Getting a Hearthstone up to 600°

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

Figured I'd go through the process of how I get the Heritage up to 600Â° since there have been some questions and remarks about getting a Hearthstone up to certain temps. This isn't a perfect illustration, as the photos were taken quickly on an iPad later in the day so the lighting is poor, with a lot of reflections, and I did not take photos of the splits that were used.

First, I started with about six medium sized splits (on the smaller end of the medium scale). In this particular instance I am starting on a hot bed of coals with the stove top sitting at about 300Â°.

Fire has been going for about 10-15 minutes. The air controls are completely open and the pipe damper is open. Top center stone is at 377Â°

After that photo was taken the air controls were adjusted to 60% open. Pipe damper is still open.

5-10 minutes have passed. Air controls are still 60% open with the damper open. Top center stone is at 412Â°

After that photo was taken the pipe damper was closed and the air controls were adjusted to about 45% open.

10 minutes have passed. The pipe damper is closed with air controls still at 45% open. Top center stone is at 519Â°

After that photo was taken the air controls have now been adjusted to about 15% open with the pipe damper closed.

This photo shows the control settings at this point (note that the Rutland is lagging behind in temperature readings):

5-10 minutes have passed. Air controls and pipe damper remains the same. Top center stone is at 545Â°

5 minutes have passed. Air controls are now closed. Pipe damper remains closed. Final shot. Top center stone is at 595Â°

Stove topped out at 610Â° briefly before coming back down.

And there you have; A Hearthstone at 600Â°.

Milton Findley · Nov 19, 2011

Well, I am within 5 degrees of believing you. You know that if there is no picture, it didn't happen. ;-)

certified106 · Nov 19, 2011

I will bet that thing was cranking out the heat at that point! Did you have any clothes left on by the time it was at 600? LOL

MarkinNC · Nov 19, 2011

One of my friends has a hearthstone stove, I think it is a Heritage. Anyway, I think he is afraid to take his stove above 350 or so. We have talked about it and various brands saying it's OK to go at least to 500 degrees. He says it heats his house well even though he never takes it up high.

I started out zeroed in on the Hearthstone brand and they sure are pretty. I wound up with a workhorse type stove in the end and I have to ask if there is something to that softer heat "thing?" I know I like my 700 or 750 degree stove when I want heat.

Nice post btw, this forum is hard to post pics on and posting three pics in one was a nice trick.

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

certified106 said:
I will bet that thing was cranking out the heat at that point! Did you have any clothes left on by the time it was at 600? LOL

Standing right in front of and over the stove had me sweating.

That load gave me a five hour burn. I'm going to start working on trying to figure out how to stretch out the burn times.

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

Milt said:
Well, I am within 5 degrees of believing you. You know that if there is no picture, it didn't happen. ;-)

Damnit, ruined by the fine print, yet again!

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

MarkinNC said:
One of my friends has a hearthstone stove, I think it is a Heritage. Anyway, I think he is afraid to take his stove above 350 or so. We have talked about it and various brands saying it's OK to go at least to 500 degrees. He says it heats his house well even though he never takes it up high.

If he's happy, I guess that's all that matters. Though, he might want to learn how to burn it hotter in case he ever needs more heat.

I started out zeroed in on the Hearthstone brand and they sure are pretty. I wound up with a workhorse type stove in the end and I have to ask if there is something to that softer heat "thing?" I know I like my 700 or 750 degree stove when I want heat.

It heats well. For my application, I need a larger firebox for a variety of reasons. It is a solid, consistent, and simple to operate stove. If I would do it all again, I'd go with the Mansfield as the larger firebox provides better flexibility.

Nice post btw, this forum is hard to post pics on and posting three pics in one was a nice trick.

The trick is to post your pics on a free hosting server like PhotoBucket and then make your post using the "[ img ][ /img ]" option in the top navigation when you create a post.

