Would You Buy This Hearthstone Stove? (Used, Pics)

[serinat]

We found a Hearthstone Homestead listed on Craigslist for $850. We're currently out of state and moving to the area, so won't be able to go look at it in person for a couple of weeks. I've attached the pictures the guy sent of the stove. Can you tell me if there's anything wrong with it, just based on visual inspection?

He's already said there's nothing wrong with it. The price of wood went up in his town, so he switched to something else. He told me there are no cracks in the soapstone.

If everything checks out, we're very excited. Money is very tight, so we really needed something like this to make a wood stove affordable this year.

 

[brooktrout]

Don't know much about soapstone stoves, but that sure is a beauty! The baffle is obviously warped, but that probably won't affect operation.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

first off , i build woodstoves , but,im not an expert on soapstone , that said, the unit looks like it had been run really hot a few times, the airwash is warped, and the rear brick panels appear to be cracked. overall though it doesnt look all that bad and is likely quite functional , the outside of the stove looks great. im hoping this bump will attract a few of our soapstone unit experts to take a look and offer more learned advice.

p.s. , change the title to say "would you buy this hearthstone stove" will catch the soapstone crowd's attention better hopefully

 

[fossil]

It's certainly seen a few fires, that's fer sure...but doesn't look abused or damaged to my amateur eye. The cracked bricks can be replaced, if need be, as (probably) can the airwash deflector, but I'm not a soapstone experienced woodburner, so let's wait until some of them have a look and see what they think. Cosmetically, it's a beauty. Rick

 

[RedRanger]

Bite the bullit, and buy new, no headaches and no worries. and economical heat for years to come.

 

[bartlett920]

I would say price the parts and if the combined price and the stove are under 1600 dollars buy it if not spend the extra 600 dollars and get a new one. Everyone seems to have good things to say about these stoves and the residual heat of the soapstone.
My 2 Cents!

 

[Nic36]

I'm no expert by any means, but overall, the stove looks pretty good to me. Even if you factor in some parts, compared to the price of a new one, it's pretty cheap.

If it is not exactly as the seller described, you can always pass on it when you actually go see it.

 

[bartlett920]

I agree with Nic36 it is a beautiful stove!!

 

[begreen]

Short answer - if I wanted the stove and it fit my needs, yes I'd buy it. I'm pretty good a fixing things and have the time to do it. However, that may not be your situation. you will be moving into a new home and faced with a boat load of adapting, assessing and fixing before next winter. Are you ready to take on another project or does this have first priority? If yes, go for it. The stove has wear and the above noted issues (warped baffle, cracked bricks). But it will probably go through another season or two like this without issue and is a nice deal. If no, then be prepared to either pay the piper for fuel this winter or get a new stove professionally installed and budget about $4K for it.

 

[04RevX]

Thats a $2400 stove new and I've seen them for more since it has the porcelan finish. I'd say go for it and replace those firebricks. Good deal.

 

[Highbeam]

Okay, first, those are not firebricks. That is the back of the stove. Those rear cracks are cracks in the actual rear block of the stove that are likely hidden from exterior view behind the heat shield. This is a big deal very similar to finding a crack in the cast iron of a cast iron stove. The melted baffle plate and melted paint on the rear heat shield also indicate serious overfiring. Somebody was either had an accident or was trying to run this beauty like a steel stove at 800 for more heat.

See how the front door is closing with the bottom closer than the top? At least check it out. Might be the cause of the air leak that overfired it.

This is a pretty stove. It was nice when it was bought and still looks nice on the outside. This stove has been abused. If it was under warranty and you tried to make a claim they would reject it based on overfiring.

My heritage cost just under 2000$ for the black painted version last year. Given the damage to this stove and the likelihood that the damage is going to haunt you with actual safety and performance problems, I'd pass. Would much rather find that the enamel was chipped or some other cosmetic flaw.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. That pup has been rode hard and put away wet. Myself, I would keep looking.

 

[burntime]

I would keep looking, some of the prettiest girls need the most maintainance. This one looks like it needs some help. I agree with one of the prior posters, bite the bullet and get a new one, it pays for itself and if you are not sure what you are buying you darn sure will not know if it is installed right. I would not want 1000 degrees of evil in my living room with little ones. Really do the math and look at the break even time, you will be supprised.

 

[Todd]

Yeah, it looks like it's been overfired. How do the stainless steel secondary burn tubes and ceramic baffle look? That warpage is the air wash plate and could probably be bent back down. Those cracks in the back are the original oversized firebricks. Same thing happened to mine and when I ordered new ones I received 4 bricks instead of 2. Check for any other warped parts in the firebox and cracked stones. I sold my Homestead for $900 2 years ago and it was in much better shape than that.

