St Croix Hastings/Greenfield conversion

[Nigel459]

Hi all, went to look at a used stove today,

I was expecting it to be a Hastings based on images only. (Seller didn't know much.) Turned out it was a St Croix Greenfield

The Greenfield is a multi-fuel stove with no igniter. We are keen on having an igniter light the stove early in the morning to heat up the basement and floors etc...

Does anyone know if the firebox switch is possible to convert a Greenfield to a Hastings with auto ignite and the rest of it? How hard is it? I'm up for a summer project, even if I have to sink some $$ into it. It's a lovely stove and the price is right. It's a 2005 stove. It fired up and sounded good.

Thanks very much for any help in this project!

 

[rona]

you will need a new board made for igniter use plus the igniter and actually not sure about the placement of the igniter. Possibly a different style pot but you could look at a Hastings parts manual and a Green Field manual to see how the igniter is mounted. Keep in mind the Hastings is made for pellets not corn. A dealer familiar with both models could tell you if it was possible .
In any event I doubt you could make it start early in the morning like a alarm clock. Another alternative idea is using a set back thermostat . The stove would stay running at a idle but would kick up to a thermostat setting. You would still have to start it manually but using the right thermostat would be a lot cheaper and work. A Harman would start automatically when temp gets so low and I think you could connect a setback thermostat to it but of course that's a different brand.
My best ideal is just buy a thermostat that will start when you want it too. Not sure about cost but would guess 50.00 area. Much cheaper then the other way and it will work.

 

[Nigel459]

Thanks for the thoughts...

The more I look at the St Croix lineup it sure looks like most of their stoves use very similar parts, so I do wonder if they have the same board...

Also, I'm pretty sure a programmable thermostat could kick on the stove early in the morning, that was my thought anyway...

Thanks again

 

[Nigel459]

Oh but yes I did wonder about the igniter placement. There was another thread on here where someone who seemed to know their stuff said that they are basically the same stove with a few different parts. Fingers crossed I can make this work!

 

[jzm2cc]

Similar, but then again very different burn pot design. No channel for igniter wires, and no place to put igniter. Burn pot floors and surrounding structure are very different designs and not interchangeable.

If you have to have an igniter stove look for a Prescott and sell the Greenfield to help pay for it.

 

[rickwai]

start the stove before bed and shut off when you get up. This stove is the easiest manual light stove out there in my opinion.

 

[jzm2cc]

Agree with ease of lighting. 3 paint caps full of pellets in firepot, count to 30 while heating with Mapp torch, hit ON button while continuing to heat with torch and close door after counting to 5, a quick check for flame still burning and walk away.

Has yet to not light this way on my Lancaster, Auburn, or Greenfields over the years.

Works as well for corn too, just have to use pellets to start fire. Great stoves and simple to use.

 

[Nigel459]

The Greenfield/Hastings stoves are just such nice lookers (I.e when compared w Prescott etc.), I was really hoping this could work and I did read on here that they are the exact same stove (GF/Hastings) other than the burnpot situation. I was hoping/guessing I would need a new burnpot, igniter, and possibly newer control board. (Then there’s the versa grate, which seems to get mixed reviews so I wonder whether it’s necessary...)

Sounds like you know your stuff and can say there’s just no way it’s happening? I appreciate your experience for sure. If there’s some definitive reason why let me know, I e if the burnpot assembly physically doesn’t fit or whatnot. Otherwise, I am pretty handy with electronics and such projects...

I haven’t had much chance to look into parts diagrams yet but I will do and will report what I find as well

Thanks all

Similar, but then again very different burn pot design. No channel for igniter wires, and no place to put igniter. Burn pot floors and surrounding structure are very different designs and not interchangeable.

If you have to have an igniter stove look for a Prescott and sell the Greenfield to help pay for it.

 

[Nigel459]

...
Works as well for corn too, just have to use pellets to start fire. Great stoves and simple to use.

Thanks for your thoughts, do you mean you burn something other than corn in the greenfield?

 

[jzm2cc]

I just meant running straight corn is no more difficult to start than pellets. In either case the burn pot is started using pellets, once proof of fire snap disk is tripped the auger feeds the corn in the hopper.

