Hearthstone Heritage won't get above 350 degrees

[bruh44]

Hi all, I'm new here. Having some heating issues with my Hearthstone Heratage. This stove was here when I bought the house. I had it moved to a different fireplace and had an insulated 8" chimney installed. It was supposed to be a 6" but the company messed up. The did use a 6-8" adapter to connect it. It's connected on the back with a 90 degree angle before it goes up the chimney. The chimney is about 40 feet tall. There is no choke on the chimney,
The wood I use is a mix of poplar, oak, walnut, locust. It's all very dry, curred of a minimum of a year.
I recently replaced the baffle. I had been burning without it for about two years. Since I've replaced it I've seen no ride in the temperature. The one thing I have noticed is that every time I open the door during the fire to load a lot if smoke come into the house. It didn't do that without the baffle. This smoke does get burned by the tubes along the top when the door is closed.
I'm sure there are more details I'm missing but that's all I can think of.
Can anyone tell me why I can't get this stove hot?

 

[Highbeam]

Wow 40’ of 8” class a on a 6” heritage! The operation methods of about anybody will not match what you need to do with that chimney. Step one would be to add one or two dampers and a draft measuring device to get this draft down to meet the requirements of the stove.

Sounds like you want more heat anyway. Consider a damper or two and taking advantage of that 8” pipe with one of the large 8” flue stoves.

I owned a heritage for several years and it always took forever to get hot. Redline is 550 on that stove and I did my best, it wasn’t hard, to keep it under 500. Lots of time at 350 which was comfortable to attain and kept us warm.

From cold it would take at least a couple of hours to heat up.

 

[weatherguy]

It sounds like he needs more draft, could be because it's an 8 an should be a 6. OP, is it drafting ok?

 

[bruh44]

It seems to draft fine after it warms up. I called Hearthstone. They said 8" is fine. But as u said when I open the door I get a lot of smoke. Maybe that is part of it.

 

[blacktail]

The wood I use is a mix of poplar, oak, walnut, locust. It's all very dry, curred of a minimum of a year.

A $20 moisture meter will tell you if it really is dry. 1 year isn't always long enough.

 

[bruh44]

Got one. My wood is dry. Some pieces aren't perfect but most are very dry. When I'm trying to get the temp high I use the driest I have.

 

[lml999]

Is your house really tight? Maybe you need an OAK. Crack a window when you're burning to see if the smoke still comes in with the open door....

 

[moresnow]

How exactly are you testing moisture content (routine)?
One year of drying means zilch to many who burn wood.
How long have you been fighting this stove in this location?
Do you have a chimney cap that includes a screen? Have you been up top to see if the screen is plugging (common problem that causes your smoke issue inside). Tough to see from the ground occasionally.
Why did you not have the incorrect liner replaced when you realized it was wrong?
Main floor install or basement?

These answers will help clarify your situation for everyone.

 

[BurntOut]

I installed a used Heritage in my home about 6 weeks ago and struggled at first getting the stove up to temp. A couple things I noticed as I was learning about the stove is that it does take considerably longer to get that stone up to temp than a cast iron or steel stove. The type and moisture content of wood I used played a major roll in which fires burned really hot and those that didn't. Finally, learning how to control the air intake effectively took some time to get used to, and to be honest, I'm still learning.

 

[weatherguy]

I still think it's not drafting enough, anyway he can get that tested?

 

[Socratic Monologue]

The Heritage needs a draft 0.06 - 0.1". I'd get that tested.

Ours never spills smoke. We have ~ 25' of 6" and it doesn't just draft fine, it'll try to suck in small pets; the stove sends so much heat up the stack (even on lighting from cold) that draft is really strong. I don't measure stovetop temps, but the flue is 600F when cruising, and it is very easy to hit 1000.

Sounds like wet wood. Here, it takes 2 years minimum to dry locust, 3 for oak.

 

[Highbeam]

The Heritage needs a draft 0.06 - 0.1". I'd get that tested.

Ours never spills smoke. We have ~ 25' of 6" and it doesn't just draft fine, it'll try to suck in small pets; the stove sends so much heat up the stack (even on lighting from cold) that draft is really strong. I don't measure stovetop temps, but the flue is 600F when cruising, and it is very easy to hit 1000.

