hearthstone phoenix disaster

the one thing i found out rebuilding my hearthstone 2 was every part is still available. you should have no trouble getting parts and if you need help jim casavant is their stove tech and is very helpful. as far as how much, that could be another story.

My Mansfield was in the same shape. Stones cracked all the way through are normal. It is not necessarily an indication of over firing. The grains in the stone are like having a windshield that came chipped from the factory. You know it's going to spread eventually. Mine also had loose stones I could wiggle because the cement had just deteriorated. I just bought a new house and since I knew I'd be moving eventually I tore the stove apart this summer and just this month moved it to the new house in pieces, but have yet to reassemble it (the house is in similar shape to the stove so the house takes priority). Not sure about the Phoenix but the Mansfield had minor design changes over the years, so I'm integrating some of them in while I rebuild (improved latches and stone supports). And some of parts for the original Mansfield are no longer available (discontinued this year). Since it is still a current technology stove I've had no qualms about sinking a little money into it. When I'm done I'll still be way below the cost of a new stove and for all intents and purposes it'll be brand new. The Mansfield (model 8010) has 42 individual pieces of soapstone I've had to clean. The Phoenix should be a piece of cake in comparison.

agree about the stones. i have one stone at my secondary air inlet that's cracked, but doesn't go all the way thru. just be careful when rebuilding it and you might be ok. put a 500 watt work light inside of it and if you see light thru the crack, replace it. if you say that the baffle is in good shape it may not have been overfired. from what i understand if the stove has been overfired the baffle and metal parts inside twist. my baffle was so bad is sagged 4 inches. and the back plate had a hole in it that a baseball could fit thru. i rebuilt the stove and it works great.

You can get the 5lb. tub of Hearthstone stove cement, great stuff btw, from www.lehmans.com.

Its rebuildable for sure. Parts are still available. Contact your local Hearthstone dealer to purchase them. Be ready for a day full of swearing and getting dirty, but thats all it should really take, one long day with two sets of hands.

I rebuilt my Hearthstone II a couple years ago and the back plate and side plate and baffle were pretty bad. Here in Canada I paid about $300 for the pair of replacements. Other faulty parts I had made by me or a friend in a metal working shop. One big decision was whether to start removing the side stones. I removed the top of the stove to replace the internal parts necessary, but decided against taking the rest of the stove apart.

The reason was that one or two side stones were cracked through, but fit together tightly. If they came out and thus apart, I figured they would not go back together tightly and end up with a sizable gap. I did not cement down the top stones but just set them on thin asbestos strip (old stock).

The stove seems pretty airtight but now the back plate is warped and cracked, even though the stove hasn't been overfired.

The HII uses a removable key type tool to open the doors, perhaps yours does as well, and you are just missing this tool? I am not familiar with your model though so this might be not applicable to it.

Beanscoot said:

I rebuilt my Hearthstone II a couple years ago and the back plate and side plate and baffle were pretty bad. Here in Canada I paid about $300 for the pair of replacements. Other faulty parts I had made by me or a friend in a metal working shop. One big decision was whether to start removing the side stones. I removed the top of the stove to replace the internal parts necessary, but decided against taking the rest of the stove apart.

The reason was that one or two side stones were cracked through, but fit together tightly. If they came out and thus apart, I figured they would not go back together tightly and end up with a sizable gap. I did not cement down the top stones but just set them on thin asbestos strip (old stock).

The stove seems pretty airtight but now the back plate is warped and cracked, even though the stove hasn't been overfired.

The HII uses a removable key type tool to open the doors, perhaps yours does as well, and you are just missing this tool? I am not familiar with your model though so this might be not applicable to it.

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the plates might be bad because you didn't recement the top stones. you most likely have air leaks and it got to hot. what are you running the stove temp to. you also might have some ash buildup behind the back plate.

That's an interesting idea that the plate damage could be caused by air leaks around non-cemented joints. I guess it's possible, but I didn't see any roaring hot fires and the unit seems pretty airtight, as the air control can shut it right down. I don't know the temperatures it has attained. I don't have a thermometer on it.

Perhaps other family members ran it with the door open when I wasn't around?

I never thougth about ash deposits behind the back plate causing havoc, but it makes sense that it could insulate it, allowing it to overheat. The top baffle plate is pretty good, however, and I would imagine it would be the first to suffer due to overheating. It is made of 1/4" mild steel plate.

when i took mine apart for rebuilding the back plate had a hole where the big letter h was. it was big enough for a baseball to fit, but it was in two pieces. when i took that out of the way the ash buildup was so compacted in was solid, and i had to hit it to break it up. my opinion is what you said, it insulated the piece and it melted.

get yourself a stovetop or stovepipe thermometer. and set it on the middle of the middle stone to tell you the stoves temp. you need to run the stove by that thermometer.

As long as you sealed it tight w/ new cement it'll be as good as new. You'll know for sure when you fire it up. Overall the Hearthstone parts are decent quality. Did you end up repalcing the stones or did you do the repair with the metal bar?

I looked at several used Hearthstone stoves and I found that many of them had loose stones (and many of the owners didn't even realize this). It's not uncommon as the stove gets older.

I purchased a used mid 90's Phoenix that had the fiber blanket on the top side of the upper stones. The blanket got trashed in transportation and we were able to get a new one - $20. or so - and the install is quick.

GREAT stove.

My hottest temps, yes 550 and up, are achieved with primary at almost shut off except for about 1/2" of travel above closed. Did you plug up the air path for the secondary system? On those old stoves it might be a hole in the back vs. shared with the primary air system like your heritage.