Seriously considering the Hearthstone Manchester wood stove

[Woody Stover]

Chester (melt yer) drawers!

 

[cighon]

Well just awoke to get a drink at 4:15 and its still 71 in the living room, Manchester loaded last at 10:45 in the basement, with an outside temp of 27. Love that stove. Will let it go until 7 and see how it makes it thru the night.

 

[DianeB]

I have a few questions that I hope you folks won't mind addressing.

First, Izzyq, I am wondering if the comments made here by so many have been helpful to you? Have you made a decision? This week, as temps have fallen in Pennsylvania, I have had the opportunity to burn wood in the "Manny," as Woody Stover calls it. I've been thinking about posting a short video of the Manny in action. You and others might find that helpful. I'm thinking of focusing on the re-burn and what smoke there is out the chimney. When I first wrote to you, I explained what I think are some pros/cons about the Manny. I can add another con: too much smoke escapes out of the front door when opened for reloading. The manual states, "When opening the front door to reload or rearrange logs, it is advisable to open the door just a crack, pause for a moment then open the door completely....In addition, reloading on a bed of hot, red coals reduces smoking time..." I have found that the operative word in all of this is the word, "reduces." Yes, following this method "reduces smoking time," but it doesn't eliminate the smoking time. I don't want to see any smoke escape. I haven't been able to open the door without smoke escaping into my living room. That rarely happened with that old steel construction Haughs stove I inherited from my grandparents. I can say that I don't see that problem when I open the side door. Guess which one I try not to use

Second, Brother Bart, you say, "an iron stove will need to be a rebuilt around ten years, burned correctly." What do the words "burned correctly" mean? I guess this ultimately gets back to that issue of over-firing. No where can I find what that actually means. The nebulous sentence in the manual that reads, "Over-firing means the stove is operating at temperatures above normal temperatures," is about as helpful as is your sentence. I can't ask the writers of the Manchester manual to explain what "normal temperatures" are, but I can ask what you mean by "burned correctly." Please explain.

Third, D8Chumley, you say in reference to the placement of a thermometer, "The manual suggested no more than a foot" (from the top of the stove?) Where, what page does it say that? I can't find any reference to where to place a thermometer. Perhaps you can help. Where are you measuring the temperature of the stove?

Fourth, PYRO, alias Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar, thanks for supplying those pictures of the top of the Manchester. I could place a thermometer there on the top of the stove under the convective top, but at this point that wouldn't be easy. How'd you get that convective top off? And perhaps you can help me figure out how to get that back plate off too. (not that I want to remove it permanently, but when it comes to moving this 515 pound beast, I could remove those pieces in addition to the 50 lbs of soapstone lining to lighten up the load. Izzyq might like to know how to do this too, especially if she is moving it herself. This brings me to my last question. Have you taken the Manchester apart? Perhaps you would have a very clear idea of how this stove is constructed. I still want to know what I am up against in terms of the short-term and long-term maintenance of this stove. Changing the three door gaskets is one thing: resealing all the many internal joints is another. The manual only mentions replacing the door gaskets, but says nothing about the internal joints that apparently will also need to be reconstructed at some point during its lifetime (10-15-20-more yrs?) of service.

Thanks in advance for your assistance with these questions.

 

[Manchester]

OK went and saw the Hearthstone Heritage and Manchester-WOW! Beautiful stoves. Nothing like the old VC my parents had when we grew up.

I really liked both (although they have a different look and feel to them) but we are leaning towards the Manchester. I know they are only on the market about a year but I was hoping someone here had some real life experience burning one. Just looking for any thoughts or problems (or raves! LOL)

I purchased the manchester wood stove and have nothing with problems. I bought the stove in Oct of 2013 and it broke in November of 2013. I called for a warranty repair in Dec 2013 and and still waiting for repair in Feb of 2014. There is a problem with the metal plate on the side loading door that causes it to warp out of shape. In addition to that the hinge assembly also is faulty as the door falls off and chips that enamel finish. In my opinion, hearthstone is not a reputable company to purchase from since they do not service their products and rely solely on the dealers to fix them. I am still waiting for a fix and have filed a small claims suit to replace the stove since the dealer tapped the body and used the wrong thread insert on the stove. Now the lower dorr does not seal at all. In short, having to wait three months to get your stove fixed under warranty is not what you want to deal with. Also, my stove was missing parts from the factory as the technician pointed out to me.

 

[D8Chumley]

Sorry to hear of the trouble that you're having but mine has been flawless

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a serious dealer issue on top of stove issue. Have you taken this up directly with Hearthstone? What part(s) were missing?

