Seriously considering the Hearthstone Manchester wood stove

[dkates]

Bought the Manchester 4 years ago and within 2 years had to replace the side door latch. The plate that slides on the inside of the door also warped and causes the bolts that hold it in place to back out and, if you don't carefully watch them, fall out; in which case the side door become unusable until you (find) replace the bolts. About 2 days ago, the front door latch also broke. In both cases, the shaft that passes through the door breaks off. The replacement part, depending on the door, lists at between $150 - $225. Assuming you can get the shaft out of the door handle you won't have to buy the entire handle/latch set up. This time, the shaft will not come out of the handle in which case I am going to have to spend another $35 for the handle.

Although the stove burns well, I am VERY dissatisfied with this stove. I would not expect to be replacing parts already. Would never buy another Hearthstone product. The stove we replaced with this one was in place for over 30 years without any parts "breaking off." For the money we paid for this stove, I expect more than this. Until I can get the replacement part, we have a 4 year old, $3000+ stove setting in our beautiful log home with vice grips sticking out of the front door holding the door closed. Just a matter of time until we have to replace the entire side door assembly also.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yeah, it's not right that the handles didn't hold up better than that. I would be looking at techniques of closing the doors to minimize stress on the handles. They ain't cheap either, are they?
What is the "warped plate?" In the diagrams, it looks like a heat shield. If that's the case, I'd just remove it, put on the ear protection, and beat it flat with a rubber mallet. Why do you think you will have to replace the door assembly?
Yeah, I'm a DIY guy to a degree, so I try to figure out problems and remedy them. But I understand that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that when you shell out that kind of money, you want a quality item that you don't have to mess with too much. Obviously there's a certain amount of stuff you're gonna have to do when you burn wood..comes with the territory.

 

[dkates]

Yeah, it's not right that the handles didn't hold up better than that. I would be looking at techniques of closing the doors to minimize stress on the handles. They ain't cheap either, are they?
What is the "warped plate?" In the diagrams, it looks like a heat shield. If that's the case, I'd just remove it, put on the ear protection, and beat it flat with a rubber mallet. Why do you think you will have to replace the door assembly?
Yeah, I'm a DIY guy to a degree, so I try to figure out problems and remedy them. But I understand that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that when you shell out that kind of money, you want a quality item that you don't have to mess with too much. Obviously there's a certain amount of stuff you're gonna have to do when you burn wood..comes with the territory.

Been burning wood for over 30 years and never had this much trouble with a stove. Didn't pay that kind of money to exercise my "do-it-yourself" skills.

 

[D8Chumley]

Mine is still doing it’s job after 4 years. The side door handle does look a little “off” but still working. No issues with the warped plate. Maybe mine was built on a Wednesday

 

[Woody Stover]

Been burning wood for over 30 years and never had this much trouble with a stove. Didn't pay that kind of money to exercise my "do-it-yourself" skills.

I guess you're not gonna answer any questions about the other alleged problems besides the handles, then...

 

[dkates]

I guess you're not gonna answer any questions about the other alleged problems besides the handles, then...

Which problems?

 

[D8Chumley]

Re-read post #127 for the questions he is referring to. I had one small issue with the plate on the door binding at the beginning of this season, but I think the wife tried to jam the door shut on a split that wasn’t in straight. I got it fixed and haven’t had any issues since

 

[blacktop37]

I thought they had a lifetime warranty on parts from hearthstone

Bought the Manchester 4 years ago and within 2 years had to replace the side door latch. The plate that slides on the inside of the door also warped and causes the bolts that hold it in place to back out and, if you don't carefully watch them, fall out; in which case the side door become unusable until you (find) replace the bolts. About 2 days ago, the front door latch also broke. In both cases, the shaft that passes through the door breaks off. The replacement part, depending on the door, lists at between $150 - $225. Assuming you can get the shaft out of the door handle you won't have to buy the entire handle/latch set up. This time, the shaft will not come out of the handle in which case I am going to have to spend another $35 for the handle.

Although the stove burns well, I am VERY dissatisfied with this stove. I would not expect to be replacing parts already. Would never buy another Hearthstone product. The stove we replaced with this one was in place for over 30 years without any parts "breaking off." For the money we paid for this stove, I expect more than this. Until I can get the replacement part, we have a 4 year old, $3000+ stove setting in our beautiful log home with vice grips sticking out of the front door holding the door closed. Just a matter of time until we have to replace the entire side door assembly also.

 

[Woody Stover]

Which problems?

Just a matter of time until we have to replace the entire side door assembly also.

What is the "warped plate?" In the diagrams, it looks like a heat shield...Why do you think you will have to replace the door assembly?

 

[dkates]

Haven't had any other problems other than the doors and the heat shield. It has become so warped that I have difficulty keeping the bolts in it without tightening it down so much that the door will not open or close.

Regarding the warranty, I just found out that there is a 5 year warranty on the doors and 10 years on the cast iron. 2 years ago, after owning the stove for 2 years, I approached the dealer about the first door problem and he told me it was not covered. I should have checked the warranty myself but didn't, so I paid for replacement parts not knowing it was covered.