Sounds like wet wood. Here, it takes 2 years minimum to dry locust, 3 for oak.

I agree, it’s an easy breathing stove. Mine never spilled a puff of smoke except for when it clogged the silly bird screen in the chimney cap which caused low output problems too. I used the side loading door exclusively.

 

[Woody Stover]

it clogged the silly bird screen in the chimney cap

I wonder how you kept clogging the screen? Something with the Doug Fir you burn?
I occasionally have to knock some flakes off my screen, but it's never close to being plugged enough to affect the draft on my 16' chimney. Maybe with a taller chimney, the smoke cools more and becomes more of a problem? More so with a non-cat?
But I leave the "silly bird" screen on; I can't have them building up in the liner, or eventually it will plug..those silly bird-brains. I'm not concerned with the earnest birds, just the silly ones.

The type and moisture content of wood I used played a major roll in which fires burned really hot and those that didn't.

Wet wood is usually the prime suspect, although the OP has got another variable with the 8" pipe. I'd think 40' would overcome that, though. Wood moisture is also the easiest thing to test, before pursuing other avenues.

Got one. My wood is dry. Some pieces aren't perfect but most are very dry. When I'm trying to get the temp high I use the driest I have.

Get some of your biggest splits and let them sit inside for a couple days (not next to the stove.) Then re-split and test immediately in the center of the fresh face, pushing the pins in firmly, oriented with the grain. You might be surprised, if you've been testing splits that have been sitting, and the outer wood has dried some before you test.
I don't think of North Carolina as a place where those species of wood are going to dry all that fast. Maybe the Tulip Poplar could get dry in a year, but I doubt the others would. Especially if the pile was covered with a tarp or in a shed where the wind couldn't blow through the wood very well. I top-cover only, and single rows would of course get more air blowing through than multiple rows stacked together.
And check your cap; The screen could easily be clogged if you've been burning marginally dry wood..

 

[electrathon]

I have had a Hearthstone Heritage for almost 10 years. My installation sounds similar to yours. Installed in the opening of a fireplace, rear vented and a tall chimney. I have a 6" chimney liner and an OAK. I always start by saying, it is a pretty stove, one of the best looking out there. Total form over function though, it is a horrid heater. To start with, use the side door, not the front door. If you open the front door it will dump tons of smoke into the house, the side door lets out very little if any smoke once it has a draft. The draft starts easily most of the time. It burns a lot of wood, puts out small amounts of heat. Your heat output sounds very similar to what I get. It heats the house well if it is warm outside. If it gets anyplace near freezing and I am struggling for warmth, my living room is hard to get above mid 60's if it is anyplace near freezing out. Luckily in this area it is rarely freezing. I burn a lot of soft wood, some hardwood. A good burn cycle is a few hours or so. With oak I sometimes have enough coals to relight the fire after 6-7 hours, not ever on fir. Remember that soapstone is an insulating layer, not a thermal transfer layer, most if the heat from the fire does not have time to be transferred from the fire, through the stove and into the room, so up the chimney it goes.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

I read a lot of complaints about the heating capacity, but our Heritage keeps most of our 3000 sq feet comfy down into the low 30s F. Not as efficient as some, I suppose, but nowhere near horrid, at least in my 6+ years of experience with it.

 

[electrathon]

I read a lot of complaints about the heating capacity, but our Heritage keeps most of our 3000 sq feet comfy down into the low 30s F. Not as efficient as some, I suppose, but nowhere near horrid, at least in my 6+ years of experience with it.

May I ask you a few questions about your stove? If it top or rear vented? Do you use the front door and if so does it spill smoke? I knew about the front door smoke spillage when I bought it because the stove store told me never to use it. He even had one in his store with a fire going and opened the door to show me, smoke dumped out. Do you ever see decent secondary burn? On mine if I cram it full of wood and turn it down and then stare at the inside sometimes I trick myself into thinking it has secondary burn happening. Three hours later there are just a few coals left and I reload it. My house is an older, not drafty but only partially insulated 1600 sq ft house plus a finished insulated basement.

 

[jetsam]

You have a sweet flue with that insulated 8" liner. Put it to work!

