MORE Hearthstone Green Mountain 60 - ISSUES
- Thread starter LakeCabin
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Nigel459
Feeling the Heat
Yes, the LPAO is in the bottom, front centre of the firebox. I agree his problems seem more weak-draft related... orrr the other glaring one which I don't think we have had confirmation: moisture content of fuel... unless I missed it (humble apologies if so)
Update on this issue. The dealer talked to Hearthstone who gave them a list of things to do and check. They never got it to draft properly so the dealer removed the stove and i believe it's going back to Hearthstone. So we are now back to square one. The dealer stocks Vermont Castings and Regency as well as Hearthstone. We're heating a space of 1100 to 1200 sq feet. Begreen suggested looking at the Regency F2450 and F2500. Are there any Vermont Castings models we should look at and how do those compare to the two Regency models?
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Sorry to hear this. Vermont Castings stoves are pretty, but much more complex. They have improved the quality of their refractory assemblies since HHT took them over, but it is still their Achilles heel.
Maybe consider a mid-sized Hearthstone like the Heritage too?
Maybe consider a mid-sized Hearthstone like the Heritage too?
Thanks. I rather like the cleaner look and at this point want to keep it as simple as possible so may skip VC. I am a little nervous about trying another Hearthstone. I am not sure if we got a lemon--there were definitely some assembly issues--or we had chimney-related draft issues and that the Heritage would be similar enough to the GM60 that we'd just have a similar experience. I am inclined to go with the non-cat F2450 you suggested earlier although I see from posts here that they have not been without problems as well.
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90% of the posts here are from people trying to solve a problem. They are not representative of the market as a whole. There is no stove that has not had someone with an issue with. Sometimes it is the stove, but mostly it is an issue with the operation, the wood or draft. The delighted owners rarely go online for their stoves unless they have a question.
Point taken. It's not a representative sample of users.
I suspect we'll try either the F2450 or F2500. I will post about our experience once we have the new one installed. Hopefully we are more successful at the second attempt.
I suspect we'll try either the F2450 or F2500. I will post about our experience once we have the new one installed. Hopefully we are more successful at the second attempt.
Thanks. I noticed that was the case from the earlier thread. Looking at the manuals for the F2400, F2450, and F2500 it would appear that only the F2450 has the Vertical Stainless Deflector. I wonder if that the only difference with the earlier F2400 model.
The 2400 is the cascade line. It has a cat but it is a new unproven design that I am not a big fan of. We have had a few customers burn a season with the new noncats and had no issues. Also have out some of the pro line and they work well
Thanks, that's helpful. I tending towards non-cat F2450. Hadn't looked at the Pro line. The smallest seems to be the F3500 but I think that might be on the larger side for our space.
A correction to the update I wrote above. I talked to the dealer on Friday. He said that before they took the GM60 out--I wasn't present when this happened-- they ran draft tests and their readings were in accordance with what the stove is supposed to require. And he said the chimney height made no difference. They removed two of the three sections they had added previously. He said they have no idea why the stove didn't work properly and they would like Hearthstone to test it. I'm not their only customer who has had GM60 issues.
I think I am likely to go with the Regency F2450 as the replacement but it turns out the dealer also stocks Quadra-Fire so that's another option to those mentioned previously.
I think I am likely to go with the Regency F2450 as the replacement but it turns out the dealer also stocks Quadra-Fire so that's another option to those mentioned previously.
Good luck. I hope you post back that your new, new stove is working well and you finally have gotten something to work well for you! I sure it was very frustrating.
I havnt sold any at this point because I won't recommend them to people untill they are proven. If someone specifically asked for one I would sell it to them but I am not going to push them. I just don't like the design
They installed a Regency F2450 this morning. I have the first test fire going. It's 70 here so I have all the windows and doors open!
So far so good. I had the door cracked for the first few minutes then locked it and fire is burning fine. I have now shut the air intake down some and it's still working fine. I can see the secondary burn at the air intakes at the top of the stove. When I open the door, as they instruct, to add wood there's no smoke coming back into the cabin. It appears to be drafting fine.
Much thanks to everyone for their advice and help and especially to begreen for the F2450 recommendation.
So far so good. I had the door cracked for the first few minutes then locked it and fire is burning fine. I have now shut the air intake down some and it's still working fine. I can see the secondary burn at the air intakes at the top of the stove. When I open the door, as they instruct, to add wood there's no smoke coming back into the cabin. It appears to be drafting fine.
Much thanks to everyone for their advice and help and especially to begreen for the F2450 recommendation.
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
I just got the 2450 last season. I like it immensely. The couple of criticisms I have include what feels like a low firebox. Seems like it is tough to pile the wood in there to any degree. It also seems to run hot. I’d love for it to cruise in to 600’s. Instead it tends to cruise in the mid 700’s. This is with dry decent sized hardwood. I can’t imagine having a good load of softwood in there.
