What do you think of the Hearthstone Homestead?

[Andy99]

I have a 2000 sqft ranch with a open floor plan. The stove will sit right in the middle of the house. Its a little smaller then I would have liked but its the perfect size for the space I have to work with. Im going to put it on a raised fireplace hearth and run the 6 inch stainless flue up and out the fireplace flue. I know everyone has different opinions. I was just wondering if any one had good or bad things to say about this stove. If you dont like this one what would you recommend thats the same size?

Thanks

 

[Todd]

It may be a tad small if your trying to heat your whole house or using it as your primary source of heat. But it also depends on your floor plan and insulation. I use to heat 1800 sq ft total from a Homestead basement install and it couldn't keep up when it got real cold like 10 degrees and under. Also had hard time getting it to burn 8 hrs with stove packed with Oak. More like 6-7 hr burn times. I ended up buying the Woodstock Fireview which gives me longer burns (10-12 hrs) more heat, and less wood usage.

 

[Highbeam]

Not many stoves are the same size as that one. It is pretty shallow, wide, and tall compared to alternatives in steel or cast. You could move up one step to the heritage which allows for 7" clearance to the back wall, then if the hearth was low or flush to the floor then the only difference would be the physical bigness of the appliance.

2000 SF in NY, I would go Mansfield. My little 1700 SF is the puget sound can be tough with the heritage.

If you want close clearances and more burn time/output then perhaps check out the PE spectrum, aka alderlea T5.

 

[Andy99]

The problem I'm having is I have a raised hearth on my fireplace so the stove has to fit on the 19 inch deep hearth. Also my firebox is only 24 inches from the top of the hearth to the top of the fire box. I cant find any other stove other then the Hearthstone homestead to fit. on all the others the rear flue is too high to get into the firebox and up the chimney. I think?

OK now what do you think of this price. I was a little shocked to be honest with you.

The local stove place gave me this break down..

2399.00 for the stove
795.00 for the flue liner
650.00 for the install
331.55 TAX

for a grand total of $4175.55

I wasn't expecting this does the prices sound right?

 

[rdrcr56]

We have a homestead and heat 1000 sf. and it did fine, considering it was the only source of heat due to a dead furnace. That being said, I agree with Todd, 2000 sf. could be doable with a really open floor plan, no long hallways etc. I could get about 8-9 hours out of it for overnight burns after I learned how to load it and set the pipe damper and air control. We have used the stove for two winters now and are very happy with it, last year we went through 2 cords,and 1 1/3 was a cottonwood/pine mix, we used elm, russian olive and walnut for the over night fires.

 

[Highbeam]

The chimneysweep sells the homestead in plain black for 2295$ so I would say the stove price is fine. The liner is about double what I paid for a 20' homesaver kit.

 

[Andy99]

Thanks for all the info...

I do have a open floor plan and the stove will be right in the middle of the house. Its 2000sqft but I wont only be using the stove I do have the oil burner as back up if needed. Im just trying to cut way back on the oil not eliminate it completely. My house has 3 heating zones that work out perfectly the two room that will be the hardest to heat based on the location of the stove are on there own zone. The other two zones I should be able to pull enough hot air from the room the stove is in to heat the rest of the house.

I just thought of another question do i need the optional outside air intake? what are the pluses and is it worth the extra money?

I have never had a wood stove before and I keep thinking of new questions thanks in advance...

 

[fossil]

...I just thought of another question do i need the optional outside air intake? what are the pluses and is it worth the extra money?...

The fire requires air (oxygen), and a non-trivial amount of it. Absent the OAK (outside air kit), all the combustion air the stove needs comes directly from the room it's in, which means the stove's encouraging the infiltration of cold air from outside the living space. If your house is really tight, you could even find that you need to crack open a window to get a good draft through the stove...but few houses are that tight. If you want absolute maximum efficiency, in terms of retaining every last BTU from the stove inside the space, then an OAK is a step in that direction. I'd venture to speculate that only a very small fraction of woodstoves in use today have OAKs installed. Rick

 

[Highbeam]

The extra money for the OAK (outside air kit)was only like 35$ for the heritage and I would recommend it. I notice much fewer drafts with it and it just makes sense to me. My OAK sucks air from the crawlspace year round so I see it as a plus in the crawlspace ventilation department. Seriously, just the OAK plumbing drafts air all by itself which I actually believe means that my stove is constantly running air or smoke all the time.