Go get a big stove that isn't plated with insulation! I'd put a BK King on it and count myself lucky that they used the wrong liner and pushed me into making the change. (Do put a damper inline, 40' is a whole lot of draw on a cold day).

 

[Woody Stover]

Do you ever see decent secondary burn? On mine if I cram it full of wood and turn it down and then stare at the inside sometimes I trick myself into thinking it has secondary burn happening. Three hours later there are just a few coals left and I reload it. My house is an older, not drafty but only partially insulated 1600 sq ft house plus a finished insulated basement.

You've been around a while so I assume your wood is dry. If so, I'd think you should be getting strong secondary action if your draft is sufficient. Smoke roll-out makes me question that, but they you say the wood is gone in a few hours..? With the "tall chimney," it sounds like it might be a basement install? How tall was the stack at the dealer, when he got smoke roll-out? If you load on hot coals, does the wood flame if quickly, and do you have a roaring fire if you leave the air wide open for a bit?
I looked at exploded-diagram images, and can't see any obvious differences between the 8021 and the 8022, so I assume they operate about the same?

 

[Socratic Monologue]

I think the 8021 and 8022 differ in that the 8022 has a oven-style side door (bottom hinge rather than side hinge).

Ours is top vent. I use only the side door, except for cleanout of a cold stove. Decent secondary burn every time I want it (full load of decent wood in hot stove on bed of coals, open air to let it char unless I'm loading onto an actual fire, then close air and watch the show). Good secondary burn lasts -- guessing here; I don't time it -- an hour with good oak. Yeah, it burns hot and fast.

I have a flue thermometer that alarms at 1200F -- I've had it get close, and it doesn't take much. A load of good wood into the stove when it is hot and good coals can run up to 800F, if there's still a fire going it gets 900-1000F easy with the air fully closed (has been this way from new; no, it doesn't leak, and the door seals are tight).

If I try to burn wet wood, I get smoke and no heat, as expected.

We are at 38F outside today, was a little below freezing last night. Only heat has been the stove since yesterday morning. LR/DR is 74F now, rest of the house is 66F, and I've been burning box elder and letting the loads burn down pretty far today. Overnight I loaded it at 10:30, and my wife put a couple splits on at 5 or so -- house was warm when I got up at 6:30.

 

[Highbeam]

I had great secondaries, clean glass, no smoke spill, and dependable overnight burns with my heritage burning low btu pnw species like alder and maple. Needed to pack it full though. Top vent with 12-13’ vertical stack. Oh yeah, I hit 1250 many times on the flue. Fully closed air I would see 800.

 

[bruh44]

Thank you all for the replies. Sorry for my delayed response. When I'm trying to get it hot, I use wood that is split small and very dry. I do have some pieces I mix in that aren't as dry but the times I'm referring too it is extremely dry wood.
I haven't checked the chimney in a while but it's the same crappy burn since I had the chimney installed. It has the screen top cover and then a second much larger one. I could add a choke right behind my stove. I'm just hesitant to spend more money on this thing.

 

[bruh44]

Also, no my house is far from tight. That's one of the reasons it's an issue. I've been sealing up as much as I can but there are still a lot of air leaks. Basically my house was a tirn down and rebuilt barn. It's properly framed but it seems the previous owners didn't mind a draft.

 

[Highbeam]

The heritage is a small stove that as I recall measured under 2 cubic feet despite the manufacturers false statement of something like 2.3. Then, being soapstone, is unable to deliver as much heat as a similar sized metal stove. That “soft heat” they use in advertising is the opposite of melt your eyeballs heat that you might want when living in a converted barn.

If you like the look of that heritage, the hearthstone equinox model looks almost identical and has an 8” flue to match your chimney. Much higher output.

 

[bruh44]

After all I've dealt with trying to get this thing going, I might just sell it. I know they are capable of getting much hotter though. I'd really like to know why I can't get the heat up on it.

 

[Highbeam]

After all I've dealt with trying to get this thing going, I might just sell it. I know they are capable of getting much hotter though. I'd really like to know why I can't get the heat up on it.

Be aggressive. Load it full to the top, keep the air control so high that your flue temperatures are held at 1000 internal or 450 external. Keep it there until your stove top is at 500. If this doesn't happen then your wood is wet. Go buy some 2x4s from home depot and stack them loosely, refire.