 

[Highbeam]

The Heritage is very similar but does not have removable/replacable firebricks anywhere in the stove. So does the homestead have rear removable firebricks?

To burn the paint off of the rear heatshield this puppy must have been glowing. My front air wash plate (in the same place as the warped one in the picture) is cast iron. Is the homestead's cast iron? It should be, and to get cast iron hot enough to actually bend is very very hot.

 

[serinat]

YYou folks give some interesting points to ponder. I'm still pondering the options. It will be four hours (one way) from our house to go look at it, so we'll have to be pretty decided before we go up there.

 

[Jay777]

YYou folks give some interesting points to ponder. I'm still pondering the options. It will be four hours (one way) from our house to go look at it, so we'll have to be pretty decided before we go up there.

So you're adding $100 (in gas) to the effective price of the stove then, right...?

(unless you're driving a Prius or something )

 

[burntime]

If it is a prius I want to see the pic of that stove in the back, heck see if you can get a face of oak in there too!@!@!@!@! ;-P

 

[SteveT]

I certainly wouldn't buy it without seeing it in person. Nor would I make a special trip to inspect it. I think there is a very good chance that it will still be available when you move in two weeks; if not, there will be other, better, opportunities.

I think several posters have made the point that it has been overfired. You'll need parts and (probably) dealer/sweep help to get it resolved. With all of the dealers up to their ears in new customer orders this might be a very low priority. Same situation may pertain to Hearthstone --- will they be able to provide spares in a timely manner?

Too many unknowns for that much of an investment.

 

[begreen]

I have to agree. After hearing the all the pros and cons, this seems like a bad plan. You will be dealing with a new house, new baby, new load of wood to get, new stove, new neighborhood and town. Too many things on your plate to handle rebuilding and installing a stove unless you both will not be working all summer.

 

[Jay777]

If it is a prius I want to see the pic of that stove in the back, heck see if you can get a face of oak in there too!@!@!@!@! ;-P

Sure.. But it's hard to stack a face cord of 3" splits

(I have a Prius, actually, and it's a liftback, so you might be able to fit the stove in there depending on how deep it is.. whether the car would be able to accelerate is a different question)

 

[stoveguy2esw]

went back and took another look after reading what the soapstone crowd had to say. looking at photo 2 , what is the sheet metal part on the rear of the stove , is it a heat shield , or part of the firebox, it has a pretty large heat bloom mark on it. if the back where those cracks are is in the soapstone , IMHO you dont want it , if they are just bricks , and the other parts you cannot see in the photo's arent damaged (dont hold your breath on that one) then maybe , im really leaning toward a pass on it myself , i dunno soapstone , but i know stoves , and this one got really hot more than once.

as a side note , regardless of how you proceed , im happy that you shared this with us as i have learned from this thread and will follow it through its run just to gain more insight in soapstone stoves. thanks for sharing it.

 

[serinat]

So you’re adding $100 (in gas) to the effective price of the stove then, right...?

(unless you’re driving a Prius or something wink )

Yeah, we figured gas mileage.
And, I wish I had a Prius! But we do have a Toyota Sienna, which is a pretty nifty minivan.

Too many unknowns for that much of an investment.

After reading your wise advice, I'm starting to agree.

as a side note , regardless of how you proceed , im happy that you shared this with us as i have learned from this thread and will follow it through its run just to gain more insight in soapstone stoves. thanks for sharing it.
Signature

You're welcome. I learned a lot, too.

 

[serinat]

On a related note, how do I avoid overfiring my own new soapstone stove? In other words, what did the guy do wrong to mess up this stove so much?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

On a related note, how do I avoid overfiring my own new soapstone stove? In other words, what did the guy do wrong to mess up this stove so much?

most times , its simply to much air might have left the door cracked too long or left an ash cleanout open while burning , virtually every stove can be overfired , but in most cases its somthing that stems from not paying attention , best advice i can give , read your manual , learn the stove , and develop a system of loading charring and burning based on the way the manufacturer wants you to do it with modifications in your system to account for your chimney's effect on the stove's function. your stove will give you what its designed to give you , dont try to squeeze out fast heat from a soapstone unit , they just dont work that way.

biggest threat to a stove is generally within the first hour after reloading, thats when the largest amount of readily combustible fuel is present. you should never walk off of your stove until you are certain it has settled into its routine.

as for the poor hearthstone our poster has discovered , i do not know the stove itself , but im sure he /she was doing somthing wrong which allowed too much uncontrolled combustion air into the firebox. probably trying to get fast heat which isnt the strong suit for a soapstone stove , they are great units , but not suitable for "instant gratification" its a shame really , its a beautiful piece of workmanship.