nothing but problems with a hearthstone heritage

Lets try this one more time! You have 2 issues going on as far as I can tell.

1st - There is a draft issue. The wind is blowing hard enough to stop your draft for a few seconds allowing smoke to build up in the box and then come out through the seems. (Path of least resistance)

2nd - There is a stove issue. You should not have that much smoke coming out of the seems of the stove. The seems need to be resealed. When the situation stated above occurs the path of least resistance should be the air intake and possibly the door seal not the seams of the stove.

Have your dealer send the installer back out to fix the issues on his dollar ASAP.

I would also assume that smoke should never come out the seams, but if you look back at the post by Franks, he got this result by blocking the chimney. Since you said the stove looked unused I'm going to guess it wasn't ever overfired, or wasn't fired up without a break-in fire (I've heard that can compromise the cement). So while it is possible the stove is flawed, it still seems more likely a draft issue. But by all means have the dealer determine which it is and how they intend to fix it.

No, a few years is no problem. The question is, was the stove ever actually used? My advice would be to hold off on the fires until the dealer looks at it.
They say they are going to install the heat shield. How soon, and why wasn't it done with the rest of the install? And why are they going to contact Hearthstone without even checking the install?

You said 2005 before.
Calm down and get your facts together.
I can't believe nobody here knows about the sealing of the seams on that stove.
Give others time to find this post.
It is Halloween.

new burner said:

Iam in northern illinois, closer to wisconson, its about 45 degrees here.
I went to the dealer this morning, they are going to talk to the manufacture on Monday.
I sent them the pictures, I dont know why they dont come out and look at it.

I have not been burning it that hot, today was the hottest its been, about 350 degrees.
I dont want to burn it that hot because I dont have a heat sheild yet. I was going to pick it up at the dealer today, but he said he couldnt give it to me because it was part of the install, and they would install it.
So it all just doesnt sound right to me. I mean come on its only a heat shield, just screws on, right.

Ive only had 4 fires in it.

The dealer did say it sounds like I over fired it. So I guess they are going to try and say I somehow broke it.
Main Street Fireplace & BBQ
StCharles, Illinois

I would not recomend you shop there, ever.

right now its not the windy, no gusts.
fire is at 300
smoke leaks from the box very slowly, hard to see it, but you can smell it.
I have to open the window every now and then to let smoke out of the house, it leaks slowly, but acumlulates in the house.
It always smells like smoke. When it burns at 350 it smells like plastic. Which is probebly burm off.

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Wow. Don't let them get away with that "overfire" business. That seems to be the dishonest dealer's method of choice to escape responsibility and make it the customer's fault. I'd like to see the first-time burner who could overfire the stove on a relatively warm day with insufficiently seasoned oak the first day or two he ever used the stove.

Did you have that chimney swept before your install? If not, might want to get a professional in to do that and be sure it isn't blocked. If it isn't, then you've got a professional who can verify that that's not what's causing the problem. Then take a lot of pictures. Get some witnesses, preferably ones who've got some experience with woodstoves, and get yourself a moisture meter and measure how dry or not dry that wood is (for the purpose of verifying you really don't know what you're doing and couldn't possibly build something hot enough to overfire) If you don't get some serious attention from this dealer pronto, get an attorney to make some stiff formal noises at them. And take careful notes of your conversations with them-- the person you talked to, date and time, what you said, what they said, etc.

Oh, and as for that heat shield, unless the Heritage is made totally differently than the Tribute, they are *designed* to be put on by the customer, no more complicated than putting up a paper towel holder on your kitchen wall.

.

I would push the dealer to get there collective ass out to look at that stove and push to have Hearthstone evaluate the stove for damage if they continue to treat you like this. Over fire my butt... They didn't even look at the thing and they are blaming you out of the gate? Did you pay by credit card? I hope so as that will afford you some leverage over the schmuck dealer. In addition to a call to a local attorney I would call the credit card company and lodge a complaint with them as well. It sounds like you have been reasonable with the dealer and they are taking advantage. As a floor model that has no doubt been moved around, I would also question if in fact the stove was damaged somehow resulting in leaking mortar joints between the stones..

I would try hard to contact Hearthstone directly (they will refer you back to a dealer, of course, but persist in explaining the problem with your dealer) or another Hearthstone dealer (maybe on online dealer like woodheatstoves.com) and try to get an opinion on your stove. Perhaps a local chimney sweep. It should be easy enough to verify if that rope gasket is proper.
I think you are correct to have doubts about the integrity of your dealer based on not fixing the handle as promised, not doing the heat shield, and suggesting you overfired the stove. It's enough BS to arouse suspicion that the stove is a rebuild rather than a floor model - not saying that it is, but makes me wonder why they wouldn't suspect a draft problem and just address it. To suggest overfiring and a need to contact Heartstone leads me to think they know something isn't right with the stove.

I think you should insist they fix your stove. It shouldn't let air in or out through that seam.

You other guys with Hearthstones - do you have that same top gasket as in the pic?

branchburner said:

You other guys with Hearthstones - do you have that same top gasket as in the pic?

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NO! And with mine, the various pieces are fitted together so beautifully, there's not even any cement or anything else visible from the outside.

Until proven otherwise, I think the OP got tooken.

