My Hearthstone Heritage IV TruHybrid Model 8024 Install

[OH_Varmntr]

I picked this stove up Friday morning and began installation. Purchased the stove with a rear heat shield, ash tray and outside air adapter. Outside air kit being drop shipped in a week or so as they didn't have one in stock.

Flue is up and out as seen below, 20' up to a rain cap from the outside clean out tee. Last night we lit a small break-in fire to warm the stove to the letter of the operating instructions, let it cool down overnight and lit another fire this morning and have been playing with it all day. Wood is spring cut/split/stacked downed elm and oak.

This thing over-fires like crazy.

I have to choke the fire down to where it's emitting low flame above the embers (secondary burn is evident) but it's still too hot, according to the catalyst temp indicator. I know the minimum setting doesn't mean zero air, but even at minimum primary air setting the catalyst temp indicator stays in the "Too Hot" range. I have 2 key dampers installed above the stove due to a 20' vertical flue (installed 2 from the start so I didn't have to modify my piping later on if I needed a second) and closing them down seems to keep too much heat in to where the catalyst temp goes further into the "Too Hot" range. I have to leave the key damper(s) open and close the air lever to start moving the temp needle and that process takes a good long while, around 45 minutes or so but still struggles to go back down into the "Active" range. It hovers right at the line and at that point I have few flames with some secondary still going.

At that point in time I add a few more pieces and it takes off and goes back into the "Too Hot" range and hangs there. I would think if anything I would be having a hard time keeping low-burn going since my fuel is sub-par (or so I think it is?), but it's the opposite.

I'm beginning to wonder if my catalyst temp indicator is right. I was 3/4 of the way into the "Too Hot" range and the stove was starting to make some expansion noises I hadn't heard yet and it finally started to come down a bit. I'm 16 hours into burning today and I'd say all but 1 hour or less has been at or above the line separating the "Active" and "Too Hot" ranges.

Tomorrow morning when it's cold I'll be checking the door seals to rule that out, and if all is well with those I'll be calling the dealer.

First time having a wood stove in the living room. Sure is nice. Used an add-on wood burner in the basement years ago, then went to an OWB but couldn't stand feeding it.


This is pretty much where it rides at minimum fire.


Here's what I'm usually looking like at minimum fire if there's fuel left in the box.

 

[Nigel459]

A few thoughts:

Double check where your cat probe needle sits at room temp to make sure it's not misaligned. I've had to adjust a probe thermometer even from a premium brand before...

Also, brand new catalysts are known to be hyperactive. You may just be working with that for the first few burns...

Also, with these hybrid stoves (I have one too) the cat probe will act counter to flame in the box. The more flame, the less smoke for the cat to eat, and vise-versa... so sounds kinda normal to me. Same happens to me, when I damper way down the cat really fires up and comes aglow...

I'd be concerned about stove top temperatures, I think you have to be a bit careful with that soapstone.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll dial it in soon.

 

[tabner]

Nice deer!

 

[OH_Varmntr]

A few thoughts:

Double check where your cat probe needle sits at room temp to make sure it's not misaligned. I've had to adjust a probe thermometer even from a premium brand before...

Pic of probe at room temperature below. I have no point of reference for ambient room temp so where should it be?

Also, brand new catalysts are known to be hyperactive. You may just be working with that for the first few burns...

Also, with these hybrid stoves (I have one too) the cat probe will act counter to flame in the box. The more flame, the less smoke for the cat to eat, and vise-versa... so sounds kinda normal to me. Same happens to me, when I damper way down the cat really fires up and comes aglow...

Makes perfect sense to me.

I'd be concerned about stove top temperatures, I think you have to be a bit careful with that soapstone.

Last night, with the dial just into the "Too Hot" zone, I shot 380*F on top of the stove, 430*F on the fixed side of the box with a cheap IR gun (opposite the side load door with the steel liner plate on it). These temps seem a bit low. I'm double wall stove pipe up to where the Class A connector is, so I can't really check flue temps at the stove outlet. I'll have to install a thermocouple at the Class A connector where it's single wall for the transition.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll dial it in soon.

I checked my seals and they are all tight. Dropped the pan off the bottom to check the primary air damper operation and I believe I found the operator for the damper wasn't rotating fully to move the damper to it's furthest closed position. There's a bit of flash on the casting that rubs on the arm. I'm not certain, if anything it was keeping it from closing that last 1/4" or less of operator movement. It may be enough though.

Reading through a lot of the old threads on these stoves it seems they like to be run with the primaries run just off of closed most of the time. The manual clearly states it "is not advisable as it can promote the accumulation of creosote."

Time to fire it back up...thank you for your reply!

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Nice deer!

Thanks,
I've got a few more hanging around the place...

