Fired Up the Cookstove

[akgal]

Due to a deep freezer malfunction I fired up the wood cookstove yesterday and have been cooking gallons of chicken soup to salvage our birds! A beautiful fall day today, would rather be outside, but needs must…. Anyone else fired their stove up already? We’re in the mid-40s at night and leaves are starting to turn. Summer always feels so short!

 

[Max W]

Bummer about your freezer. Handsome stove. What is it? How does it cook, bake? 80’s here this coming week.

 

[akgal]

It is a Hearthstone Deva. Cooks and bakes great, although baking takes some experimentation due to temp variations. I’m super happy with it overall!

 

[Poindexter]

Sorry about your freezer. The sky in Fairbanks has looked like "snow tonight" for about a week, but my left knee is quiescent, so not tonight. Any day now for sure.

 

[akgal]

Sorry about your freezer. The sky in Fairbanks has looked like "snow tonight" for about a week, but my left knee is quiescent, so not tonight. Any day now for sure.

I’m wondering if we’ll have a long and wet autumn with the el nino? I’m guessing your knee is more accurate than the weatherman!

 

[Todd]

We’ve had 90’s last three days but a strong cold front passing through tonight and highs for the next couple days will be lower 60’s with lows in the 40’s. If it dips below 68 in the cabin we will probably have a take the chill off fire.

 

[Newbie78]

Dipping to freezing here overnight. The stove is back in business.

 

[Newbie78]

Appliances. Aaarggghh! Clothes dryer waiting on parts. Again.

we have a 33 year old freezer, a 20 year old freezer, and a 10 year old freezer (a fancy "commercial" one). Guess which one is jury-rigged to work because of an unavailable part in a control board. All this computerized stuff in appliances is completely unnecessary. Yet there it is. High profit doodads for no particular reason.

anyway.

 

[River]

Nice looking stove, that Deva.

I fired our old Waterford Stanley for a few days last week. The lowest lows were in the upper 40s. I like to heat our dishwater and preheat our domestic hot water with the cookstove. I also baked a loaf of bread one morning.

We have been "enjoying" temperatures in the 90s this week -- so no fires in the cookstove. We are hoping to can some tomato juice later this week when the temperatures drop, again.

Happy burning.

 

[akgal]

We’re below freezing most nights now but beautiful days in the 50s and 40s.

I just put two loaves of pumpkin bread in the oven. Temp dropped 90 degrees! Thankfully I had it 70 over where it should have been. Took about 15 min to get back to temp.

We’ll see how they go….

 

[River]

Our high temperatures were in the lower 80s the past few days. Today, they are forecasted to be in the mid-70s. Fortunately, the mornings have been cool -- 50s -- all along. I have had a fire every morning to heat our water and dry some mint. Cottonwood is good for the relatively brief fires this time of year.

I just put two loaves of pumpkin bread in the oven. Temp dropped 90 degrees! Thankfully I had it 70 over where it should have been. Took about 15 min to get back to temp.

For what it is worth, I lined the bottom of the oven in our Waterford Stanley with soapstone to add some thermal mass. One intent was to avoid just what you describe -- the drop in temperature due to opening the door and inserting "cold" foods. I have not performed a controlled experiment to determine how successful the attempt has been, but the theory is (I think) sound.

 

[akgal]

Our high temperatures were in the lower 80s the past few days. Today, they are forecasted to be in the mid-70s. Fortunately, the mornings have been cool -- 50s -- all along. I have had a fire every morning to heat our water and dry some mint. Cottonwood is good for the relatively brief fires this time of year.



For what it is worth, I lined the bottom of the oven in our Waterford Stanley with soapstone to add some thermal mass. One intent was to avoid just what you describe -- the drop in temperature due to opening the door and inserting "cold" foods. I have not performed a controlled experiment to determine how successful the attempt has been, but the theory is (I think) sound.

Great idea! Someone who used to post in here regularly mentioned doing that with cast iron. Where do you obtain soapstone??

 

[River]

Where do you obtain soapstone??

We picked up a supply of soapstones with wire bails at antique stores, a farm sale, and a barn sale. These soapstones were/are used for foot warmers (e.g. in carriages, buggies, and sleighs).

I just looked on eBay. There are a number of them listed, but the asking prices are quite a lot higher than we ever paid.

I hope that helps.

 

[akgal]

Thanks!