Highbeam
Super Member
Soapstone is a funny thing. You don't rapidly heat it to 600 like with an iron stove and then it cooks you out, it slowly warms up and then stays constantly warm. The heat is very radiant so you move closer to the stove to be warmer. As far as what it will heat, well that depends a lot on your construction methods and the climate. The firebox is 2.3 cubic feet which puts it in the medium category. I don't think it would be too much for your area since the stove responds well to lower burn rates and maybe more importantly, if you have any aspirations of this thing holding a fire overnight then you wouldn't want to go any smaller. Burning my local softwoods I have yet to get a fire to last overnight but with the soapstone the stove is still warm in the morning. My home is a mere 1700 SF with very poor windows and insulation, downright drafty early 60s construction. I'm more worried about it being too small.
With Hearthstone, the next smaller size is really small and the next bigger is really big. In your shoes, in Vermont, I would choose the Heritage.
The legs on the stove are mandatory and already taken into account when the hearth requirements are set. The cast iron ashpan will not support the stove's weight. There are only a few stoves in production that can have their legs removed and set right on the hearth and in those cases, the R-requirements are really high like 6.6.
With Hearthstone, the next smaller size is really small and the next bigger is really big. In your shoes, in Vermont, I would choose the Heritage.
The legs on the stove are mandatory and already taken into account when the hearth requirements are set. The cast iron ashpan will not support the stove's weight. There are only a few stoves in production that can have their legs removed and set right on the hearth and in those cases, the R-requirements are really high like 6.6.
