Cracked Stone

Had a problem several years ago with a Hearthstone Homestead. Air wash diverter warped terribly within weeks of owning the stove. Stove had been properly broken in and never overfired. For the price you pay for these stoves, I did not want someone tearing apart my brand new expensive stove. As was mentioned earlier, I feared it would be reassembled by someone who was less than a craftsman.

I ended up returning the entire stove for a replacement.

On the other hand I'm currently running an older Hearthstone II. It's got a stone in the front and one on the side that are cracked through. I used Hearthstone Furnace cement on the inside of the crack when I rebuilt the stove and have not had a problem. I don't think they'll send me new stones for that one.

The stones are not jelly doughnuts. There is no creo goodness in there to leak out. Soapstone is a rock, cut with saws to the dimensions needed to build your stove. Your creo leak is from the inside of the stove whether you like it or not.

3 weeks?

Have you contacted the dealer yet? I would ask them to repalce the unit.

Highbeam said:

The stones are not jelly doughnuts. There is no creo goodness in there to leak out. Soapstone is a rock, cut with saws to the dimensions needed to build your stove. Your creo leak is from the inside of the stove whether you like it or not.

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Not all black substances are creosote. The stones often have veins, and are not uniform composition, so it is very possible there was a already a slight but unseen crack containing moisture and mineral impurities. Heating the rock caused the moisture to boil out some impurities, the black goo, also enlarging the crack (or at least making it visible).

As someone who owns an old Mansfield and has torn it down completely, allow me to offer some advice. Don't tear your stove apart just because of a surface crack. You'll end up tearing your stove apart every year or two for all the new surface cracks that appear. Even if it cracks all the way through, just get a tube of Hearthstone cement and seal it on the inside. A complete teardown is just not worth the trouble. Structurally the stove is in no state of peril even if multiple stones develop cracks. Replacing one stone doesn't mean unplugging it and plugging in a new one. You'll have to pull the entire stove apart, meticulously clean each stone, the steel splines, and the cast iron, and recement everything. As for the black streak. I doubt it's creosote, unless you're burning really wet wood and burning cool fires. Plus the firebox has negative pressure in it. Air should be getting sucked in, not creosote oozing out.


My advice on what warrants a complete teardown:
(1) Crumbling stones
(2) Warped or cracked cast iron
(3) Multiple leaks indicating the original cement is deteriorating.


Not that I don't think it should ever be done. But a 3 week old stove with a cosmetic blemish? Just burn the thing and enjoy it.

I agree with jon. I also rebuilt my mansfield and understand how much work this takes. A cracked stone isnt the end of the world. It just sucks that the stove is new. I had a two stones with cracks in them when I rebuilt mine and I just cemented them and they are fine. once you cement them in they wont leak. If a stone has multiple cracks in it that may be a different story, but just one crack is nothing to worry about, mostly cosmetic

I contacted Hearthstone about a crack in one of my Homestead's stones last year--John (I think) replied, explaining that surface cracks WILL happen and that I should only be concerned if a stone is cracked straight through. Even then, the easiest (and, given the complexity of dis-assembly/reassembly, the best) solution would be to throw some cement on there.

He said to use an incense stick or smoke pen while the stove is running hard to test for air leakage--if the smoke is pulled in, there's a leak.

S