There is a Hearthstone Heritage that's 3 years old for sale for $1300.00 . How does everyone that has one like them. I will be heating 1300 sq ft two story in north west cal. Lots of fir and oak . I am using a 80's Orley now.
Hearthstone Heritage
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I pushed about 30 cords through a heritage within 5 years that I bought new around 2008. The stove would be plenty of power for your 1300 SF assuming a reasonable quality of construction. It could hold a fire overnight using softwoods of lower quality than you propose. Always worked as advertised and looked great. The side door is great and allows you to load the stove easily. Nice big viewing window that stays clear easily.
The reason I sold it was that the stove is not made to last. The tiny hinges are soft and the doors were sagging, repair meant a total stove tear down into little rocks and I wasn't going to do that. The door latch system also is not durable and depends on a wear area that quickly gets worn and requires stoves reconstruction to remedy.
So if the previous owner put 5 cords a year through it for 3 years and you plan to push 5 cords per year through it then the stove is 50% consumed in my experience. At which point the value is zero. The stove is getting up near 3500$ new so the price seems quite good for an good condition stove.
That is a good price for one in excellent condition. If you are in the lowlands in NW CA then you may easily get by on a couple cords of wood a year. Unless the stove was the sole source of heat it may only have burned a few cords so far. If so the stove could give you many seasons of enjoyment and good heat.
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I might have a chance to trade the Buck 91 for one. I don't think it's used very much, and maybe with some lube, the hinges would last. Maybe I could figure out something to improve the latch system...
I lubed the hinges and latches regularly. 90 weight oil worked best but had a smell.
The hinge pins are very small and hard steel, no wear. The cast iron frame of the stove is drilled for the hinges and that metal wears out against the much harder steel pins. You end up with egg shaped holes. On cars you can buy bushings for the hinge pins but on the assembled stove you would have a hard time drilling the hinges to the oversized dimension needed to drift in the bushings.
The latch system may have been improved already. On the newest models there have been some upgrades which may include a replaceable steel catch on the door for the latch.
For all, inspect those hinges and latches for wear. That's the weakness of this stove.
I don't think this guy burns much, so maybe the holes aren't wallered out too bad yet. Maybe I would try some dry graphite spray lube; It's possible that the oil runs down when the stove gets hot, and doesn't last as long...
It's got to smell better than hot gear oil. The hinges were never tight or squeaky. Just way undersized and not serviceable.
I've seen sagging doors, but I think you can just lift and position the door and then latch it, and it might stay in place. Maybe put a fresh gasket on and wear the sealing groove in the right spot. A hassle though to be sure...
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Graphite is a great dry, high-temp lube. Wonder if one could drill out the cast and sleeve the pins?
It is certainly possible if you take the stove apart to isolate the casting to be drilled. The OEM drilling operation is certainly done before the stove is assembled. On the assembled stove you can't get a drill in there to work and you would need a way to align your new bores accurately.
The gaskets on this Hearthstone are knife edge style and very thin. Not much room for slop at all. I remember always lifting the door up as I shut it to center the gasket. Otherwise the door would lift as you tightened the latch.
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
I have burned a Heritage for 10 years + probably 3-4 cords a year. My hinges are a little loose and the front door sags a little. I am going to move my old one to the basement for aux heating in the colder periods and bought a new one for the living room to be installed this summer. I asked a Hearthstone tech about the latches and he told me most of the issues were replacement gaskets were sometimes too tight so it put too much stress on the softer cast parts. He recommended smoke testing the gaskets at operating temp rather than dollar bill testing cold.
I load up at 1030 and had enough coals for easy startup at 6 am normally but that depends on weather outside and wood. Normally a very large oak split back right with smaller stuff top and front to get things going worked well. I only open the front to load very large splits and to clean the glass and for clean-out. I don't use the ash tray. My gaskets are a little loose now but have not changed them yet. I control the stove temp with the load because I like the way it burn loose. Once the secondaries fire up, I can close the primary all the way and forget about it! With dry wood, the door glass stays very clean and cleans with windex in a snap. It gets dusty more than anything else. I think I will have to do the gaskets this year because the loose stove in the basement with another 8 feet of stack will likely be out of control
I too think that price is good for a 3 year old stove if it has not been abused. Check the baffle. It can be damaged loading splits. I just replaced mine last year because the corner was broken. It is an easy swap and $85 to replace if needed.
Like I said, I bought another one new this year so have been very happy with mine. Hope that helps.
I load up at 1030 and had enough coals for easy startup at 6 am normally but that depends on weather outside and wood. Normally a very large oak split back right with smaller stuff top and front to get things going worked well. I only open the front to load very large splits and to clean the glass and for clean-out. I don't use the ash tray. My gaskets are a little loose now but have not changed them yet. I control the stove temp with the load because I like the way it burn loose. Once the secondaries fire up, I can close the primary all the way and forget about it! With dry wood, the door glass stays very clean and cleans with windex in a snap. It gets dusty more than anything else. I think I will have to do the gaskets this year because the loose stove in the basement with another 8 feet of stack will likely be out of control
I too think that price is good for a 3 year old stove if it has not been abused. Check the baffle. It can be damaged loading splits. I just replaced mine last year because the corner was broken. It is an easy swap and $85 to replace if needed.
