Soapstone,where to get some...

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

I already checked with a few stone supply companies but all they got is granite.My husband wants to add a soapstone slab to the top of our new wood stove but I have no idea of where to get it.
Also-would granite be the same as soapstone as far as heat storage goes?
Thanks!

Grisu · Jul 21, 2015

If the soapstone is just for heat storage and not for aesthetics it is not worth it. The amount of heat stored in that soapstone slab compared with the heat stored in the rest of your home is so minimal you won't notice any difference.

Is there anything about the performance of your stove that you want to see improved? Maybe we can help with that.

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

Grisu said:
If the soapstone is just for heat storage and not for aesthetics it is not worth it. The amount of heat stored in that soapstone slab compared with the heat stored in the rest of your home is so minimal you won't notice any difference.

Is there anything about the performance of your stove that you want to see improved? Maybe we can help with that.

None than I can think of at the moment but let me ask my husband ;-)
Btw,your Avatar "Grisu" reminds me of cartoon I used to see in Germany while growing up,"Grisu-der kleine Drache"

Grisu · Jul 21, 2015

Genau da kam die Idee auch her. War bei der Anmeldung hier der einzige witzige Avatar, der was mit Feuer zu tun hatte, der mir in dem Moment eingefallen ist. Es sieht so aus, als ob wir beide zur gleichen Zeit aufgewachsen sind.

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

Grisu said:
Genau da kam die Idee auch her. War bei der Anmeldung hier der einzige witzige Avatar, der was mit Feuer zu tun hatte, der mir in dem Moment eingefallen ist. Es sieht so aus, als ob wir beide zur gleichen Zeit aufgewachsen sind.

Na sowas,dann kannst Du dich sicherlich auch noch an den Michel aus Loenneberga erinnern und Pippi Langstrumpf ;-)
Ich komme uebrigens aus Hessen.

webby3650 · Jul 21, 2015

Come on now, we don't want trouble in here, not in any language. ;lol

Retreadsme · Jul 21, 2015

Yall beenden !

Grisu · Jul 21, 2015

webby3650 said:
Come on now, we don't want trouble in here, not in any language.

https://translate.google.com/

However, for the interesting stuff we will use PM. ;lol

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

Nothing to worry about everyone,we were just talking about Grisus Avatar ;-)

DougA · Jul 21, 2015

To get back to your question - lots of us have soapstone stoves and they can be wonderful, especially if heating 24/7. Any non-combustible, heavy (solid mass) object will retain heat. You can put bricks or ceramic tiles on top and it will work just as well, perhaps not so attractive. Check local kitchen counter renovators who offer soapstone counter tops. They cut out for sinks, etc and often toss the scrap out and it will be 1 1/2" thick which is perfect.

If you do add mass, wait until the stove hot and the room has warmed up, otherwise the heat goes to the mass, not the room. The extra mass will retain heat and gradually give it off but the difference will be minimal. Soapstone pieces can easily be cut with a wet saw but I would not suggest you use anything but a wet saw to do it. A grinder is not much fun.

JA600L · Jul 21, 2015

Call Woodstock soapstone company. They make soapstone stoves and countertops.
I'm sure you could give them a dimension and they would cut it to whatever you want then ship it to you.

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

DougA said:
To get back to your question - lots of us have soapstone stoves and they can be wonderful, especially if heating 24/7. Any non-combustible, heavy (solid mass) object will retain heat. You can put bricks or ceramic tiles on top and it will work just as well, perhaps not so attractive. Check local kitchen counter renovators who offer soapstone counter tops. They cut out for sinks, etc and often toss the scrap out and it will be 1 1/2" thick which is perfect.

If you do add mass, wait until the stove hot and the room has warmed up, otherwise the heat goes to the mass, not the room. The extra mass will retain heat and gradually give it off but the difference will be minimal. Soapstone pieces can easily be cut with a wet saw but I would not suggest you use anything but a wet saw to do it. A grinder is not much fun.

Thanks for the great info!!

AinNC · Jul 21, 2015

JA600L said:
Call Woodstock soapstone company. They make soapstone stoves and countertops.
I'm sure you could give them a dimension and they would cut it to whatever you want then ship it to you.