 

[begreen]

I checked my seals and they are all tight. Dropped the pan off the bottom to check the primary air damper operation and I believe I found the operator for the damper wasn't rotating fully to move the damper to it's furthest closed position. There's a bit of flash on the casting that rubs on the arm. I'm not certain, if anything it was keeping it from closing that last 1/4" or less of operator movement. It may be enough though.

Good sleuthing. That together with a new cat could be the issue. New cats are hyper-active. With a good bypass seal, the cat temp should settle down in the next few days.

 

[nortcan]

Do you have a on top of the stove thermometer and an IR one to compare the temperatures? My Heritage never went pass over the active gray section, did you put your finger on the rope gaskets and slide it all around the doors? The seals may look good but may have a few hard like cement spots. On all my Hearthstone, the rope gaskets had soaked in the liquid used to stick them in the channel and the gaskets had very hard dried spots, so I removed the seals and get new Bronze gaskets and fixed them with HT black silicone, HT silicone doesn' get hard like liquid glue does.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Good sleuthing. That together with a new cat could be the issue. New cats are hyper-active. With a good bypass seal, the cat temp should settle down in the next few days.

It changed the amount of throw on the primary air lever that's for sure.

Do you have a on top of the stove thermometer and an IR one to compare the temperatures? My Heritage never went pass over the active
gray section, did you put your finger on the rope gaskets and slide it all around the doors? The seals may look good but may have a few hard like cement spots. On all my Hearthstone, the rope gaskets had soaked in the liquid used to stick them in the channel and the gaskets had very hard dried spots, so I removed the seals and get new Bronze gaskets and fixed them with HT black silicone, HT silicone doesn' get hard like liquid glue does.

I don't have a stove top thermometer, just an IR gun. I did not agitate the rope gaskets in the manner which you described, but I did close a piece of paper in each of the doors, moving around the gasket perimeter and each one clamped down tightly upon the paper.

I have a Honeywell UDC around here somewhere, I need to find a thermocouple for it and do some data logging.

 

[nortcan]

It changed the amount of throw on the primary air lever that's for sure.



I don't have a stove top thermometer, just an IR gun. I did not agitate the rope gaskets in the manner which you described, but I did close a piece of paper in each of the doors, moving around the gasket perimeter and each one clamped down tightly upon the paper.

I have a Honeywell UDC around here somewhere, I need to find a thermocouple for it and do some data logging.

Yes the dollar bill test may be OK where the parer is placed but the gasket may be dry like cement just a few inches beside that, I don't have the good way to tell you what I mean but it's important to slip/to slide one finger on the rope gasket all around the door 's gasket. On one of my Hearthstone, the join between the end of the gasket rope had about 1/2 inch gap and a few hard spots. Don't forget the top thermometer....good luck.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Thanks, I understand what you mean. If the gasket has absorbed gasket cement it gets hard and doesn't allow it to compress when the door is closed.

Some info for those who care to follow along. I'm into this burn about 5 hours. Primary air control was closed as far as it will go, both key dampers were full open and the catalyst dial was nearly pegged in the "Too Hot" zone. I ran my cold air kit through the wall and terminated it at the intake on the bottom of the stove to see if bringing 30*F air in for combustion would lower temps at all. It hasn't.

Here's a diagram of temp readings I took on the top soapstones with an IR gun. I took 3 readings per stone. There is a lot of variation there.


I'm going to pick up a stove top thermometer today and may even run to work and grab our Fluke Thermal Imager to play with. Since I began typing this, I set both key dampers to full close and the needle has come down to the middle of the "Too Hot" zone and it's still dropping. I was thinking this would trap catalyst gasses and therefore increase temps, but clearly I thought wrong.

Then on top of all of this, I have 2 of the Seebeck fans coming tomorrow. So let's throw another variable in to the mix!

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Here's what my burn looks like with primary air to a minimum and both key dampers in the pipe closed.

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[kennyp2339]

Here's what my burn looks like with primary air to a minimum and both key dampers in the pipe closed.

That looks great and those temps on the stone look fairly average, nothing crazy. The one question I have is at the end of your burn are you stalling the load or will the coals all burn down to a fine ash?

 

[OH_Varmntr]

That looks great and those temps on the stone look fairly average, nothing crazy. The one question I have is at the end of your burn are you stalling the load or will the coals all burn down to a fine ash?

When I went to bed last night there were glowing chunks of wood left so I left the flue dampers fully open and set the primary air lever to max.

There were a few remaining embers but most of it was a very light, flaky white ash this morning. The top of the stove was 107*F and I could feel heat radiating off it when I walked down the stairs. I was pretty happy about that.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

You guys nailed it, it just took a few days of burning to break it in and settle the catalyst down. Not only can I tame the temps, but the stove is much more responsive to input changes now.

If I had one gripe, it would be that it doesn't seem to burn the entire length of the splits at the same rate. The primary air port is in the center so 3-4" of the ends of each split end up still being coals when the centers have burned down.

