Hearthstone Heritage too big? Too many BTUs?

[Burnin Up]

Is the Hearthstone Heritage too big for a 1300 sq ft house? The house is well insulated in the attic, but that is about it. I am located in the mid-Atlantic region of southeast Pennsylvania.

I know that the Heritage is rated for 1900 sq ft., but how much of that is hype, plus the soap stone "soft" heat factor....would it end up heating us out of the house?

 

[YankeeFarmer]

It's all a matter of how you operate it. Our Heritage is located in a 900 sq. ft room at one end of our single floor ranch house, so it does nothing to heat the other 1300 sq ft or so. I can heat us out of the room if I keep the stove cranked up, but it's beautifully controllable and I have learned to regulate the output. With the soapstone, I don't reload as soon as I used to with our VC Resolute Acclaim. I bought the stove knowing it was big for the space, but I wanted that side loading door. I am extremely happy with this stove.

 

[begreen]

Nah, that should work out ok. You don't need to fill the thing to the gills with every load when the weather's mild.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'd say definitely not too big. As BeGreen stated, you don't have to fill the firebox every time.

 

[wkpoor]

The phase "too big" doesn't apply to wood stoves. Bigger is always better, just let up on the throttle when you get comfortable.

 

[snowleopard]

Is the Hearthstone Heritage too big for a 1300 sq ft house? The house is well insulated in the attic, but that is about it. I am located in the mid-Atlantic region of southeast Pennsylvania.

I know that the Heritage is rated for 1900 sq ft., but how much of that is hype, plus the soap stone "soft" heat factor....would it end up heating us out of the house?

Hey Burnin', and welcome to the forum.

I've got a Heritage, and I find it very versatile. I used it this winter as a whole-house heater for a 2Ksf, even during that prolonged stretch at -30F; I used it yesterday evening to take a little chill off the hearth room.

Lots of factors that you haven't addressed that will help us fine-tune the answer to your question:

What are you going to be asking of this stove? What are your hopes/expectations?
Are you planning on beefing up the insulation?
What's the layout of your house, orientation to the sun/solar gain through windows/wind exposure/etc?
Will this be a supplemental heater, or your only source of heat?
Is this a nice little weekend ambiance thing, or are you of modest means and NEED that stove to ameliorate high heating bills?
What will you be burning? (and do you have it cut and split yet? if not, get on it!)
Will you have someone home during the day to feed the fire?

If your house has a good hat, but no coat or boots, so to speak, you'll be losing a lot of heat out the walls and through the foundation, and I would not consider you over-stoved with a Heritage. If you're planning on adding more insulation, and already happily heat with oil or NG or electricity (and are independently wealthy), you might want a smaller stove if you're just trying to toast your toes and roast marshmellows on Friday nights. There are a lot of details that go into the decision, and the more you explain, the better people here can help you.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I don't think it would be too big based on the information you gave. If the house is not super insulated, you need a bigger stove with a bigger firebox to compensate. The soapstone is great to even out the heat in the house. When you don't need a lot of heat, you can load the firebox with smaller amounts of wood for a quick, hot fire and the soapstone will even out the ups and downs of the heat output curve.

 

[Fsappo]

Sounds like the perfect size stove for ya.