My sincerest apologies, and thank you for your helpful advice

[AlexNY]

After a few days of trial and error, I am beginning to understand my new hearthstone "heritage".

I now have it igniting fairly quickly with kiln dried wood, upon which I then place 18 month wood with no problem.

Once it is going strong (about 2 hours), I can burn a mix of 18 month and 6 month wood with little or no visible smoke from the stack.

The key to the entire effort was to overcome the fear of over-firing. The stove's user manual is largely devoted to listing in detail all the terrible things that can happen if the stove is over-fired. As a result, I was in terror all the time. I now believe that the amount of air that can get into the stove is limited in such a way that over-firing cannot happen even if I loosely fill the entire firebox.

Next, I should apologize for the inexcusable poor attitude that I displayed to friendly people who were merely trying to help. After many years of enjoying a self sufficient wood heating lifestyle, I was simply in terror that all of that was going to end (with 7 cords going to waste in my back yard). That is an explanation, not an excuse. At my age, I should have know better. This is not a world where that many people take the time to help each other, and I should have had the maturity to set aside my frustration which, after all, had nothing to do with any of you.

Thank you for your helpful suggestions, and I am truly sorry that I did not have the grace to keep personal frustration where it belongs, inside me.

By the way, my wife loves the new stove. She loves how it looks, she loves how the fire looks in it, and she loves that ash cleanup is so much less messy. I cannot say that any of these things really matter to me, but making her happy makes it all worth it. It may take a few months for me to forget the $5000 cost (my 8 inch pipe flue had to go along with the old Jotul combifire 4 that fed it), but I am once again looking forward to a cozy winter season of "the good labor". The "heritage" produces much less heat than I am used to, but it is so easy to keep it alight pretty much all the time, I can compensate for lower heat output by having longer duration.

Thanks again,

A repentant and (mostly) happy fellow wood burner.

 

[mikepinto65]

Hats off to you AlexNY, i've been waiting patiently to hear an update to your situation. Good luck with everything and i'm sure your going to continue getting the hang of things quickly and truly love the stove.

 

[Pagey]

So glad that things are looking up for you! I hope you'll keep us posted as we get into the meat of burning season. Any chance we can get some pics of the install? :coolgrin:

 

[Archie]

It's a learning process, Alex. No worries. Sounds like you're getting the hang of it.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

im with mike , takes a big man to be a big man. glad to see you have found the "sweet spot" with the new stove.the heritage is a wonderful stove, you made a great choice there! now with the gained knowledge you can give perspective to other " potential new wood burners" passing on what you have gained from the members and adding your own experience. my hat is off as well.

 

[BrotherBart]

Glad to hear things are working for ya Alex. Before long you will have that startup down from 2 hours to twenty minutes now that you know that you can "let'er rip" getting that first coal bed ready for the big load. When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time. A firebox full of flames is a good thing. Was with the old stoves too but we were always afraid we were wasting wood.

Enjoy.

 

[grommal]

im with mike , takes a big man to be a big man. glad to see you have found the "sweet spot" with the new stove.the heritage is a wonderful stove, you made a great choice there! now with the gained knowledge you can give perspective to other " potential new wood burners" passing on what you have gained from the members and adding your own experience. my hat is off as well.

+1

 

[AlexNY]

... When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time ...

This is something I am really looking forward to. For whatever reason, I have always required very little sleep, and I naturally wake up ever 2-3 hours. Based on the experience of the last two days, that will be a perfect time to re-load with wood, enjoy the lovely fire, and then head back to bed. My guess is the Heritage will stay lit from mid December until late February witout ever going out. It sips very little wood, so even if I run it 24/7 I will not get through more than half my 7 cord pile.

Thanks again for your advice.

By the way, how much should I expect to pay to replace the ceramic glass? I have already noticed that logs sometimes roll into it due to shifting in the fire, I guess one day it will crack or break. It does not look particularly pricy, but one never knows for sure.

