Hearthstone Lincoln first burn and initial review with heat gun.

[@JanewayEPC]

I've had this stove since March of 2024. At first I was thrilled, it truly does put out a lot of heat. But as I've learned to live with it, the design flaws really come to light. First off is the catalytic converter. It is a simple rectangle of folded metal that sits in a sled. The silver wire handle you see at the top of the stove is how you slide the sled in and out of the chimney. There is a gasket around the top of the sled, and this gasket quickly wears out and begins catching on the opening and making it more and more difficult and eventually impossible to move the sled. Twice now I've had to fuss and fidget until I could get it pulled out enough to remove the piece of gasket that comes out of the sled and tangles into a knot. It's also a very clumsy way to engage/disengage the converter. It has to be left out until the stove meets a certain temperature, shown by a little dial on the side of the chimney. This means that the whole time you're loading the stove and it's warming up, that stupid handle is sticking out into your living space, and is constantly in the way when loading the stove. The sled channels also get out of whack over time and even if the gasket isn't stuck, the sled becomes very difficult to use. It's a very poor design. I had this stove professionally installed, and went to them with the problems on the sled. It took over a week for Hearthstone to respond to their call about it, and when they did, it turns out this is a known problem and there's some sort of retro-fit kit available. Unfortunately, they still haven't shipped that to my dealer and it's been three weeks now. That's the second red flag, that the company can't be bothered to provide good customer service to a dealer that sells their stoves. Thirdly, don't believe that this stove will burn 16" logs. It has a very tiny firebox. Yes, you can get a 16" log in, if the stove is empty and you put it in at an angle. But if there are any coals built up, or partial logs in place, forget about it, it's not going to happen. Fourth, there is a baffle, that looks and feels like a piece of drywall crossed with a bit of cement board, that forms the top of the interior firebox. The firebox is so very small that it's almost impossible to load without bumping into that baffle. Even though I have been very careful, the baffle broke and fell into the firebox after about three months of use. I couldn't get a hold of anyone at Hearthstone, but was able to find the correct baffle on the jungle website for about 50 bucks. All that said, I do use the stove as the primary heat source for my home. It keeps the main living area warm and I can leave the furnace turned down, or off, depending on the weather, so it has saved me a lot of money in natural gas. I've adapted my wood cutting and splitting to make small splits no more than 14" long, which has alleviated a lot of frustration with normal sized logs. It is easy to clean out with a small coal shovel, and if using good seasoned wood, it produces a lot of heat. The soap stone sides continue to radiate warmth for a while after the fire goes out. So if you have a source of smaller firewood, and can live with the catalytic converter problems, this is a good little stove.

[@Zachariah-k6j]

How big of a space are you heating?

[@outdoors2wander]

The cabin is only a 12x16x15