SOAPSTONE OWNERS

We love out Hearthstone Homestead. There are a lot of things to consider. How much space are you trying to heat? 24/7? There will be lots of opinions. Hang on.

Don't worry about dealing direct with Woodstock, they are fantastic to work with and their stoves will be great for your size house and burning 24/7.

We heat a 1500 square foot ranch easily. The only down side is overnight burns are a bit challenging. After 7 to 8 hours are furnace (It is set at 68) will kick on on cold nights.

lazeedan said:

The only down side is overnight burns are a bit challenging. After 7 to 8 hours are furnace (It is set at 68) will kick on on cold nights.

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A very good reason to go with a Woodstock. Overnight burns are a breeze!

Eliminate the middle man, "Doc"! Woodstocks are a quality stove, the factory backs them up without hesitation, customer service is their priority, and they will burn overnight with no problem. And, "furniture quality"... a beautiful additon to your home. They have it all!

One reason to go bigger is to get longer burn times. However, the cat Fireview easily does overnight burns - and wouldn't have much problem keeping your modest size home warm. I have one, it works great. Get the bigger stove if you want to cut, split, and stack more wood.

I guess a lot depends on the quality of insulation and windows in your home and your expectation of just how warm you want the house to be. I know our two stoves have no trouble keeping their respective spaces pleasantly comfortable for us.

The Fireview heats 1250 sq. ft. and the Classic just over 1000 sq. ft.. Both are well insulated and the windows are tight. They do it with ease and not much firewood, I might add.

Doc,
To get an overnight burn in a Hearthstone, you would be looking at the Heritage minimum. We have the Homestead, the Heritage's little brother, and we get 6 hours of REAL heat here in southern NH. Specifically, if it is less than 20 degrees out and we want to keep the house at 67+, we need to refill every 6 hours at least.

I know people with the Heritage (in-laws), Homestead (me), Mansfield (friend), and Equinox (dealer) and we are all very happy. I've also heard very little, if any, negative comments on Woodstock.

Find the right size stove for heat and burn time from either company and you'll be fine.

Good luck,

S

dr.drew said:

I am looking at soapstone wood stoves. My two choices so far are hearthstone or woodstock, the problem with wood stock is you have to buy direct , are there any others you think I should look at, and are you happy with your choice?

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Naturally it is all a matter of your point of view - what is it about buying direct that you object to? The benefits in my case I felt far outweighed any downside of going through a dealer.

However, in making your decision consider this - the difference between Hearthstone and Woodstock is more than just direct vs dealer sales model. There is that little detail of the cat vs non-cat stove. Personally I tend to think this makes more of a difference than the stone in the performance of this stove. It is quite amazing what you can do with this stove due to the cat's ability to eat that smoke at relatively lower stovebox temperatures. Again (obviously by my signature) I felt that the Woodstock won out on this side of things.

My experience with the company and the stove has met and/or exceeded my expectations in all areas. And mind you my expectations were pretty high given the way folks on this forum talk up the Fireview. I'm now just over half way though my first season with the stove and still learning mind you - but it is really fine tuning learning - I was able to get good heat without significant smoke in the first couple burns - better reliability and confidence than I had with my prior EPA stove after a full season.

dr.drew said:

I am looking at soapstone wood stoves. My two choices so far are hearthstone or woodstock, the problem with wood stock is you have to buy direct , are there any others you think I should look at, and are you happy with your choice?

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FYI, Woodstock has happy customers just about everywhere and say they will put new owners in touch with folks in their area who've had the stove for a while and can provide support and advice.

But from everything I've read on this forum, nothing ever actually goes wrong with a Woodstock stove, and the folks at the company happily spend time on the phone and with email helping people learn how to run the stoves for the best results.

Normally, I'd totall shy away from a company with no nearby dealers, but if my setup (and my wallet) could accommodate a Woodstock, I'd get one in a hearbeat without hesitation.

I honestly think the only two players in the soapstone game are Woodstock and Hearthstone.. For sure they are the only ones I have seen discussed here. We needed a front loader, so we chose the Homestead.

I don't think you would go wrong with either brand. I've owned both but prefer the Woodstock for the longer burns, clean glass, and overall looks. My old Homestead was a tad too small for my 1800 sq ft, but I got a great deal on a floor model when I was really looking for a Heritage. I use to get 8 hour low burns with the Homestead and with a similar sized load in the Fireview I can go 12. If you have good insulation and a centrally located stove you could probably do pretty well with one of the other smaller Woodstocks and still get consistant 10 hour burns. Good luck.

dr.drew said:

How clean does the glass stay on the woodstock ?

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With my prior stove I would clean the glass each morning and I thought that it wasn't all that bad - damp paper towel, perhaps a bit of ash etc. With the Fireview I literally go weeks before feeling the need to clean off the 'haze' that seems to build up on it. I believe there are others here who go much longer without getting this haze.