Do any of you have problems with oil delivery companies refusing maintenance contracts because you do not fill up often enough? I usually fill up just one time per year, in July. It has been years since my boiler was serviced, and I am on the lookout for a Long Island company that will extend a contract with free yearly maintenance in return for automatic delivery with no minimum number of gallons per year.

 

[fredarm]

im with mike , takes a big man to be a big man. glad to see you have found the "sweet spot" with the new stove.the heritage is a wonderful stove, you made a great choice there! now with the gained knowledge you can give perspective to other " potential new wood burners" passing on what you have gained from the members and adding your own experience. my hat is off as well.

+1

+2

 

[fossil]

The pyroceram window in your stove door is plenty tough, Alex. A split rolling onto it from inside isn't going to carry enough energy to damage the window. Most commonly, at least from what I've learned on here, is folks have inadvertently cracked the window by shutting the door on splits of reload wood that weren't properly loaded...trying to cram too much wood into the box, or too long N-S. Even if you should find one day that you've damaged it, the window can be replaced relatively easily and at reasonable cost from a number of suppliers. Don't let that keep you awake at night. ;-P Rick

 

[BrotherBart]

That NeoCeram glass is tough stuff, but you can get it replaced for a hundred or so if the need arises. As to the oil I can't tell ya. Our house is all electric and for twenty years the damned fools at the electric company have come out every two years and replaced the meter. Even though they have to walk around nine to twelve cords of wood every time to do it. You would think they would figure it out some day.

One time they didn't warn me and blew out a five hundred dollar UPS.

 

[edthedawg]

Alex,

Great to hear you're happier w/ the stove. Air control wasn't a problem at all?? I'm genuinely surprised - but hey, you were frustrated and it showed. and the important thing is that you're not anymore

I'm willing to bet you're gonna get even better and better w/ the stove.

I was thinkin' about this earlier when i got home. we hadn't had the stove lit in days but the temps dropped precipitously today, so I fired it up. gonna build a thread on it, but suffice to say we were at 350 stovetop and climbing, having just shut the damper at 30 minutes in from stone cold. I dont know if i was that good last year or not. It's been <5 hrs now and i've added two three splits total since the original small load. been cruising at 400-450 for hours and its toasty warm downstairs

 

[allhandsworking]

... When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time ...

This is something I am really looking forward to. For whatever reason, I have always required very little sleep, and I naturally wake up ever 2-3 hours. Based on the experience of the last two days, that will be a perfect time to re-load with wood, enjoy the lovely fire, and then head back to bed. My guess is the Heritage will stay lit from mid December until late February witout ever going out. It sips very little wood, so even if I run it 24/7 I will not get through more than half my 7 cord pile.

Thanks again for your advice.

By the way, how much should I expect to pay to replace the ceramic glass? I have already noticed that logs sometimes roll into it due to shifting in the fire, I guess one day it will crack or break. It does not look particularly pricy, but one never knows for sure.

Do any of you have problems with oil delivery companies refusing maintenance contracts because you do not fill up often enough? I usually fill up just one time per year, in July. It has been years since my boiler was serviced, and I am on the lookout for a Long Island company that will extend a contract with free yearly maintenance in return for automatic delivery with no minimum number of gallons per year.

Do you have a handy relative or friend? Changing an oil filter,nozzel and cleaning the bioler is really not hard at all! You can find DIY video on youtube! I order oil once a year usually in August and I pay cash, you get a nice discount! Also dont worry about that stove! Its like a women very complex! I am on my secound season with mine and keep learing new tricks to make her happy and hot. I wish I can say the same about my wife!

 

[mikepinto65]

... When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time ...

This is something I am really looking forward to. For whatever reason, I have always required very little sleep, and I naturally wake up ever 2-3 hours. Based on the experience of the last two days, that will be a perfect time to re-load with wood, enjoy the lovely fire, and then head back to bed. My guess is the Heritage will stay lit from mid December until late February witout ever going out. It sips very little wood, so even if I run it 24/7 I will not get through more than half my 7 cord pile.

Thanks again for your advice.

