Pot of water

[Ashful]

As a kid, I remember a few of my aunts and uncles with woodstoves (likely from the 1930's or thereabouts) always keeping kettles of water atop the stove, to keep some humidity in the house during winter. Earlier this week, someone else posted advice to put a large pot of water atop your stove when it went into run-away condition, to help bring down the stove temperature.

Now, I'm no cook or chemist, but I do seem to recall water boiling around 212F, and my stovetop is rarely that cool. Seems to me that keeping a kettle of water on top of the stove is just asking it to boil away in short order, and that putting a large pot of water on top a run-away stove is likely to boil over, possibly damaging the stove.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Doesn't boil away near as fast as you would think. we probably average around 350 degrees stove top through the burn cycle, and refill our steamer no more than once a day. We have a soapstone steamer, and the steamer itself is rarely above 200 degrees, regardless of stove top..

See, the water acts as a heat sink... just like you can't hardly burn wet wood (high moisture content) because the steaming off of the moisture keeps the wood fibers to cool to combust. Native americans boiled water in hide pouches, over open flames. Same principal. In science class we boiled water, over a bunsen burner, in a paper cup. Now, as soon as the water was gone.. so was the cup.

At this moment, our stove top is 400 and climbing, the side of of the steamer is 152..

 

[rijim]

For water to change states liquid - gas(steam) it consumes 970 btu once at the saturation temperature is met; water will never measure more than 212f or it changes state. To continue to off gas, the stove top must continue delivering energy at this rate; the larger surface area multiple pots provides, allows for greated transfer of energy.

 

[bmwloco]

Pyrex bowl on top of my old Resolute. Sterling engine fan directly behind it. If I burn all day, I'll fill it twice. I throw it in the dishwasher once a week. Previously I had a stainless bowl - that thing would sing like a drunken canary. House feels nice. Warm too.