The Greenfield puts out more heat burning corn than with wood pellets. These multi fuel stoves have less auger feed time than the similar pellet stove (Hastings in this case). This is adjustable by moving a jumper on the circuit board.

I'll try mocking up Greenfield and Prescott fire pots this weekend to see what it looks like. Just don't think it would be an easy conversion without cutting, welding, etc.

I'd pull that auger out and lube the upper and lower brass bushings too. 30 minute job if you aren't familiar with process.

 

[Nigel459]

I just meant running straight corn is no more difficult to start than pellets. In either case the burn pot is started using pellets, once proof of fire snap disk is tripped the auger feeds the corn in the hopper.

The Greenfield puts out more heat burning corn than with wood pellets. These multi fuel stoves have less auger feed time than the similar pellet stove (Hastings in this case). This is adjustable by moving a jumper on the circuit board.

I'll try mocking up Greenfield and Prescott fire pots this weekend to see what it looks like. Just don't think it would be an easy conversion without cutting, welding, etc.

I'd pull that auger out and lube the upper and lower brass bushings too. 30 minute job if you aren't familiar with process.

Ok gotcha. Thanks for chiming in. Really nice to hear from a few other St Croix owners, cheers!

Interesting what you say about corn giving more heat than wood. I had a feeling that was the case.

Got the stove running last night. I think the fuel the previous owner was running (and he gave me a bag or so) was not wood, but it looked like it. Could have been some other biomass pellet. I may try corn tonight to see if it feels hotter.

Anyway thanks again to all for the thoughts. I still am unsure if it's possible to put in the hastings burnpot, igniter, control board etc. The igniter would be the trick i bet. Was hoping it may just be drilling a hole somewhere for it tho...

Still investigating...

 

[jzm2cc]

I can honestly say out Prescott EXP can run weeks without touching the burnpot. It will need dumping of the ash pan once or twice a week depending on ash level of pellets, but the stove is left on continuously in cold months. This is the main heater of the house and we are in Northern Michigan.

An Auburn or other multi fuel St Croix would generally need daily clinker dropping, not the end of the world but bit more work. Just dont want to forget it and have a pile up and fire up into the auger chute.

 

[rickwai]

I can honestly say out Prescott EXP can run weeks without touching the burnpot. It will need dumping of the ash pan once or twice a week depending on ash level of pellets, but the stove is left on continuously in cold months. This is the main heater of the house and we are in Northern Michigan.

An Auburn or other multi fuel St Croix would generally need daily clinker dropping, not the end of the world but bit more work. Just dont want to forget it and have a pile up and fire up into the auger chute.

Burning corn requires dropping the clinker every 1 1/2 days. Once you get the hang of it it takes a total of about 2 minutes maybe. St Croix stoves in general are great stoves that you dont hear much about.

 

[Nigel459]

I can honestly say out Prescott EXP can run weeks without touching the burnpot. It will need dumping of the ash pan once or twice a week depending on ash level of pellets, but the stove is left on continuously in cold months. This is the main heater of the house and we are in Northern Michigan.

An Auburn or other multi fuel St Croix would generally need daily clinker dropping, not the end of the world but bit more work. Just dont want to forget it and have a pile up and fire up into the auger chute.

Burning corn requires dropping the clinker every 1 1/2 days. Once you get the hang of it it takes a total of about 2 minutes maybe. St Croix stoves in general are great stoves that you dont hear much about.

Yeah, I agree, nice stoves, and the fit and finish of this older Greenfield is excellent. Simple to get at any parts inside, I'm a fan of this stove and St Croix at this point.

Also, I have emailed St Croix directly and had great responses answering questions regarding my Greenfield. Another good sign.

They did confirm that this older Greenfield (again, 2005) could not be converted to a Hastings. Dang. Seems to suggest a newer model could be though...

Maybe if a Hastings pops up in my area would I consider switching, but at this point I'm thinking we'll give this Greenfield a go next season. I think starting it manually before bed (or earlier if the basement is in use in the evening) and having the thermostat kick up the heat early in the morning might do the trick for us. Love the (smaller) size compared to other cast stoves on the market. Who knows, we'll see.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts