? for the soap stone stove owners

[drbond]

This is my first soap stone stove, and I would like to ask the owners of other soap stone stoves. All my previous stoves were older steel stoves.

What temps do you run the stove at? Top temp, and where you measuring them, and what you using to measure it?

Just want to make sure I'm working the stove at the right temp.

Thanks,
Bondo©

 

[sstanis]

typically, I run my stove top at 400 to 500 degrees, +/- 100 degrees. High burn (at top of stove) is 300 to 400, per hearthstone. I have mine rear-vented. so, temp gauge sits on top of stove. basically, place your temp gauge anywhere on top of stove. Fiddling with air control to get long 2nd burn is a learning curve. usually get stove to 300 to 400 degrees and then cut air down to about 40 to 50 percent. True, setting it lower will give you longer 2nd burn time. However, if you are away for any length of time or have other pressing things to do other than tend to stove, going lower tends to leave alot of unburned coals and basically doing a cold start all over again.

 

[slofr8]

Hi drbond,
I e-mailed HearthStone and this is what was sent to me.


Here is a list of surface temperature and draft readings for all HearthStone woodstoves:

Stove (Model) Surface Temperature Draft (Inches of W.C.)
Low Medium High Typical Maximum
Mansfield (#8011) > 400º 400-500º 500-600º .06 - .10 .10
Phoenix (#8612) > 300º 300-325º 350-375º .06 - .10 .10
Heritage (#8020) > 250º 250-275º 300-400º .08 - .12 .12
Homestead (#8570) > 400º 400-500º 500-600º .06 - .1 .10
Starlet (#8550) > 250º 250-350º 350-450º .06 - .1 .10
Shelburne (#8370) > 350º 350-450º 450-550º .07 - .10 .10
Bennington (#8350) > 250º 250-300º 300-400º .07 - .10 .10

 

[Harley]

Generally try to keep mine at right around 500. Thermometer is on top of the stove in the middle (in front of the top vent)

 

[drbond]

I have a top mount (see pics) and have the termometer right in front and have been running between 400 and at max 500. Just wanted to see what the other folks were running them at. Also been checking with my other digital temp probe and found that my chepo guage is only about 25 to 50 degrees off, on the low side.

Bondo©

 

[Burn-1]

I have the 1st generation Phoenix, (8610 model vs. current 8612) I snipped the operating info from it and attached it below. For my stove it says the stovetop can be as much as 800. I included the section from the 8612 manual which shows that over 500 is overfiring. Interestingly, both manuals note that a ~400 degree stovepipe thermometer temp is sufficient for most heating needs. That is what I do. On high burn my stove top is just over 525 but the flue temps are around 400-425 using a magnetic Condar. I'll be switching to a setup like BB's this weekend with the probe in the flue.

I'm wondering if the older Phoenix had thicker soapstone or a different baffle assembly? It seems like a big discrepancy between 800 and 500 for stovetop temps. MSG might know.

 

[Marty]

Measured with a Rutland bi-metalic thermometer top center 'front' stone (my install makes absolute center stone impracticle)

I usually try to burn it wide open till I hit (near) 300 F ... Then dampering down by degrees will get me to 400 F and beyond ... if it seems to be leveling off and I want more heat I add some fuel and run it wide open again for a bit then damper etc.

Typically I run close to 500 F ... 400+ to 600 range for normal opperation ... I have seen 700 F twice but diddn't like it because the wording in my manual, though vague, seems to imply 600 F is the max I should see at full burn.

 

[DriftWood]

Hi drbond,
I e-mailed HearthStone and this is what was sent to me.


Here is a list of surface temperature and draft readings for all HearthStone woodstoves:

Stove (Model) Surface Temperature Draft (Inches of W.C.)
Low Medium High Typical Maximum
Mansfield (#8011) > 400º 400-500º 500-600º .06 - .10 .10
Phoenix (#8612) > 300º 300-325º 350-375º .06 - .10 .10
Heritage (#8020) > 250º 250-275º 300-400º .08 - .12 .12
Homestead (#8570) > 400º 400-500º 500-600º .06 - .1 .10
Starlet (#8550) > 250º 250-350º 350-450º .06 - .1 .10
Shelburne (#8370) > 350º 350-450º 450-550º .07 - .10 .10
Bennington (#8350) > 250º 250-300º 300-400º .07 - .10 .10

Thanks I was wondering if 300-500º surface temp on my Heritage (#8020) is max as it is a bear to get it higher than 500º. I called Hearthstone about thermostat placement on the stove top. They told me center of the center top stone, as it is the hottest stone on the top.

 

[suematteva]

We have mansfield, thermo is 1/2 inch above flue collar on single wall pipe...never go over 600 F...after dampering down she averages on 300-400 depending on load...

Yo Marty how is that baby running now that you had some colder weather?

 

[suematteva]

DR

Nice 550!