As a supplement to your primary oil heater I do believe that the homestead will do well for you. The folks that have owned the homestead generally moved up in size to get more heat or longer burntimes in support of 24/7 primary heating. You're not doing that and you have some other significant challenges in the way of getting a bigger stove in there.

Here's my OAK hose. Only a 3" metal duct. Flexy was needed.

The stove hides the tube from the normal view but many folks have asked about it. I could have painted it black I suppose but I like the look of the flex.

 

[Todd]

The problem I'm having is I have a raised hearth on my fireplace so the stove has to fit on the 19 inch deep hearth. Also my firebox is only 24 inches from the top of the hearth to the top of the fire box. I cant find any other stove other then the Hearthstone homestead to fit. on all the others the rear flue is too high to get into the firebox and up the chimney. I think?

OK now what do you think of this price. I was a little shocked to be honest with you.

The local stove place gave me this break down..

2399.00 for the stove
795.00 for the flue liner
650.00 for the install
331.55 TAX

for a grand total of $4175.55

I wasn't expecting this does the prices sound right?

Stove price is about right. You could save a bundle by purchasing the liner on line and installing yourself. It's not rocket science and there are plenty of people here that can walk you through it if you feel comfortable with a self install.

 

[electromagn8]

Andy,

I just picked up my homestead last friday. I too am hoping to supplement my oil cost this winter in my 1650 s.f. house. One thing to keep in mind, the stove is very heavy, two of us had a bear of a time unloading off of my truck and carrying inside. I was also limited to sapce which is why I went with the homestead. I will try to post pics by weeks end. BTW... I paid $2,049.00 for the stove because the stove place had some in stock. Best Fire in Albany

 

[Andy99]

I dont want to install it myself. I know its expensive but I really want it to be done right. Since I have no experience with wood burning stoves Im going to just suck it up and pay for the install. I spoke to the guy again today and he gave me the impression he still has some wiggle room. SO im going to try to get the price down some more the day I go to place the order.

 

[Andy99]

Andy,

I just picked up my homestead last friday. I too am hoping to supplement my oil cost this winter in my 1650 s.f. house. One thing to keep in mind, the stove is very heavy, two of us had a bear of a time unloading off of my truck and carrying inside. I was also limited to sapce which is why I went with the homestead. I will try to post pics by weeks end. BTW... I paid $2,049.00 for the stove because the stove place had some in stock. Best Fire in Albany

I cant wait to see the pictures!

 

[yukiginger]

Andy, I don't know how dedicated you are to trying to heat 100% with wood, so take that into consideration when reading what follows.

If I were in your situation I would give serious thought to reworking your hearth so you could go with a larger stove. A larger stove even in Hearthstone's line will cost a few hundred more, which isn't that much considering that we're already over $2000. A difference of even $500 or so will pay for itself in a couple years if you are able to cut out your furnace completely.

Of course, this requires that you contact a mason and find out your options. I know nothing about masonry work so perhaps it would just be too much. I might also call a chimney sweep if you haven't already and have them come do an inspection and cleaning of your chimney. Many sweeps do installs and maybe you could see if they would help you. Liner kits can be had for $400. Add a couple feet of pipe from your stove, a block off plate, etc., and maybe you can be in for much less than quoted.

What I don't want to see happen is you go to all this expense and find that for an additional investment (maybe a pretty significant one, no doubt) you could have heated completely with the stove, and thus not been subject to increasing oil prices for heating. Just think if fuel continues to rise 10-15% or more per year for the next few years.

