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



## serinat (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## brooktrout (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 9, 2008)

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


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## fossil (Jul 9, 2008)

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


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## RedRanger (Jul 9, 2008)

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


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## bartlett920 (Jul 9, 2008)

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!


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## Nic36 (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## bartlett920 (Jul 9, 2008)

I agree with Nic36 it is a beautiful stove!!


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## begreen (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## 04RevX (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## Highbeam (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 9, 2008)

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


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## burntime (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## Todd (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## Highbeam (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## serinat (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## Jay777 (Jul 9, 2008)

serinat said:
			
		

> 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  )


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## burntime (Jul 9, 2008)

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


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## SteveT (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## begreen (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## Jay777 (Jul 9, 2008)

burntime said:
			
		

> 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)


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 9, 2008)

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.


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## serinat (Jul 10, 2008)

> 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.


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## serinat (Jul 10, 2008)

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?


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 10, 2008)

serinat said:
			
		

> 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.


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## michiganwinters (Jul 10, 2008)

Where are you at in Michigan.  I just purchased my Pacific Energy Summit brand new last year for $1550.  Im just north of Grand Rapids.


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## rdrcr56 (Jul 10, 2008)

It definitely has been hot! I would for sure check out the secondary tubes and baffle plate, also take a magnifying glass and check out the joints on the side stones ( could have a small hairline crack that you wont see until it gets hot and opens up ). Also pull the rear heat shield and look for any cracks in the cast iron.


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## offroadaudio (Jul 10, 2008)

There is one very similar to that on Ebay right now - might check that out? -= search "woodstove"

'Frank


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## Highbeam (Jul 10, 2008)

This stove suffered from a long term overheat. Meaning, it wasn't the guy trying to get instant gratification because a big fire in the soapstone stove that will just make the chimney hot. This stove was run hot for an extended period in an effort to produce heat or by accident. Nothing happens fast on a soapstone due to the thermal storage properties. That first hour blast from a new load or even a new fire will look impressive through the front glass, it will feel impressive to the chimney pipe, but the outside of the stove body won't heat up nearly as fast.

To prevent an overfire on a soapstone stove you need only monitor the stovetop temps with a thermometer and adjust the air control accordingly. You need to know the overfire temp per Hearthstone which is quite low and is available in the owner's manual for each stove. Otherwise these stoves are great for folks that are worried about runaways because they just don't do anything quickly. It takes a lot of effort to run one of these up from the normal 400 cruise temp to 500. 

Oh and you will spend a lot of time with the air control completely closed. Mine purrs along at 450 with a full load and closed air control.


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## Todd (Jul 10, 2008)

The back of this stove is all cast iron and has two firebricks inside the firebox in the back that are cracked. That isn't soapstone. They probably cracked just like mine did from inserting wood in the firebox. They can be easily replaced for a few bucks. I wouldn't jump so fast to the conclusion that this stove has been seriously overfired unless I visually inspected it. You cant tell everything from a few pictures. Yes the air wash is warped, but that doesn't mean the stove has been abused. I would ask for more info, like what stove top temps were run? What did they burn in the stove? How often did they burn? What do the secondary burn tubes look like? Maybe the airwash was a bad cast and is a cheap easy replacement. Who knows, I'd ask questions, take a look at it, and offer a couple hundred less if everything else checked out.


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## LHKountryboy (Sep 26, 2008)

The Hearthstone Heritage is a  "pretty little piece of cast iron furnature" , suitable for occasional use,  it is not a real source of primary heat, go buy a real, as in STEEL BOILER PLATE, welded stove for primary or secondary heat.. or DEKA wood Furnace at Menard's if you want to force air heat a house.  You can get a Deka or similar  "WOOD FURNACE" new for 700 or so, used for about $350. 

I just picked up the same stove, same color, for 100 bucks, the fire brick is cracked on the one I bought, just like on that one. The cracks will fill with ash, its not a hazard, unless it is actually "loose" and readily can be casued to fall in the firepit.  They didnt even have a "deflector shield" on mine, it never had one as far as I can tell.  They ran it for 8 seasons without one either way.

Personally for  $600 and pick up and install of that 600 plus pound beast, I'd say shop a little harder, personally I wouldn't have bought the one I have, but it was sort of a favor to family member, who wanted the "evil thing" gone.  They are cute as a decoration, but I would NEVER trust a cast iron stove for any sort of safe heat source. Im going to use it for occasional use on my sun porch after I cut a cast iron grate down for it, to keep the coals OFF the poor quality cast iron "spin and dump" ash dump. No grate, what a silly idea.

To me its a rich man's "toy" or a ladies decorating accessory item, not a REAL wood burner. It is messy and not airtight, so expect smoke damage to your home and furnishings.. if you truely plan on using it, ask my relatives, 8 seasons of it and they gave up, replaced all their furnature and repainted the interior of their house.  It cost them a lot to erase all memories of the Hearthstone, "one of the most romantic, beautiful and satisfying ways to heat your home. " according to the manufacturer.