By the way, how much should I expect to pay to replace the ceramic glass? I have already noticed that logs sometimes roll into it due to shifting in the fire, I guess one day it will crack or break. It does not look particularly pricy, but one never knows for sure.

Do any of you have problems with oil delivery companies refusing maintenance contracts because you do not fill up often enough? I usually fill up just one time per year, in July. It has been years since my boiler was serviced, and I am on the lookout for a Long Island company that will extend a contract with free yearly maintenance in return for automatic delivery with no minimum number of gallons per year.

Do you have a handy relative or friend? Changing an oil filter,nozzel and cleaning the bioler is really not hard at all! You can find DIY video on youtube! I order oil once a year usually in August and I pay cash, you get a nice discount! Also dont worry about that stove! Its like a women very complex! I am on my secound season with mine and keep learing new tricks to make her happy and hot. I wish I can say the same about my wife!

You are very enthusiastic allhandsworking!

 

[allhandsworking]

... When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time ...

This is something I am really looking forward to. For whatever reason, I have always required very little sleep, and I naturally wake up ever 2-3 hours. Based on the experience of the last two days, that will be a perfect time to re-load with wood, enjoy the lovely fire, and then head back to bed. My guess is the Heritage will stay lit from mid December until late February witout ever going out. It sips very little wood, so even if I run it 24/7 I will not get through more than half my 7 cord pile.

Thanks again for your advice.

By the way, how much should I expect to pay to replace the ceramic glass? I have already noticed that logs sometimes roll into it due to shifting in the fire, I guess one day it will crack or break. It does not look particularly pricy, but one never knows for sure.

Do any of you have problems with oil delivery companies refusing maintenance contracts because you do not fill up often enough? I usually fill up just one time per year, in July. It has been years since my boiler was serviced, and I am on the lookout for a Long Island company that will extend a contract with free yearly maintenance in return for automatic delivery with no minimum number of gallons per year.

Do you have a handy relative or friend? Changing an oil filter,nozzel and cleaning the bioler is really not hard at all! You can find DIY video on youtube! I order oil once a year usually in August and I pay cash, you get a nice discount! Also dont worry about that stove! Its like a women very complex! I am on my secound season with mine and keep learing new tricks to make her happy and hot. I wish I can say the same about my wife!

Oh yeah get yourself some construction scrap or pallet wood it makes great kindling! I cut to size then split em about 1-2" About 6 peices is all I need to start 5" splitts top down start up!

 

[allhandsworking]

... When you get to 24/7 burning season it will be even shorter than that at reload time ...

This is something I am really looking forward to. For whatever reason, I have always required very little sleep, and I naturally wake up ever 2-3 hours. Based on the experience of the last two days, that will be a perfect time to re-load with wood, enjoy the lovely fire, and then head back to bed. My guess is the Heritage will stay lit from mid December until late February witout ever going out. It sips very little wood, so even if I run it 24/7 I will not get through more than half my 7 cord pile.

Thanks again for your advice.

By the way, how much should I expect to pay to replace the ceramic glass? I have already noticed that logs sometimes roll into it due to shifting in the fire, I guess one day it will crack or break. It does not look particularly pricy, but one never knows for sure.

Do any of you have problems with oil delivery companies refusing maintenance contracts because you do not fill up often enough? I usually fill up just one time per year, in July. It has been years since my boiler was serviced, and I am on the lookout for a Long Island company that will extend a contract with free yearly maintenance in return for automatic delivery with no minimum number of gallons per year.

Do you have a handy relative or friend? Changing an oil filter,nozzel and cleaning the bioler is really not hard at all! You can find DIY video on youtube! I order oil once a year usually in August and I pay cash, you get a nice discount! Also dont worry about that stove! Its like a women very complex! I am on my secound season with mine and keep learing new tricks to make her happy and hot. I wish I can say the same about my wife!

You are very enthusiastic allhandsworking!

This site is the best It has helped me big time! People are so willing to share there experence. I just wanted to pass it along. Besides reading his post made me choke up!