I left a negative review on the stove on social media, and in Hearthstone's defense, they did get back to me about it. That's when I found out the items should have been covered by warranty. They, however, referred me back to the dealer. I am going to pursue these door issues aggressively with the dealer and if nothing is done on his part, I will see how well the manufacturer stands behind it's product. Either way, this should not have been an issue with a stove this expensive.

 

[TNTall]

dkates, My side door has a warped plate and bolts backing out too. Now that the burning season is almost over, I guess I'll be disassembling that to see if I can remedy it. I'll check my handles and latches to see if they are failing too. Maybe I can do some preventative maintenance. I agree though that this shoudn't be necessary yet. If a stove this expensive can't go more than a few years, it is not cost effective to even burn wood at all.

As far as heating and other functionality goes, so far I'm very happy with the stove now that I have very dry wood to burn. I learned that it is more sensitive to moisture content than other stoves. This year I put a damper on my flue to extend burn time.

 

[begreen]

dkates, My side door has a warped plate and bolts backing out too. Now that the burning season is almost over, I guess I'll be disassembling that to see if I can remedy it. I'll check my handles and latches to see if they are failing too. Maybe I can do some preventative maintenance. I agree though that this shoudn't be necessary yet. If a stove this expensive can't go more than a few years, it is not cost effective to even burn wood at all.

This should be a warranty issue. Contact the dealer.

 

[billfred]

For those with the Manchester, or any stove, is the blower option worth it?
Stove will be in my family room with bedrooms upstairs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sardo_67]

i'll bring this back from the dead since google brought me here....



after all these years how does this stove hold up to other newer offerings? i was looking at getting one of these to use until my indoor wood boiler system is fished

also that new 2020 "TruHybrid" they are advertising with like 24+ hour burn times, too good to be true?

 

[Woody Stover]

also that new 2020 "TruHybrid" they are advertising with like 24+ hour burn times, too good to be true?

Probably a stretch. Mfgrs many times use a very liberal interpretation of what "burn time" is. Is it until the stove is stone-cold? Not in actual use, it's not..you will be reloading much sooner than that. Or it's "Blaze King" burn time, where the stove is set so low that it's putting out virtually no heat..not useful all year in a climate with cold winters.
There are only so many BTUs in a load of wood. But a cat stove burning low may be able to extract more of those BTUs into the room, instead of sending them up the flue. I just got my SIL a PE T5 (secondary-burn stove) so it'll be interesting to see how much heat it is capable of keeping in the house.
Now, I read from more than one person that went from a Woodstock Fireview (straight cat) to a PH (hybrid,) that they felt the PH was getting more heat out of a set amount of wood, so maybe the Hearthstone hybrid would be fairly efficient, and might get decent burn times. But these are new, unproven hybrid systems, unlike the Woodstock or Regency, so the jury is still out. Probably the best guy to evaluate some of the new stoves would be @webby3650, and I think his shop carries Hearthstone IIRC.

 

[Woody Stover]

i was looking at getting one of these to use until my indoor wood boiler system is fished

Would you keep the wood stove online after the boiler is working? Seems like a waste of money if not. You could get a used stove for temporary use, if you think you can evaluate a used unit for overfire damage, etc..

 

[sardo_67]

Would you keep the wood stove online after the boiler is working? Seems like a waste of money if not. You could get a used stove for temporary use, if you think you can evaluate a used unit for overfire damage, etc..

i have a local used one for 1200 or so, i would keep the stove for later use anyway or maybe i'll just give up on the wood boiler, honestly not too sure. I currently have a crappy Ashley wood/coal circulator now but want to heat 98% of the time with wood once i run out of the 120 gallons of free coal i got with the stove.

Also yes i would use a T fitting to attack the wood boiler into the chimney so i can keep the wood stove hooked up for back up or other issues, even for a quick cold snap where i want some heat in under an hour where as the wood boiler will take a while to fully come up to temp

 

[Woody Stover]

i have a local used one for 1200 or so, i would keep the stove for later use anyway or maybe i'll just give up on the wood boiler, honestly not too sure.

That would work, assuming the house layout is conducive to moving heat from the stove room to other areas where it's needed.

i would use a T fitting to attack the wood boiler into the chimney so i can keep the wood stove hooked up for back up or other issues, even for a quick cold snap where i want some heat in under an hour where as the wood boiler will take a while to fully come up to temp

OK, but they wouldn't both be connected to the same flue, just the same chimney with different flues, right?

 

[fire_man]

Now, I read from more than one person that went from a Woodstock Fireview (straight cat) to a PH (hybrid,) that they felt the PH was getting more heat out of a set amount of wood, so maybe the Hearthstone hybrid would be fairly efficient, and might get decent burn times. But these are new, unproven hybrid systems, unlike the Woodstock or Regency, so the jury is still out.

Count me as someone that moved from the FV to Progress and get more heat from less wood. I liked the fireview but love the Progress.

 

[Woody Stover]

i have a local used one for 1200 or so,

So what's the story on the stove..someone you know?

 

[JDL0213]

Does anyone in this post still have a Manchester? If so do you still like it?

 

[Woody Stover]

Apparently they put a cat into the 2020 model to meet the more stringent emission standard, so the stove is now a hybrid. Not sure how many reports we have here on how the new version is working out..