Soapstone users

Is soapstone the way to go? It takes longer to heat up but retains its heat and has a longer life span. Hearthstone Heritage (stove I am considering) has a soapstone surface, can you cook on this surface in case of a power outage.
I have narrowed down to Hearthstone Heritage or a Jotul Oslo. Tough choice for me. Any advice

We have the Hearthstone Equinox and we cook on it often. You do want to avoid sliding cast iron pans on the surface as it may scratch the soapstone. We are very happy with the radiant heat that this stove holds on overnight burns and the heat is very "soft". It is my first stove so I can't do any comparisons as others here will be able to.

Good Luck, Jeff

You can cook on the soapstone - As said, be careful not to scratch it (although you can buff out scratches it is a pain). And of course - like any stove, spills are a royal pain - you can't just turn off the heat and clean it up!

I had a cast stove before - as to heating characteristics I see both cast and stone have pros and cons. I am a 24/7 burner so once stove is up to temp the 'heat up time' isn't as big a deal although it doesn't change temp as fast (heating or cooling) so it is more of a delayed change thing. I guess that is part of the 'soft heat' description. Overall I like the stone. However in my case I think I'm seeing FAR more difference/benefit from going to a cat stove than from changing stove material. I expect that had I gone to a steel BK with a cat I would still find that the heat was 'softer' than before simply because of the ability to regulate it much better.

We love our Mansfield! Burn 24/7

Both the Heritage and Oslo were in my final few choices . . . I ended up going with the Oslo . . . no real reason . . . well maybe because of the price and fact that I could hardly find any reviews that were really negative . . . that said . . . I must admit I do like the look of the soapstone and Heritage in particular . . . it's a very pretty stove and I suspect either would be a good choice if the size fits your home.

Exactly the two stoves that I ended up choosing from. I found a dealer that had the oslo I looked, then I went to a dealer that had the heritage, my wife and I both agreed on Jotul. We have only had the 2 breakin fires so don't know much to tell you except it is abeautiful stove sitting in our living room. By the way after reading so much about soapstone, I made my hearth out of soapstone tiles, started out , just on the floor 4' x 6', looked great so I got more went all the way up the wall. Weather or not I will get any heat from these tiles is yet to be determined but it looks good.

Good Luck on Your decision

Cpt

What are the chances we could see some pics!?!? That sounds like a nice setup.
As for our EQ, we love it. I have yet to cook on it due to fear of scratching/staining of the stone. Would I make a different choice if the op. presented it's self......na
Good luck with your quest!

I just have to get some help getting them down to size, Anyone have any advise on something to make pictures easyer. Something to download that makes them easy. A Kid at work helped my post pictures of my woodshed . Kid (30 or so) And Yes the Hearthstones really caught my eye . I wanted both. Thats why the tiles. Yes I will post oictures when I can.

I think the looks of the soapstone stoves are really nice, in addition to the soft heat you read about on this forum. I think the Hearthstone stoves are great stoves and very easy on the eyes.

Good luck,
Bill

Have you looked at the Woodstock line? I have 2 soaps and love them. It's no big deal with a little longer warm up time, just plan ahead about 30 minutes. Heck, if you have single wall pipe you will get some instant heat off that while waiting on the stone. Like others said once your in the middle of the burning season going 24/7 the stove is always hot. These stoves sure beat the intense seering heat you get from a hot steal stove, I can sit 6-7 feet away from a hot soapstone stove for hours, you cant do that with a steel or iron stove.

I love my soap stone the most even heat you will get burning wood...my opionion

Saw a reply above asking for pictures of soapstone tiles with stove. Here are a couple photos of my setup. Hearthstone Heritage stove with 1/2" thick soapstone tiles for hearth and back wall. The hearth is raised with wood base, then layer of micore, then 2 layers of 1/2" cement board prior to thinset and tiles. I still need to finish side trim with oak to match the floors, but you get the idea. Can't comment yet on how the soapstone surround absorbs/radiates the heat because it's all new (haven't even had break-in fires yet). By the time I finished install and inspection this spring, it was already too hot to use. Cooler nights on way, so pretty soon.

