cast iron kettle - does it make a difference

hemlock · Feb 28, 2011

Hello,
I keep a cast iron kettle boiling away on the top of my stove. I have often wondered if it makes a real difference with regards to overall humidity in the house. Any one have any observations? Thanks.

raybonz · Feb 28, 2011

hemlock said:
Hello,
I keep a cast iron kettle boiling away on the top of my stove. I have often wondered if it makes a real difference with regards to overall humidity in the house. Any one have any observations? Thanks.

I add over 2 gallons a day via my water pan so absolutely it makes a big difference.. My humidity runs around 46 to 48%..

Ray

micaaronfl · Feb 28, 2011

man i have a cats iron kettle i keep on my merrimack and i cant even get it to boil.

firefighterjake · Feb 28, 2011

A little bit . . . however this year my wife and I have noticed that the house seems to be dryer than in previous years and we'll be looking at purchasing a humidifier in time for next year's heating season.

mtcates · Feb 28, 2011

firefighterjake said:
A little bit . . . however this year my wife and I have noticed that the house seems to be dryer than in previous years and we'll be looking at purchasing a humidifier in time for next year's heating season.

Most humidifiers are a pain to clean. They must be cleaned frequently and thoroughly or they are a health hazard. Do your research before you purchase one. Does anyone know of a humidifier that is easy to clean?

djblech · Feb 28, 2011

I have an old Club cast aluminum pot with a top handle that I keep on the stove. I fill this 3 times per day. I noticed the maple flooring in the kitchen shrunk more this year than it ever has so I try and keep water on the stove.
Doug

madison · Feb 28, 2011

If you have a small volume to humidify in a mild climate, and a tight house, maybe it will work. If you have a large volume, leaky house in a cold climate, no it will not.

I am happy with our MoistAir unit, rated for 3000 sq ft, it holds a lot of water in cassettes that are easy to remove and fill, it is easy to clean, and does not spray mist, it is an evaporative type. Home Cheapo ~ $140

Adios Pantalones · Feb 28, 2011

Do most people want a steamer design that puts out the most water vapor possible?

Fsappo · Feb 28, 2011

It makes a difference. How much difference depends on a lot of things. I just ran the wood stove in one part of the house and a vent free gas heater in the other. Balanced things out nicely.

Creature · Feb 28, 2011

No need for a kettle in my climate, indoor humidity here never seems to go under 50%. I'd sell you my (installer recommended) kettle cheap, but the shipping would be more than it's worth

micaaronfl · Feb 28, 2011

do your kettles actually boil? i mean do you see steam coming out?

sixman · Feb 28, 2011

http://www.fireplacemall.com/Kettles/kettles.html

JeffRey30747 · Mar 1, 2011

micaaronfl said:
do your kettles actually boil? i mean do you see steam coming out?

Mine doesn't boil vigorously enough that I see any water vapor (steam is invisible) but it makes enough noise that I can tell if the stove is up to temp from the other room.

hemlock · Mar 1, 2011

micaaronfl said:
do your kettles actually boil? i mean do you see steam coming out?

Yup. It will boil over if I fill it too full. Lots of visible steam.

ChillyGator · Mar 1, 2011

I use the open style cast iron steamer from Lowes. It sits on a cast iron trivet to keep it from boiling.. I have to fill it two to three times a day when the stove is in use.

cptoneleg · Mar 1, 2011

I set my cast iron kettle on a soapstone tile so it wont boil over on my stove , When I burn hot and 7/24s probably go through 2 - 3 gallons a day just a guess. Does it help I don't know.

certified106 · Mar 1, 2011

We have a cast iron kettle that gets filled 2-3 times a day. When burning at outdoor temps above 15Â°F it usually doesn't boil However when the stove is rocking and rolling for max heat during outdoor temps of -15Â°F it has a propensity to boil all over the top of the stove. We usually have to move it off the burner plate in the middle of the stove top and set off to the side to keep it from overflowing.

xjcamaro89 · Mar 1, 2011

I also have a old cast iron kettle that i set on top of my stove. Yes it boils quite nicely, and lots of steam is visable.