Without knowing your insulation or weather and other factors we can make no judgment on whether the Homestead might be enough. A 2000 sq. ft. ranch is a big house to try to heat from a point source, given its structure - I know that.

Good luck and keep us updated.

MarkG

 

[Highbeam]

I think we can make judgement here that the homestead will not be enough for primary heat. Andy has stated, and he may someday regret, that he does not intend to use this stove to heat the home and is assuming that the boiler will remain on. That said, every btu that the homestead adds to the room is a btu that the oil boiler won't have to add. Some folks do not want to make the large commitment to full time burning.

I' agree with you Mark. I presonally wouldn't bother half-a$$ing it and would go for a larger stove as a primary heater. Of course, I shoot only a 12 gauge shotgun when a 20 gauge would work, I drink bourbon when canadian whiskey would work, and I drive a truck vs. a prius.

 

[Vic99]

I have a homestead and am quite happy with it. That said, if I had more resources, I probably would have gone larger. Due to the expense of reconfiguring my hearth more than I already did, plus size constraints, I took the homestead.

I would rate my experience last (first) year as a "B". Due to modifications I'll explain below, plus the whole learning curve thing, I expect my satisfaction level to go next year to a B+/A- for what the stove can do.

Realize that whatever stove you choose, you will not be as efficient as you could be for the first month or two. You may have to "cheat" with your oil heat a few times and get the room temperature up until the heat of the soapstone starts to radiate out in an hour or so. Forunately, this will be easier if you start burning in the fall when it is not so cold. Since you mentioned that you are new to wood burning, I would:

1) Get all the wood you can to season NOW;
2) Add any insulation possible;
3) Get some kind of fan to move air if possible;
4) Keep reading all you can here, especially about starting and maintaining fires, when to add wood, etc.

I noticed a big bump in my own efficiency when I added some insulation to some of my walls (this was challenging, but do able in some places) and I insulated my whole sub floor. In addition, this fall, I will add 2 inches of polystyrene in the basement where the foundation meets the house's wood frame. I expect this to help.

I also added a ceiling fan to the living room (stove room) and this helped move hot air to my second floor.

Good luck.

 

[lazeedan]

I have a homestead with a 1600 sq ft ranch and it does a great job. We burn 24/7. We are very pleased with it. 7-8 hour burns is about the best we can get.

 

[Andy99]

Since you mentioned that you are new to wood burning, I would:

1) Get all the wood you can to season NOW;
2) Add any insulation possible;
3) Get some kind of fan to move air if possible;
4) Keep reading all you can here, especially about starting and maintaining fires, when to add wood, etc.

Thanks for all the info.

1) Im starting to get wood ready for next Winter. For this winter Im going to get 2 or 3 cords of "seasoned" hardwoods delivered in July.

Wait until my wife see how big a cord of wood is.

2) My house is well insulated and all the windows are only 1 year old. I do have alot of windows.

3) I need to work on this. I have ceiling fans in every room except the one the stove will be in. I need some help with this one. I was thinking about using a standing fan to help draw the air towards the bedrooms. Has anyone tried one of those ecofans?

4) I have no idea how to do start or maintain a fire or when to add wood...HELP

 

[Vic99]

Good idea about getting the "seasoned" wood now. It may or may not actually be seasoned enough. Most recommend that the wood be below 20% moisture content. A cheap 2 prong moisture meter (~$15) and a drill to insert the prongs is all you need. Eventually you may be able to tell if the wood is ready to go or not by cracks, color, weight, sound when striking, etc. In the fall when people start burning, all these common topics will come up again.

For fans: Some folks here have had great success with standing fans. It really is trial and error to figure out how to best move the air. I would recommend starting with blowing cold air toward the stove to help set up a current. I have found that the dB level of the fan can impact the general quality of life, so it may be worth it to try with an old fan, then invest in a quiet fan.

Plenty of info here on point #4 above. There is a Canadian video that I'm sure someone with post a link on about how to use a woodstove.

