Don't do this at home....

[Chuck the Canuck]

Hi. So I guess I learned a new lesson tonight: don't use cheap stainless steel pots full of water on top of your wood stove as a humidifier for you house. Now mind you, the humidifying effect has been absolutely wonderful, the best that this old house has ever seen in 50 years of cold canadian winters, and maybe I just need a heavy duty SS pot, but yeesh! The handle must of got too hot and burned off'n the pot; I heard it sizzling as I was doing my bedtime reload (actually saw water dribbling out from said handle), and being the sensible dingwit that I am I tried to pick the pot up off the stove.... whips, there goes the handle, here comes the water, and boyz oh boyz she really took to sizzling after that.... I know, not too bright. The stove looks pretty crappy; any suggestions on cleaning 'er up other than soap and water (after it cools down)......

On a bright note, the stove it pumping out the BTU's like nobody's business

Cheers,

 

[HotCoals]

Does that add temper to the steel?

Sorry that happened but the minerals will leave a mark.
I have a feeling you might end of using steel wool and some paint.
The bright side is she will look like new!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

I have a feeling you might end of using steel wool and some paint.

I guess that'll be a summer project then, because I ain't about to shut down the stove right now; the weatherman is calling for -16 to -21 Celsius over the next few days (that's 3.2 to -5.1 Fahrenheit for ya'll down south)....

 

[HotCoals]

I guess that'll be a summer project then, because I ain't about to shut down the stove right now; the weatherman is calling for -16 to -21 Celsius over the next few days (that's 3.2 to -5.1 Fahrenheit for ya'll down south)....

There ya go..let her burn!
The way that fire looks in there maybe it will burn off all the minerals!
That stove must throw some crazy heat!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

That stove must throw some crazy heat!

Well I loaded 'er a bit early tonight and she crept up to 720 F on the stove top before she started slowly coming back down. I do get a wee bit nervous when I shut the air down completely but the burn keeps raging and the temps keep climbing, but I'm starting to get a feel for it; it seems to peak in the low 700's (gone as high as 752 F) and then drifts back to a nice manageable temps (it's down to 660 F now).... I LOVE IT!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Maybe low 700's F is a bit too hot for a cheap SS pot to handle.....

 

[HotCoals]

Maybe low 700's F is a bit too hot for a cheap SS pot to handle.....

Would the heat boil the water?
The wife uses a trivet under her fancy looking thing. I hardly ever see over 600f for stove top though.
Usually 350-550.

 

[Soundchasm]

I have one really old stove where the paint shows oxidation and every chemical cleaning attempt on the glass. I have 00 steel wool I use on guitar fretboards to clean them, and one night I accidentally wet-sanded my stove. I was only going to try one small spot, but a light touch with some damp steel wool took the worst of it off. It's not great or good, but it's better.

I had little to lose with my experiment because bare metal might look better than the paint. Again, I'm not recommending you do it, but a light touch is essential if you do.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Would the heat boil the water?

Well the pot never gets going on a real rolling boil or nothing, but it vaporates about 1/2 to 2/3 of water out of the pot over the course of each burn cycle....

some damp steel wool took the worst of it off. It's not great or good, but it's better

Yep, I think that damp steel wool (and a very light touch) sounds like a good plan... bottom line, it's a working stove, and I'm not all that bothered about it looking too pretty or whatnot, but having said that, it would be nice to clean it up a bit if possible...... do you suppose I can try the damp steel wool at the end of a burn cycle while the stove is still warm, like tonight when I get home from work???

 

[Slow1]

I imagine that once the water level in the pot falls below the handles, the radiant heat off the top of the stove would allow the handles (and their attachments) to become very hot indeed. Not sure how they were attached or what the handles were made of, but clearly they couldn't take the heat.

Glad the hot water didn't harm the stove (i.e. cracks etc) when it happened and I hope you stayed clear and didn't get scalded!

 

[tcassavaugh]

i'll bet there was a bunch of sizzle on that one. I went to a cast iron teapot long ago. almost time to replace it. burn it off and paint it in the summer as mentioned.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Glad the hot water didn't harm the stove (i.e. cracks etc) when it happened and I hope you stayed clear and didn't get scalded!

I was lucky in that I had just finished loading up the stove for an overnight burn, so the stove was just heating up when the water works began.... I was afraid that the glass on the door might crack, but I guess I dodged a major snaffu this time, so I'm counting myself lucky overall....

 

[Lumber-Jack]

The broken handle has more to do with the quality of the pot and how much it has been handled, then the heat of the wood stove. I have a couple of those SS pots too and the handle broke off one of them a long time ago, and It has never sat on a wood stove.
Have you tried wiping it of with just plain water and a damp cloth?

 

[drumbum]

Go at it with some CLR or Limeaway the next time you let the stove cool.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Have you tried wiping it of with just plain water and a damp cloth?

Ok, have you been talking to my wife??? The wife thinks the staining is from salt in the water from the water softener; so I guess the plan is to try the damp cloth and water this evening. If that doesn't work, I'll give 'er a bit of CLR action..... and if none of these things work, well I bought a package of "00" steel wool to try buffing it out; I'll let ya'll know how things progress, and in the meantime, I'm thinking about going shopping for a heavy duty stainless steel pot to replace this skinny-arsed dud that's missing a handle....

 

[drumbum]

Get one with an extra thick bottom (like an extra piece molded on). It will be a lot quieter,..... the thinner the bottom the louder they get.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

et one with an extra thick bottom (like an extra piece molded on). It will be a lot quieter

Yeah, I looked at those when shopping for the first one, and then decided to go with the cheap one instead... I guess you really do get what you pay for.... I'll definitely be getting the beefier model this time round.

 

[drumbum]

We recently picked up an 8qt. stainless thick bottom for 20 bucks at target. Not sure what you have up in canukistan.

 

[billb3]

I'd expect it to clean right up .
My sister dropped a fully baked potato from 10 feet on top of mine that shot potato innards all over the stove and pipe.
(basement install- had the floor grate right above it off the hole in the floor )
Sat there baking away for two weeks and the next shut down to clean ashes it all wiped right off.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

I saw the thick bottom ones at Walmart last time around, but I thought I'd be "smart" and save a few bucks....

Sat there baking away for two weeks and the next shut down to clean ashes it all wiped right off.

Thanks for the positive vibes

 

[Soundchasm]

I don't keep my basement terribly well-lit, and the flash shows every problem you can imagine, but here's a before and after. Our well water here is 99% limestone, and it's medically dangerous because it breaks your heart if you wash your vehicle with it. My opinion is that softeners only leave trace amounts of salt because the brine is only used to clean the beads, and then that gets rinsed down the drain before any water goes through the beads to get softened.

Refilling and cooking water off would leave significant limestone deposits in a pan at my place, and that's with fairly soft water. However, since I've been using a Brita (10 years), I've never had to de-lime a coffee pot, and I get 4-5 years out of the cheap 4 cup models.

+1 on the CLR. I pour a little in the toilet bowls, brush and let it sit. Helps with that ring. Flush before using!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

The CLR cleaned 'er up nice!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Have you tried wiping it of with just plain water and a damp cloth?

Ok, have you been talking to my wife???

And the winner is, Lumber Jack and The Wife, using water and a damp cloth to clean the stove..... who woulda thunk it....

 

[Fake coal burner]

I bought a small ss pot to put on my gas stove last year. The pot is a pile of rust. So much for reading stainless steel, since when does ss rust?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

trivet! a must have with a pot of water on a stove.

keeps da pot off the stove allows slower misting away of the water and prevents boil overs in most cases