Hergóm Deva 100 (Hearthstone import model 8220) Review

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akbear

Burning Hunk
Aug 14, 2013
120
Interior AK
First winter's continual use of the Hergóm Deva 100 has proved it an easy and convenient stove. The stove heats up well, fast and due to the cast iron front and other cast iron components it does hold the heat well once the fire has died off. It is a 1 1/2 cu foot+ firebox that burns brightly for about an hour or an hour and a half before reloading, which makes it a good summer stove as well, but it heats up the vitro-ceramic cooktop quickly and easily reaches 700 degrees plus. It takes up to a 17 inch log (or slightly longer especially if placed diagonally), but the firebox does have a tendency to burn better in the rear than in the front, so I try to keep my firewood closer to the 12 inch range as I have to keep the stove running cooler lest I need to heat the outdoors though open windows and front door. The entire top is open for cooking including the grilling plate, which does a fine job for simmering and the top cap for the top exhaust exit which cooks at even a milder temperature. The stainless steel oven has one of the largest glass doors on the market, the size of a 19-inch television, and easily swallows up a 14lb turkey with much of the oven to spare. It comes with one adjustable rack and an enameled pan that uses the same oven glide tracks. It can be used as a drip pan especially for something like roasting beef directly on the rack (good method if you like to roast from frozen for a more even doneness). For controls there are few ovens with simpler controls, just one draught control on the ash bin door, and a centre mounted control for the by-pass door which makes starting the stove easier in high winds or low pressure that might cause the stove to smoke or back-puff if the air pressure indoors is not high enough.

The stove is high glossed enamel with nickel trim, a removable firebox handle to keep from searing a hand opening it, a window to the firebox, and a cleanout hatch hidden behind the oven door. The oven is gasketed as well to keep a more even temp inside, and both the back and sides are insulated to provide an exceptional 4 inches of side clearance where the top edge may approach about 180 degrees and saves the all too precious space in the kitchen.

The stove is a mid-size at 40 inches, provides the option for a rear exhaust as well as top, and is one of the easiest cookstoves to clean as both the easy to keep clean glass cooktop and cast iron enameled grilling plate simply lift off to provide full access to ash removal and the down-draught channel. This stove even when burning white spruce goes well a month before cleaning becomes a thought, and the insulated side discourages the accumulation of ash or creasote in the down-drauft channel like other cookstoves are prone to.

The downsides are more frequent fuel loading, which is helpful in hot summer temperatures, but the cast iron components allow this stove to coast for many hours and through to morning giving off gentle warmth, and the firebox retains embers and glowing coals enough to easily relight once the firebox is reloaded. The glass firebox door does lack a air-wash system, so the glass will smoke over if wood or paper is set too far forward in the firebox, but this is easily tamed with a quick swipe of Rutland glass cleaner which has a silicone residue that it leaves behind that can make the next or subsequent cleanings a matter of simply swiping with a dry napkin. I would advise pretreating the glass with the Rutland product to condition the glass before your first use.

The stove comes in at nearly 500 lbs., but is easily toted in with two narrow carrying straps that are included with the stove. A team of two could manoeuvre the stove into place with no additional help, but four strong hands would make lighter work of the operation. The stove does require a hearth below and in front of it, but the bottom of the stove throws off no heat.

All in all, the Spanish import would be a welcome addition to any kitchen from modern eclectic to country farm. Priced moderately at around $4,200, it easily outpaces the Esse Irronheart that tops that exceeds the $5,000 mark. In comparison to the Esse, the Deva puts out a powerful 46,000 btus (13.5 kW) while the Esse gives off a scant 19,000 despite being a more compact stove, which oddly enough takes up the same floorspace as the Esse has much larger clearance requirements. While like most cookstoves this model is EPA exempt, the stove is 73.9% efficient as certified by european standards and only outputs 4.3 grammes of particulates which meets the harsh standards of Washington state. The Esse also has a constraint on cooking space as it's lidded burners that do provide heat conserving insulation that keeps the burners hot until needed, it only allows for two cooking vessels to share the small top. The Esse also has a non-removeable top that has many gussets and crannies under the top that serve as a collection point for ash and creosote that would be impossible to access and clean since the access to this portion would only be made through the removeable burners that are dog-boned together as a single unit. Firebox is a comparable size to the Deva, though, but an extended firebox must be ordered for increased capacity.

My suggestion to those in the market for a cookstove, this is not one to pass by. Search for my other posts on this stove to read more about this stove and see pictures of it installed and of the cleaning process.
 
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Thanks for the detailed report. It's nice that it's worked out well for you. I have fond memories of cooking on/in a wood cookstove. And that in a very old Baldwin. Did you have the Esse prior to the Deva?

Sold in the states as Hearthstone. Hergom is Hearthstone's parent company.
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hsdeva100.htm
 
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No, I had originally wanted the Esse and came across a floor model for about $2,000 off the retail price, but it wasn't the right time and the Deva simply offered more for 20% less money. I am very glad I missed out on the deal on the Esse.
 
Good to know. Have you done much baking in the Deva? I'm wondering how is the eveness of the heat? It would take an hour to get the old Baldwin warmed up but I had to wait 2-3 hrs for all the cast iron around the oven to warm up before I could get a nice even browning on bread loaves. Word from owners is that the Esse Ironheart is a pretty good area heater. Esse's website lists output at 9.7kW or 33K BTUS. 19K BTUs may be steady state output.
 
I've gotten the oven up to 400 degrees already within 30 minutes. As for the evenness, I've had no problems with that, although I did hear of one woman complaining about it in hers, but I'm not sure what her problem really was as she never posted back again. One thing I do that I'm sure helps as well is that I have a cast iron griddle that I keep on the floor of the oven and I would suspect that aids in keeping a more even temperature in there, plus it has the side benefit of being an additional heat sink that once the fire dies down bleeds off warmth slowly.
 
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