 

[Marty]

Yo Marty how is that baby running now that you had some colder weather?

She definatly has some cold spots at the far ends of the house and cant keep the furnace from engaging in the coldest weather unless she gets constant tending (4 hours between furnace cycles in 20's temps). But all in all I'm pretty happy. She has cut the gas bills dramaticaly (I'm paid up through the middle to the end of Feburary from the looks of things) for less than $240.00 since the start of the cold weather. (That includes gas hot water and dryer) In the 30's-40's range (outside temps) she keeps the gas man almost completely out of the picture.
I think things will only get better if I do some of the summer insulation projects I've been planning and look into ducting and fan for my top secret cold air return to the stove project. Also getting a celling fan into the room behind the stove might be the first most effective for the dollar improvement on my list. I do get a good bit of heat out the back side of my install but it's probably 1/4-1/3 of what comes out the front... if I could increase that it would be only roses roses.


Hey MSG can you configure the mansfield blower to blow out the rear of the unit???

 

[Todd]

I've always wondered why Hearthstone says over 600 is a over fire in their stoves and Woodstock says 700 is an over fire in their stoves? I'm sure there is some fudge in those numbers, but wouldn't go too far over. I have burned both and brought them both up to the max. Seems like 500-600 is a good efficient temp with a full load.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Yo Marty how is that baby running now that you had some colder weather?

She definatly has some cold spots at the far ends of the house and cant keep the furnace from engaging in the coldest weather unless she gets constant tending (4 hours between furnace cycles in 20's temps). But all in all I'm pretty happy. She has cut the gas bills dramaticaly (I'm paid up through the middle to the end of Feburary from the looks of things) for less than $240.00 since the start of the cold weather. (That includes gas hot water and dryer) In the 30's-40's range (outside temps) she keeps the gas man almost completely out of the picture.
I think things will only get better if I do some of the summer insulation projects I've been planning and look into ducting and fan for my top secret cold air return to the stove project. Also getting a celling fan into the room behind the stove might be the first most effective for the dollar improvement on my list. I do get a good bit of heat out the back side of my install but it's probably 1/4-1/3 of what comes out the front... if I could increase that it would be only roses roses.


Hey MSG can you configure the mansfield blower to blow out the rear of the unit???

i dont think so, but anything can happen with some tin snips and duct tape

 

[Marty]

...
i dont think so, but anything can happen with some tin snips and duct tape

No thanks ... I don't even want to see the cord. :-o

 

[DriftWood]

Looking at the fount of the hearth you have under your stove how far is it to the fount of stoves glass to the fount edge of your hearth? I have had coals falling out on to mine that would be on your wood floor. Was your instilation inspected?

(broken link removed to http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2342606080075701643qJDzNt)

 

[elkimmeg]

What can I say nice looking stove well that's the good news. The bad news is the setup, very dangereous, total lack of following the manufactures listing concerning
the heart pad and venting


Hearth pad
16" required in front of the loading door measured from the stove legs per manufactures instructions I there is 4" then combustiable exposed wood flooring
the right side is 8" looking at the brick as an index you again have half that 4"
the left side from the loading door is less than 2 bricks meaning it does not meet the required 16" from loading door as measured from the legs

Venting issues single wall pipe clearance is 18" in all directions to combustiables that would require seeing 18" of class A pipe before that wall thimble
One can not enter a wall using connector pipe be double or single it has to be class A pipe. Therefore the thimble its self is probably not correct
then the turn is made t to the horizontal run from the elbow it pitches down before it makes the turn a Cresote problem and breeding area if I ever saw one

Counting the bricks on the existing chimney the clearance to tha ceiling is about 11" required it 18"

ther also may be issues with that cased opening trrim being too close within the 18"

the pie pan decrorative cover over the existing vent location in that chimney is not an aceptable cover aceptable would be bricked in with solid masonry units

I telling you all this so you do not burn down tha nice looking home. How could your inspector miss so much, when I can look at pictures and detail what I see.

Did that instalation pass inspection did you obtain a premit? did you read you listing manual Page one anounces the requirement for permitting and following code compliance.

What can I say you make the case for my job security

 

[colsmith]

Yes, that sure doesn't look like 16" of hearth in front of the door. We made our hearth an extra two inches (18") in the front, so it meets the requirement in Canada for woodstove clearances. That way, in case Wisconsin gets annexed, we are fine. Would look forward to the national health care, I tell you what. ;-)

Our stove temps on top don't get terribly high, I am thinking around 350 F, but we measure with a thermometer probe meant for cooking so don't know how accurate that is, since half of it is touching the air above the stove and not the stove itself.

 

[DriftWood]

I telling you all this so you do not burn down tha nice looking home. How could your inspector miss so much, when I can look at pictures and detail what I see.

Did that installation pass inspection did you obtain a premit? did you read you listing manual Page one anounces the requirement for permitting and following code compliance.

What can I say you make the case for my job security

And fire departments night mares.