Like I said, I bought another one new this year so have been very happy with mine. Hope that helps.
Ah! Great to know somebody at the company recognizes this is a problem. Now if they would only do something about it?
I busted the Tribute stove I used to have big-time as a result of this problem. Latching the door over that too-big gasket eventually wore down the lip in the cast frame to where it wouldn't hold the latch on the door anymore.
Did the tech have any suggestions for what to do when you do need to replace the gasket?
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
Get their gasket. If you go to any stove shop or hardware store and get 3/8th it may be high density and end up being too tight. I bought some before I had that conversation from a stove shop but have no idea now how to tell what it really is so I will be ordering from them. I personally like the graphite suggestion above too. Seems like good insurance to me. On my old stove I think I am going to round off the leading edge of that door side latch too. Can't hurt to dull that thing a little bit.
Or drill bigger, fashion some brass pins, and keep them lubed well. Maybe have a machine shop drill them bigger to make sure everything is aligned properly, if you're not equipped to do the job right. I'm a believer in OEM gaskets. (broken link removed to http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/store/accessories/heritage/gasket-kit-90-58210)
Can you order directly from Hearthstone? The 3/8 that caused my disaster with the Tribute was sent to me by the dealer, though I don't remember what name it had on it.
I've already got the graphite on my list to pick up next time I'm up in town, and I'll take a look at that side latch at your suggestion. I got my Heritage two years ago, and they may have improved this a bit. I definitely don't have the same sort of slight grinding sensation from the door latches as I had with the Tribute pre-disaster.
Thanks very much for that link, Woody. I may just get that now so I have it on hand if and when.
The tech blaming the gaskets for their poorly engineered latches? That's rich. I'm sure he was told to say that, it certainly is not the gaskets. I used the OEM gasket for all 30 cords in my stove and the hinges latches were still failing. At least they know it is a problem and the weakest link on an otherwise good stove.
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
Yea, I would like to see that they have done something to address the issue too. Some sort of serviceable receiver on the stove side would be very smart for sure. I wonder how many have completely failed like yours and Gyrfalcon's? I don't know much about cast iron but I also wonder if they had a bad batch of frames that was a little soft?
I did not get complete failure, or catastrophic failure. My hinges got very sloppy and the door catch worn razor sharp and thin. I recognized the degradation and the lack of durability in the design so sold the stove before catastrophic failure. The used market is quite good for a modern production hearthstone. They look awesome.
Replaceable adjustable hinges and latches. Or at least serviceable would cost extra money for production but lets remember that this is a premium stove with a price point at the top of the list.
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
I decided to look and my stove side latch receivers seem to be in very good shape on my old stove. I am honestly surprised a little. I will try to take some photos this weekend when the light is a little better of the new and old stove. The build date on the old one is 3.2004. Really where the latch does its work, there looks like very little wear, but again, I have never replaced my gaskets
More to come. OP, don't give up on us yet! Everyone here on this site is awesome!
Some of it, I'm sure, has to do with how frequently those doors get opened and shut. Trying to heat too much space with way too small a stove in a cold state-- and being clueless about how to keep a fire going right the first couple years -- meant that my Tribute got way more wear on the latch than it could tolerate since I was opening and shutting that door many, many times a day..I decided to look and my stove side latch receivers seem to be in very good shape on my old stove. I am honestly surprised a little. I will try to take some photos this weekend when the light is a little better of the new and old stove. The build date on the old one is 3.2004. Really where the latch does its work, there looks like very little wear, but again, I have never replaced my gaskets
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
P.S. I looked at the hinges too. Not visibly egged out. There was likely the same amount of wiggle on the door side as there was on the stove side. X2 there is a little sag and really that is on the front door only. Still would be better if there was a softer pin that is easily replaceable rather than a very hard pin wearing on softer cast part that are very hard to replace.I decided to look and my stove side latch receivers seem to be in very good shape on my old stove. I am honestly surprised a little. I will try to take some photos this weekend when the light is a little better of the new and old stove. The build date on the old one is 3.2004. Really where the latch does its work, there looks like very little wear, but again, I have never replaced my gaskets
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
Not denying the weakness but I do wonder if graphite from day one makes a difference? I would have put a Tribute in my basement if I could have found one at the right price. I got tired of shopping and dealing with the public and decided to get something I knew!
Quad4012
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We have the equinox and have been burning for two years now. I push about 8 cord a year through and that is filling it three times a day (more if I have the day off). Morning, afternoon and night loadings with keep our 2400sq ft home around 70 with temps down to -10 or so. Although it is not the exact same stove we have had great luck with it and provides the most even and consistent heat you could imagine (no cold spots).
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