What the heck is this doing inside my new Heritage?

[ridemgis]

I mention the btu's only as a point of comparison and do fully grasp (thanks to this forum) how slippery those numbers really are. Firebox volume is a better yardstick. The Heritage was always big for my needs, but the look sold me and I figured (probably incorrectly) that I could burn smaller fires. I'm not trying to replace the 7 year old boiler, just supplement a thermostat set at 60 degrees most of the time. My wife is very happy with a sweater on at that temp. I on the other hand, watch my hands turn blue most nights and weekends unless I get the house (1400 sq-ft, reasonably well insulated, two floors, open floor plan) warmed up to about 68.

After ditching Hearthstone over their seeming lack of interest in quality control, I spent a lot more time looking at reviews of Jotul and Morso stoves. The clean look of the Morso 2110 beat out the more traditional Jotul F3 by a hair. And the max log length for the Morso is 18 inches. I've got two very well seasoned (yes really!) cords of 14 inch splits and at least two suppliers who are quite happy to deliver custom lengths.

All in all, I think I'll be ok! I really appreciate the wealth of information to be culled from this forum.

 

[begreen]

Keep us posted and maybe do a review of the stove after you have had a season with it. My impression was quite favorable when comparing it to the F3CB. It seemed I could load more wood and burn maybe an hour longer in the 2110. I liked the inner cradle which really helps stop logs from rolling up against the glass. On the downside, I found the split doors and removable handle a bit more cumbersome for reloads, but overall I give this little stove a big thumbs up.

 

[ridemgis]

A happy ending to this story:

After living with the Morso for a few weeks while waiting for the chimney installer, we realized the Hearthstone really was the stove we wanted. It took a bit of argument, but the dealer eventually offered to take the Morso back in exchange for a new Heritage that they would fully inspect for defects before delivery. The new stove is in, the chimney up and it all works beautifully!

Now like a few other nut jobs around here, I've joyfully run a couple of small break in fires in the hot humid weather of the last few weeks. Last night it got all the way down to 65 so I built a nice top down fire with lots of kindling and few small splits and when that dropped down to coals after 45 minutes or so, filled the firebox to the top. Charred the wood fully before cranking down the primary to about 1/4 for a two hour secondary show and scads of heat with the stovetop running around 450 degrees.

Burn time was at least 6 hours and the stove was still warm to the touch at 6:30 this morning. I think we'll be quite happy with our new stove this winter. And many thanks to all of you for great advice about dry wood, proper burn techniques and dealing with issues.

PJ

 

[mellow]

Good decision, I think you will really be loving that stove when the noreasters come rolling up the coast and it gets down to negative digits with the wind.