Hello welcome to wood burning. I have been burning 30 years. I had a new house 30 yrs ago. I came home to see the mason left the new chimney very short. Upon my complaint he said it met code. Well all was fine on a cold calm day. But if sorta cool or blustery the fireplace would be going fine then micro belches of smoke. Made mason add 2 ft. Zero problems.
5 years later then 25 years of smoke dragons. I always built very tall chimneys. The only time my stove did what yours is doing is when I knew it was time for a sweep. The smallest restriction can change your draft. Even with wet wood if your draft was what it should be it would not smoke out. Think about people with open fireplaces how could they ever burn a fire with your draft conditions. Add some temporary stack to the hight and test. You will find no more smoke in the house. DONT GIVE UP GET IT RIGHT.
Steve.

new burner said:

there are cement smudges all over mine, and the pieces dont look like they fit so good.

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Can you post a few more pics?

i'm curious if that's combustion smoke coming out from inside, or if it's the cement offgassing. but it wouldn't fill the room if NOT combustion smoke... this is pretty wacked. i'm kinda thinking this is a bad stove, very much HELPED by the dealer at some point. maybe it got cannibalized for other fixes, or torn down to show the installers how to rebuild them, and then was poorly rebuilt...

Smoke should NOT NOT NOT be coming out like that. period.

i don't know what branchburner is asking - i see no "gasket" in the top of the pic. looks fairly much like my stove.

Edthedawg said:

i don't know what branchburner is asking - i see no "gasket" in the top of the pic. looks fairly much like my stove.

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The OP asked upthread if "that rope stuff" was used to seal the box, so Branchburner wanted to know if other Hearthstone owners had gasket material other places besides the door.

Did you check if the insulation blanket on top is bunched up thus restricting your draft. Also if your stove has been moved around alot through the years the stones could have cracked there seals with the gasket cement and cast pcs.

Man you are being taken for a ride.

First, look up a schematic for the stove manufactured your year (2005 or 2006, you've said both so figure out which and look up that year) to determine if there are indeed "extra gaskets" in the stove. If there are you have a half a$$ rebuild, and it should be game over tell the guy to get it out of your house and give you your money back IMMEDIATELY.

Second, go get some dry wood in a bundle from a local hardware store or grocery store - get 2 bundles. Try a fire with that just to be 100% positive the wood is not the issue. When the room still fills with smoke, call the dealer (preferably in writing by e-mail) and diplomatically list ALL of the issues you are having with the stove. Conclude this e-mail by asserting that you expect the issues rectified within 1 week's time, or you expect the dealer to retrieve the stove from your house and provide you with a 100% refund. If these expectations are not met, you will be contacting your bank / credit card company and requesting payment be stopped/reimbursed (doesn't have to be a credit card company, even just your neighborhood bank these days can be a real PITA to anyone who takes your money and doesn't give you what they were supposed to) - AND you will be filing complaints with the BBB and hearthstone.

If he fixes the issues, use the second dry bundle to re test.

For the life of me I will never understand why so many people get shafted with a faulty stove or install, and then patiently wait around while their dealer services everyone whose money they don't have in pocket yet until there is finally an opening in their schedule to fix their faulty work. He took your money, get what you paid for or get your money back. I'm not the suing type, but if he sold and installed a stove for you that is now leaking smoke into your house, he should be running a hand cart over there to haul it as far away from you as possible if that's what it takes...because brother you develop a cough from that smoke and the way the world works these days you could own his shop. Whether or not you're the suing type...may not hurt for him to be made aware that the option perhaps crossed your mind while you were running around your house opening windows trying to catch your breath from all the smoke. I don’t like it…but it’s the way the world seems to be turning…sometimes you have to turn with it.

When he told you that you overfired your stove over the phone without seeing the stove, it was game on. This is not someone you want to let drag things out, because he is not an honest buisinessman. You need to get this wrapped up asap IMHO

Here's what I don't get in the above post and some of the other speculation on this thread.

In the course of figuring out what the heck I was doing, I ended up with any number of smoldering, lousy fires with poor wood that filled the firebox with smoke. Yet never once did so much as a particle of that smoke ooze out of the stove through the door gasket or the seams between the stones or anywhere else until I opened the door to fix the mess I'd made. Why would even flat-out green wood cause smoke to come out through the seams?

The OP has said repeatedly he has no problem getting a decent fire going and sustaining it (350 stovetop temp, I believe he's said). Doesn't that pretty much rule out any severe blockage that could be forcing the smoke out at high pressure?

And how would even high pressure cause smoke to leak out through properly cemented stones anyway? Wouldn't you have to have one heck of a lot of pressure to force a separation between the cement and the stones? Wouldn't the smoke in such a case be pretty much pouring out of the air intake at the back of the stove? And if that were happening, where would the air be coming in to sustain the fire?

Like the OP, I'm not understanding the physics.

gyrfalcon,

i think you nailed it pretty well. i'm a happy Heritage owner too - and made a lot of messes when i started. and NEVER saw smoke come out the way that looks in the pic. not once. ever.

it feels like a borked rebuild. or the stove fell off the loading dock and everything shifted somehow. who knows. it ain't right tho.

i'd scream "it's a borked stove!" but i been wrong about that too many times in the past.

but what do i know - i'm just some random guy on the intarnett. this fella needs to take his issue up w/ the ones he paid them greenbacks to...