I use an old Shcrader Dutchess Airtight with a smoke burner to heat my 3 bedroom Fairmont, its bigger, and its BOILER PLATE welded steel, with 2 cast brass doors and  a fire brick lower box liner, I've ran the thing till the S/S stove pipe glowed ( my flue thermometer reads 1200 at that point, sure cleans the flue out nicely.) It sits on a 6 inch reinforced masonry hearth topped with slate and is backed by a 8'x10' solid "REAL"brick backer wall ( requires its own foundation, to hold all that up in a  "manufactured home". BUT that is REAL thermal mass.

My Schrader ACTUALLY does burn for 12-14 hours, that Heartstone thing could..  I have both a in flue thermomter and a magnetic one on the outside of the pipe, and I hawk the thing. It runs 24/7 (except for occasionally glass, stove, and flue cleaning.) from Dec till March. It burns wood to a fine white ash.. and when its half full I shovel it out.

Been running it my Schrader for 20+ years and never had a problem, other than door and glass seals, which dop require occasional replacement. I run about 4-5 cords thru it in a cold winter and use about  100-150lbs of propane for back up in 12 months in my furnace  and gas appliances. My 21 ton wood splitter and 3/4 ton 1967 Ford  truck  (oh and me) get a work out in the process fall to stock the wood shed, But this is SW MICHIGAN. And with the lake effect snow I get, I take no chances.


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## Elderthewelder (Sep 26, 2008)

I was just browsing my local craigslist and ran accross this  similar stove under firewood search, 
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/hsh/855221777.html


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## Todd (Sep 26, 2008)

LHKountryboy said:
			
		

> The Hearthstone Heritage is a "pretty little piece of cast iron furnature" , suitable for occasional use, it is not a real source of primary heat, go buy a real, as in STEEL BOILER PLATE, welded stove for primary or secondary heat.. or DEKA wood Furnace at Menard's if you want to force air heat a house. You can get a Deka or similar "WOOD FURNACE" new for 700 or so, used for about $350.
> 
> I just picked up the same stove, same color, for 100 bucks, the fire brick is cracked on the one I bought, just like on that one. The cracks will fill with ash, its not a hazard, unless it is actually "loose" and readily can be casued to fall in the firepit. They didnt even have a "deflector shield" on mine, it never had one as far as I can tell. They ran it for 8 seasons without one either way.
> 
> ...



Boy oh boy are you going to hear some flaq from Hearthstone owners. To each his own, if you prefer steel, more power to ya. But I prefer a good looking piece of furniture that heats my house and I have no problem heating my 3 bedroom home with my soapstone stove 24/7 all winter long and only go through 3 cord.

What do you mean by "smoke burner"? Does your stove have some kind of secondary burner?

Running your stove til the stove pipe glows is not a good idea. Just because you dodged a bullet for 20 years doesn't mean you won't catch one between the eyes this year. Be safe and have a good one.


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## Highbeam (Sep 26, 2008)

You also threw a decent jab at the cast iron stove users which are high in number as well. Nice first post, you really demonstrated your knowledge level.


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## relax (Sep 27, 2008)

looking foward to your 2nd post here,maybe you will have learned a little by then, or when the epa  shuts your smogger down and you have to heat with candles and a steel nail...burn baby  burn...ZZZim


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## bcnu (Sep 27, 2008)

My Homestead, purchased new last year, is well worth the cost. It was part of our home remodel and I'd say the 4k price for stove and complete install is pretty accurate.  Money is almost always an issue but I saw it as a long term investment.  If you can't pull it off right now look for a less expensive stove.  There are so many choices you're sure to find one in your price range.  

PS: BB good to see you online - and I'd vote for u ;-)


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## LHKountryboy (Sep 27, 2008)

My apologies to the "cast iron" crowd. I guess now that I have one, I am in the cast iron furnature crowd also now.
My only complaint about the cast iron "clad" stoves is that they have so many fragile parts, screws, nuts, bolts, and refractory cemented seams. I have seen many a cracked, warped, srew loose rusty cast iron stove clad in "stone" running merrily towards disaster like a ticking time bomb.

I guess just prefer a simple 1/2 thick welded steel stove for a primary heat source.  I can very easily inspect every part of it and know exactly what is going on. Its not a ugly sqaure box, by any means, has lots of brass rails and  solid cast brass  doors and hinges. So atleast I dont have to worry about ever breaking anything on it, other than the glass.

Once upon a time my family heated with coal in "Round Oak" tin can stoves, and once there was even a very shady  "franklin stove" or two was  used in my family. So I approach cast iron burners with extreme trepidation.  As for my glowing chimney comment, it was only once that that happened in the middle of a blizzard, I was being foolishly sarcastic with that comment. Trust me I was very worried, and shut it down instantly, and have never reapted that incident.

I will try to respect the community of cast iron and not make disparaging comments in the future. 

But to "Burning Chunk" my stove is not a Smogger, yes it does have a secondary burner. And I do keep a close eye on whats coming out of the chimney.
Relax man, go have a Crown on the rocks, living in Buchanan you deserve one.
I can certainly understand your environmental concern with the the ground, water, and air contamination problems over there. So many former industial sites, Electro-voice, The defunct hospital, Clark, and Carbon's, the emissions from the US 31 freeway, and Redbud trail mud boggers constant soil and air contamination..  The contamination in McCoy Creek and the river.   There have been approximately 87 EPA recorded Incidents in the 49107 area  within the last 20 years.  WOW. I bet you shuddder everytime you take a breath, or turn on your tap water.


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