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

I know I've praised this stove on here but I am presently having some issues with mine as well. It's kinda like that last car built on a Friday. I seem to be having the same side door issue as was mentioned above by Manchester. I opened the side door a few days ago to find one bolt missing and the inside plate warped. Also, I might note that mine was missing some parts from the factory as well and I'm a bit perturbed at my dealer and Hearthstone at the moment. When I got the stove it was missing one of the clips that holds the front glass, the top wasn't bolted down(I wasn't aware that it was supposed to be until a few months later), the hang tag with all of the stove info was missing(hearthstone sent a new one), a bolt that holds the back on was broken, I assume this was caused by the top not being bolted down during shipping(I drilled out and repaired myself), and the ash pan door does not close flush with the front of the stove(a cosmetic issue I've lived with but my wife can't stand). I called the dealer way back when about the clip and screw for the glass and she had hearthstone ship the part, now...months later I received a bill for $25!! just to ship a clip and screw in an envelope. The parts were "no charge" they just ridiculously jack up the shipping to a price they could have over-nighted the thing to Australia for. The $25 to mail an envelope along with the warped inside door panel were the straw that broke the camels back, I'm now dealing with Hearthstone and my dealer to get the stove exchanged.

I really can't complain about its heating ability and it is a new stove so maybe these are some bugs they need to work out but the Hearthstone customer service is very lacking to say the least.

 

[DMB]

Well this thread turned ugly fast! Not having any problems with mine but don't feel real confident about the future. Especially since I don't burn mine as much as those commenting.

One thing I did notice recently as I was cleaning out the firebox and sweeping some ash...the aforementioned bolt on the door side, the nut was really loose. I actually think that I might have loosened it with the brush. Anyhow, tighted it back up and didn't think much of it. Just thought that I might need to check those more often.

I'll be really looking for these issues now. Dissappointed others are having problems with this stove because I really like it, and want to keep it that way.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

Really the heat this thing puts out is awesome and I love the looks of the stove so I'm hoping that they exchange it and I don't have any problems with the replacement stove.

 

[begreen]

One thing I did notice recently as I was cleaning out the firebox and sweeping some ash...the aforementioned bolt on the door side, the nut was really loose. I actually think that I might have loosened it with the brush. Anyhow, tighted it back up and didn't think much of it. Just thought that I might need to check those more often.
.

Sounds like loctite may be needed here?

 

[jillybeansisme]

Curiousity here since I'm researching stoves for my next house . . . can you put a small slab of soap stone on top or inside of a woodstove that isn't soapstone and let that heat up during a burn to later radiate that heat? When I was in my Sister's house (may she RIP), they used to just put logs in and I never saw a thermometer . . . guess I have a lot to learn and your thoughts on the soapstone slab would be appreciated.

 

[rideau]

You can certainly put soapstone on top of a stove, for cooking or for heat retention, or to warm the slab for use as a bed or footwarmer....I keep several extra slabs on top of my Woodstock stove.

 

[firefighterjake]

Curiousity here since I'm researching stoves for my next house . . . can you put a small slab of soap stone on top or inside of a woodstove that isn't soapstone and let that heat up during a burn to later radiate that heat? When I was in my Sister's house (may she RIP), they used to just put logs in and I never saw a thermometer . . . guess I have a lot to learn and your thoughts on the soapstone slab would be appreciated.

You can put a soapstone slab on top of a steel or cast iron stove ... but you will not get the same effect in terms of heat as an actual soapstone stove. I have a slab on top of my Oslo ... looks nice ... but no real gain with heat retention.

 

[Wise Guy]

Hey Manchester: Sorry to hear about the problems with your stove. I checked the bolts on the door to my Manchy, and all is well. My stove must have been made on Monday. I do have one craftsmanship issue with my stove, it seems to draw air from the side opposite the door. I think it isn't properly sealed, as the stove burns first on that side, and other issues too that will go unmentioned. At this point, I am just living with it. I have never had the stove above 500* so I think it doesn't overfire, but as I have mentioned before, I have no idea what overfire would mean. I've not had to tap into Hearthstone's customer service, but if I have to rely on my dealer to fix warranty issues, I'll probably have to get noisy, and in today's world where profits are everything, getting really loud about customer service may be your only alternative. Keep squawkin' cause it's the only wheel that gets oiled. I hope the issues get resolved. Other than the side panel not being properly sealed, I have no real issues with the craftsmanship of this stove. As I've mentioned before, I do have issues with some of the design features of this stove, but overall I am very happy with this stove. It has produced abundant heat during this harsh winter we've had, and it's done so with less wood too. Keep us posted on the outcome of your case.