Wow! Looks real nice Jim.

how big is the house ? i would say the oslo is a bit larger of a stove and may heat more so if you are at max output you may want to go with the oslo if you are in the 1600 sqft range the heritage will do a really good job!

I was considering both a Jotul F-500 Oslo and a Woodstock Fireview (soapstone). I found several Oslos on craigslist (one for $500!) but was too slow and missed them.

Then I found a 3-year old Fireview about 60 miles away for $1,000 and didn't wait around. So far, I'm happy with it but, of course, I haven't installed or burned it yet. But it sure looks nice sitting in the pole barn! ;-)

There are strong supporters on this forum of all 3 stoves: the Heritage, the Oslo, and the Fireview. But the cat & non-cat stoves have different characteristics. You'll have to decide which of those is most important for you.

You must have oiled or waxed your tiles looks great, and looks like we were thinking alike, If they don't retain a little heat they sure look good. I oiled mine once and they got dark like that. Nice Job.

Woodslinger,

There is a lot of good information here. Maybe something to consider is whether or not your will be burning 24/7 or close to it. If you just want to have
an occasional fire, most evenings and weekends, the soapstone might take too long to heat up. This might be especially true if your house is older and
maybe a little drafty/leaky.

I love mine! wish I had bought a little bigger one and a side loader. mine will only take a 15" log.

Not to derail this thread . . . but I had a question for those folks who built the hearths out of soapstone . . . a very cool (and good) look by the way. How has the stone held up to scratches . . . I only ask since I know soapstone tends to be a bit "soft" and from past experience know that it can scratch easily.

I will have to let you know at a later time because I have not done anything but build the hearth and set my stove on it. My wife has just gave it a wipe down with mineral oil. and looks good. Video I saw said if its a bad scratch sand it then wipe with mieral oil. We will see I got interested in it when trying to decide on a stove I went with the Jotul, I quess I am trying to have both worlds. But My new stove sure looks good on it.

My soapstone hearth is only 5 months old, so too early yet to comment firsthand on longtime durability. The only marks on the tile thus far are from stove installation. When we set the stove on the hearth, we got as close as possible to desired location, but were about a 1/4" off on one side. The feet left slight marks in original spot when we lifted and re-positioned.

That being said, I did do a fair bit of research on soaptone before building as I also had similar concerns over wear. There are many varieties of soapstone, each with different hardness properties to go along with the different color shades and patterns. Believe this has to do with geographical locations and mineral content where the stone is harvested. The soapstone I went with is called Beleza, and it is reported to be one of the harder varieties (also one of the busier, some are almost solid in color). The supplier I bought from had a bathroom in their showroom with floor done in same tiles, and it looked fine (the shine on the tiles had dulled a bit from use and mopping, but as previous post noted the tiles can be waxed to bring back shine if desired). Many posts can be found on soapstone slab kitchen countertops, and the wear and tear associated with those. If a scratch is deeper than acceptable, it can be sanded out and the stone polished basically back to normal.

I only know soapstone. But I love it. We have "heated" on it, not sure I would call it cooking.. If scratched, it can be buffed or sanded. I bought some soapstone scraps to play with /carve, very easy to work.

Cptoneleg and Jim E . . . definitely keep us informed on how the soapstone hearth holds up . . . and if it is able to retain the heat like a heat sink and release it after the fire has gone out . . . I really like the concept and the hearths look stunning.

After posting I also realized that there are a lot of soapstone counter tops and figured that while soapstone is "soft" (or at least some types as you pointed out) they can't be so bad . . . otherwise folks would not want soapstone counters and would be pulling them out of their homes if they were all scratched up. Besides . . . it's not like you'll be moving your stove all around or dropping hard, sharp metal objects on the hearth, right?

Again, keep us informed how the soapstone hearths work out . . . inquiring minds . . . well my mind . . . wants to know!