Hearthstone must have a new quarry!

[webby3650]

As for the cracking easy, I guess it all depends

I really don't believe this to be true! If it were know to crack easy, I really don't think Hearthstone, Woodstock and Tulikivi would have been so successful. Just to name a few.
People have been making masonry heaters, stoves, and pizza Ovens out of soapstone for a very long time. What about the soapstone bricks inside of a Hearthstone stove? They hold up to the heat and the impact from logs being thrown in.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

With all due respect webby, I do not think I said it cracks easy at all, simply because it doesn't. And as I stated, we've had our stove six full winters and no cracks.

 

[DevilsBrew]

Is the core made of soapstone or is it only a tile façade? It seems as though there are a lot of stoves with an outer lining of soapstone but I'm not seeing cores/fire boxes with it. Why is that? Cost? Or a performance factor?

 

[webby3650]

With all due respect webby, I do not think I said it cracks easy at all, simply because it doesn't. And as I stated, we've had our stove six full winters and no cracks.

I didn't mean that you did, sorry. I was just adding to what you were saying.

 

[webby3650]

Is the core made of soapstone or is it only a tile façade? It seems as though there are a lot of stoves with an outer lining of soapstone but I'm not seeing cores/fire boxes with it. Why is that? Cost? Or a performance factor?

I don't think the cores are made of soapstone. Not sure if it's expense or what. Hearthstone stoves are soapstone. If you look in the firebox, it's soapstone. I assume Woodstock is as well.

 

[ridemgis]

Is the core made of soapstone or is it only a tile façade? It seems as though there are a lot of stoves with an outer lining of soapstone but I'm not seeing cores/fire boxes with it. Why is that? Cost? Or a performance factor?

The hearthstone and most of the Woodstocks (except Progress Hybrid) are all stone in a cast iron frame. Soapstone is metamorphic, meaning the stones original composition has been changed within the earth by intense heat and pressure. It holds up to good hot fire very well without the decomposition that occurs in firebrick over time.

 

[begreen]

Is the core made of soapstone or is it only a tile façade? It seems as though there are a lot of stoves with an outer lining of soapstone but I'm not seeing cores/fire boxes with it. Why is that? Cost? Or a performance factor?

Both Hearthstone and some Woodstock stoves have a soapstone core. Take a close look at them sometime on the showroom floor. Hearthstone is one stone thick, Woodstock's Fireview has an inner and outer layer of soapstone I believe.

"...the firebox of a soapstone stove is actually constructed of stone, which lasts longer than the steel, cast iron or refractory bricks used in other types of stoves. Several thick pieces of stone comprise the top, sides and back of the stove. Each slab of soapstone forms both the interior and exterior wall of the stove. Inside, the stone directly absorbs the high heat of the fire, while outside, it radiates heat into the room from its polished surface."

(broken link removed to http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/customer-resources/Why-soapstone)

"The Fireview wood stove has a firebox with thick inside walls of soapstone and a firebrick-lined base. The soapstone keeps combustion temperatures high for clean-burning efficiency, and it stores heat and then radiates it long after the fire has died down. The soapstone firebox also hold coals for hours longer than a metal stove, which makes it easy to keep the fire going without resorting to paper and kindling. You’ll appreciate the bed of hot coals and the warmth that greets you if you’ve been away from your home for 10-12 hours or more."

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/fireview)

A neighbor down the road has a 30+ yr old Hearthstone H1 with nary a crack in it. And it has not been babied.

 

[ddddddden]

Where does Woodstock source their soapstone?

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/ctop-faq)
All of the soapstone that we use is quarried in Quebec, Canada, and comes from the same quarry that produces soapstone for our wood and gas stoves.

It seems like Hearthstone gets soapstone tiles in a standard size, and makes a stove the way you would tile a floor; lay a number of tiles to cover a given area and make cuts where you need to.
I'm not sure, but I think Woodstock might make a whole stove out of one big slab of stone. They definitely get slabs that are larger than the tiles used by Hearthstone. For example, the side of the Fireview opposite the door is one big slab. The Hearthstone design uses 4 tiles to cover what is probably about the same area, so more opportunity for mismatching. There are many smaller panels on the Fireview too, but with the exception of the top, each exterior panel is one piece of stone, and they are well matched, with the grain of all the pieces oriented to give the impression that the stove was carved from one big block of stone. My particular stove has some big dramatic streaks in the grain. . .hardly boring.

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/images/stories/editorial_support/Manual_Img/fw205stone.jpg)

(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/support)

 

[webby3650]

They definitely get slabs that are larger than the tiles used by Hearthstone. For example, the side of the Fireview opposite the door is one big slab. The Hearthstone design uses 4 tiles to cover what is probably about the same area;

This could be because Woodstock uses 2 thinner layers, while Hearthstone uses 1 layer of thicker stones? With 2 layers, maybe bigger pieces can be used without cracking. ?

 

[DevilsBrew]

Hmmmm...now I wonder about the baking factor. Does the soapstone get too hot too quickly? Does anyone have experience cooking with a soapstone oven?

 

[ddddddden]

Hmmmm...now I wonder about the baking factor. Does the soapstone get too hot too quickly? Does anyone have experience cooking with a soapstone oven?

No cooking experience, but I doubt that you will find anyone who thinks their stone stove heats up too quickly; some think quite the opposite, that it takes too long for their stove too get up to temp from a cold start.

 

[ddddddden]

This could be because Woodstock uses 2 thinner layers, while Hearthstone uses 1 layer of thicker stones? With 2 layers, maybe bigger pieces can be used without cracking. ?

I think the air gap between the 2 layers is supposed to help distribute the heat more evenly, reducing the chance of cracking. Other than that, IIRC, they changed the original top of the Progress from 1 big slab due to cracking issues, and the Fireview top is split into 2 halves, so yeah, maybe it's just easier to avoid cracking with smaller stones. . .

