Does anyone know anything about the Ambiance Hipster 20? I see it's a Hearthstone product. Just curious about real world field testing as a search here didn't pull many results. Thanks!
Ambiance Hipster 20?
- Thread starter Smokey Da Bears
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It's hard to keep up with this products ownership. It's gone from Napoleon, to Supreme, and now to Hearthstone. There's not a long track record. At heart, this stove appears to be a Hearthstone Green Mountain 60 variation. The EPA testing lumps it under the same group.
Thanks @begreen. This is also what I have been able to uncover. I've found the manual and various brochures. A few very short Youtube videos. I agree, looks like a Green Mountain 60 with the door handle on the opposite side. I'm looking at this stove today in consideration of replacing my current VC Defiant. While I'm pleased with my VC as a heater, I'm also hopeful for something less finicky and needy and less expensive on the replacement parts. There may be some savings with this stove as it's a dealer demo, dealer is a friend. Just entertaining the idea for now.
IMO, it's not the best design with the cat right under the flue exit. And users report that the Hearthstone versions tend to have a finicky air control. The firebox capacity and output will be less than the Defiant.
We got one a couple of years ago. It's a steep learning curve from the 30 year old stove we had. The first year we had it we smoked out the house and set off the fire alarms several times. It's finicky. It does so much better with well seasoned wood. Although I love the way it looks and the radiant it puts out, it just needs too much babysitting. I don't always feel safe leaving it going while we're out of the house like I did with the older stove. The new stoves don't give you the burn time that they advertise. It's less than 50% of that. Even full of wood, on these super cold nights , I have to get up at 3 or 4am to repack the stove. ( we have the hipster 20 in a 1400 sq ft home). I think we would have been happier with a blazer king tbh. If you want set and forget, this is not the stove for you. Also we had to replace the wooden handle. It's a poor design. The inside of the wood handle quickly wears out from metal rubbing on it. In fact I just noticed that the new handle is now loose.
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Square footage heated and burn times are very subjective. Those numbers are going to depend on several external factors like outside temperature, size of area heated, house insulation, wood quality, etc. It's important to keep expectations realistic. One might get a 24 hr burn with a BK in 45º weather in a decently insulated house and then only get an 8 hr burn in 0º weather.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I’d rather have a TN20.
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True North TN20 B Series Wood Burning Stove with Legs
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I decided to make the swap from the VC Defiant to the Ambiance Hipster 20 last week. Old stove came out on Wednesday last week, new stove went in on Friday last week. Lit the Hipster on Friday and it's been running ever since. So far 8-10 hour burn cycles with no issues. First 4-6 hours I get good heat output before stove top falls. But almost always a bed of coals at 8 hours. But the external temps have risen recently above 30, so we'll see if/when it get's super cold again outside. I'm very pleased with this decision so far. The VC Defiant was definitely not set it and forget it. With the hipster I've left the house quite a few times already and have packed it before bed. I have no concern in comparison to what I'm coming from.
@Brenburns thanks for letting me know about the wooden handles. I could definitely see how the wood could wear out, especially on the door latch. I'm going to keep an eye and try to be ginger with it.
@Brenburns thanks for letting me know about the wooden handles. I could definitely see how the wood could wear out, especially on the door latch. I'm going to keep an eye and try to be ginger with it.
I have identical issues with the Hipster 20 in my 1,400 sq ft home. It's been all consuming trying to figure out how to get it to draft properly and not smoke me out of the house. Last winter I didn't engage the catalytic bypass at all...too finicky. I love the look of it and when it works it's a dream, but after 2 years of babying it, I've given up and I'm swapping it out for a Jotul. I'd prefer a Blaze King but my dealer doesn't sell them. It's been a really disappointing and at times distressing, experience.
This is wild to hear because my experience, at least the last half of this winter (February through April) was fantastic performance in comparison to my Vermont Castings Defiant 1975C. I had to majorly babysit the Defiant and it was completely frustrating. I lit the Hipster on day one in February and it ran like a clock for weeks on 6-8 hour loads, no issues, runaways, back puffs.
What is your chimney height on your house? I've got about 30 feet of class A chimney. Stove is installed in the basement.
I'm looking forward to putting a full winter in on this stove next year to truly give it some comparison to the Defiant I had. It really made my life easier after swapping the stove last February.
What is your chimney height on your house? I've got about 30 feet of class A chimney. Stove is installed in the basement.
I'm looking forward to putting a full winter in on this stove next year to truly give it some comparison to the Defiant I had. It really made my life easier after swapping the stove last February.
I'm glad you're not having problems with yours. It's definitely a draft issue with mine. After the problems I had with it the first winter, I had a chimney liner installed and only used kiln dried wood. Second winter it was still problematic and after last and third winter, I decided it was just the wrong stove for my house. It's in the walk out basement and the white walls and ceiling have been discolored by smoke and it leaves a layer of fly ash on every surface. I'm replacing it with a Jotul Oslo. Not my first choice esthetically but it gets good reviews for reliability and drafting. Despite the headaches, I'll be sad to see the Hipster go as its a beautiful looking stove and a dream when it works.
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Maxikat, the issue in this case may not be the stove, but instead might be negative room pressure combined with a colder exterior chimney. If so, the Oslo probably will not perform better.
Have you tried opening a exterior door or window an inch, temporarily, to see if it improves combustion?
Have you tried opening a exterior door or window an inch, temporarily, to see if it improves combustion?
Thanks for your thoughts, but I've done everything. I've watched videos, scoured the internet for solutions and I've been in frequent communication with the vendor to try to troubleshoot the issues. I've opened doors, warmed the chimney, left the stove door slightly ajar until the fire was established and cleaned the baffles every few days. I even stopped engaging the catalyst because it deprived the fire of air. The Hipster replaced an old parlor stove that drafted perfectly but was a fire hazard. I'm just praying that the Oslo won't have problems🙏.
That's not quite right. The problem is weak draft, not the stove. The cat required stronger draft which evidently is not present. The Jotul 500 is now also catalytic. I have a feeling it's not going to solve this issue. This may take an easier breathing stove with a deeper firebox and/or a taller flue.
I'll have a meltdown if the Jotul has the same problem! This has been an all consuming problem and I really don't want to spend another winter complaining about my wood stove. I just want to sit in front of it and relax. The vendor has been fantastic and he's been working with me to select a replacement. He's confident that the Jotul is a good match for my set up🤞. Don't know what I'll do if it's a dud... it's too heavy to throw out the window! Maybe throwing money at a taller flue might be the fix. Time will tell. Wish me luck!
That's a nice hearth! I have just concrete walls and floors here. To the point of cracking a door or window - I have a slider to the outside about 10 feet from my stove. I open this when lighting a cold stove which helps with that negative pressure. If I have a strong fire, I won't open that door on reloads. But if my stove is dwindling, yes I do crack that door and it reduces the smoke and ash back into the room.
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