1998 Hearthstone Heritage - Opinions

[cycloxer]

I have an opportunity to pick up a '98 Hearthstone Heritage in excellent condition. I am not too familiar with this stove, but from the research I have done so far, this appears to be a very good stove. Does anyone have any experience with this stove? Is there anything I should look for on inspection before I buy? I plan to purchase the unit unless I find anything wrong. The previous owner says that he used it only occasionally and that he did perform the proper maintenance.

I believe this is the slightly older 8020 Heritage which has an arched front door as opposed to the current rectangular door. I also believe the firebox is 2.0 cubic feet versus the 2.3 of the newer version. Regardless, this is a good sized stove that will take 21" logs.

 

[Highbeam]

I have the modern square glassed stove and it has been a great 24/7 burner. For inspection check for cracked stones, rusty or chalky white iron, etc. It is pretty easy to overheat a stove of this type and size while trying to get heat out of it so look for signs of that type of abuse.

You'll want the stove that is all black and creosoty, looking as though it was underfired which would be an easy life. Did the old owner get a larger stove? That's a sign that he may have beat the heck out of the old one trying to get it to work for him before giving in and upsizing.

If the owner got a pellet stove or just plain got out of wood heating then that can be a good sign as the owner wasn't cut out for woodburning and probably seldom used it or not at all since he hated it so much.

We really like our and have learned to like soapstone more than the steel.

 

[cycloxer]

I went and looked at it and I was not impressed with the condition. I noticed that the top stones were out of alignment. I was able to reach in and almost pop out the top left stone. It probably requires disassembly and then needs to be remortared into place. The rest of the stove looked okay, but the firebox was completely filled with ash. I decided to pass.