We just moved into a home with a Hearthstone Harvest made in 1989. I am currently trying to figure out whether it will be cost effective to repair this stove to get it working well and safely, or whether it is going to be too difficult to find parts now and in the future. Unfortunately, it takes quite a long time to get a woodstove repair person scheduled, so I would like to try and determine whether we need to replace it or start ordering parts to have when they come out so we don't end up in December with no woodstove.
I have found that the catalyst needed to be replaced and I was able to find a part that seems to fit very very closely. A few of the gaskets look like they need to be replaced, and there was some white insulation materials that sealed the catalytic assembly into the back of the stove that were not in good condition and will need to be replaced. These look easy to get after market. Potentially the fiber board around the catalyst as well. Today I started a thorough cleaning and found that the damper on the inside of the stove is missing and the handle is attached to nothing. I cannot find a damper that seems to be the correct size in a quick search but I am also just estimating the size. I will continue to clean it and look for more serious issues. I do not see any major cracks or other pieces missing so far.
While I have the original documents from this stove, the diagrams are not great so figuring out the specs for anything that needs to be replaced is very hard. For example, there is no insulation material referenced in the manual on the plate that holds the catalytic assembly to the back of the stove but it is clearly needed (but i have no specifications). Was it once a sheet? Just strips? I have no information about the size of the damper or any real way to tell how big it was or what shape it was other than the hole it left behind. I have looked in the forums and it seems like people have been able to restore these pretty successfully, but I am not sure whether this was entirely with off the shelf parts.
So, I am asking, does anyone perhaps have any tips on finding the correct parts for this model? The slightly newer models have some similar parts, but not all, and without measurements (which are not always in the manuals) I can't really tell. If I am going to have to spend several hundreds of dollars to make it safe, would I be better off simply buying a newer stove with tax credits and passing this on to someone else? We are DIY people but new to woodstoves and we have a whole house of pretty urgent move-in projects so we would like to be practical.
To be clear, we will have a woodstove repair person inspect it after we have done our own repairs and/or complete the repairs. We want to do as much as we can but we will have someone check what we have done. Thanks
I have found that the catalyst needed to be replaced and I was able to find a part that seems to fit very very closely. A few of the gaskets look like they need to be replaced, and there was some white insulation materials that sealed the catalytic assembly into the back of the stove that were not in good condition and will need to be replaced. These look easy to get after market. Potentially the fiber board around the catalyst as well. Today I started a thorough cleaning and found that the damper on the inside of the stove is missing and the handle is attached to nothing. I cannot find a damper that seems to be the correct size in a quick search but I am also just estimating the size. I will continue to clean it and look for more serious issues. I do not see any major cracks or other pieces missing so far.
While I have the original documents from this stove, the diagrams are not great so figuring out the specs for anything that needs to be replaced is very hard. For example, there is no insulation material referenced in the manual on the plate that holds the catalytic assembly to the back of the stove but it is clearly needed (but i have no specifications). Was it once a sheet? Just strips? I have no information about the size of the damper or any real way to tell how big it was or what shape it was other than the hole it left behind. I have looked in the forums and it seems like people have been able to restore these pretty successfully, but I am not sure whether this was entirely with off the shelf parts.
So, I am asking, does anyone perhaps have any tips on finding the correct parts for this model? The slightly newer models have some similar parts, but not all, and without measurements (which are not always in the manuals) I can't really tell. If I am going to have to spend several hundreds of dollars to make it safe, would I be better off simply buying a newer stove with tax credits and passing this on to someone else? We are DIY people but new to woodstoves and we have a whole house of pretty urgent move-in projects so we would like to be practical.
To be clear, we will have a woodstove repair person inspect it after we have done our own repairs and/or complete the repairs. We want to do as much as we can but we will have someone check what we have done. Thanks
