HearthStone Shelburne Advice

Jim G · Feb 17, 2009

Hey Guys --

I can use some general advice on my new Hearthstone Shelburne. We have been using it now for about three days and I'm having trouble getting a hot burn out of the unit.

The Shelburne is replacing a 10-year-old Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim 2490 that is in need of some serious rebuilding (I'm going to move it out to a shop . . .). That unit worked fine with my present triple wall stainless steel chimney system. I just pulled out the Vermont Castings and plugged-in that Hearthstone; everything lined up pretty well.

So, I'm a little perplexed why I can't seem to get the temperature up greater than about 430°F. Also, yesterday I put in some decent logs of locust and the unit burned through those in about two and half hours with the air setting at half. Last night I filled up the unit with some good would, turned the air control down to one quarter, and seven hours later we had a very small bed of coals.

I take it I should not be running this unit with the air control at minimum. And, if I do run it at a minimum, thus far I've learned that the temperature will drop down to about 100°F.

Does having the grate open or closed influence the burn? I take it not, if the pan is inserted snugly to prevent air flow.

Well, I don't think I have a done a good job describing my (non-existent?) problem(s). Maybe I'm just used to the previous stove, which we ran 24/7, and it'll take me a couple weeks to get used to the HearthStone. But, if anyone sees any familiar patterns described above, or can save me some time by sharing some hints regarding the best way to operate this unit, I would be most grateful.

By the way, I could probably offer somebody some help regarding the Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim if they need any.

Thanks guys.

begreen · Feb 17, 2009

Greetings OB. Every stove has its unique personality and burning characteristics. Getting a new stove can be like going back to school for a bit. This is going to be particularly true with stoves that have different secondary combustion methods. But you'll get the hang of it.

The Shelburne's secondary combustion is going to happen at the top of the stove. As a test, maybe try splitting the current locust splits in half and try burning them at that size. After a good hot, (air at least 1/2 open) fire to build up a coal bed, add the fresh wood. After 5-10 minutes, when the wood has fully ignited, take the air down in reductions of about 25% at a time. While the wood is still fresh you should see very nice fountains of fire at the secondaries as the unburnt gases get reburnt. Keep taking the air down until the secondaries, get lazy, but don't disappear.

BTW, no problem with closing the air control all the way. It will still be open partially. For some softwood or smaller split burning, this setting may work fine. Question, can you describe the flue setup for the stove in detail?

Jim G · Feb 17, 2009

BeGreen --

Thanks for your response! I understand your point about "getting the hang of it." I am working on this. As regards your suggestions for a "test," I'll have to wait to return home to give that a try.

As for the flu setup, that's a bit more difficult. I don't recall whether I have an 8 inch or a six inch triple wall stainless steel system. I do believe I sized it to the Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim, which means that it is a six-inch. I do not believe I have a "reducer" at the end. That having been said, I have the stove in a corner of the first floor which is about 1400 ft.²(the second floor is 1060 foot). I have black pipe running about 2 feet up off of the stove collar with a 90° turn and running for about another 2 foot, with the connection to the triple wall system, which in turn runs about 2 more foot in the house, then through the exterior 2x6 wall, with a 90° turn, and stainless going up another probably 22 foot with a cap on the top.

I would mention that I have not checked the upper portion, the exterior run of the flu system this season for creosote build. I have not checked this season because in the past eight years I've never had any buildup whatsoever. But I will take a look at that situation tonight or tomorrow.

I think that about covers it. I walked away further insight you may have to offer. I will keep working on perfecting my knowledge of the new system.

Thanks again,

Ohio Burner

OilNoMore · Feb 18, 2009

Ohio,

I've noticed the same sort of differences between a VC and our Shelburne. My take on the Shelburne is that is just doesn't get to those high end temperatures, or at least it didn't for us for a while. We top out now at about 550 and that is with the air control wide open and the stove full of as much wood as we can get in there. My father has a VC and his temps run into the 700s when he lets it go. I think some of the difference in stove top temperature may be the way the two stoves are set up. As described in a previous post, the top of the Shelburne is set up for the air to 'clean' the glass...it seems that there is an air gap between the top of the firebox and the exterior top of the stove. Perhaps this is why stove top temps on the Shelburne are lower. Our Shelburne heats our home nicely, we have no problem getting toward 80 if we don't pay close enough attention (or maybe it is just that we are becoming accustomed to 75-80 degree temps that come with wood burning). One piece of advice on the ash grate: take the thing out. I see no reason for it to be there, other than to slide closed when you are taking out the ashes. The problem with it is that so much ash gets in the gaps all around the top grate that sliding it closed become very difficult. I just took mine out but must be cautious about ash build up being pushed to the rear of the ash pan when I install a cleaned ash pan. All in all, my take is that the Shelburne is pretty good value for a 24/7 stove in 1200 sq/ft home. Burn times are not the 8 or 9 hours advertised though, and the dealer was up front about that. 8 or 9 hours and you'll have 2 small slightly red embers of ash left, 6 or 7 is much more realistic.

