New Hearthstone Soapstone stove after two burns. Does the interior look ok?

[JerkyChew]

Just had a Hearthstone Mansfield installed. All my questions brought me back to this forum, so I figured this was the best place to ask - I've run two low temp burn-ins so far. I plan to do one more and then deem the stove ready to use. However I noticed that the interior soapstone appears charred and might be chipping. Of course it will char, it's a stove . But can somebody confirm for me that this is normal? I'm thinking (hoping) that it's just creosote as a result of the low temp burns combined with the moisture that was in the stones - They had water drops on them (inside the box) as the stove got hotter. Thanks in advance.

 

[cygnus]

You couldn't have had much of a fire, or hot fire, given the unburnt splits in your firebox. I'd say the bulk of any creosote is due to a small, cool, weakly established fire. Burn it hot and the interior will look different. Equally important, that wood is probably a bit too wet. What is your wood source? Is the wood moisture content <20%? Search on the forums about dry wood...it's vitally important.

 

[BillBurns]

Looks normal to me, with short, small fires. Juice her up next fire time.