I had another question about them though. Has anyone ever noticed if having a cast iron kettle on the stove robs heat from entering the room. I know it sounds crazy but we just started using the kettle about a month ago. Now this might all be coincidental, and i know alot of factors go into heat output, but since we started keeping water in the pot it seems like it takes a little bit longer to get up to temp in the room and the temp stays slightly lower by a couple degrees. Now this could be affected by wood type and dryness and alot of other things but i just wondered if anyone else noticed anythin like this.

OhioBurner© · Mar 1, 2011

Boiling depends alot about the pot. On our old stove we have two, one traditional looking cast iron tea kettle and another that is like a big oval pot with a removable lid (which happens to be a large cast iron steam engine train). The kettle will steam visibly really well (light boil) the train pot will not. Both are side by side on the stovetop. Kettle goes through about 1.5 fillings per day while the pot wont go through a filling until about 3 days. Both directly on stovetop.

hemlock · Mar 1, 2011

xjcamaro said:
I also have a old cast iron kettle that i set on top of my stove. Yes it boils quite nicely, and lots of steam is visable.

I had another question about them though. Has anyone ever noticed if having a cast iron kettle on the stove robs heat from entering the room. I know it sounds crazy but we just started using the kettle about a month ago. Now this might all be coincidental, and i know alot of factors go into heat output, but since we started keeping water in the pot it seems like it takes a little bit longer to get up to temp in the room and the temp stays slightly lower by a couple degrees. Now this could be affected by wood type and dryness and alot of other things but i just wondered if anyone else noticed anythin like this.

I can't see the kettle causing this to happen. If anything, I would suspect slightly the opposite, given that the relative humidity in the house would increase, making the air "feel" warmer.

xjcamaro89 · Mar 1, 2011

I know, its probably all in my head

redhorse · Mar 1, 2011

We have a Hunter humidifier (carefree model) with an antimicrobial permawick filter. We had been using it for years with no real issues. We don't use it much now, though, as we were having to fill it twice a day (it's a 3 or 4 gallon model).

We found that our 1 gallon cast iron kettle did little to add moisture to the air, even when we filled it 2 or 3 times per day. With a top load stove, it's more difficult to keep a kettle there anyway.

You could always vent the dryer into the the house (electric dryer only of course); just clamp a vacuum cleaner bag on the end and make sure to blow the air from the laundry room to the rest of the house and keep tabs on the humidity to make sure it doesn't get too high.

redhotz · Mar 1, 2011

Most humidifiers are a pain to clean. They must be cleaned frequently and thoroughly or they are a health hazard. Do your research before you purchase one. Does anyone know of a humidifier that is easy to clean?[/quote]

I have this Sharper Image humidifier. It is a cool air, easy to clean and straight tap water. http://www.sharperimage.com/si/view...ium=CPC&utm_campaign=NonBranded&Keyword;=+the +sharper +image +humidifier&cm_mmc=CPC-_-Google-_-NonBranded-_-+the +sharper +image +humidifier&gclid=CKDAy4SxrqcCFcbd4AodyH2BUw

Ratherbfishin · Mar 2, 2011

I stopped using the cast iron kettle. It gets nasty with rust and is a PITA to get back to "seasoned". I use a stainless steel pot now but even now it gets salts/minerals built up on it. But it does put moisture in the air. I know because the windows will fog up on really cold days/nights.

jdinspector · Mar 2, 2011

Franks said:
It makes a difference. How much difference depends on a lot of things. I just ran the wood stove in one part of the house and a vent free gas heater in the other. Balanced things out nicely.

Franks, are you saying that the wood stove with a humidifier adds moisture, but that the vent free heater removes moisture? If so, I think you're mistaken. If it's truly a vent free heater, the byproducts of combustion that are vented into the house are carbon dioxide and water vapor (moisture). Kind of similar to when you turn on a gas oven and see the kitchen windows fog up.

Am I reading your post incorrectly?

cast iron kettle - does it make a difference

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