Just down the road a mile, five years ago, I saw the volunteer fire department getting out of there pickups at a house fire. So I stopped helped pull the hose out of the tanker pumper and attached the feed line the the fire hydrant as a fireman was ready with a wrench the open the valve. I had never done that before. Long story short. A Hearthstone 1 set in a breezeway had some how started the house and garage on fire. I asked the owner what happened he said "I filled the stove with wood, went to the store, came back 15 minuets later to all this." No one has in the home and it happened 2 in the afternoon. He was out of his home about 9 mounts as it was being repaired.

 

[Gooserider]

Looking at the fount of the hearth you have under your stove how far is it to the fount of stoves glass to the fount edge of your hearth? I have had coals falling out on to mine that would be on your wood floor. Was your instilation inspected?

(broken link removed to http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2342606080075701643qJDzNt)

Nice looking stove, not so nice looking install. I was wondering though, what was the heat output, and what kind of burn times did you get out of the cat? :lol: I thought you were only supposed to burn wood in those things!

Gooserider

 

[drbond]

Well thanks for all the replies and let me clarify some things on the stove too. The chimney behind the stove is the old brick chimney that has been capped and is not in use. The pipe exiting the stove goes into the flue through the wall into an external chimney that was built to code and inspected before it was covered over by our township inspector here in PA. We do not use the front door for loading the stove, and when the picture was taken, we didn't have the hearth rug in the front, but we do now. I only use the front door for cleaning the stove, and that is when it is cold. According to the stove specs, we are 2 inches over their required specs for combustible walls, that is why we optioned for the rear heat shield and blower. The pipe is cleaned on a regular schedule, every other month and I run the brush up the flue at that time too. I will agree with your observation about the slope of the pipe and I am going to correct that in the spring when we do some more work on the kitchen walls, thanks for pointing that out.

Bondo©

 

[elkimmeg]

bondo it not just whether you use the loading door but radiation of heat through that glass and hearth rugs are not approved for hearth extentions. Every thing I mentioned is to point out improvement for your safety.

I noted your past chimney being built to code,but I did not hear the stove installation passing inspection

 

[drbond]

Elk, when I got the permit for the chimney and stove, all they asked me is who is building the chimney and where we purchased the stove at. They did not require any inspections as to the stove installation, just on how it was exiting the house. That needed to be inspected by their house inspector. He looked at the stove but didn't mention anything about it, nor did he inspect anything. He did inspect/check the pipe though.
Thanks for your comments and I do appreciate them. We are going to install flagstone in front of the stove in the spring to prevent any type of problems that you mentioned, and I hope that would be an acceptable alternative to that problem.

 

[frwinks]

we burn our older heritage in the 300-500 range (stovetop) and 250-400 (stovepipe). I like to "turn up the heat" to 600-650(stovepipe) once per day. We get about 10hrs of heat out of the stove and will defenitely go with another heartstone down the road.
(broken link removed to http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/frwinks/SamuraiHill/IMG_6030.jpg)

 

[Gooserider]

Elk, when I got the permit for the chimney and stove, all they asked me is who is building the chimney and where we purchased the stove at. They did not require any inspections as to the stove installation, just on how it was exiting the house. That needed to be inspected by their house inspector. He looked at the stove but didn't mention anything about it, nor did he inspect anything. He did inspect/check the pipe though.
Thanks for your comments and I do appreciate them. We are going to install flagstone in front of the stove in the spring to prevent any type of problems that you mentioned, and I hope that would be an acceptable alternative to that problem.

Putting down flagstone will help, but it is NOT adequate, per your Hearthstone manual. Hearthstone requires a fairly standard level of insulation on ALL the required hearth pad, and a layer of flagstone doesn't even come close to meeting that requirement. Indeed putting a layer of flagstone over some wood arguably would be worse as it would not adequately protect the surface, while hiding it so a problem wouldn't be seen.

You need to plan on building up a significant pad with approved non-combustibles, such as Micore ceramic board, or Durock to get the needed protection before you put down the stone. if you want to keep the hearth flush with the rest of the floor, you can do so by removing enough of the floor material and then bulding back up with Micore (which offers the most protection per thickness) We can offer more advice if you tell us exactly what the plans are.

Also Elk was objecting to what appears to be a metal plate covering the old hole in that unused chimney. Per code, that hole needs to be sealed with a solid masonry plug, even if the chimney is unused. (However a metal cosmetic cover over the plug would presumably be OK...)

Gooserider

 

[northwinds]

we burn our older heritage in the 300-500 range (stovetop) and 250-400 (stovepipe). I like to "turn up the heat" to 600-650(stovepipe) once per day. We get about 10hrs of heat out of the stove and will defenitely go with another heartstone down the road.
(broken link removed to http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/frwinks/SamuraiHill/IMG_6030.jpg)

Nice hearth. I like that a lot, and so does my wife. Thanks for sharing.