 

[Highbeam]

That canadian video and most others aren't going to teach you about soapstone. The soapstone is different in that it takes a long time to heat up and will never heat up too much. Your wood will be smaller than the iron guys and your fire will be more lively for a longer time during warm up. You'll see. You've got to learn the hard way to master it.

 

[Vic99]

Well said, Highbeam.

 

[Andy99]

That canadian video and most others aren't going to teach you about soapstone. The soapstone is different in that it takes a long time to heat up and will never heat up too much. Your wood will be smaller than the iron guys and your fire will be more lively for a longer time during warm up. You'll see. You've got to learn the hard way to master it.

Ok from someone who has never owned a wood stove of any kind I dont really know what you are trying to say? My wood will be smaller and my fire more lively? Ok so i should use smaller pieces of wood and burn it with the damper more open? or burn it hotter?

 

[Highbeam]

Not having experience with a regular iron woodstove might be a benefit as you begin burning your HS. The large mass of cold stone takes a long time to heat up. During this heat up stage the stone will be trying to suck energy out of your fire and to overcome this you'll need to have more small stuff to keep it running hard for the first hour or more until the stove comes up above 300 degrees. Once it is warmed up to 350-500 then the stone's mass is a benefit since the cold, fresh, wood of additional loads will be rapidly ignited by the energy radiating from the hot walls of the stone stove.

If you ran a traditional iron stove at full throttle for an hour, you will be wasting wood and quite likely overfiring the stove or chimney. The iron stove would have been throttled down much earlier in the cold start process. So during the warm up stage you will be able to enjoy the lively fire for a longer period. Once up to operating temp, the stove types will cruise in a similar manner with the exception that the stone stove won't get as hot.

Be sure to get a thermometer to mount on the surface of the stove and be sure that you read the very important information in your owner's manual about the overfire temp. It's low. You will notice that it takes a long time to get the stove cranking out heat.

 

[Andy99]

Thanks That was a great explanation. I was planning on getting a thermometer as well as a Hearth rug and some sort of gloves so i dont have to worry about my wife burning her self trying to load it. I will also need some way to move the hot air towards the bedrooms. Im thinking some sort of small fan I just have to figure out how close to the stove to put it?

 

[gyrfalcon]

Thanks That was a great explanation. I was planning on getting a thermometer as well as a Hearth rug and some sort of gloves so i dont have to worry about my wife burning her self trying to load it. I will also need some way to move the hot air towards the bedrooms. Im thinking some sort of small fan I just have to figure out how close to the stove to put it?

Andy, there are great little fans you put right on top of the stove and they run just on the heat with no electricity. There are two kinds, though, one for iron stoves and one for gas and soapstone. The gas/soapstone are more expensive (60 bucks?) because they have some extra mechanics inside to compensate for the fact that the stovetop doesn't get as hot.

FYI, I was perfectly comfortable last winter with my tiny Hearthstone Tribute stove in a 1,300 house with OK insulation, even at well below zero temps. However, "perfectly comfortable" for me is high 60s in my main room, lower in the kitchen and lower still in my unheated 2nd floor bedrooms. If, like some here, I felt like I needed 75 throughout the house, I'd have been miserable.

I also have to use my oil boiler for backup and to boost the heat in my office, which is off on a side of the house away from the stove. I still saved a boatload of money on heating.

DO NOT be casual and trusting about your firewood, though. Get it stacked in sun and wind as fast as possible. Find out what the guy means when he says "seasoned." If the wood hasn't been cut, split and stacked outside since early spring, it ain't gonna be seasoned by the time you need to burn it this winter. Cut, split and dumped in a big pile will only season the outer layer. Uncut and unsplit until just before it's delivered won't be seasoned. You can get by tihs winter with partially seasoned, but you will struggle and fight with it and need lots and lots of dry kindling and/or firelogs to get a fire hot enough to burn it.

Been there, done that, don't want to do it again, have become obsessive about getting my wood far enough ahead to stack it in the sun all spring summer and fall, at a minimum, and know that it's actually dry, and am working on trying to get a even year or two ahead.