What color is your Shelburne? Would love to see a pic on it.

Jim G · Feb 18, 2009

Burning Chuck --

Thanks for your response to my inquiry.

I would have to agree with a lot of what you said. Though, I would note, I've only been using this stove for about five days now. We did finally get the stove up to 520°F. Last night we got about a seven hour burnout of it; we had a good bed of coals under it and some decent firewood, and we set the air control to the lowest setting.

Frankly, thanks to some nice replies from guys like you, and with a couple more days of experience under our belts, I have grown more pleased with the unit. We are maintaining about 71°F in the house today, though it is not too awfully cold outside. I would note, I am a bit concerned that I have undersized the stove for the house. As I mentioned above, we used the Vermont Castings Acclaim to heat our approx. 2400 ft.² of the house (first and second floor with natural convection). The BTU output of both stoves is supposed to be 40,000, hence the reason I chose the Shelburne. Time will tell.

Lastly, when the fire burns to more coals, I may well try your suggestion about removing the upper grate.

Hey, thanks again for your thoughts. I'll be back in touch with you guys when I have more experience and evidence regarding this Hearthstone Shelburne.

Best regards.

Ohio Burner

begreen · Feb 18, 2009

The Shelburne is a beautiful looking stove, but heating 2400 sq ft in Ohio, I would have gone for the Bennington or even a 3 cu ft stove like the Quad Isle Royale. There's only so much heat that one can squeeze out of a couple cu ft of wood. I'm surprised the Acclaim did so well in this size house. It's rated max heating area of 1600 sq ft.

Jim G · Feb 18, 2009

The Acclaim did a superb job. I have no complaints about the unit at all really. It did the job for almost 10 years. And, frankly, we inadvertently abused the unit due to inexperience and probably too many people trying to tend to it but did not really know what they were doing. But, it did heat the house -- two floors, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor, using convection only as the hot air rose naturally up the stairway. As regards the Shelburne, I am now worried that I may have chosen an undersized unit. But we'll see.

Have a great day!

begreen · Feb 18, 2009

Looks like Ohio will be having some chilly weather starting tonight. It'll be a good opportunity to open her up and see how it does. Stove size vs house size is relative. It sounds like your house is well designed, insulated and tight. That all works in your favor. Given the good characteristics of the house, the Shelburne may be just fine. This is a beautiful stove and built to last. It may just take learning how to push it a little harder in cold weather.

OilNoMore · Feb 18, 2009

Ohio,

I didn't want to mention this earlier, as it doesn't make much sense to me, but the more we pushed our stove, the hotter we go it. For the first two months of use I babied it. About a month ago I got fed up with that approach and just stuffed it full of the driest pieces of wood I had and let it go until the collar of the stove pipe started to glow orange a bit. Ever since then we go to 500 easily and then just turn it down because it gets too hot in our home. The Shelburne may be a little too small for your house, but as you said, the more you use it and get familiar with it the better it will go. I've also found the the more diligent I am about not letting an excessive amount of ash build up in the bottom of the stove the better it performs for me. Good luck.

Jim G · Feb 18, 2009

Update: it is a moderate day today, 38 degrees F + . But we have the internal temp on the first floor at 73 degrees and that with stove turned down to 25% open air control. I'm getting happier about the Shelburne with each passing hour. And I think there is something to be said about not "babying" it. I'll keep an eye on the excess ash, too. Oh . . and BeGreen you were right: it seems that firing it up (somewhat) and then reducing it in 25% increments is a sound strategy. I especially liked your point about adjusting the flames until the secondaries get "lazy" -- that is insightful.

All good advice. Thanks.

begreen · Feb 18, 2009

Sounds good Ohio. That stove is built like a tank. Don't be afraid to push it hard when the temps get down into the teens at night.

PS: you owe us some shots of that beauty burning hot.

ShelburneOwner75 · Feb 21, 2009

Hi,

I've been having problems similar to what Ohio was describing in his original post, especially when starting a fire. Even with the air control fully open, the flames will go out when the door is closed. This is true even after letting her burn with the door open for 20 minutes or so, which shouldn't be necessary. Curiosity got the best of me so I looked up under where the air control is and noticed a 2" x 3" piece of what looks like aluminum foil over the air control opening. Is this supposed to be there?! I've been running the stove for almost a month now and have been disappointed with the heat it puts out. Seems logical that something covering the air intake could cause this type of problem, but I don't know a lot about the newer stoves - maybe this is intentional. My old stove was a 15+ years old Russo.

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