Heres the deal, thinking I'm going with the Hearthstone mansfield want everyones opinions

[jman]

It doesn't look like I will be able to get the stove we had ordered a Quadrafire 4300step top. Don't have any idea when it will get delivered. So I have really started to look into the Hearth Stone Stoves, I wish I looked into these to beging with.Soapstone sounds unbelievable. I love the looks of these behemoth's! In my mind I know what I want, the Mansfield.Why? Long burn times a absolute must, the soap stone is a even heat from what I keep reading so the way I take they don't seem to roast you out. Did I mention I want LONG BURN TIMES. These two stove are almost identical with the space it heats QF 2400sf, the Mansfield 2500sf.

Now this is where you guys are going to tell me I absolutely nuts! My home is roughly 1000sf , house is 30' by 32' built in 1986,all original windows. I'm going to say its moderately insulated compared to the way they are today. The stove would be located almost in the center of the house, in a good-size living room with the kitchen fairly open to the living room, small hallway off the living room with bathroom and two bedrooms off it. By small hallway I mean 9 feet with the three rooms off it. Bathroom on the end and bedroom on each side.

I live in Maine and it can get pretty damn cold here for a good stretch of time. I remember last winter it was down to 20 BELOW a few mornings. Now one man being roasted out of his house might be comfortable for the next, I don't mind 80+ degrees when its 0 degrees out, plus the hotter I have it the less the wife wears around the house! After all if it get to hot and i mean in the 90's I can open a window

I looked into the heritage which is closer to the SF of my house, I just don't want to have to deal with loading it that much. I want to be able to go to bed and not have to worry about a cold house or starting from almost scratch again in the morning. I want to be able to load her up again and not have to worry about the same thing when I get home from work which is around 8-10 hours later. My wife works the same hours so there will be no one home during the day to put wood in. I want this to be my primary heat source.

I would rather have to much stove then not enough stove. I already suffer the not enough and far from to much on some things the wife says :down: , so maybe I can make up for it with a big ass stove. The bottom line I want heat when its cold, I dont want trouble keeping the house in the 80's on the coldest days we see. And I can back off with the amount of wood I put in it when it is to hot or in the fall spring months.
Let me have it!!

 

[begreen]

The problem is the house is small. If you get too large a stove it may never get to secondary burning. Yes it will work, but in the same way you could take a semi truck to the store for groceries. Not very practical.

I would stick with the Heritage or look into the Woodstock Fireview as an alternative. The Fireview should give you legendary burn times when on low heat, and still have plenty reserves to heat the house in the coldest weather. Another stove to look into is the Blaze King Princess. Folks in AK seem to really like them for their climate. Both the Fireview and the Princess are CAT stoves. This is what gives them extended burn times. If you want warmer, maybe invest in an energy audit and add insulation?

 

[Heat Miser]

I upgraded last year to a Hearthstone Mansfield in my 3,000 sq. ft. home. I'm in a much more temperate climate though than you are. This stove is far and away better than my old stove. It has a consistent heat output that doesn't cook us out of the main room. It puts out heat 12+ hours and I usually have good coals 14 hours later to re-start the stove. A few times I've seen good embers in the stove almost a day later but that's obviously not something that can be relied upon.

The stove heat is gentle and consistent for a 24/7 burner. Frankly, I find it puts out heat almost as fast as my old cast iron stove from cold start. Whereas the old stove took maybe 30 minutes to start putting out good heat from a cold start, the new stove is maybe 45-60 minutes which really isn't that big of a deal. Not only that, but my Mansfield is much easier to light and requires no babysitting. I get the fire going and 30 minutes later I add the rest of the wood load, set the damper to where it will be the rest of the day, and leave. It's easy and I'm very happy with my soapstone stove. For 24/7 burning I find this stove is really great. In fact, I'm kind of eager for the weather to get cold again so I can start it up as I miss the heat and nice look of the fire window!

In terms of heat output, this thing can really crank out the BTUs on a high setting. Only you'll know if it is too much for your house. Although now that I'm a fourth year wood burner I've learned that I'd rather have a stove that is too big than too small. IMO.

The downside is soapstone is not something you're going to want to cook on as the stone is very soft. So if this is something important to you then consider yourself warned.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i agree with BG , the two units you mentioned are too much stove for your living area. go with soapstone , and or a cat unit , maybe 2.5 cf would be all you would ever need unless you forget to close the front door at night.

 

[Todd]

The Fireview would be a great fit for your needs. Both stoves will give you a 12hr plus burn, but the Fireview does it with a smaller fire box so you use less wood. I easily get 12hr and longer burns with the Fireview burning Oak. For 1000 sq ft the Mansfield would be over kill.

 

[jman]

The woodstock fire view is nice, but i don't want to order that big a purchase from out of state over the phone. I would rather deal with a dealer local to me. So if I have any problems I can have them come take a look.So I geuss I'm going to be looking a little more on the Heritage. I realy dont want a stove with a cat.
So I have a question for BEGREEN do youthink I would have a hard time getting secondary burns with the Heritage? I know by the numbers that even the Heritage is more then I need but I would still like to have a stove a bit bigger then I need. I wouldnt want a stove with a fire box smaller then 2 cubic feet.
I told you guys where going to say I was crazy!

