soapstone woodstoves

[split4fun]

i am thinking on buying a new woodstove any pros or cons on HearthStone Heritage woodstove.

 

[Noko]

Soap stone stove is nice.

I have HS2 from 1984 heating 1/2 of 2,900 sqft house.
I use it from late October through late March.
December through February, it runs 24/7.
It looks beautiful, too.
HS makes good soap stone stoves.

Noko

 

[MotorSeven]

I put one in my log house in NE TX, 1624 sq ft. We used it 3 years and I had zero issues. I only wish I could have taken it with me when the house sold. I am building another log house here in Tn & a Hearthstone is in the plans. Get a cast iron kettle and keep it full of water on the stove as it will really dry the air out.

RD

 

[rick2752]

Havent ever had a soapstone stove either but I agree with the hype. My iron stove holds heat for along time after the fire goes out also. Burn time is near 10hrs also by the way they classify it, which is still hot coals.

 

[Marc]

Well, I have some first hand experience burning in a VC Encore (cat) and a Hearthstone Heritage:

The soapstone takes longer to heat up. It takes longer to cool down. It's just a function of emmissivity and conductivity more than thermal mass, as the two stoves weigh almost the same.

The Heritage, burned under fairly similar conditions, stays hotter long, but it is a tradeoff. Where I think soapstone excels is in an uninsulated house like mine that doesn't hold heat well.

If your house is tight and well insulated, you don't have to worry about your stove holding heat as much since the house will. In a house like mine, it's a benefit to have a stove that holds heat longer since the house doesn't do that very well.

Anyway, that's my take on it. I don't think soapstone is all hype, however, there definitely is some hype.

Of course, I love the look as well.

 

[Marc]

And specific to the Heritage... the only things I wish it had but doesn't are andirons and a better ash pan. I don't even use the ash pan anymore, I find a shovel is easier.

 

[Highbeam]

I own a heritage and really do like it. I've shoved 11.5 cords through it so far and it works just as advertised. The people that don't believe the hype have never run a stone stove, how would you possibly understand if you have never used it? I don't tell women how to use tampons.

The pros to the heritage are the side door, the huge front window, the looks (subjective), the good company that actually has people that will talk to you, and the very small clearances to combustibles.

Andirons would be good, the ash pan is not usable but I propose that ash pans are not important, and the stove is only 2.3 CF so it is a medium to small stove. They aren't particularly cheap compared to steel stoves.

Nice little stove.

 

[Tim in NY]

I've been running a Hearthstone II since 1988 in our old farmhouse. Its gone through about 100 full cord of hardwood in that time. I did have to pull the top off about 3 years ago and have some work done on the baffle, but thats about all the trouble I've had with it.

I agree with some of the prior comments. Takes longer to heat up when cold - a lot longer. But it throws heat for hours after the fire is dead. Its especially noticeable in the spring and fall - the stove stays warm, warm enough to heat the room all day even if I let the fire go out in the morning.
The rear clearances are less than a steel stove. Mine is about 12"' from the wall (with a double heat shield). And it looks nice. I have the brown enamel with brownstone, and it looks real good. I also think the surfaces do not get nearly as hot as a steel stove. That is a plus for me - the room its in is small, and a steel stove would drive us out of there.

When (if) I ever need to replace this, I'll be looking at another Hearthstone if they are still in business.

Tim

 

[Mossy]

I've been running a Woodstock soapstone for the last 6 years and love it. They are at woodstove.com. Anyway, before that I had a Lopi cast iror stove and yes, the soapstone certainly does take longer to heat up but also continues to heat long after the iron is cool. If you haven't spent a season with each one, frankly, you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[slofr8]

This will be my third year with my Heritage. It takes about two hours for it to heat up an start raising the temp. in my 1500 sq. ft. house. If we're gone all day and come home to a cold house, it takes a while to warm up. If I wake up in the morning and find it cold, everyone would be gone to work or school by the time it would be warm. But you can also make this work for you.
Example : Last night it was 38F out and I made a fire around 7:00 PM. It was 68F inside. At 10:00 I put more wood and it was 73F inside. This morning at 6:00 the fire was long dead and it was still 73. 300F stove top. It might not be for everyone but it works well for me. I just learned to use this to my advantage.
One other thing. The fact that it is slow to heat up and holds its heat well, allows me to burn popple (aspen) very efficiently. Popple burns hot and fast but the stove spreads the heat out evenly. Great for fall and spring. I have lots of popple available and it's easy to work up so I use it.
Good luck. Dan.