 

[begreen]

Most any stove that is totally new is going to have some refining to do during the first year or two. Hearthstone needs to step up to the plate here.

 

[Wise Guy]

yup, make a lot of loud noise until the problem gets fixed

 

[D8Chumley]

I cleaned mine out yesterday since it got pretty warm, first time in several weeks. I didn't realize how dirty the front glass really was. Oh well, it was busy doing what I bought it for- heating my house Hopefully your issue gets resolved. I don't have any issues (yet) and it does a great job in the heat department

 

[jrems]

I think some of the issues are directly related to the person building the stove. I have a hearthstone shelburne. I just replaced the ceramic baffles and had to remove the top to do it. One of the 4 bolts was cross threaded when it was originally installed. It snapped when I tried to remove it. I had to drill and retap with the next larger size bolt to get it back together. The casting had a slight flaw(small protrusion)and and you could tell it would have been impossible to put the bolt in straight. It took me less than a minute with a hand file to file it so the bolt could go in straight. I am a little disappointed the original assembler put the bolt in crooked and called it good enough instead of taking 60 seconds to file the metal to get it to go in straight.
Besides the build issues, it's a great stove. I am very happy with it. It heats well and looks good.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

I think some of the issues are directly related to the person building the stove. I have a hearthstone shelburne. I just replaced the ceramic baffles and had to remove the top to do it. One of the 4 bolts was cross threaded when it was originally installed. It snapped when I tried to remove it. I had to drill and retap with the next larger size bolt to get it back together. The casting had a slight flaw(small protrusion)and and you could tell it would have been impossible to put the bolt in straight. It took me less than a minute with a hand file to file it so the bolt could go in straight. I am a little disappointed the original assembler put the bolt in crooked and called it good enough instead of taking 60 seconds to file the metal to get it to go in straight.
Besides the build issues, it's a great stove. I am very happy with it. It heats well and looks good.

I agree with the statement regarding things being dependent on the person or persons building the stove. After many times speaking with hearthstone customer service(which I believe is a one man show consisting of Ray Mayer), I don't get that warm fuzzy feeling of a place that takes pride in what they build. I get a get them out the door to make a buck and hope we don't here back from the customer feeling.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

My stove issues were supposed to have gone "in front of the warranty board"(the words of Ray Mayer) last Weds....again....

Still no call-back...no nothing. My dealer called them and is also waiting to hear back. What a wonderful company.

 

[Simonkenton]

That is a beautiful stove.

 

[izzyq]

I hope you get your issues resolved quickly. I would not be happy either if I was having problems and I felt they weren't being addressed. So far I have been 100% happy with my Manchester. It has done a great job heating my house and I haven't had any issues. Once we are done with the season I will make sure we do a through look at everything and make sure we still feel that way.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

 

[Woody Stover]

These mechanical issues don't sound like problems that couldn't be remedied, but PYRO's dealings with the company so far aren't reassuring. It's a big investment and you'd think it would be in their interest to keep their customers happy. If they don't step up, I'd have a hard time recommending the stove to a buddy of mine who's been thinking about putting one in.
I'll talk to the dealer in town (same place DMB got his) and see how many they've got out there so far, if there have been any problems with those, and also ask how their dealings with Hearthstone have been. I believe this dealer has a pretty good reputation.
I fell in love with the stove when I first saw it and I really hope it turns out to be a great one, with the company standing behind it when needed. I don't off-hand recall reading much here about Hearthstone customer service....

 

[undy]

If they don't step up, I'd have a hard time recommending the stove to a buddy of mine who's been thinking about putting one in.

Sorry to say, I'd have a hard time recommending one too. I've been waiting over 6 months now for a lower air inlet, and the Hearthstone won't even return my emails. The dealer I ordered the part through says Hearthstone claims they shipped it but can't show delivery.

What good is a wood stove in winter that you can't get parts for?

 

[TNTall]

Hello all. I am new to the forum.

I just built a new house and put a Manchester in it. If I can get the fire going good, it will sometimes burn up the wood very completely with almost nothing left. My problem is that 24" logs won't burn correctly - being too far away from the air coming in at the middle. Long logs will burn up in the middle, but they will not collapse because the ends of the logs hold them up. And then the fire will often go out even though it was blazing great to begin with.

I've never had a stove with the ash cleanout pan. It seems like part of the problem is that the hot coals are burning up in the middle of the stove and falling through the grates leaving no heat there to keep the fire going.

I chose this stove because of the 24" max log length being better than most, so having to cut the logs shorter would be a disappointment. Using 24" logs is the only way to fill up the firebox volume anyway. Has anybody else been having this issue?

Thanks, Greg