Hampton H200 wood stove review.

BEWARE OF LONG WINDED POST. If not interested in the H200, move on.

Original thread asking for help picking the stove. http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/64965/

When we settled on the H200 for the install in our kitchen, I found that there was not much info on the forum about this little stove, unlike many others that were suggested and recommended. My wife really liked the looks of the Hampton, so I did all the research I could and I did not find anything that turned me off, and a lot of things I really liked. So, now we have it.

Install thread - http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/71926/P0/

Several of you ask for feedback after I got it installed and running. I only burned it the end of February and March last winter and been experimenting with it a lot this fall. However, since I have never had and EPA stove before and already find it very easy to operate, I am very pleased with this stove.

Here goes.

It is of course a small stove, 1.34 cu ft firebox, 16 in max log length. You would want to cut shorter than that, as that is tight. It is a cast iron stove put together with gaskets, except for the top, which looks to be 1/4 in plate steel installed with a gasket......so that it can be easily removed to access and replace the stainless steel secondary baffle. Then that is covered with a cast iron hob forming the convection heat exchange area and the decorative top on the stove. The primary air and the glass air wash are controlled by one lever at the front, lower right, and the secondary air is fed continuously, I believe, from another inlet at the lower back of the stove.

It has a very easy to use door handle and latch, adjustable. I did not get the ash pan, which is used by lifting a cast gasketed plug in the bottom of the stove and letting ashes fall. I did get the 2 speed, thermostatically controlled fan that mounts on the back, sends air up the back, over the top of the stove, and under the cast top hob, out the top front. Works very well. Side shelves are also available as well as 2 different finishes, charcoal gray and brown enamel.

I have burned wood for 40 years in about everything. This being my first EPA stove, I have nothing to compare it with other than reviews of other stoves here. However, I found it very easy to operate. It lights easily, comes up to operating temperature very quickly. The secondary’s start very early as well. I shut the air down in stages. Once I have the stove up to temperature, I can shut the air down all the way and it cruises nicely and throws a lot of heat for its size. Care must be taken with the firebricks which are fairly soft.....I think they are vermiculite. The welded, all one piece, stainless steel secondary baffle is very simple and seems to work very well.

Of course being small it does not hold a fire as long as the bigger stoves. The manual says 6 hours and I would agree with that. The kitchen/dinning/den area we wanted to heat is not that big and we could not put a very big stove there. It is a second stove, so all it has to do is back up the main stove insert in the fireplace.

Mine was a corner install and clearances are good, 9 inches with double wall stove pipe.

Couple of things I will note. The glass seems to get a bit dirty in the bottom corners. The air wash seems to miss these areas. If you burn hot enough, that pretty much burns off, but I always get some on cold starts.
The only thing I really have bad to say about this stove is that the floor protection requirements are very confusing, if not contradictory.
The Testing/Safety label on the back says “non-combustibleâ€, nothing more. An inspector would probably stop right there. The manual, page 8, under RESIDENTIAL INSTALLATION, 8) says “....non-combustible material.....and......However, when installing the unit with the short leg option there is a requirement of 0.84K of floor protector beneath the non-combustible floor.†So far it seems that if you use the regular legs that non-combustible protection is all that is required. Then on page 11, however, it says that “a minimum 1/2 in, thick thermal floor protector with a 0.84 K factor is required when installing the standard or optional short legs.†The product specification sheet, http://www.regency-fire.com/Files/Specifications/H-H200.aspx also just says non-combustible floor protection. I called Regency/Hampton and was told that page 11 was correct. When I ask why it said what it did or didn’t say on the label, and on page 8, and in the spec sheet, I simply got a repeat of the first statement. That said, my experience has been that the floor under the stove barely gets warm. There is a Regency/Hampton dealer on this forum that I have PMed with that agrees, the floor barely gets warm underneath and that the only protection needed for the standard legs, is ember protection.

All in all, it is a very well built, beautiful stove, easy to operate, and we really like it so far. Oh yeah, it may be small, but it weighs 416 lbs.!

I am bumping my own thread since I have now burned the little Hampton for a good while. I love this stove! The only thing I will add is that it holds coals forever. Being a small fire box, burn times are not that great, but it will hold enough coals to reload and start the fire for 10 hours, if not more, depending on the load of wood the coals came from. The blower is still on and putting out warm air as well. 416 pounds of stove holds the heat well. This winter has been mild and I still have not really let her rip, but I like what I have so far.

No, it doesn't seem to be a very popular stove.....I am not sure why. It is really solid, nice looking, and easy to run. I suppose because of the small fire box. But it really fit the bill for us. And yes, the kitchen is even more popular than it was before. The Hampton topped off our complete kitchen remodel last year and my wife couldn't be happier. During Christmas, when the kids and grandkids were all home, the kitchen was where everyone wanted to be. Here is a pic of 2 of my grandkids in the morning. The caption reads "Papa, we are cold, will you get the fire going?" And my dog Oggie sure likes it! ;-P