 

[rdust]

I was following your story and I'm glad to hear the new stove is working out for you. I was actually looking for an update when I was surfing on lunch today, I was glad to see it posted this evening. As others have said I'm sure it'll get even better as your time with it increases. I hope to be firing my new stove in the next couple weeks and know I can count on this group to walk me through any issues I may run into.

 

[Skier76]

That's great news Alex!

I'm a newb with the EPA stoves myself. I grew up with Jotul 3 back in the day. The stove was always easy to light and wet wood would just cause a little sizzling. With these EPA stoves, there's a bit of a different start up proceedure and they're very happy with dry wood. I'm still learning myself, but once you get the hang of it, getting it lit...or reloading just becomes eaier.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

My sincerest apologies, and thank you for your helpful advice

I accept your apology.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Alex, your post has brought joy to many. You can be very proud that you searched and experimented to find the answer to your puzzle.

I now hope that you will keep hanging around here so you can give some of your wisdom to the new burners and maybe to some of the older burners too.

Good luck to you.

 

[branchburner]

The most gratifying element of this whole episode is to see Bigg Red accept a soapstone-related apolgy.

But seriously, Alex, great to hear the issue resolved, and big of you to admit your impatience. It is a reminder to me how frustrating "change" can be and how important it is for stove dealers to work with their customers a bit, and let them know a simple learning curve just takes a bit of time. This site is a real blessing for those that don't get that extra help from a shop. Please keep us updated on your stove.

I can't advise you on a service contract for your oil burner, but I do advise you to have it serviced, especially if it is an older unit. I discovered quite by accident my heat exchanger and exhaust pipe were half-buried in soot. The service techs had not been cleaning it, or even suggesting it might need cleaning. So search for someone with a reputation for honesty, thoroughness and reliability.

 

[blades]

I had a similar episode with the combined gas/electric co here also. They even threatened civil proceedings. Seems they could not understand how in temps of 10 deg. that I would not be using any of their products. Took over a 2 month period for them to accept that if the main gas supply valve is closed nothing flows and if the electric power is disconnected at the master switch that that meter will not run either. All in all it was a pita but very amusing at the same time.

 

[Highbeam]

It didn't happen if we don't get pictures. We all would love to see that stove ripping along with the door shut.

The stone stoves aren't intended to run at 800 or however hot that old steel stove used to get so they won't burn your skin with their instantaneous heat output. They will hold a medium temp for much longer than your old steel stove though and in the end will deliver more heat to your home for a given amount of wood due to higher efficiency. It's a gradual heat thing where you just keep it warm and the house stays warm, you need to plan ahead when you see your room temp drop and stoke the fire so that you can be making heat before the room cools too much. Kind of a flywheel effect.

Glad to see it worked out.

 

[savageactor7]

I was in the same boat Alex was when I joined up here after getting our new EPA stove. Had to join up here to figure out how the run the stove. After his first couple of post I knew he was on the road to salvation.

 

[firefighterjake]

I have to say I'm right there with Backwoods . . . the apology . . . aw shucks, it was nice Alex . . . but the really truly great thing is that you got the stove working for you and I can guarantee you that there were a lot of members here pulling for you . . . not because we have a need to always be right, but because we knew you were frustrated and once you got things worked out you would come to appreciate the newer tech . . . and I can guarantee you that things will only get better in time as you learn even more on the subtle nuances on how to run this stove. I'm really happy you hung in and there and took the advice to heart . . . a lot of folks who don't like the advice they're hearing would not have done the same.

I do think however I owe you an apology . . . I was wrong . . . I predicted that if you hung in there you would be happy with the woodstove in a few months and by mid-winter would be posting comments to other folks . . . looks like it only took you a week or so to make the change-over.

However, I do feel as though you have to pay some penance for this transgression and so your wood-burning sins can only be absolved by posting a picture of your woodstove in operation . . . well that and you must continue to update us or post to other comments as a way of giving back to the wood burning community.

Again, I am very happy to have read this post. Made my day.