Bought a house with a Hearthstone II, not efficient

[Andrew V]

I bought a house and it came with a Hearthstone II. I rebuilt the stove by taking the top off and replacing the baffle. I have noticed lately that it goes through a lot more wood than I want, usually 15 pieces over a 12-15 hr period. I want to purchase a new, more efficient stove and it has an 8" triple wall that goes from the ceiling of the living room up through the roof. since most new stoves use a 6 inch chimney, how would I install the new stove?

when i run my current stove and crack the main air inlet it seems to run at full blast and if i close it down it almost seems to run too cool. which is why i think i am running through too much wood. I hate to get rid of the soapstone, but i want something more efficient. what would you do?

 

[fbelec]

welcome to the forum andrew
what you might want to check is the ash door. every time i pull my ash pan out i windup spilling a little ash on the gasket and that ruins it. it might be leaking air. i think it's time for me to do mine also. i caught it running at 550 to 600 on the middle stone the last time i ran it and it ate the wood i put in it quick. also check the primary air flap on the back i noticed my was not sitting flush with the opening. when i bent it back it cooled the stove a little. it wasn't bent much at all.

tell us how you made out

frank

 

[Andrew V]

welcome to the forum andrew
what you might want to check is the ash door. every time i pull my ash pan out i windup spilling a little ash on the gasket and that ruins it. it might be leaking air. i think it's time for me to do mine also. i caught it running at 550 to 600 on the middle stone the last time i ran it and it ate the wood i put in it quick. also check the primary air flap on the back i noticed my was not sitting flush with the opening. when i bent it back it cooled the stove a little. it wasn't bent much at all.

tell us how you made out

frank

Thinking back, I did replace the gaskets on the side door as well as the ash door. While installing I could have stretched them a little bit. So I will re-do them as well as the front door.

Should I go so far as filling in the gap around the secondary air tube where it comes through the stone. There is a decent sized gap that leaks as well.

I have also seen woodsmans has damper rebuilt kits for cheap,at as well replace that.


Is the 8" flue overkill for this stove, like it is creating too much draft causing it to consume more wood etc...

Thanks

 

[begreen]

The stove will never be super efficient, but your wood consumption is not outrageous. How large a space is the stove heating and to what room temperature? How well insulated and sealed is the house?

 

[Andrew V]

The stove will never be super efficient, but your wood consumption is not outrageous. How large a space is the stove heating and to what room temperature? How well insulated and sealed is the house?

the house was updated before we got it. it has all new windows that do not have a draft. the basement is half finished and well insulated.
The room that the stove is in, is roughly half of the downstairs 1st floor. 15'x25' rough estimate. when the stove is going the thermostat in the dining room reads 72-76 degrees.

I may be over reacting to the wood use, and purchasing a new stove may not be needed right now. i will just replace all of the gaskets and possibly the internal damper.

 

[begreen]

That sounds like a good plan. When was the firewood split and stacked?

 

[Andrew V]

That sounds like a good plan. When was the firewood split and stacked?

the wood i am using now was seasoned for 2 years mixed with some 1 year apple and 1 year ash. I also have 1.5 year maple and 1 year locust. i can understand the older wood burning a little faster as it loses some density over time.

 

[fbelec]

i would plug the secondary pipe gap. i've plugged the gap with pieces of door gasket but it keeps getting pushed out with the heating and cooling of the stove. i'm going to try small glass gasketing that is flat. i've used this on my defiant and it worked great.
sometimes i think the same thing when i run that stove but then i figure how many splits i can fit in it and if i take the same load and put it in my defiant it lasts the same time the only difference is the first load in the stone stove is for heating up the stove.

 

[Motor7]

Wouldn't plugging the secondary tube just make it burn more inefficient? Even though it slows down the burn I don't think that's the best plan & agree there might be an air leak someplace. However, a 15x25 room getting heated into the 70's tells me the stove is working pretty good. These non cat's will burn more wood and there is really no way around it, but try just Locust for a day or two & see if your load decreases.

Some of your wood listed is middle of the road btu-wise, so try some higher stuff:
(broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm)

 

[BrotherBart]

Wouldn't plugging the secondary tube just make it burn more inefficient? Even though it slows down the burn I don't think that's the best plan & agree there might be an air leak someplace. However, a 15x25 room getting heated into the 70's tells me the stove is working pretty good. These non cat's will burn more wood and there is really no way around it, but try just Locust for a day or two & see if your load decreases.

Some of your wood listed is middle of the road btu-wise, so try some higher stuff:
(broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm)

He said plug gap in the connection of the secondary tube to the manifold. Not the tube itself.

 

[Motor7]

Meaning where the secondary goes through & between the stone and the outside of the tube? Ok, that makes sense....10-4

 

[fbelec]

yes around the tube between the outside of the tube and the stone. that stone is a inch and a quarter thick so push it in.

 

[defiant3]

Also check the opposite end of the 2ndary tube, the end by the load door. it's supposed to be plugged at that end with cement. If the cement weren't there, it'd be like having a big hole in the stove. THAT would suck air!

 

[fbelec]

if the air in that tube were preheated it would probably work alot better

 

[Rich L]

The 2 was also made to burn coal.Burn coal you'll get a longer burn time.Eight inch pipe is big for the 2.Put in a pipe damper and slow the draft.

 

[Andrew V]

I thought long and hard and bought a new high efficiency Napoleon 1450. I figure I'll use less wood and get longer burns. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Motor7]

That's a non cat stove right? Let us know how it heats when it's all hooked up

 

[Andrew V]

Will do, it is getting inspected today and will be lit for a break in right after the fire marshal leaves. I will write a review under the new stove section.