 

[ridemgis]

No cooking experience, but I doubt that you will find anyone who thinks their stone stove heats up too quickly; some think quite the opposite, that it takes too long for their stove too get up to temp from a cold start.

That's a soapstone myth. With the enormous window on the heritage we're heating the room within 1/2 hour of a cold start.

 

[DAKSY]

That's a soapstone myth. With the enormous window on the heritage we're heating the room within 1/2 hour of a cold start.

Not a myth, in my experience... Yeah, you'll get radiant heat in a short time thru the pyroceram & immediately in front of the unit, but the body of the stove will not radiate heat for more than an hour, until those 1-1/4 inch thick soapstones absorb what's coming from the burn chamber....

 

[webby3650]

That's a soapstone myth. With the enormous window on the heritage we're heating the room within 1/2 hour of a cold start.

I used to think this, because it what I had always heard. After being around a Mansfield from a cold start, i saw that it was not true. Heats up plenty quick. Not like a steel stove, but comparable to my Iron stoves. Man does that thing throw some serious heat!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yes, Woodstock does use 2 layers of soapstone and if you really want to be choosy, you can visit the factory and actually pick out the exact stone you want.

Yes, it does take the soapstone stoves a little longer to heat than a steel or cast. However, most folks tend to blow this way out of proportion. As I stated, it takes a little bit longer but not that much. And yes, we do some cooking on our soapstone stove just like we did on steel stoves we've had. I can see no good reason not to. Even if you only use it to warm up food, it is nice and less energy used when not using a gas or electric cook stove.

I am still amazed that we get so much more heat from this stove vs other stoves we've owned. We really came down in size when we bought the Fireview and yes, that 6 month money back guarantee for us was a good thing because I still doubted it would heat our drafty home. Wow! I was really wrong on that point

 

[webby3650]

Yes, it does take the soapstone stoves a little longer to heat than a steel or cast. However, most folks tend to blow this way out of proportion. As I stated, it takes a little bit longer but not that much.

I agree! I don't see too much of a difference in response time to cast.

 

[Highbeam]

I pushed 25 cords through my hearthstone heritage before switching to a much more efficient stove. I would still own it if it weren't for the weak and wimpy castings, hinges, and handles.

I had no cracks in my stones but did notice that the stove darkened with each year of use. The colors got better and more rust type streaks would appear. Good looking stove. Some of my stones had a boring grain but most had sufficient flair. The pictured stones are almost cheetah print loud and I am not sure if that is an enduring trend. Fun for awhile. And yes, I do expect the craftsman to match up this natural stone to make the most desirable assembly. That's why some tilesetters use solid tile, and some use slate.

On the time to warm up, put me in the camp that experienced the long time to warm up and didn't like it. What probably made this problem worse was that the burn time is very short on non-cat stone stoves so when I was starting fires it was because I was cold and not in the mood to wait around for heat. A better stove with longer burn times prevents the room from cooling so warm up time is not an issue.

 

[Todd]

I've owned both Woodstock and Hearthstone and have had cracks in both as well. Sometimes it can be hard for the manufacture to find a flaw that will develop a crack. There can also be hidden mineral deposits that burst from the heat and cause pimple like holes that aren't very nice looking. My previous Keystone had 3 stones that I replaced and pretty much had to take the whole stove apart to do it. Luckily Woodstocks great customer service took care of me and it really wasn't that hard to replace the stones.

 

[DevilsBrew]

I've owned both Woodstock and Hearthstone and have had cracks in both as well. Sometimes it can be hard for the manufacture to find a flaw that will develop a crack. There can also be hidden mineral deposits that burst from the heat and cause pimple like holes that aren't very nice looking. My previous Keystone had 3 stones that I replaced and pretty much had to take the whole stove apart to do it. Luckily Woodstocks great customer service took care of me and it really wasn't that hard to replace the stones.

I'm curious, how long were the stoves in use before you noticed the cracks in the stone?

 

[Todd]

I'm curious, how long were the stoves in use before you noticed the cracks in the stone?

The Hearthstone was burned for 2 years before I noticed a crack in the lower side stone. The Woodstock Keystone was a previously owned refurb that showed some cracks after the first season. My old Fireview had a crack on one of the top lid stones after a couple seasons. I don't think any of the cracks effected performance they were mostly a cosmetic issue.

My current Keystone I bought in 2010 and so far so good, keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[rideau]

Soapstone absorbs water, so when first burned after a long rest it should be slowly heated to let the moisture burn off. If quickly heated with a roaring fire while containing relatively high moisture, the stone can crack.

As stated by others, individual pieces may be subject to cracking because of natural mineral deposits.

The large, thick, beautiful one piece PH tops were indeed subject to cracking...because Woodstock could not get large enough clear enough pieces. The larger and thicker the stone, the more likely it will develop a crack.

However, with minimal care taken, a soapstone stove should last a lifetime, and is excellent at slowly radiating heat for a long time, and excellent at slowly cooking/baking foods.

I have not found either the FIreview or the PH to take an excessive time in heating my home from scratch, which I do often. The PH is definitely quite a bit faster than the Fireview, both because of its larger heat output and its much larger window. But both are satisfactory and reasonable.

 

[ScotO]

While I don't own one of those soapstone stoves, I do know a little about stone in general. Most stones that are sedimentary (and have lines and streaking through them) have a tendency to crack at a streak.......so almost any stone out there can crack eventually, if it's got streaking in it.

As far as those stones in the new stoves Webby, they are beautiful! I'd want all the "grain" to match (by match, I mean at least go in the same direction) when installed, I really like them!