Question about Hearthstone Homestead

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donmattingly

donmattingly

Member
Jun 17, 2009
72
Southern,NH
Just got the Hearthstone Homestead installed this week and reading the manual it calls for cordwood only. This of course is not a problem with 7 cords seasoned out front but I was also thinking about using alterative wood fuels in this stove this winter. One of my clients has been talking me into buying a 1/2 pallet of Home Fire Prest Logs which she claims are great for overnights as it will burn for up to 8-10 hours.
Anyone using alternative wood fuels in their Hearthstone?

BTW we replaced a old Vermont Castings Vigilant. Great stove, got nice and hot but not the most efficient stove. (Or not as pretty as the Hearthstone as my wife says)
Is there a market for old VC's? I would like to sell it on Craigslist and wondering what a fair price would be. It is in fair condition. Two small corner cracks and the gaskets need to be replaced. What do you think?
 
don't burn the premade logs in any cast or stone built stove... too big a chance of an overfire, and crack... then you've voided the wtty as well..... old vigilant in usable condition would be worth @ 300
 
I had a Homestead for about 2 years. Great stove.

Stay away from premade logs. Pallets and scrap lumber are just fine to burn. Just be aware:

1) absolutely no wood with chemicals or glue, like pressure treated wood or plywood (the smell is incredibly bad);
2) don't load up on pallets or lumber because it tends to be very dry (~6% moisture) . . . filling up can overfire the stove. Try 1/4 lumber, the rest cord wood and go from there after you monitor temps.

Realistically, you'll get longer burns out of dense, dry wood, like hickory or apple. Sugar maple and red oak type is good for more like a 5-6 hour burn . . . but you could do better with large splits.

Pine will burn hot and fast. Don't fill up on pine.

Cardboard is okay to use as kindling in a Hearthstone. In a CAT stove, you'll shorten the CATs life.

Good luck.
 
Don't plan on seeing 8-10 burns in that stove with anything. I also wouldn't risk cracking the stone by burning pressed logs/bricks in it.
 
I have 1 year of homestead burning under my belt.

You never know what chemicals will do to your stove so follow the manual and just burn wood.

Be careful not to heat up the stove too quickly or you may crack the stones.

Although the manual says that an overfire is 600 on the top center stone, make sure you monitor the cast exhaust in back. Keep it under 700 max as 1400 is the fail for cast iron and they say internal temps are roughly twice external readings.

Buy a infra-red thermometer if you are planning on running the stove hot. Those bi-metal jobs can be off by 50 degrees or more.

If you have 7 cords why bother buying fake ones?

The stove heated my 1500 sf home all winter, 24/7.

Have fun and enjoy your new stove!
 
Thanks for the response.
I just thought those Bio Bricks/ Pressed logs were just millscrap pressed together. I did not know chemicals were involved.
My main mission will be to avoid the overburn. It happened a couple of times with the Vigilant. Certainly something to be avoided. Especially after paying the bill for that stove!
 
I don't know of any bricks/logs that are made with chemicals or potentially harmful binders.
 
Random thoughts . . .

Cord wood . . . If you've got the wood and it's seasoned I would pass on using the "fake" stuff . . . besides many manufacturers specifically state in the manual to not use these logs. If you really want to use them in place of the wood, I would suggest contacting the manufacturer to get their take on burning them in the stove. I would wager that a dense tree species would last pretty close to the same burn time as the "fake" wood.

Selling the VC . . . In this day and age I think selling the VC in Uncle Henrys, a local "shopper" or Craigslist would be relatively easy . . . a lot of folks still associate VC with quality (for better or for worse) and as such would buy the stove even with those issues you have listed.
 
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