I'm letting her cool down tonight and will open up the chimney tomorrow and see what it looks like. Thanks for all your suggestions and input.

I could sit here and watch this for hours. Video is slowed down for your enjoyment.

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[Highbeam]

The fuel load in my cat stove burns out like a horseshoe. Middle first. Same thing. It all eventually burns if the fuel is dry.

 

[avsmusic1]

love the video
i know you're still getting the hang of it but, based on some of the other convo on other threads that I know you've been a part of, I gotta ask what type of burn times your getting.

 

[nortcan]

The fuel load in my cat stove burns out like a horseshoe. Middle first. Same thing. It all eventually burns if the fuel is dry.

Just for fun ??? I made a kind of a deflectormanifold sitting in front of the central air outlet, having 3 holes so the primary air isn't hitting just the center of the load but to the right, to the left and to the center.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

love the video
i know you're still getting the hang of it but, based on some of the other convo on other threads that I know you've been a part of, I gotta ask what type of burn times your getting.

I guess I would have to know how you would want it defined. I haven't really looked at the clock since I've been experimenting with figuring out what works best for my setup.

My outside air adapter showed up today, so I am now piped directly to outside air and will see how that affects things.

I opened my clean out this morning and the chimney looked brand new all the way to the top. I know it's only been 3.5 days or so of burning but I figured with as much as this thing runs choked all of the way down that I would have some build up. I guess I'm stuck in the outside wood burner mindset of creosote-covered everything from all of the smoke (hence the nickname "smoke dragons"), but I couldn't believe this thing runs this clean. I can't imagine how many BTU's I used to waste.

I fired it back up at 1030 today with 4 splits and I just added a few more to a plentiful bed of coals at 1530. I'll have to get my moisture meter out and weigh what I'm adding to give provide some better data. I've got another week or so off so I have nothing but time.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Just for fun ??? I made a kind of a deflectormanifold sitting in front of the central air outlet, having 3 holes so the primary air isn't hitting just the center of the load but to the right, to the left and to the center.

Black pipe threaded together or something fabricated? Pics? I've been contemplating building a minimalistic grate from 1" bar stock to help keep splits back from the primary air port. I'm also somewhat worried I'll have a piece roll forward and smack the glass so it would be a twofer. Wouldn't be too hard to incorporate a primary air splitter as well.

 

[nortcan]

Black pipe threaded together or something fabricated? Pics? I've been contemplating building a minimalistic grate from 1" bar stock to help keep splits back from the primary air port. I'm also somewhat worried I'll have a piece roll forward and smack the glass so it would be a twofer. Wouldn't be too hard to incorporate a primary air splitter as well.

Here are some photos, you can see the andirons made from 1 inch bar sitting inside of ??? tubing, all parts are St-St, the andirons could be closer to the glass but I don't like opening the door and have full ash falling ...important in a living room ! Also you see the primary air splitter and fire bricks to make efficient small fires when outside T is not very cold at Fall and Spring. All I made is not affecting the stove's structure and can be removed if wnted, I'm still on the testing side now...

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Here are some photos, you can see the andirons made from 1 inch bar sitting inside of ??? tubing, all parts are St-St, the andirons could be closer to the glass but I don't like opening the door and have full ash falling ...important in a living room ! Also you see the primary air splitter and fire bricks to make efficient small fires when outside T is not very cold at Fall and Spring. All I made is not affecting the stove's structure and can be removed if wnted, I'm still on the testing side now...

I like it and will be doing something of the like soon, trying 2 ports.

For those interested, the other evening at 1922 I added 4 splits to my firebox with good coals to see how it would look in 12 hours. At 0740 the next morning, stovetop temps were 150*F with good enough coals to light off of.

State of firebox prior to adding fuel.

Fuel added. I couldn't find my scale at the time. I would guess it to be 22-26 pounds of wood based upon other similar sized splits I have weighed since my scale turned up.

Catalyst probe at same time.

Stovetop at same time.

Next morning.


As you can see in this picture, the stovetop fans are still moving air. Our staircase is 25 feet from the face of the stove and again I could feel heat radiating off the stove as I came downstairs.

 

[newenglandstove]

A few thoughts:

Double check where your cat probe needle sits at room temp to make sure it's not misaligned. I've had to adjust a probe thermometer even from a premium brand before...

Also, brand new catalysts are known to be hyperactive. You may just be working with that for the first few burns...

Also, with these hybrid stoves (I have one too) the cat probe will act counter to flame in the box. The more flame, the less smoke for the cat to eat, and vise-versa... so sounds kinda normal to me. Same happens to me, when I damper way down the cat really fires up and comes aglow...

I'd be concerned about stove top temperatures, I think you have to be a bit careful with that soapstone.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll dial it in soon.

Where should it be sitting at room temp? Mine appears to be well below the inactive range... Do I need to adjust it? If so, how do you do that properly?