Surface Fissure on New Hearthstone Heritage

[Hikescdnrckys]

Hi everyone.

I am a newbie to wood stoves and just purchased and installed a Hearthstone Heritage. I love the looks and have had a couple of small burn in fires so far. I noticed after the third fire what appears to be a surface fissure below the plate on the side opposite the side loading door. I also noticed small brown dots in the fissure that are proud of the stove (i.e. bumps not indentations). The fissure also has a white residue running through it. See the pics attached.

Here is a closeup of the dots:

I talked to Hearthstone and the rep said surface fissures are common and as long as the crack doesn't go all the way through it will not impact performance. I can't determine this because of the basher plate covering the inside but once I take off the two nuts holding the plate I should know for sure, but lets just say the fissure is not very deep. He also said the cement may not have cured properly and the red dots are cement leaking out and can be scraped off with a razor blade. The white residue he said might also be cement residue although it looks to me like talc (another poster said soapstone is basically compressed talc with minerals and as the stone heats up the minerals expand at a different rate than the talc, and this causes the fissures.

My question is...is he correct or in the words of my significant other am I being fed a line of BS to cover a defective stove? My guess is the former.

Has anyone else experienced a similar fissure with white residue and can the residue be cleared off or is it just considered part of the character of soapstone woodstoves?

Thanks for any responses from the experienced "stovers" (is that the correct term for wood stove lovers?).

 

[Jags]

Hmmm...I wouldn't be happy with that. On the surface it looks more like a crack that had been gorilla glued together. I am not claiming that is what has happened, just noting the similarities.

Edit: Send that pic to the rep and see what his response is.

 

[BrotherBart]

That is a cracked stone. Period. Either the stone or the stove needs to be replaced.

 

[Highbeam]

It may not effect performance but it looks like hell. Like when you buy a new car and the paint falls off.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Get it warranteed. That should not be.....

 

[Nick Mystic]

I have several cracks in various stones on my old Woodstock Classic that look similar to your photo. The rep is right that the crack won't affect the stove's performance, but come on, a brand new stove shouldn't have any cracks after three fires! If this happened five or ten years down the road I would just live with it, but on a new stove I'd want some satisfaction. Of course, swapping out stoves is a lot of work. If just that one stone can be replaced it might not be too difficult. Someone on the forum recently had some damaged stones on his stove and the dealer sent him a replacement stone, but he didn't end up using it since it was such a poor color and grain match. Maybe you can take your damaged stone to the dealer so they can match it better if it comes down to that as the solution.

 

[smokedragon]

That is a cracked stone. Period. Either the stone or the stove needs to be replaced.

+1

a brand new stove shouldn't have any cracks after three fires!

+1000

They need to fix this for you, period.

 

[Highbeam]

If just that one stone can be replaced it might not be too difficult.

Of course that one stone can be replaced. To do so would require a complete stove tear down and rebuild. The factory is pretty good at building stoves. The yahoo dealer that is expected to replace that one stone under warranty has maybe never even opened a tube of the cement. He might goop the thing together but it will never be as good as the original assembly.

It's much easier to get it right when building new vs. remodel work.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Not acceptable. Don't sign off on anything other than a fully acceptable repair or replacement of the stove.

May not affect function, but these things sit in the middle of our living spaces, so form is just as much of an issue in my opinion.

Just the fact that it appears to be an attempted repair and was sold as new, not at a scratch and dent sale would really have me boiling.

 

[ridemgis]

If the crack is full of cement, it must have come from the factory or dealer that way. Not a big surprise with this company.

 

[bholler]

I know the dealers say that cracks in the stone don't affect performance but I don't see how that is true. Has anyone ever heard of a steel or cast stove being ok with a big crack down the side? I don't see how stone is different in that respect. Just my opinion

 

[Highbeam]

I know the dealers say that cracks in the stone don't affect performance but I don't see how that is true. Has anyone ever heard of a steel or cast stove being ok with a big crack down the side? I don't see how stone is different in that respect. Just my opinion

Good point. You could rub jbweld into a crack in the firebox of most iron stoves and it would be "functional".

My idea of function and performance is that it holds itself together. Will it affect the fire? That is also important.

 

[bholler]

My thought is that if it is cracked through it will probably let at least a little air in which will compromise performance. Let me say though this is all speculation I have never worked on a cracked stone stove so I am not sure it just doesn't sound right to me. I do know that if I find a crack through a metal stove I am working on it is a problem and I tell the customer they need to replace it or possibly fix it (which usually doesn't work very well)

 

[smokedragon]

Just the fact that it appears to be an attempted repair and was sold as new, not at a scratch and dent sale would really have me boiling.

It would burn me up too.

if it is cracked through it will probably let at least a little air in which will compromise performance.

And that is why if it was my stove, I wouldn't let it go until that stone or the entire stove was replaced.

 

[Heatsource]

from the pics it looks like it was cracked at the factory and they filled it with soapstone cement?

 

[Kosmik]

If the crack is full of cement, it must have come from the factory or dealer that way.

That was my thought too.
At least it isn't winter, so you're not in a hurry to get it running.
That's like at the restaurant when you send out the meat a little to well/rare and just hope it doesn't come back.

EDIT: Just checked the price on those things, I'd be pissed unless I was getting it for substantially lower than advertised.

 

[rideau]

I'd return that stove under warranty. As others have stated, they sold you a stove with a repaired stone: clearly a second. Did you pay for a second? If not, you deserve better. It is unattractive and will always bug you. If they find that stone acceptable, they might as well just use cemented together stone fragments all over the stove and sell them as patchwork quilt soapstone stoves.

Re function: I don't know if that stone is more susceptible to repeated or further cracking. As long as you see no grey or black streaking by the fissure, you have no smoke coming through the crack and it is safe to use. That dos not mean it is of acceptable quality, or what you contracted to buy.

 

[DanCorcoran]

As long as you see no grey or black streaking by the fissure, you have no smoke coming through the crack and it is safe to use

Why would that happen? I thought room air is forced into stoves, to replace the hot air going up the flue.

 

[Highbeam]

Why would that happen? I thought room air is forced into stoves, to replace the hot air going up the flue.

You've both got it right, really you're saying the same thing. The firebox should be under a vacuum, though slight, relative to the room so air would be being sucked into the crack which is bad but not as bad as smoke coming out.

I propose that even if room air is being sucked into the firebox that it is possible to have creosote weep out due to surface tension. Especially low on the firebox and especially if you burn at the low end of the temperature range regularly.