We bought a GM60 at the end of last season. We had the same issues but we also had a short chimney. Chimney was 5 feet of 6" then 5 feet of 8" triple wall. I just finished redoing the chimney. We now have 5 feet of 6" stovepipe with 9 feet of triple wall 6". Fire just wants to go out if I close the door. I've tried leaving the door cracked open until stove was nice and hot then closing it. Fire still goes out about a minute later. Doesn't matter what position bypass is in. I've also tried outside air connected and not. I even tried putting a small handheld leaf blower at the air inlet expecting to light right up and turn it into a blast furnace. Nothing, fire would not relight unless I cracked open the door. I also have an issue with it putting smoke out into the room when the door is opened. I do have the ability to open a vent on the intake of our hvac system that will pressurize the house. This will help force more air up the chimney. I helps some with the smoke but fire will still go out with the door closed.
I also just bought a Kuma Ashwood LE for my shop. I wish I had gotten one for the house. The Kuma is amazing! Fires start very easy, I can close the door right after lighting and it just takes off. I especially like that the bypass opens up at the back of the stove making it draft towards the back of the stove in bypass mode. Smoke doesn't have a chance to make it out the door. I also like the deep firebox so I can load wood north /south.
I also just bought a Kuma Ashwood LE for my shop. I wish I had gotten one for the house. The Kuma is amazing! Fires start very easy, I can close the door right after lighting and it just takes off. I especially like that the bypass opens up at the back of the stove making it draft towards the back of the stove in bypass mode. Smoke doesn't have a chance to make it out the door. I also like the deep firebox so I can load wood north /south.
tabner
Feeling the Heat
How are you stacking the wood in the stove? And i assume you have checked moisture content?
I have been heating my whole house with the GM60 for about a week now, 24/7, and my stove drafts hard. I can actually close my flue damper and my air intake fully, and it'll still run. (granted i have a 26 foot chimney)
i have found on cold starts the stove does not run great until it is up to temp. Definitely the cold start needs to be handled very specifically - super dry wood, a lot of kindling, top down method, and most importantly, I have to crisscross the wood stack to give maximum airflow up through it. The video below gives a good example of how i stack - N/W on the bottom layer, then E/W a couple splits, then a bunch of kindling N/S again.
As far as wood moisture, i have found that i can burn 22% wood on a reload, but on a cold start, I HAVE to have wood under 20%. Can you describe your testing procedure?
I think of the cold start fire as a 30 minute project where it seems like 40% of the wood load is just going to be used bringing the stove, flue, and catalyst up to temp. after that, I load and run it more like you'd expect, full loads, low air intake, long burn, etc.
tabner
Feeling the Heat
I just double checked the manual and it has chimney height minimum described below. It sounds like you are meeting that. But do you have any T's or 90's in it? And what have the temps been like in your area? Draft improves as the temp drops.
"The recommended minimum chimney height is 14 feet (3 m) off the floor. The recommended maximum chimney height is 30 feet (9m).The Green Mountain 60 requires a draft between 0.08” and 0.15” water column. Ensure your chimney is long enough to provide the minimum draft, and use a damper if your installation has a required chimney height that provides too much draft."
"The recommended minimum chimney height is 14 feet (3 m) off the floor. The recommended maximum chimney height is 30 feet (9m).The Green Mountain 60 requires a draft between 0.08” and 0.15” water column. Ensure your chimney is long enough to provide the minimum draft, and use a damper if your installation has a required chimney height that provides too much draft."
cabinwarmer
Feeling the Heat
Good morning, 100% agree with Tabner, also to answer your question from above, you need the bypass handle facing down at start. I was thinking of this same video as a reply, this is how I start mine as well. Also, there was a “recall “ on the intake. Hearthstone shipped out a replacement part last year. If your stove was bought new, your dealer should know about it.
My chimney height measured from the floor is about 17feet. Piping is straight up to the cap. Wood moisture is between 7 and 12%. Ive tried various starting methods including top down.
I visited the dealer today and he's kinda stumped too. He's suggesting I add another 3 feet to the chimney. I'm not really into that since it will cost about $300 and the pitch of our roof is 3/12 and it looks weird sticking 8 feet up already. He is going to come by next Friday to check it out. In the mean time he wants me to take out the baffle and give it a test burn. He says it should increase the draft. If so it should point to the chimney being ok. He said he's sold over 80 of the GM60scin the last year and I'm the first complaint. He's says he will either get it working or he will trade me out. He says they are a great stove but that may not be the right stove for our house. So right now I'm going to let him see what he can do. If is doesn't work out I'll be swapping out for a Kuma Ashwood LE. I have one in my shop and it is an amazing stove.
I visited the dealer today and he's kinda stumped too. He's suggesting I add another 3 feet to the chimney. I'm not really into that since it will cost about $300 and the pitch of our roof is 3/12 and it looks weird sticking 8 feet up already. He is going to come by next Friday to check it out. In the mean time he wants me to take out the baffle and give it a test burn. He says it should increase the draft. If so it should point to the chimney being ok. He said he's sold over 80 of the GM60scin the last year and I'm the first complaint. He's says he will either get it working or he will trade me out. He says they are a great stove but that may not be the right stove for our house. So right now I'm going to let him see what he can do. If is doesn't work out I'll be swapping out for a Kuma Ashwood LE. I have one in my shop and it is an amazing stove.
Sounds like he is a decent dealer and willing to work with you. I do have to say tho, unless you live in a desert or are testing your wood wrong I have doubts about your wood moisture content.
