Bennington All Double Wall Cast Frame?

[woodburn]

I'm pretty close to purchasing the Hearthstone Bennington. They say it has an exclusive all double wall construction cast iron frame. What is that about? I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. Will it take longer for the outside surface to heat up? Are there any pros or cons with this design? Hearthstone really doesn't give much info. about it. All they say is " With an exclusive double-wall cast iron frame and built-in rear heat shield, the Bennington’s huge firebox actually serves as a convection chamber that allows air to circulate within, and then return, thoroughly warmed, into the room." Is this a gimmick, or what? Does it affect burn times or anything? I looked through the manual online and didn't find any other info. on this double cast business.

 

[JohnnyBravo]

sounds like nothing special. maybe tighter clearances. as long as the main inner layer is no thinner, what is the weight compared to other stoves of the same size? im sure it will burn fine. if it had great benifits im sure it would no longer be an exlusive sales point. im not tring to rag on the stove even though thats what it sounds like. could provide more insulation for clean burns while adding more thermal mass with another layer of steel. im sure others will have something to say.

 

[Rick]

I have a Bennington but I can't tell you what the double cast thing means. The dealer that I got it from explained it as more of a convective heater, as opposed to radiant heat. Maybe it's designed with the optional blower in mind? That aside, I really like the stove. It throws off a tremendous amount of heat once you figure out its sweet spot. It will do everything they say it will, as long as everything is right (the wood, the draft, etc).

 

[BrotherBart]

If the cast frame is double wall it is going to act just like the convection shields do on steel stoves. When the stove is hot cool air is pulled in at the bottom through the space between the walls of the frame and warm air rises out of the top. Same with the heat shield.

It is a good thing.

 

[jbrown56]

Hi, I just bought a new stove and was considering the "Benington". Hearthstone builds fine soapstone stoves and that is what they do best. Just a thought.

Jim

 

[hearthtools]

The Bennington also has a heat sink at the top of the stove to give it more surface area of heat exchange.
just like their gas stove have.

It is below the trivit.

 

[woodburn]

So I guess this double cast design sounds like a good thing after all. It does make the stove a bit heavy though, and it definitely does not improve clearances, as that stove has greater clearances than most I have looked at.

I wonder how it affects using your thermometer to monitor the stove temp. If you get a nice reading of 750 on the outside surface, does that mean that inner layer is way hotter, hence overfiring is taking place?

Rick, have you found this to be a problem at all? What temp. do you run the stove at?

 

[Rick]

I keep the thermometer right behind the trivet, in front of the pipe. I try to keep it at about 500. I'm going to put the thermometer directly on the stove to see what the difference is. I'll let you know.