Review: Hearthstone Bennington
Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Hearthstone Bennington
The Bennington took some time to get used to. All of the comments above are correct but once you determine a pattern for fire building and stick with it, it's simple.
I now start the fire with the front doors both cracked open about 1". This provides about the same draw that the Ash Drawer door delivers without the roaring wind. The doors must remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes. If not, then (as noted above) the fire will smolder.
Once the fire is going I adjust the damper from full open to about 3/4 open. In this position I get a wonderful swirling of flames as the gasses are ignited. The self-cleaning feature is wonderful. I never have to clean glass doors.
The side loading feature is well designed and allows wood to be added with a minimum of fuss and with no smoke being added to the room.
My only real complaint is that the handled tend to loosen up and the ball-bearings that ensure smooth operation can drop out. A drop of Lock-Tight or similar product works well. The removable handle on the front door is clever and a storage spot is conveniently placed ion the lower front-left area.
I would purchase this stove again. The design is lovely and more than compensates for not having a fire that immediately buns at full intensity.