller than the heritage if you want to use it for heating.

I have the Heritage. I would say, on a full load, if you wait until the soapstone is well over 400 before you turn the blower on, it would stay above 300 for about 3 hours. That being said, if your house is well insulated and you plan to have the stove in your primary living area versus a utility stove in the basement, the radiant heat coming off the stone is so much nicer than using the blower. Once the stone gets over 400, it just oozes heat.

I love my Heritage. Popped a screw on the doorframe today but that is the first problem I have had in over 10 years and burn it 24x7 when the temp is under 55 or so. Like others have said, there are variables. I have a very strong draft so when it is cold and dry out, I have a hard time holding it back. Big splits and dense wood can get you decent burn times. Honestly, 6 hours above 300 is as good as I can do if you are concerned with a clean burn but I normally have plenty of coals that it is easy to get things going even after 10 hours away at work.

I do not have a blower. The room it is in is about 10 x 24. The stove is vented through the masonry hearth but is freestanding. I think if you have is set up freestanding, you do not need the blower. Second post so take it for what it is worth BTW, it is helping me heat 2700 sq feet. If it is above 25 and not windy, it does a pretty good job keeping the boiler in check. My house is poorly insulated and 50 + years old so the wind eats it alive.

hamsey said:

Beam,

It that photo, the lower right most log is that on top of the doghouse? Can you load up on top of the doghouse? Did you always do a tunnel of love when reloading or just put it on the coal bed? Waiting to see what kind of deal my dealer offers me for the clyde. Just cannot decide between the Oslo or heritage. PH comes next if either of these two do not work out but it is major remodeling that the wife does not want me to do if it is not needed.

Looking at the EPA chart on Woodstocks website it shows the heritage's btu output better than the Oslo. Clyde heats our house fine. Just need to control draft better.

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Oh yes, there are no rules against loading up on the doghouse. I only made sure to avoid the glass and the soft roof of the firebox.

With the excellent side door you load ew and so can never build a tunnel of love. To get a tunnel of love Fed by the doghouse air you would need like 8" long splits loaded n\s.

Those jotul cast stoves look great.

hamsey said:

With the excellent side door you load ew and so can never build a tunnel of love. To get a tunnel of love Fed by the doghouse air you would need like 8" long splits loaded n\s.

Those jotul cast stoves look great.

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OK, I give up. What's a "tunnel of love" in a woodstove?

Highbeam said:

I pushed almost 30 cords through my heritage before I sold it three years ago. The stove always did what it promised but I wouldn't buy another because after 30 cords, the hinges and latch had either failed or nearly failed. It is not a long life stove. Very pretty though and a solid heater.

So I never picked some arbitrary number like 300 degrees but I could restart without kindling 10 hours after a reload if I did a good job of filling the stove. If I recall correctly, it is rated for 9 hours. I only burned softwood and other low btu species, packed her full.

The heritage is just barely big enough to be an overnight heater. I would never get a non-cat stove smaller than the heritage if you want to use it for heating.

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Agree with all of this, including the latch/hinge problem seems to be an issue with some Hearthstone stoves. I had it big-time on my previous tiny Tribute, but I love the line so much, I bought a Heritage to replace it, with fingers crossed, anyway.

I have never had a problem, no matter how cold it is or what kind of wood I pack it with, getting a morning restart with kindling, or splitting debris at worst, though there's no question the stove doesn't put out usable heat in really cold weather for the whole night. But even with -20 below overnight, I have no trouble starting it up again without a firestarter in the morning.

i had a door hinge issue as well after 8 years. dealer stepped up big time and got me a new one no charge from hearthstone.

gyrfalcon said:

OK, I give up. What's a "tunnel of love" in a woodstove?

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Pretty sure the "tunnel of love" is copyright protected by BrotherBart so he may have to give you the official description.

hamsey said:

Push the coals to the sides and leave a tunnel in front of the dog house so air can get to the back. Usually need it just for lighting the stove. Does anyone use the front door for reloading? Worth getting the ash pan? I know Highbeam does not like it, any other opinions? It would be nice to have the blower as backup but not sure it will fit.

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The ash pan is not optional. You're stuck with that POS. Maybe you'll like it.

The front door is not useful as a door. It is a great big window that stays nice and clear but as a door it is poor. The ash accumulates on the seal so that when you open the door you get a dump of ash to clean. Plus this stove is shallow and loading from the front door means chucking wood in sideways and hoping it doesn't roll out. The side door is a dream to use.

On the blower, you can buy the heat shield which is required for the blower and for the reduced rear clearances. Then later just bolt on the blower if you need to. It is expensive and I never missed it on the hearthstone.

ashpans are so overrated. i didnt use the one on my hearthstone, and dont even use the one on my bk, and its the cats meow (so im told). shovel and bucket.

hamsey said:

Push the coals to the sides and leave a tunnel in front of the dog house so air can get to the back. Usually need it just for lighting the stove. Does anyone use the front door for reloading? Worth getting the ash pan? I know Highbeam does not like it, any other opinions? It would be nice to have the blower as backup but not sure it will fit.

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I don't use the front door much at all for all the reasons Highbeam said. My Heritage came with the ashpan, but I just ignore it. I've never even opened it. I've read too many posts here over the years where people end up with an ashpan (not just Heritage stoves but others) that eventually gets stuck open a tiny crack by ash and led to a stove that burns way too fast. If you can get a blower put on later, I'd suggest waiting and seeing how the stove performs in your situation before shelling out the extra $$. Although I've never used one, I'm not convinced it's particularly useful with this stove in most situations.

BrotherBart said:

Nope, BeGreen holds the copyright on that one. Being PC I call it a "cave burn".

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hamsey said:

On the new model the ash pan is optional. After reading about the lousy design I was going to skip it. After shoveling the ash yesterday and seeing it flying all over the place I am reconsidering. Sounds like the same front door issue with the clyde.

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The ash absolutely does not have to fly all over the place and it won't if you shovel it out carefully. Start with a receptacle for it that's no deeper than the length of your shovel. Take out a shovel full of ash slowly and carefully, then slowly and gently put the shovel all the way into the bucket or can, and as Backwoods Savage used to say, instead of dumping the ashes out, carefully (and did I say slowly?) slide the shovel out from under the ashes. I get very little in the way of ashes around my stove by doing that.

hamsey said:

Thanks for the info. Need to find a shallower pan. Usually not a problem if there are no coals mixed in but when it is hot. Dust ploom!

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This is what I use http://www.northlineexpress.com/black-and-brass-ash-bucket-ash-02-3086.html

It's a little pricey, but it has a double bottom so you're not setting a hot bucket down even on your hearth, a lid that fits so whatever is in there gets stifled pretty quickly for lack of air, a carrying handle, and looks pretty handsome. I have a shovel that just fits. It's a little pricey, but it's a superb little item and looks nice on the hearth. There are plenty of others out there, some that come with a shovel of the right size, but the double bottom and the good lid are the key things, as far as I'm concerned. A couple hours after putting a mixture of coals and ashes in there, the sides are barely warm, and the rim on the bottom that sits on the hearth or ground is never hot.

I forgot to add how much I love the side door. I don't open my front door unless it's time to do a big cleanout or clean the glass. I don't think I'll ever have a stove I have to load from the front.