Thoughts on our new stove?

[Backwoods Savage]

We are presently planning on installing a new wood stove. We have decided (I think) to get a soapstone stove this time and get rid of our old Ashley, which has served us well for nearly 30 years. However, we are undecided whether to get a Woodstock Fireview or a Hearthstone Heritage. Would appreciate any thoughts on this. btw, we live in an old mobile home and have heated it entirely with wood heat since 1979. Yes, we used wood heat before this too and both my wife and I grew up with wood heat.

Also, my wife is concerned about the finish on the soapstone. Because she like to warm food on the woodstove she is afraid that the stone will scratch very easily. I understand we can put a trivet under any pots, but won't the trivet also slide and cause scratching?

How long do these soapstone stoves last?

What are the pros and cons of these stoves?

Because of our home, we use a metal chimney and the pipe runs out through the wall and no the roof. (We have a peaked roof over the mobile home.) One concern is the amount of horizontal pipe. With the Woodstock stove they recommend being further from the wall (15") than the Hearthstone (7"). This is with the rear heat shield. We also have a double wall behind the stove with a dead air space between the two. The 15" sounds like it might give us too much horizontal pipe, but how much can you use without this being a problem?

We also live in the woods, so trees are a problem because they are close. Our chimney raises 10 feet from the elbow outside. Do you think this might cause more problems with a soapstone stove than with another type? I ask this because I've read this on the Internet. Some claim draft issues are greater with the soapstone stoves.

We'd like to stay away from the catalytic stove, but should this not be a concern? Would you burn less wood using a catalytic stove than one without the catalyst?

Woodstock says they use two layers of stone; 3/4" and 1 1/8" but I can't find what the thickness of the Hearthstone is. Does anyone know? Also, is there an advantage of two layers over one? Can this stone be replaced yourself if it cracks?

For a hearth, all we've ever used is slate under the Ashley. Can we still get by with that?

We probably will have more questions and any help you can give will be appreciated. btw, this is my first post on this forum.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

soapstone is not the best to cook on, the surface stains with grease and it scratches. It does cook well, its just not something i would make a habit out of.
Woodstock makes fine stoves.. i like the heratige better for two reasons, first the woodstock doesnt do it for me visually, second, i like non cat stoves.
what is benith the slate? the heratige requires more hearth protection then stone sitting ontop of a combustable.
The stone in the heratige is 1.5" all one piece, no layers.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for your thoughts. I have no problem with either stove as far as which is more pleasing to the eye, but like you, I'm not so sure on the catalytic.

 

[bacsales]

Has anyone tried oiling the tops of a hearthstone to erase scratches? I have a soapstone counter top at home. It scratches constantly and just a wipe of a rag soaked with soapstone treating oil makes it go away. The treating oil looks like regular mineral oil to me. If this works I will be mad as I discounted many a hearthstone in my old retail store due to scratches.


(broken link removed to http://www.soapstone-co.com/care.html)


Any thoughts? I have never used sandpaper as I find just the aplication of oil does the trick.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've not had experience with soapstone stoves but it seems to me that oiling would not be the thing to do. It okay on a counter-top but that doesn't get the heat that a stove will produce. I'd definitely stay away from that thought.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

i polish out scratches with steel wool. Oil darkens from the heat.

 

[Todd]

I've burned both Hearthstone and Woodstock and both are good stoves, but I perfer Woodstock. I like the longer burns and less wood consumption. Also think they look better than Hearthstone.

I have an outside wall chimney 23' high and the Woodstock drafts way better than the Hearthstone did with no smoke spilage while reloading. I think both stoves require 14' chimney.

The cat is no big deal as long as you follow the manual. Not as much tweaking with the air setting, just engage the cat after reaching required temp, set the air to about 1/4 and your all set. If you screw up the cat within 2 years, they will replace it free, and after that it's pro rated up to 5 or 6 years.

I think the air space between the soapstone is to help even out the heat?

Right now Woodstock has a very good sale going. $600 off all their stoves. Good luck.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks Todd. Just got the literature today from Woodstock. That $600 off makes us think for sure. I did talk to someone there explaining that this stove would not be installed until after this spring's heating season, which means mid-May. He indicated that they would still honor the 6 mo. guarantee but it wouldn't start until next fall. However, on the DVD they spoke of one month. Need to further check this.

 

[colsmith]

Hello, you can download the Heritage manual (a PDF file) from the Hearthstone web site. It will answer some of your questions about that stove. We considered that, went with its sibling the Phoenix instead. Like our stove, there is a 1 year, 5 year, and lifetime guarantee on different parts of the Heritage stove. The model I have the manual for says 1.2 R value is needed for the hearth, so you would need some serious layers there, Micore 300 and a cement board over it at least, with the slate on top of that, would probably do it.

We try to be very careful, but have a few tiny scratches in the top of our stove. I told hubby no more metal on top. He fancies a metal cake pan (more surface area) as the humidifier, I prefer a glass Visions pot because I imagine that won't scratch like metal. We just heat water (mostly for humidity) and soup there mostly.

I haven't looked over the manuals very hard in that regard recently, but the Phoenix has particular requirements if installed in a mobile home, they are a bit more restrictive than in a regular house I recall. I would say read the manual over really well, it should help you decide for or against. The Hearthstone soapstone stoves look very nice, I am not familiar with the Woodstock stoves. We have only had our stove a year, so no advice on how long it will last!

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[webbie]

Yes, the mobile home issue needs checking out- is the woodstock approved for that OR, did you modify the home enough that it is no longer classified as a mobile?

There are differences in operation between cats and non-cats. Cats tend to have longer burn times and better operation at lower firebox temps, which might be important if you burn overnight (sleep late) and/or are away during the day and burn the stove. On the other hand, non-cats heat up faster from a cold start.

Yes, the 6 month thing is one-of-a-kind in the industry. It assures you that you 100% must love the thing, and it is certainly a statement of how much they believe in the product.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for your replies Marcia and Craig.

Marcia, yes, we have already downloaded the manual for the Heritage stove. Unfortunately a manual is not available from Woodstock. We have definitely ruled out the Phoenix model. We may also rule out the Woodstock stove becaue of the required greater clearance from walls and combustible surfaces. However if they have a heat shield that would take care of that issue. Hope your stove lasts 50 years or more!

Craig, you are correct with the modification of our home. Amazing that you thought of that as very few do. Also, we heat 100% with our wood stov so the longer burn time is an issue. I was surprised with your statement about the non-cat heating faster though. On the 6 mo. guarantee, we still have to question that. I talked once to a fellow from Woodstock and he indicated it is there but on their DVD it states only a month. We deifinitely will question that further.

In short, we actually like the looks of the Woodstock stove over the Hearthstone. I've attempted to list the plus and minus for both stoves and, as expected, one is better with some issues and the other is better on other issues.

Once again, thank you all for your replies. The more brains thinking together should product the best results.

Think Spring!

 

[begreen]

Woodstocks do have a rear heatshield option. This reduces clearances down to 15-18" depending on the stove. Heres a link to more information online on their website about installations.

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/pages/downloads.html)

 

[Roospike]

Woodstocks do have a rear heatshield option. This reduces clearances down to 15-18" depending on the stove. Heres a link to more information online on their website about installations.

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/pages/downloads.html)

The Woodstock stoves clearances are 15-18" WITH the extra heat shield ? Thats minimum clearances ?

What are they with out the extra heat shield ?

 

[Roospike]

I found it ........... clearance of the Woodstock wood stove is 30" to the wall.

 

[begreen]

You PE owners are living on a different planet with 4" clearances. A nice planet at that....