Hearthstone Heritage Soapstone Wood Stove Help

[lizzm1234]

Hello!
I'm very very new to wood stoves, we have a 150yr old farmhouse in Vermont. We've spent the summer re-insulating the first floor (around 1500 sq ft). We do have some cold areas still. But we installed a Hearthstone Heritage Soapstone wood stove... I understand all the benefits of soapstone and the con of how long it takes to heat, the necessity of using well-seasoned wood and how to operate. I've tried watching a zillion youtube videos and reading here - but I'm burning through so much wood and we're barely feeling the heat when you step feet away from the stove. 20' away in the same room will be 45-50 degrees. Our chimney is also 2 months old and it's already needing to be cleaned... is this normal? Any ideas here would be so helpful!!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. By the description, my first thought was partially seasoned wood. But there may be other issues. Is there a stovetop thermometer on the stove and if yes, what temperature is it reading? How tall is the chimney?

 

[ozarkoak]

Hello!
I'm very very new to wood stoves, we have a 150yr old farmhouse in Vermont. We've spent the summer re-insulating the first floor (around 1500 sq ft). We do have some cold areas still. But we installed a Hearthstone Heritage Soapstone wood stove... I understand all the benefits of soapstone and the con of how long it takes to heat, the necessity of using well-seasoned wood and how to operate. I've tried watching a zillion youtube videos and reading here - but I'm burning through so much wood and we're barely feeling the heat when you step feet away from the stove. 20' away in the same room will be 45-50 degrees. Our chimney is also 2 months old and it's already needing to be cleaned... is this normal? Any ideas here would be so helpful!!

I agree with the first poster about wood moisture. I have the hearthstone mansfield and I am heating 1400sqft no problem. My living room was 76 degrees last night before bed. When you are burning do your secondaries light? Once my stove is hot and the secondaries are rolling when I look at the chimney there is zero smoke, all I see are heat waves. With wet wood I get no secondaries and a lot of smoke. I loaded my stove last night at 1am its 1:30pm right now and my stovetop fan is still spinning its 43 outside and 68 inside. My home is poorly insulated and on top of a giant hill which gets pounded by wind. Depending on wood, and how I control the fire my stovetop is between 350-520 degrees. Go to home depot and buy a bundle of seasoned wood for $6 and see if it makes a difference.
Edit: I actually took a picture of the fire last night.

 

[lizzm1234]

Welcome. By the description, my first thought was partially seasoned wood. But there may be other issues. Is there a stovetop thermometer on the stove and if yes, what temperature is it reading? How tall is the chimney?

Hi! sorry for the late reply - we purchased 6 seasoned wood cords (in august). The Chimney is about ~24'ft. we don't have a stovetop termometer - is this easy to add?

 

[rwhite]

Hi! sorry for the late reply - we purchased 6 seasoned wood cords (in august). The Chimney is about ~24'ft. we don't have a stovetop termometer - is this easy to add?

Did you test it or are you going off the claim that its seasoned? Seasoned is a very subjective term. Moisture content is the only quantitative means of telling. Moisture meters are pretty cheap at big box stores. As an alternative a google search will tell you how to use an ohm meter and relate the resistance to moisture content. Can be done but a true meter is a lot easier.

 

[Tennessee.Pilgrim]

My guess is you have damp wood. My whole world changed on how I handle and store my wood since I started checking it with a meter. Looks can be deceiving. I got a meter for $25 on Amazon.
General Tools MMD4E Digital Moisture Meter

 

[BigDaddyJ]

It sounds very much like a wood issue. I had this same issue once I started using the newer EPA stoves. As others have mentioned, getting properly seasoned wood from a supplier is very rare. For my wood (especially hardwoods) to properly season, it has to be cut, split, stacked and covered for two summers here in the southeast. Most suppliers are simply not able to do this. I know it's a hassle but once you get properly seasoned wood (moisture meter reading below 20%), I bet it will be a night and day experience for you. My problem now is sometimes trying to mitigate all the heat coming from my stove. Good luck!

 

[ispinwool]

I agree with the "damp wood/moisture meter" comments above...one other thing is to be sure to test
the inside of a split that has just been cut.

 

[lizzm1234]

We got a moisture measurer - the wood varies between 15%-18% moisture. Online it says seasoned wood is under 20%...