Scott2373 · Nov 19, 2011

The trick is to post your pics on a free hosting server like PhotoBucket and then make your post using the "[ img ][ /img ]" option in the top navigation when you create a post.

Or just use the "Preview Post" button below and keep adding pics each time it refreshes. You'll see a list of added pics to the right of the "Browse" button.

shawneyboy · Nov 19, 2011

Excellent post Browning. A great illustration of one of the ways to get a big ole rock up to temp.

Battenkiller · Nov 19, 2011

Scott2373 said:
The trick is to post your pics on a free hosting server like PhotoBucket and then make your post using the "[ img ][ /img ]" option in the top navigation when you create a post.

Click to expand...

Or just use the "Preview Post" button below and keep adding pics each time it refreshes. You'll see a list of added pics to the right of the "Browse" button.

I do both depending on how large I want my pic to appear when it opens, or how important fine detail is to the reason I'm posting the pic in the first place. I'm sure that there are some who don't realize that clicking on an attached photo enlarges it beyond the thumbnail size. If the photo is important enough to me that I want it displayed in its original resolution then I upload it onto my Photobucket account. Takes like 30 seconds.

FWIW out of politeness to the group, I usually try to keep to the attachments when I can because they don't blare out there in the forefront... 'specially in somebody else's thread. If I really feel the photo needs to grab attention for some reason, I still try to keep the size around 800 pixels in its largest dimension. If more detail is needed you can always crop it in Photoshop. Nothing more embarassing than accidentally posting a 1200 pixel pic of your moisture meter reading 12% MC. :red:

Battenkiller · Nov 19, 2011

BTW BBAR If I was going to try to explain the technology to a newbie, I couldn't think of a better photo sequence to show them. Especially that last photo, with almost every secondary hole lit up, clean flame, and no smoke apparent inside the box. This is the type of burn I'll be shooting for when I eventually get an EPA stove. Obviously, it does the job of heat output as well as any of those scary looking "Bowels of Hell" photos and videos that are on the Interweb.

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

Battenkiller said:
BTW BBAR If I was going to try to explain the technology to a newbie, I couldn't think of a better photo sequence to show them. Especially that last photo, with almost every secondary hole lit up, clean flame, and no smoke apparent inside the box. This is the type of burn I'll be shooting for when I eventually get an EPA stove. Obviously, it does the job of heat output as well as any of those scary looking "Bowels of Hell" photos and videos that are on the Interweb.

Thanks. If I would have done this about two hours earlier, the photo quality would have been much better. The photos showing at 519 and 545 degrees actually had a lot more going on in the firebox than the images show. The secondaries were less organized and more erratic than the final shot at 595.

And you are correct, at least for this stove, that if you have the "Bowels of Hell" look going on, you are either still locking in the burn, or you are wasting fuel. The "Bowels of Hell" do not give you the high burn temps on this stove and, for me at least, shows that a lot of heat is going up the chimney.

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

Battenkiller said:
Scott2373 said:

The trick is to post your pics on a free hosting server like PhotoBucket and then make your post using the "[ img ][ /img ]" option in the top navigation when you create a post.

Click to expand...

Or just use the "Preview Post" button below and keep adding pics each time it refreshes. You'll see a list of added pics to the right of the "Browse" button.

Click to expand...

I do both depending on how large I want my pic to appear when it opens, or how important fine detail is to the reason I'm posting the pic in the first place. I'm sure that there are some who don't realize that clicking on an attached photo enlarges it beyond the thumbnail size. If the photo is important enough to me that I want it displayed in its original resolution then I upload it onto my Photobucket account. Takes like 30 seconds.

FWIW out of politeness to the group, I usually try to keep to the attachments when I can because they don't blare out there in the forefront... 'specially in somebody else's thread. If I really feel the photo needs to grab attention for some reason, I still try to keep the size around 800 pixels in its largest dimension. If more detail is needed you can always crop it in Photoshop. Nothing more embarassing than accidentally posting a 1200 pixel pic of your moisture meter reading 12% MC. :red:

Yeah, I felt the photos were a little large, but when I shrunk them down the quality looked even worse since you lost a lot of detail shoing what was going on in the firebox. Also, the readability of the blurry temp reading didn't help when I shrunk the images down further than what you see.