 

[wobdee]

I've been burning a Woodstock Fireview for over 4 years now and love it. Very easy to operate and achieve 10-12 hour burns with good dry hardwood. The heat is different than steel and iron, more steady and even without the searing heat spikes you get with steel/iron. Yes, soapstone takes a little longer to get up to temp so just plan ahead 1 hour and you will be fine. Once the 24/7 heating season starts you don't have to worry about it because the soapstone will always be hot.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Well, I have some first hand experience burning in a VC Encore (cat) and a Hearthstone Heritage:


The soapstone takes longer to heat up. It takes longer to cool down. It's just a function of emmissivity and conductivity more than thermal mass, as the two stoves weigh almost the same.

The Heritage, burned under fairly similar conditions, stays hotter long, but it is a tradeoff. Where I think soapstone excels is in an uninsulated house like mine that doesn't hold heat well.

If your house is tight and well insulated, you don't have to worry about your stove holding heat as much since the house will. In a house like mine, it's a benefit to have a stove that holds heat longer since the house doesn't do that very well.

Anyway, that's my take on it. I don't think soapstone is all hype, however, there definitely is some hype.

Of course, I love the look as well.

+1. A balanced, fair post from a soapstone owner! Don't see that very often.


I don't think anything comes close to soapstone for beauty, but when I need heat in the morning, I don't want to wait for it. So, it's cast iron or steel for me.

Maybe someday somebody will make a soapstone with the back or front or something out of steel, so you can get quick heat AND have that long heat-holding of soapstone. I'd love a stove like that!

 

[MotorSeven]

MarK, Hearthstone makes the Phoenix model. Cast iron front, 60,000 btu's an hour. I've never used or seen one in use though.
Yes, I drank the soapstone cool-aid. I never found that re-fire in the mornings a big deal. We just left the front door open, snapped the screen in and got a roaring fire going within 20 min because there was always a glowing half a log laying there. I am sure that there are all steel stoves that maintain heat for 8+ hrs, but the one I have in my workshop can't. I have to get up sometime during the night and feed it, and if it's anything other than seasoned oak or an equivelent, I usually have to feed it twice. But it's a big old copy of some other design from 20+ years ago.
For me the Hearthstone did what it said it would do, so I give it 2 snaps and a swirl.

RD

 

[Zodiac45]

I've been running a Woodstock soapstone for the last 6 years and love it. They are at woodstove.com. Anyway, before that I had a Lopi cast iror stove and yes, the soapstone certainly does take longer to heat up but also continues to heat long after the iron is cool. If you haven't spent a season with each one, frankly, you have no idea what you're talking about.

My next stove will be a woodstock soaper. My SIL has an older classic and it's a beast. The newer models look the same but are EPA jobbers. More efficient. Gonna replace the old Jotul 118 with one next summer. They burn round the clock and are still hot in the morning.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

MarK, Hearthstone makes the Phoenix model. Cast iron front, 60,000 btu's an hour.

That is one nice looking stove! :love1:

We are currently considering moving our stove to make our eating area larger. The stove basically bisects the room into our eating area, and a ... pretty useless area. If I move it to the far wall, we'll have a very nice, large eating area, and the heat distribution in the house won't really be any different.

If'n I could afford it, I'd like to do that by building up the new hearth first, and putting a new stove and chimney there, THEN dismantling the old.

I think that Phoenix would be at the top of my list if I go that way....

I am sure that there are all steel stoves that maintain heat for 8+ hrs,

My Fisher routinely does 10 hours. If I really stuff it, I can get 12. That's measured from fresh load to useful embers, not stone cold. It's not pretty, but it sure gets the job done.

 

[fletcher0780]

I think that Phoenix would be at the top of my list if I go that way....

Sitting in front of mine right now, first fire of the year. It takes about 3-4 hours to start building heat, but it so nice once it does.

 

[mackvision78]

We will be going on our 4th season using a VC Dutchwest XL model in an 1100 square foot house, and that thing makes some heat, and keeps it at well for being an iron stove. It is a good stove except for that darn catylst, it likes to back puff frequently when reloaded and stinks the place up quite a bit, but it can take 2 days for the coals to go completely out if I dont feed it, other than that, i can restart with practically nothing. My only other complaint is I have had to re-gasket the whole thing already, and the ash pan door doesnt seal right. I always have to pick up on it a bit for it to seal.
Next go around will be a soaper, as I was talked out of it in the begining when I bought the DW. Said that soaps put out a softer heat, as to steel's "hard" heat. Thats my take on it!

 

[Marc]

Next go around will be a soaper, as I was talked out of it in the begining when I bought the DW. Said that soaps put out a softer heat, as to steel's "hard" heat. Thats my take on it!

The only "kinds" of heat (transfer) are conductive, convective and radiative

 

[split4fun]

thanks for the info

thanks for all the pro and cons of a soapstone. I plan on buying one early next summer when they have a sale.