Hearthstone Manchester Rear Panel Loose

[Jabog6]

Hi everyone,

I recently replaced a fireplace insert with a freestanding Hearthstone Manchester. Install was finished yesterday. Hope to get the permit tomorrow and fire it up. I have high hopes for it heating my 2000sqft house.

My question is related to the Manchester. The rear panel is VERY loose. I can easily move it maybe up to half an inch just by hand. It won't come off, seems to be trapped with the upper panel, but it moves. The guy who delivered it said it's normal. I've never seen a wood stove do that. Can anyone comment? Should I worry? The rest of the stove seems fine, solid, well made.

I'm going to call Hearthstone tomorrow unless someone on here says it's perfectly normal (and their Manchester does it too!).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deadeye]

Hi everyone,

I recently replaced a fireplace insert with a freestanding Hearthstone Manchester. Install was finished yesterday. Hope to get the permit tomorrow and fire it up. I have high hopes for it heating my 2000sqft house.

My question is related to the Manchester. The rear panel is VERY loose. I can easily move it maybe up to half an inch just by hand. It won't come off, seems to be trapped with the upper panel, but it moves. The guy who delivered it said it's normal. I've never seen a wood stove do that. Can anyone comment? Should I worry? The rest of the stove seems fine, solid, well made.

I'm going to call Hearthstone tomorrow unless someone on here says it's perfectly normal (and their Manchester does it too!).

Thanks in advance.

In my experience, any loose sheet metal on any type of stove with a fan on it is going to vibrate and make a lot of noise. On my Regency the rear panel was not attached to anything at the top center. The hood that sits on top of the stove to direct the air forward was touching the rear panel. At just the right temp, with the fan on high you could barely hear the TV. I got some black hex head stove pipe screws and attached the back panel to the hood. No more noise at all.

 

[webby3650]

It is normal. It's just a cast iron jacket that hangs on the stove. I'm not sure why it's not attached more securely though, but it's normal.

 

[thechimneysweep]

The Manchester outer rear plate (which is cast iron) just hangs on the back via a hook arrangement at top center. There are two adjusting screws threaded into the inside of the plate, near the bottom at left and right, which can squirm out of adjustment in transit. If your plate hangs crooked, or makes a rattling sound when someone walks by the stove, you can adjust those screws. To adjust, lift the rear plate up and off the hook, then turn the two screws out until they're making contact against the inner plate when the outer plate hangs straight.

We had the top plate off when we adjusted our floor model, and it occurs to me that might be necessary to lift the rear plate off the hook. The top plate is attached by two bolts, centered on the side plates and accessible from outside the stove.

 

[Jabog6]

Great to hear - thanks!

Related question: the metal safety label that attaches to a cable under the stove is missing. Should I care?

 

[webby3650]

Great to hear - thanks!

Related question: the metal safety label that attaches to a cable under the stove is missing. Should I care?

It's not a huge deal as long as you have the manual. Those tags end up hanging down below the stove during transit and get snagged by the forklift.