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

shawneyboy said:
Excellent post Browning. A great illustration of one of the ways to get a big ole rock up to temp.

The pipe damper won't work for everyone, but the air controls, what is going on in the firebox, and the temp reading should at least be a good indicator to most. I think the poster with the Equinox is trying to run his stove like an old smoke dragon by letting the fire rip, wait until the temps come up, and then shut the air back. That would never work on these stoves.

snowleopard · Nov 19, 2011

MarkinNC said:
I started out zeroed in on the Hearthstone brand and they sure are pretty. I wound up with a workhorse type stove in the end and I have to ask if there is something to that softer heat "thing?" I know I like my 700 or 750 degree stove when I want heat.

I use Picasa (free download) for posting pix. There's a sticky around here somewhere on posting pix to the forums, and I just followed the instructions. Makes it pretty simple, which is what I was looking for.

As far as the soft heat thing, yes, there's something to it. If you've ever spent time in a log cabin heated with a woodstove, you'll have an idea of what that is like. Log cabins are not particularly energy efficient, but they are very comfortable once the thermal mass of the logs has gotten warmed up, and heat radiates back into the room from them. It doesn't have that roasting-on-one-side-freezing-on-the-other direct blast of heat. I don't know why it works this way, but it seems like it does a better job transferring heat to the thermal mass in my house, as opposed to other stoves that created hot air.

I tend to run my stove between 350-500 degrees, and it keeps our house very comfortable. I've lived with many other stoves: barrel stoves, wood cook-stoves, steel, cast iron, and even one sheet-metal stove, and I've spent time around other people's stoves as well. I've never had a stove like this, and as long as I'm heating with wood, I would choose stone as my primary heater.

woodmiser · Nov 19, 2011

Thanks BB,. I can get my Equinox to 600 easily with a good load of dry wood and some so-so oak. Matter of fact I was almost at 700!

BrowningBAR · Nov 19, 2011

woodmiser said:
Thanks BB,. I can get my Equinox to 600 easily with a good load of dry wood and some so-so oak. Matter of fact I was almost at 700!

Highest I've gotten the Heritage was about 650.

700 on an Equinox must have been pumping out a ton of heat.

Battenkiller · Nov 20, 2011

BrowningBAR said:
Yeah, I felt the photos were a little large, but when I shrunk them down the quality looked even worse since you lost a lot of detail shoing what was going on in the firebox. Also, the readability of the blurry temp reading didn't help when I shrunk the images down further than what you see.

No, I didn't mean in your case here, just in general. Perfect size IMHO. You're trying to show what's going on inside your firebox. The bigger the better. Plus, you're the author of the thread. Makes you the king. :cheese:

I like the way you took the time to do insets for the temp readings as well. Next time I post shots like that I'll follow your lead. ;-)

MarkinNC · Nov 20, 2011

snowleopard said:
MarkinNC said:

I started out zeroed in on the Hearthstone brand and they sure are pretty. I wound up with a workhorse type stove in the end and I have to ask if there is something to that softer heat "thing?" I know I like my 700 or 750 degree stove when I want heat.

Click to expand...

I use Picasa (free download) for posting pix. There's a sticky around here somewhere on posting pix to the forums, and I just followed the instructions. Makes it pretty simple, which is what I was looking for.

As far as the soft heat thing, yes, there's something to it. If you've ever spent time in a log cabin heated with a woodstove, you'll have an idea of what that is like. Log cabins are not particularly energy efficient, but they are very comfortable once the thermal mass of the logs has gotten warmed up, and heat radiates back into the room from them. It doesn't have that roasting-on-one-side-freezing-on-the-other direct blast of heat. I don't know why it works this way, but it seems like it does a better job transferring heat to the thermal mass in my house, as opposed to other stoves that created hot air.