I think I get it more because I'm burning a mix of wood that every once in a while has a few sizzlers in there and when I cut the air way down it will blacken the glass for a few minutes during the burn - this black then burns off leaving the haze after a few cycles of this. I came up with this theory after seeing the glass go black for about a minute once during a burn at night, I don't know if it really holds water or not... but in any case the bottom line is that the glass stays VERY clean. I've also learned to minimize my haze issue by not pointing bark toward the glass and also watching out for those sizzlers and making sure I char them better and give the load more air if I do happen upon one. Ah yes as Dennis/Backwoods Savage would say - it all comes down to the fuel you put in the stove.

My own personal experience comes from the Hearthstone line. For what your looking at I would get the Heritage as a minimum. The Woodstock stoves have an immense and loyal following here and seem to have great customer service. If you dont mind using a catalytic stove (I would research cat and non cat to see if it is right for you) the Woodstock will give you a longer burn time (from what I hear. I get 8-9 hours out of the Heritage) without having to oversize the stove. Buying factory direct for an expensive piece of equipment would work for me personally if I lived within 200 miles or so of the factory. Consider buying a Hearthstone from a local dealer if you don't want to handle warranty issues, repairs, etc on your own. Somethings nice about picking up the phone and having someone at your house within a day or two if you have a warranty issue.

This brings me to my final point..If you want to place any value on buying from a local dealer, make sure you compare at least 2 Hearthstone dealers. Ask them about their service policy, etc. Check the BBB and be nosy. Buying local is great and keeps our communities in business, but only makes sense if they deserve your hard earned money.

dr.drew said:

How clean does the glass stay on the woodstock ?

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I wipe off the haze about once a month, good thing to because it's a pita getting around those andirons. Woodstock uses double pane glass and all the combustion air comes down the airwash, no other secondary EPA zipper air to rob the air wash. The only time I see the glass get some black on it is when I reload with the side door open, as soon as I close it, it burns off.

Having been to the Woodstock factory a couple of times with a buddy picking up a stove etc- I have to say that they were about the most accommodating, easy to deal with folks that you could imagine. Not taking anything away from Hearthstone- just that dealing with Woodstock directly should be no deterrent.

dr.drew said:

How clean does the glass stay on the woodstock ?

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FYI, glass stays totally clean on my Hearthstone, too. Once in a while (every couple weeks?) I notice a little haze, but it's only even noticeable from the inside when I open the door. With the door closed, you can't even see that it's there. Wipes off with a damp paper towel.

Both Woodstock and Hearthstone stoves keep clean glass unless you've accidentally done a long smoldering fire with unseasoned wood. Under ordinary circumstances, they blow heated air right onto the glass during a good fire, which keeps it clean.

I've burned both the Hearthstone Homestead and the Woodstock Fireview. Both are great stoves.

Hearthstone's fire is really very cool to look at. The flames spill across the glass (keeping it clean). Very dynamic. As a non-cat stove, you don't have a replacement part that you have to buy every ~4 years. Of course, as with anything, you never know if you'll need to replace something else (put a log through the glass, door handle, etc) as normal wear and tear. Stove is very easy to operate.

Woodstock really is a great company to deal with. They'll almost bend over backwards to make sure that you are happy. They have a 6 month satisfaction guarantee. Very long burn times that should work well for 1100 sq ft if you have any kind of insulation in your house. Stoves are also very easy to operate

Lots of people here will help you work out the kinks with whatever stove you buy. Good luck.

dr.drew said:

I am looking at soapstone wood stoves. My two choices so far are hearthstone or woodstock, the problem with wood stock is you have to buy direct , are there any others you think I should look at, and are you happy with your choice?

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Dealing direct for me is actually better than dealing with a dealer! If you look around this web site you will find stories of folks who have bought locally and then had problems. The dealer says it is up to the factory and the factory people won't even talk to you. At that point you are at the mercy of the dealer and it has been my experience when something like this crops up, the dealer changes a lot from what he was when you were trying to buy.

Woodstock will not try to run out on you. If you have a problem it will be fixed. They will do everything in their power to make you a satisfied customer. In short, they will treat you great after the sale the same as they do before the sale. For example: when we got our new stove there was a small spot of paint rubbed off during shipping. They sent me a can of paint. There were 2 firebricks that did not look too great. They sent me a whole new set of firebricks. I was not happy with one gasket. They sent me new gasket and sealer. Any other problem I've had they had happily taken care of.

Perhaps your concern lies with the install. Having a dealer install can be helpful....if he has good people hired to do so but it is no guarantee. If you can't do it yourself, most carpenters can do the install for you.

In addition to the above, look at Woodstock's guarantee and then try to find anything similar to it. Their guarantee is fantastic and they do not get many stoves returned.