Soapstone slow heat up?

[Bob B.]

As I've said before I'm new to woodburning. That being said I was worried that my hearthstone heritage would be very slow to heat up from a cold start but I'm starting to see that my worries were unfounded. Tonight I got home late and lit the stove, it was 24F outside and 64F in my living room. 45 minutes later the heritage was 400 stove top with inlet air closed and my living room was up to 68F. That is fast enough for me, maybe not as fast as steel or cast but not nearly as bad as I've heard soapstone can be.

Bob.

 

[Jonathan Corcoran]

My short experience with the Homestead has been similar. The only way we have found to get the heat moving though is by a few well positioned fans. A warm house is much easier to keep warm than a cold one. Our propane boiler has been off for 1 and half days

 

[mstoelton]

I have clydesdales and they are a little slower to heat up, but they are also slower to cool down so all in I am fine with it. I was at a showroom that had a steel stove burning and I thought the heat coming off it was too intense. Maybe just me!

 

[DougA]

Great to here your report. That is the advantage/disadvantage of soapstone. If you are burning 24/7 it's great. If you want to heat a cold house really fast for occasional fires, it's not the best choice IMO. These days, some people want instant response.

 

[Jonathan Corcoran]

We just figured that out. We let our stove go out and it was a tough night. So long as we keep it going, the house had stayed warm

 

[nvanhar]

Wish I could get mine up to temp that fast! Although I am currently waiting on a different thermometer made specifically for soapstone stoves...feel like it's probably a combination of not having the best BTU wood and thermometer problems. Will see. It's been 30 min on a cold start tonight with "ok" seasoned wood and we're at 300.

 

[toddnic]

Definitely slower to get up to operating temperature but doesn't cool down nearly as fast either.

 

[Jonathan Corcoran]

Wish I could get mine up to temp that fast! Although I am currently waiting on a different thermometer made specifically for soapstone stoves...feel like it's probably a combination of not having the best BTU wood and thermometer problems. Will see. It's been 30 min on a cold start tonight with "ok" seasoned wood and we're at 300.

What thermometer are you getting? We still don't have one, but I'd like one for the info.

 

[Dairyman]

Wish I could get mine up to temp that fast! Although I am currently waiting on a different thermometer made specifically for soapstone stoves...feel like it's probably a combination of not having the best BTU wood and thermometer problems. Will see. It's been 30 min on a cold start tonight with "ok" seasoned wood and we're at 300.

The only thing I've found to be different with soapstone specific thermometers is the labeled "zones".
I run mine by the look of the fire and the flu temps because the stone is slower to warm up. The quicker you can get the air shut down to your setups sweet spot the more heat you'll keep in your home and the longer your burn times should be.

 

[DougA]

You might want to check the video on this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/getting-a-hearthstone-up-to-600°.76166/

 

[nvanhar]

Here is the thermometer I ordered. Will work on making sure I'm closing down the air as quickly as the fire will allow me...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0074QT8OC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jonathan Corcoran]

You might want to check the video on this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/getting-a-hearthstone-up-to-600°.76166/

We have the Homestead and it seems. Like the damper doesn't do a lot. It makes the flames darker, but it sure seems to eat a lot of wood. We have a rear exit flue so I am not sure a pipe dam per would work. Do you have any thoughts?