I tend to run my stove between 350-500 degrees, and it keeps our house very comfortable. I've lived with many other stoves: barrel stoves, wood cook-stoves, steel, cast iron, and even one sheet-metal stove, and I've spent time around other people's stoves as well. I've never had a stove like this, and as long as I'm heating with wood, I would choose stone as my primary heater.

I use picaso as well. When I tried to upload a picture from my android phone the other day, it was to big, Now if the forum automatically resized it for me (like the other forums I belong to), that would be great. I've though about posting this in a suggestion area on the forum.

Thanks for the follow up on the soft heat

trettig · Nov 20, 2011

Awesome illustrating photos. I think I will install a stove pipe.

BrowningBAR · Nov 20, 2011

trettig said:
Awesome illustrating photos. I think I will install a stove pipe.

A pipe damper is cheap to do, and may work for you since your chimney is taller than mine. But, it may not solve all your problems. I suspect your wood and operating methods may be attributing to the problems. I hope this helps and I hope to see an update on your Equinox.

Highbeam · Nov 20, 2011

BrowningBAR said:
And you are correct, at least for this stove, that if you have the "Bowels of Hell" look going on, you are either still locking in the burn, or you are wasting fuel. The "Bowels of Hell" do not give you the high burn temps on this stove and, for me at least, shows that a lot of heat is going up the chimney.

I have found this to be true as well. The hottest fires are not the brightest but they are the ones where the secondary tubes glow red and where primary air is almost shut off.

The other trick is small wood. You wouldn't be able to fit six splits of anything in this stove unless they are pretty small. You are using the 4 inch splits which is not what old smoke dragon users remember. All of the small pieces seem to start up better and give off their gasses.

oldspark · Nov 20, 2011

Highbeam said:
BrowningBAR said:

And you are correct, at least for this stove, that if you have the "Bowels of Hell" look going on, you are either still locking in the burn, or you are wasting fuel. The "Bowels of Hell" do not give you the high burn temps on this stove and, for me at least, shows that a lot of heat is going up the chimney.

Click to expand...

I have found this to be true as well. The hottest fires are not the brightest but they are the ones where the secondary tubes glow red and where primary air is almost shut off.

The other trick is small wood. You wouldn't be able to fit six splits of anything in this stove unless they are pretty small. You are using the 4 inch splits which is not what old smoke dragon users remember. All of the small pieces seem to start up better and give off their gasses.

Well I am still learning how to run the summit but the highest temps I get are with flames on both the wood and secondaries, the flue temps drop after I start to close the draft down, with my new chimney I like using some of the bigger splitts, this especially holds true for the less dense wood. Not sure you can come up with the "best" way to run any paticular wood burner, its a learn and burn as you go for your own needs.

Woody Stover · Nov 20, 2011

snowleopard said:
MarkinNC said:

I started out zeroed in on the Hearthstone brand and they sure are pretty. I wound up with a workhorse type stove in the end and I have to ask if there is something to that softer heat "thing?" I know I like my 700 or 750 degree stove when I want heat.

Click to expand...

As far as the soft heat thing, yes, there's something to it.

Right now there's just a small pile of coals left in the bottom of the box and the stove top is at 170. When I step out from behind the bookcase I can still feel the radiant heat off the stove, 25' away.

BrowningBAR · Nov 20, 2011

BrowningBAR said:
woodmiser said:

Thanks BB,. I can get my Equinox to 600 easily with a good load of dry wood and some so-so oak. Matter of fact I was almost at 700!

Click to expand...

Highest I've gotten the Heritage was about 650.

700 on an Equinox must have been pumping out a ton of heat.

New inadvertent high; 684Â° :red:

Threw a bunch of uglys in on a reload, damper closed and air open at 50%. I got the rare Bowels of Hell with high temps...

It's a little warm in here right now.

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