Update - the Hearthstone Craftsbury is cranking away nicely

[ltng7679]

I got a stove top thermometer about 2 weeks ago and the stove is running great. I originally thought it might be overfiring but with the thermometer I see that it is not the case. I guess that even though my house is small (1400 sq foot Cape from 1790 - very little insulation), it is so inefficient that I probably could have gotten a bigger stove and not been overpowered. It does do a nice job keeping a couple of rooms downstairs a bit warmer. I think my best bet is to start winterizing my house. I need to empty the attic and add a lot of insulation up there and then maybe take the old siding off and add a little to the outside of the walls before I re-side it. There are some walls that get mighty cold on the inside of the house on these 11 degree Connecticut days (and it's not even winter yet!!)

Back to the stove. I must say it burns nicely, however, if I load it up it really never gives me a slow burn. With 3 splits (1/4 logs with a radius of ~5", 16" long) in it - the most it seems to hold, the temperature goes up to about 550F even with the damper in it's most closed position. If I put on really big log in it slows down a bit, but this isn't the way my wood is cut. The nice thing is that even after about 6- 7 hours there are usually enough embers left that getting the fire back up in the morning isn't a problem.

I'm still waiting for the blower kit - I'll let you know how it goes when I install it

Ed

 

[Vic99]

You should notice a difference with insulation. I'd make #1 and #2 priorities the attic and all the small air leaks, like pads for behind outlets and light switches, doorsweeps, stripping and caulking around windows, etc. At least eliminate as many drafts as possible.

Good luck with it.

 

[begreen]

Nice to hear the little stove is heating well. You'll benefit greatly from insulating the house, year round. And no matter what you heat (or cool) with, you'll still keep saving.

 

[edthedawg]

This is somewhat of a hijack, but I really hope you're not going to re-side a gem of a 1790's cape with run-of-the-mill vinyl siding. The CT Trust for Historic Preservation has labeled vinyl siding as a huge scourge against the survival of old houses. among other things, it can radically alter the way your house processes moisture, trapping it against your framing timbers, increasing rot and mold rates, and encouraging insect infestation. Unless you substantially build out your walls, just adding that R 0.5 pad between your sheathing and new vinyl siding ain't gonna do a lot for you. Just something to consider....

CT Trust's website on this issue: http://www.cttrust.org/index.cgi/1745

 

[ltng7679]

Ed thanks for the note on the siding. No - even I won't go with vinyl. My wife doesn't want to change it at all. I'm sort of loath to replace the cracked cedar siding that's on it now since it is so hard and tough, but I'd like to add some type of insulation to the walls. Also I thought it might give me some access to update the 1940's electrical work. From what I understand the walls are probably not hollow. They seem quite thin. I'll have to look on the website you provided the link to to see if there are ideas on what I could do.

 

[begreen]

It might be worth doing a couple exploratory siding removals. We found some surprises under our clapboards. For one, there was no wind barrier (no tarpaper, nada). And in one section in the kitchen, no sheathing, just clapboards!

 

[Highbeam]

The men that came and insulated my attic and floor asked why I wasn't taking care of the walls. I already have foil faced R-5 in them but the men just drill the holes at the top and bottom of the stud cavity and blow in the cellulose. Then they plug them up and hide the plug with some sort of bondo. Doesn't help your electrical but it would get the walls filled.

 

[karri0n]

Highbeam, did you get an estimate for the cellulose in the walls?



Ed, Thanks for that link! I too, live in a 1740 CT house. That website has a lot of cool info.

 

[inkaly]

I have owned a Craftsbury for 2 seasons now. The first season all was good except for the door gasket. You will notice that the door does not close properly on the hinge side. The door hits the ridge on the stove and will take out out the gasket on that side allowing air to enter and causing the glass to get black on it from the soot. This is true on all the craftsbury stoves. The damper on mind went bad after the first year. I noticed that it was burning to hot and thought it might be the sealant used to put the stove together but it was the damper. I talked to my store rep. were I bought the stove and he could not tell me anything. I tried several times calling Heartstone direct but that was useless. They never returned my calls. I am upset with Hearthstone and the stores that sell them. For the novice user that stove is going to cause a fire from over burning and getting hot. Taking out the screw is a fix that is not a good one. The stove has defects and they need to correct the problem for the customers. Their goodwill is sliding fast with me. I am at the end of my rope with Heartstone. I told my dealer to tell their rep that I would sell it back to them for $50. The damper is only covered for 1 year. The entire stove has to be broken down in order to get to the damper system..

 

[Pauly]

Well there goes any of my plans for getting a craftsbury - just went to the stove stroe today and they had one from last season marked down to $1399