Thanks for the info!!

kennyp2339 · Jul 21, 2015

Most steel stoves are radiant type, which means the heat radiates off the top & sides, some stoves with larger windows have convection abilities. If you own a steel type stove you maybe doing more harm than good by covering the top with soapstone, The stone could actually keep heat in the stove creating a false over firing event, or much more likely you will not feel the same heat out of the stove, there for you may without realizing it burn the stove hotter which could lead to warping / cracking, using more of your wood supply than what you need. IMO its a little over kill, the effort doesn't out weigh the benefit.

Grisu · Jul 21, 2015

kennyp2339 said:
Most steel stoves are radiant type, which means the heat radiates off the top & sides, some stoves with larger windows have convection abilities. If you own a steel type stove you maybe doing more harm than good by covering the top with soapstone, The stone could actually keep heat in the stove creating a false over firing event, or much more likely you will not feel the same heat out of the stove, there for you may without realizing it burn the stove hotter which could lead to warping / cracking, using more of your wood supply than what you need. IMO its a little over kill, the effort doesn't out weigh the benefit.

Agreed. Soapstone stoves have been engineered and tested with the panels in place. As they change the heat transfer and heat retention characteristics of the stove, simply throwing a large slab of stone on top of a steel stove may easily backfire. Not to mention that the soapstone does not make the stove to generate more heat, it simply retains it but so do many other things all over the house. As to its potential impact on the home heating:

Soapstone has a thermal capacity of approx. 0.2 BTU/lb and F. Thus, a 100 lb slab at 500 F over room temp will hold 10,000 BTU that can be released into the room. If it would cool down during the next 10 hours that would add on average 1000 BTU per hour to the air in the room. To put that in perspective: 1 kWh of electricity = 3400 BTU. So your expensive soapstone slab is holding the equivalent of 3 kWh in stored heat. Simply running a ~300 W appliance (e. g. your TV) for that time will add the same amount of heat. A secondary burn stove on high will release ~40,000 BTU per hour; even on low its more like 10,000 BTU/hr. 40x to 10x more than what a cooling soapstone would provide. (100 lb and 500 F over room temp are also both pretty high estimates.)

Given that soapstone is not that cheap I don't see the benefit. Neither have the few members here who tried that approach.

Squirrel · Jul 21, 2015

http://www.soapstonesupply.com/index.php

Ashful · Jul 21, 2015

Eins hefeweizen bitte.

Okay... that's all I remember.

webby3650 · Jul 21, 2015

AinNC said:
Nothing to worry about everyone,we were just talking about Grisus Avatar ;-)

It was a movie quote, Tombstone. One of my favorites!

mwhitnee · Jul 21, 2015

Grisu said:
Genau da kam die Idee auch her. War bei der Anmeldung hier der einzige witzige Avatar, der was mit Feuer zu tun hatte, der mir in dem Moment eingefallen ist. Es sieht so aus, als ob wir beide zur gleichen Zeit aufgewachsen sind.

Cut that out lol

Grisu · Jul 21, 2015

Ashful said:
Eins hefeweizen bitte.

Okay... that's all I remember.

As long as you are in Bavaria that's all you need.

firefighterjake · Jul 22, 2015

Have you tried places that install granite countertops? I called around and found a few places that had soapstone in stock . . . ended up going with a place that had some scrap soapstone that he was willing to cut to shape for around $70 or $90 (I think . . . it was a long time ago.)

That said . . . as mentioned . . . if you are thinking of using it for the thermal retention properties . . . it doesn't really make a difference. The slab I have sitting on top of my stove (with a couple of stone pads to lift it up maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch to allow cooling of the stove and avoiding any over heating) looks good, but it does very little for the heat retention.

If you are thinking about heat retention one possible suggestion would be to ask folks here about a soapstone hearth . . . I seem to remember at least one or two folks doing this . . . cannot remember if they found that the stone helped with thermal retention or if it just looked mighty sharp.

webby3650 · Jul 22, 2015

I have had access to some, it was fun to work with. I've got some laying around but shipping would crazy expensive! I lined my Fireplace with it.

Woody Stover · Jul 22, 2015

Ashful said:
Eins hefeweizen bitte. Okay... that's all I remember.

I remember danke...I think it's a basketball term.

brad wilton · Jul 23, 2015

Pippi longstockings memories stupid monkey ;lol

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