Englander 13.....Thinking about adding Soapstone?

[Hiram Maxim]

Boys and Girls,

I was thinking about welding some rails on the sides of My Englander 13 so that I could slide some 1" to 2" thick pieces of soapstone on.

Also Thinking about getting a piece of soapstone cut to fit the top of the stove.

Wanted to get some of your opinions on this Idea

Is it worth it? Pro's & Con's???

Thank you,Hiram

 

[BrotherBart]

Why not just replace the bricks with soapstone? I have always wondered how that would work.

 

[Hiram Maxim]

Why not just replace the bricks with soapstone? I have always wondered how that would work.

I think over half the appeal is the look of the stone! :cheese:

BB, really a good idea you have there.........

 

[Jags]

My only question would be....if you are slowing the convection of heat from inside out, how will (if anything) that affect the internal temps of the stove. Dunno. This question has been posed before, and I never did get an answer from any of them smart stove mfgs. (Paging Mike and Corie, Mike and Corie to isle 3 please)

 

[Tfin]

Good questions. Would consider doing this to my 13 if there were no ill effects.

 

[Todd]

There's only one way to find out. I think it's a good idea having the slabs on the outside, it will suck up some of that searing radiant heat and even it out some. If soapstone is used on the inside it might effect combustion efficiency and give you a dirty burn.

 

[cmonSTART]

just remember, modifying a listed stove voids its listing and any clearances it was tested to bla bla bla bla....

 

[Hiram Maxim]

just remember, modifying a listed stove voids its listing and any clearances it was tested to bla bla bla bla....

Maybe Mike or Cory will chime in???????

 

[Todd]

Try sending them a PM.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Many, many moons ago people used to put soapstone on their stoves and used them for bed warmers, using them in the old Model A's and Model T's and such because of lack of heat in those tin cans. I well remember in my youth using some of these things. Our's even had handles to carry them and those stones worked remarkably well.

Some folks used to pick up stones from the fields and put them on the stove hoping to soak up heat and then release it during the night (back before running water people didn't heat their homes at night).

So the question begs: will it work? Stone on outside or inside? I think stone on the outside should work but would question it on the inside.

Good luck Hiram. I hope you get some better answers than I can give.

 

[karri0n]

1" to 2" thick isn't going to provide all that much thermal mass if you're looking for heat storage. It will, however, look nice, even out a bit of the heat blast, and the psychological effect of the improvement you are noticig due to something you did yourself is definitely a big plus. I'm not sure on the weight capacity of the thing, but if it's heat storage you're going for, 4"+ of soapstone, or a vented, insulated water tank sitting on top would be where it's at.

 

[BrotherBart]

The two Hearthstone inserts are cast iron with soapstone firebrick. And I believe, but am not sure, that one of their free standers is too.