 

[begreen]

I think you'll be fine with the Heritage. Burn dry softwood in the fall and spring and/or half loads of wood. Soapstone stoves are not instant reactors. They change temp more gradually. You'll be able to bring the house up to temp and then depending on how much clothing you have left on, you can decide on more fuel in the fire, letting her die down or opening a window. Come winter load her up with dry hardwood and use the air control to throttle it back to a good comfort level.

 

[Todd]

Just make sure you have good dry wood to burn as you will mostly be burning in the low damped down mode to keep from over heating the place. This will ensure good secondary burn and a clean chimney.

 

[jman]

I have plenty of wood. I have close to half acord left from last winter which was cut and split over ayear and a half ago. I have close to 13 cord cut and stacked since end of march. thats not counting on what i cut and split this summer which is about two more cords. I would still be cuting if I didnt get poisin ivy all over my legs :ahhh: when it finaly clears up Ill be out cutting some more, my goal is to have about 20 cords by snowfall this year. I got beech, maple, cherry, oak, ash. Ill be burning a lot of beech this year and next, probable 6-7 cords of it.
I can see what you guys are saying with the mansfield being to big, I didnt relize I wouldnt get good secondary burns. So I plan on getting the heritage.This will be my first EPA WOODSTOVE. I bought a non epa last summer and had it n my cellar. I want a cleaner burning stove, plus it would make the wife happy. Shes scared to death of a chimney fire so I was constantly cleaning the chimney last winter to ease her mind. I must admit it probable didnt hurt ethier cause I always had creasolt build up. I took everyones advise about your better off heating the area you live in.had plenty of heat cum up from the cellar but we had to run the pellet stove a lot to to keep her up around 80. Selling the pellet stove to my dad, which will help him out a lot this winter with cutting down on his oil bill. Again thanks for the advise guys
Happy burning this winter

 

[Heat Miser]

I would still be cuting if I didnt get poisin ivy all over my legs :ahhh:

I have one word for you: Zanfel

(broken link removed to http://www.zanfel.com/help/)

 

[jman]

How good is this stuff? I've had poisin ivy over a week now and it's still going strong. I've even been washing my legs with bleech hoping to dry this stuff up

 

[Vic99]

I get a poison ivy reaction at least once a year. I'm just getting over my latest that must have happen when I cut down a tree 2 weeks ago.

Expect the reaction to last 10-14 days. I use a baking soda to dry it out. Add a touch of water to make it into a thick paste and rub it on. If possible, leave it on for 20 minutes . . . it will flake off and make a bit of a mess, but it is not toxic. Try this application 2-3 times a day. Stay AWAY from hot water and direct sunlight if possible, this aggravates the reaction. Since the itchy rash is an allergic reaction, try taking 1-2 benadryl at night. Benadryl will probably make you drowsy, but will also combat the reaction and allow you to sleep. Please, check with your pharmacist to make sure it doesn't interact with any medication you might be on. Also, you should avoid alcohol when on that drug. Good luck.

 

[Vic99]

And, I got a soapstone stove last year. I love it for all the reasons mentioned in countless threads. Sounds like you'll be very happy with a Heritage.

I agree with BeGreen et al. See if you can add insulation. I did and it made some difference.

 

[Heat Miser]

How good is this stuff? I've had poisin ivy over a week now and it's still going strong. I've even been washing my legs with bleech hoping to dry this stuff up

A few years ago I had it on my arms, hands, etc. I washed with it once and most of the itching stopped immediately. I re-washed with it again and the next day the entire rash was almost gone and it didn't itch at all. So for me it worked great. For another friend it was just OK. It may depend on the person. I keep a tube of it around all the time now just in case because I've never found anything to work as fast on poison ivy for me.

 

[pinewoodburner]

The woodstock fire view is nice, but i don't want to order that big a purchase from out of state over the phone. I would rather deal with a dealer local to me. So if I have any problems I can have them come take a look.So I geuss I'm going to be looking a little more on the Heritage. I realy dont want a stove with a cat.
So I have a question for BEGREEN do youthink I would have a hard time getting secondary burns with the Heritage? I know by the numbers that even the Heritage is more then I need but I would still like to have a stove a bit bigger then I need. I wouldnt want a stove with a fire box smaller then 2 cubic feet.
I told you guys where going to say I was crazy!

I looked at the Heritage also. Nice stove. Bought the Fireview this year. The people at Woodstock are great to work with. They know what customer service is. I was also worried about purchasing a stove unseen, but they have a money back guarantee. I wanted the long burn time of the Fireview. The Hearthstone stoves are nice and I don't think you will go wrong with them. But I would not rule out the Woodstock stoves, and they are on sale right now. Good Luck.. Jeff

 

[new burner]

hope you didnt buy the hearthstone, I have nothing but problems with mine.

 

[Fsappo]

Id go with the Heritage. I can get 10 hour burns out of mine, fit a big stick of wood thru the side door, easy to use and they are great looking. That Mansfield may just be more stove than you need

 

[edthedawg]

check the dates guys... lotsa old threads being dug up here today. fella has the Heritage in his sig.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

A couple words come to mind when I hear "Hearthstone"

Overpriced

Fad

Unattractive

Meh

 

[Highbeam]

When a guy digs up a year old post just to make a slam against a brand, well, we have a name for that. TROLL!

 

[DAKSY]

I would still be cuting if I didnt get poisin ivy all over my legs :ahhh:

I have one word for you: Zanfel

(broken link removed to http://www.zanfel.com/help/)

Another word: IvyDry

http://www.ivydry.com/