 

[lizzm1234]

It sounds very much like a wood issue. I had this same issue once I started using the newer EPA stoves. As others have mentioned, getting properly seasoned wood from a supplier is very rare. For my wood (especially hardwoods) to properly season, it has to be cut, split, stacked and covered for two summers here in the southeast. Most suppliers are simply not able to do this. I know it's a hassle but once you get properly seasoned wood (moisture meter reading below 20%), I bet it will be a night and day experience for you. My problem now is sometimes trying to mitigate all the heat coming from my stove. Good luck!

Just tested our wood - it was all between 15%-18% which seems okay?

 

[lizzm1234]

Did you test it or are you going off the claim that its seasoned? Seasoned is a very subjective term. Moisture content is the only quantitative means of telling. Moisture meters are pretty cheap at big box stores. As an alternative a google search will tell you how to use an ohm meter and relate the resistance to moisture content. Can be done but a true meter is a lot easier.

Above - we got a moisture reader - we tested a few of our cords - and they're between 15%-18% moisture

 

[SpaceBus]

Likely your testing method is the issue. If the chimney is getting full of creosote, then you most likely have a fuel issue. To accurately test the moisture you need to bring a piece of firewood inside for a few days to get 100% up to room temperature inside and out. Once it has been fully warmed, then you split it again and test the moisture with the meter. Test each split piece of wood in several places along the fresh split face. If the average of your collected data points is 20% or less moisture, then you can rule out the wood. An easier test is to burn some known dry wood, like kiln dried construction cut offs (nothing painted or pressure treated) or perhaps some compressed wood bricks/logs like Bio Bricks.

 

[electrathon]

I am the owner of a Hearthstone Heritage too. It is a pretty stove. It is much more of a looker than a heater. I do agree with those above, if you are loading your chimney with creosote, you are likely burning wet wood. AS to heat output, remember, soapstone is rated as an insulator, where metal is a conductor. The stone insulates the heat from your room and redirects it up the chimney. It is basic physics. Without the glass front on the stove it is likely you would be getting a fraction of what you are now for heat. If you do not have an outside air supply, remember you are dragging heated air out of your house, sucking cold air in through the air leaks throughout the rest of your house (polite wat to say, ADD ONE!).

 

[BigDaddyJ]

Just tested our wood - it was all between 15%-18% which seems okay?

15-18% is fine as long as that reading was taken from the center of a freshly split piece of wood. The fact that you are having extensive creosote buildup over a short time period is concerning and is usually indicative of wet wood. If you could find some really dry wood like some of those bundles they sell at the gas station or at home depot, or even an old cut up pallet, you could do a test and determine if your stove performs differently. Let us know how your testing your wood. Again, you need to take a freshly split piece of wood and do a test on the inside face of that fresh split.

 

[Lauren21]

I am the owner of a Hearthstone Heritage too. It is a pretty stove. It is much more of a looker than a heater. I do agree with those above, if you are loading your chimney with creosote, you are likely burning wet wood. AS to heat output, remember, soapstone is rated as an insulator, where metal is a conductor. The stone insulates the heat from your room and redirects it up the chimney. It is basic physics. Without the glass front on the stove it is likely you would be getting a fraction of what you are now for heat. If you do not have an outside air supply, remember you are dragging heated air out of your house, sucking cold air in through the air leaks throughout the rest of your house (polite wat to say, ADD ONE!).

I know this is an older forum but is your heritage stove quiet. We bought a different brand of stove and it makes so much expansion contraction noises that it keeps me up at night. Non stop. They are looking into the issue but if I need to replace the stove I was wondering if the heritage has any of these issues.

 

[electrathon]

I know this is an older forum but is your heritage stove quiet. We bought a different brand of stove and it makes so much expansion contraction noises that it keeps me up at night. Non stop. They are looking into the issue but if I need to replace the stove I was wondering if the heritage has any of these issues.

As far a noise, never makes a sound.

 

[ispinwool]

I know this is an older forum but is your heritage stove quiet. We bought a different brand of stove and it makes so much expansion contraction noises that it keeps me up at night. Non stop. They are looking into the issue but if I need to replace the stove I was wondering if the heritage has any of these issues.

...quiet as a church mouse.

 

[orlkc]

...quiet as a church mouse.

Our heritage makes light dings when the temperature changes rapidly. I'm not sure whether the sound comes from the stove or the chimney adapter. Either way, you can only hear it standing right near the stove, and I find it to be a rather comforting sound, and an indicator to look at see whether it's time to cut the air damper back if I'm sitting nearby during startup.