Pulled the trigger on the Heritage...finally

[strawman]

After 2 years of visiting stove shops, talking to dealers (some a great source of info, others...not so much), researching on the web ( a great amount of it on this site and links provided here. Can't thank you all enough), and quite a few --"I thought you ruled that one out?"-- comments from my wife, we came pretty much full circle back to the Heritage. Turns out two local couples we know have it and were able to view their set-ups and get their feedback.
Getting something too big has been a main concern from day one. We'll see how it goes. The idea of a "softer" heat from the soapstone, sideload feature, clearances and the overall appearance of the stove I think will be a good fit for us.
Checked 3 dealers and came back to the local shop. (First name basis by now) Got the best deal. Got the Blue-Black finish for $2649 and for $200 they will deliver and install. How's that compare with others here? Now to sell our older Federal convection and finish this project. Thanks again to this site and all who take the time to help others.

 

[Vic99]

Congrats. That's a great stove. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Todd]

Congrats on the new stove. I've always liked the looks of the Heritage. That price sounds about the same I've seen around here.

 

[jdinspector]

That is a great looking stove. I was looking hard at that one too. I'll be interested in your experience with it. You mentioned that you spoke with some other locals before you purchased. I'm assuming they had good feedback? I don't remember, is the Heritage a front loader as well as side loading? I would love to have 3-4 stoves to run comparisons with. The Heritage and Jotul Oslo would be 2 of them. My wife would think I was crazy, and my back couldn't take moving a new one in every 30 days or so. But, I can dream...

 

[Highbeam]

The heritage is front or side load but the side door is so freaking wonderful that you can go many months without ever opening the huge front door. Really, you only open it if you want to clean the gasket area really good of ash. If you open that front door then you can expect ash to dump onto your hearth.

The heritage isn't too big for anyone that is trying to heat their home. It is just at 2.3 cubic feet so any smaller and it wouldn't burn through the night.

I wish I had gotten the black or blue-black enamel. I got a good deal on a matte black job and the paint has noticeably greyed.

I've shoved over 11.5 cords through the heritage and it really has been a good machine.

 

[edthedawg]

+1

Everything Highbeam said. Don't even think of regularly using that front door. Don't bother feeding it unseasoned / wet wood, either...

 

[strawman]

I was quite spoiled with the ashpan on my Federal Convection stove. Stove was made to burn coal also so the large shaker grate and huge pan were really nice. That's one minus for the Heritage. Looks to me like that little moving grate won't accomplish much. The rod used to move it back and forth gave trouble to the people that showed me how it works as well as the dealer. If we use the small ashpan at all I can see me taking the grate out completely and raking the ash by hand to the pan. If you catch this reply Highbeam, or any other owner, what's your experience with it? Thankx

 

[edthedawg]

You'll find most of the Heritage users here disregard the silly excuse for an ash pan just as much as that front door. Never use it. Just shovel out thru the side door and never worry about it. Some of us go many weeks between shovel-outs. Some the ashpan area pack up w/ ashes - I leave mine empty.

Don't forget to get any papers outta there tho. some have left those - and their touchup enamel! - in there and sorely regretted it.

 

[fbelec]

question for you heritage users. how long of a burn do you guys get? my nabor down the street has one and his biggest complaint is that he has to reload at 4:00 am.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I wish I had gotten the black or blue-black enamel. I got a good deal on a matte black job and the paint has noticeably greyed.

.

the blue/black is a great finish, durable and doesn't fade.

i have repainted dozens of hearthstones over the years, what a pita, 2-3hrs to mask, and 15min to spray, lol

 

[begreen]

Hearthstone appears to use the same porcelain system as Jotul for their blue-black enamel. It's a great finish. Wish all manufacturers had this option. (and thermostatic dampers).

 

[edthedawg]

Yeah the firebox size is a limiter to burntime. Some folks boast of 8+ hrs. I'll have to go back thru my old posts, but IIRC, this was our experience:

I would do a full load around 5am, back down the primary & damper progressively, and then throw 2 more splits on at 7am, then we'd go to work, leaving both full closed.

Around 5pm, we'd get home, open both flue and primary, and could just rebuild from the remnant coals if we tried real hard. The stovetop was still plenty warm tho - nice and warm in the house, but clearly riding the curve down to cooler temps. Full charge then - got it ripping good. Burned it wide open (primary half, flue full open) for 15 minutes to roast out the nasties, and then slowly closed both down to about 10% primary / full closed flue.

Around 11 or 12pm, we'd have a really nice hot coal bed, and I'd knock that down and put in 2 or 3 more splits for the night. Give them 15 min or so to fire up, then shut both primary and flue for the night.

Then back up at 5am - repeat ad nauseum. Good coals to restart.

Additional notes:
- In the coldest times (-10 to +15) we'd have to shorten the cycle times a little. That's just the way it is - our house is 2700 sq ft of poorly insulated 1885 Victorian. And the oil / steam still kicks in every now and again - but we're working to minimize that
- My split size is probably smaller than some - I try to use pieces that are all no bigger than about 5" in any direction.
- And to further combat wet/unseasoned effects in the wood, we supplemented with a couple Bio-Bricks or an Eco-Firelog - usually on the two big starts. Using these products alone is not recommended - they burn hotter than typical cordwood splits - but inserting 1 piece deep into the middle of the charge helps cook out the residual moisture, which we were really fighting last year. This year we have loftier aspirations. Can't wait for the cold

 

[Highbeam]

Disregard the ashpan. It is a marketing ploy that at best is a place to cook a potatoe and at worst is an air leak from the big hokey door. I shovel ash from the sidedoor after several weeks of burning. It is the rare exception that someone actually uses the ash pan system on any brand stove. This topic comes up every so often on this site and the population would be better off if the pan were never invented. Be sure it is latched well and don't use the ash pan to lift the stove as with a floor jack since apparently it can be cracked.

I burn softwoods including lots of cottonwood, alder, and doug fir. I have no problem getting an overnight fire which for me means stoking a hot stove at about 10PM and rekindling from coals at 6 or 7. I shut the air to zero before going to bed but I don't have a flue damper yet. Sometimes there are more coals and sometimes there are fewer but the stove is always warm 200-300, down from the cruising temp of 400-450. I often choose to use a little chunk of firestarter instead of acting like a caveman and blowing on the coals to ignite the new kindling. House is warm in the morning, I rekindle and get it roaring for 30 minutes per the manual and then damper back and let the wife have the fire for the day. She will either keep it going or let it die depending on outside temperature and her schedule.

Once you learn how to start this stove, with small wood, it won't matter so much if the fire dies overnight as it isn't a chore to restart. The heat of the stone will carry you to morning.