Hearthstone Heritage temps

[kzbierski]

My husband and I got our first wood stove - Hearthstone Heritage for our new addition to our cape installed a few weeks ago - yahhh! Knowing nothing about wood stoves, I first read the manual and then moved on to better things... I stumbled on this site and LOVE IT! I've read a ton of posts on this site to answer my initial questions. So far I've learned some of the terms, common running temps, types of wood to burn, what the heck secondaries were, burning N/S or E/W (this I had to google to figure out what the heck that meant) and thermometers and where to read from...

But trying to tie everything together for my particular stove is tough... so I had some questions I felt I wanted to see if someone can answer for the Heritage.

SO! Onto my questions... and excuse me if I use the wrong term..

Trying to gauge the temperature of our fires (we don't have a thermometer and have a double wall pipe) I borrowed a friend's IR gun and took some readings after we got a good fire going (confirmed secondaries were going)- warmed the lower level up to 76... and took some readings. If my reading on the center stone of the Heritage is about 375 - max <400.. is that the temperature I should be using to judge the "running temp" of the stove? Like is that what I'm basing it on when I would say something like "Yeah, got my stove to xx degrees"... ??? I noticed that if I took temps on the right side bottom stone - it could be 100 or so degrees higher....

But what I'm not sure of is - with all the discussions about differences in the temperatures and where they get them from - mag thermometers (which I think I can't use due to the double wall pipe) and the fact that my husband doesn't like the idea of drilling into his pipe to put a pipe thermometer in - when someone says they are burning an xxx degree fires with the heritage/any soapstone - where are they getting the temperature from?

2nd question - Not being used to wood stoves -I'm terrified of overfiring - obviously you read the manual - you read the posts about it - BUT for my stove - how would I overfire? What would I have to do to overfire? Keep the door open and the damper all the open? Even when I fill the firebox up - get that going with the door open for 10 minutes or so and the damper open - the IR gun temperature doesn't go much into the 400's????

So what is the best place to take a temp reading - is a thermometer placed on the center stone good - if my husband doesn't want to drill a hole - and IF we do put a pipe thermometer in - from what I've read - it sounds like that temp is going to be different than the one taken from the stone top?

Is a temp of between 380/420 from an IR gun on that stone - a good temp - without fear of running a medium-small fire that creates creosote????

Arghghhggh - so many questions!

If anyone can answer just one - I'd be a happy girl!

Thanks,
Karen in CT

 

[Todd]

Welcome aboard.
I should take your temp from the top center stone and try and keep her under 600 according to Hearthstone. A simple magnetic type is fine for this. Most overfires are from full loads on top of large coal beds while the stove is still hot. It's best to let the load burn down to 200-300 and just enough coals to relight another load of splits.

Pipe thermometers are another nice tool to see whats going on but it can also lead to too much information and more worries. You would also need a probe style for your double wall and I have seen many people question just how accurate they are which leads to more worries. Maybe just try the stove top first and see how it goes.

Lots of good folks here burning the same stove as you, pick their brains and do some searches here, lots to learn.

 

[BrowningBAR]

If my reading on the center stone of the Heritage is about 375 - max <400.. is that the temperature I should be using to judge the "running temp" of the stove? Like is that what I'm basing it on when I would say something like "Yeah, got my stove to xx degrees"... ??? I noticed that if I took temps on the right side bottom stone - it could be 100 or so degrees higher....

2nd question - Not being used to wood stoves -I'm terrified of overfiring - obviously you read the manual - you read the posts about it - BUT for my stove - how would I overfire? What would I have to do to overfire? Keep the door open and the damper all the open? Even when I fill the firebox up - get that going with the door open for 10 minutes or so and the damper open - the IR gun temperature doesn't go much into the 400's????

So what is the best place to take a temp reading - is a thermometer placed on the center stone good - if my husband doesn't want to drill a hole - and IF we do put a pipe thermometer in - from what I've read - it sounds like that temp is going to be different than the one taken from the stone top?

Is a temp of between 380/420 from an IR gun on that stone - a good temp - without fear of running a medium-small fire that creates creosote????

Top center stone is the correct location.

I regularly get the heritage over 500 degrees. I can easily hit 600 in a controlled manner.

If you are heating your home comfortably at lower temps then 380-420 are perfectly safe temps as long as there is note smoke streaming out of your chimney.

 

[kzbierski]

So when you say you regularly get the heritage over 500 - you are taking it from a thermometer sitting on that top stone - or from something else?

Curious - as I am going to be getting one - what thermometer do you have that you use on that top stone?

 

[BrowningBAR]

So when you say you regularly get the heritage over 500 - you are taking it from a thermometer sitting on that top stone - or from something else?

Curious - as I am going to be getting one - what thermometer do you have that you use on that top stone?

Stove top thermometer on top center stone is your run-of-the-mill rutland magnet thermometer and I use an IR gun. Good wood is a must for 500+ temps, but the Heritage is a surprisingly forgiving stove with unseasoned wood (I've thrown some in to see what it would do).

 

[joshlaugh]

I use two temp gauges on my Heritage. I keep one on the center top stone and another is drilled into my black pipe to watch flue temps. I personally have not been able to get my stove up to 500*. With effort it hits 475* but usually we cruise around 425-450*

 

[BrowningBAR]

Mine's locked in at 570 with the air 95% closed and the flue shut. I'm off to bed.

 

[YankeeFarmer]

We got our Heritage right after Thanksgiving, so I only have a few weeks with this stove after about 18 years with a Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim. The highest stove top temp I've seen is about 475 on the top center stone as indicated by our old Rutland magnetic thermometer. I put a new Rutland magnetic thermometer on the black single wall pipe about 6" above the stove's outlet collar. I've never got that one into the danger zone which starts at 550 on that thermometer. I'm pretty sure I could, but there's no need because the stove is a little large for the 24 x 36 room it's in and I feel like I've done a poor job of managing the fire if the room gets much above 75 degrees. I can easily get the room to 80 or above.

The Heritage is a wonderfully controllable stove.

Jerry

 

[Highbeam]

So your manual tells you where to measure the temperature of the stove. That's the top center stone. All "stove temps" for this stove will be meaured there. The manual also gives you a red line temp of 600 after which your warranty is void, cracks, stove turns to dust, who knows but don't exceed 600. You measure this top center stove with any surface mount meter, I have used the rutland but like the looks of the condar better.

You measure double wall stove pipe temps with nothing but a probe meter installed per the directions at 18" above the stove. I have found it quite easy to overheat the stove pipe while the stove temps are still low due to the stone sucking up heat. We watch and monitor that probe meter more than anything.

Getting the heritage up to 600 is not done with wide open draft. I have found the hottest stove temps when running at about 1/2" from closed. That's my no f'in around setting when I want heat. Most of the time the stove cruises between 325 and 450. Flue temps at about 750-800.

After running about 20 cords through my heritage I have found that it is predictable. Doesn't run away, glass stays clean, and the side door is wonderful. You don't need to open the front door, ever.