Kettle, Steamer, Humidifier on Soapstone Stove - what do I need to know?

[Mike592]

I'd like to get a steamer and/or a kettle for our Hearthstone Heritage stove. First, to put a little bit of humidity in the air (I've read a bunch here and see some people debate the beneficial results from this). Second, to possibly make a cup of tea or hot chocolate on the coldest nights straight from the stove.

1) Do I need a soapstone steamer since my stove is soapstone? Or can I use other materials like cast iron with no problems?

2) If not a soapstone steamer, do I need to use a trivet?

3) With soapstone steamers, I imagine it's not a big deal if it runs dry, that's just more soapstone mass for the stove to heat. Is the same true with cast iron or stainless steamers or do you need to make sure they're always full?

4) Do you wait until the steamer and kettle are cool before adding water? If you run your stove all the time, how does this work? Or is it OK to put water straight from our tap into a hot steamer or kettle? That won't crack anything?

5) Does anyone know where to buy soapstone steamers? I see Hearthstone makes (made?) one. I can't find them anywhere online. Lehman's still lists them but it says "Temporarily Unavailable". Yikes they're pricey.

6) Can you point me to steamers and kettles people like?

7) What else should I know I'm too stupid to ask?

 

[Highbeam]

I used a stone steamer on my heritage for years. It didn't do squat for humidity.You don't want to drink the water since only the pure water will evaporate and what's left behind is concentrated minerals and funk. The heritage is too cool to boil the water, I did not use a trivet and still too cold. The stone kettle will damage the stove from just setting there, it leaves a mark. Finally, the stone steamer cracked and began to leak. It was kinda fun to have a stone bowl but that's it.

Don't bother. Chase butterflies instead.

 

[Holiday]

Exactly, don't bother. Refilling a pot of water that is always sitting on a stove is not nice. You won't be making any drinks with that stuff.

 

[Sprinter]

Totally agree. Stove top steamers are not effective at increasing humidity at all. If you need to add humidity to the air, you need a regular room humidifier. There's a current thread on that subject that may help. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/water-pots-on-stove.118079/

 

[Mike592]

Hmmm, I'm starting to sense a theme here.

Hypothetically speaking, and just for my own knowledge, can someone please take a shot at the rest of my questions?

 

[Holiday]

Question 7, that's the question people are answering lol.

 

[Highbeam]

I'd like to get a steamer and/or a kettle for our Hearthstone Heritage stove. First, to put a little bit of humidity in the air (I've read a bunch here and see some people debate the beneficial results from this). Second, to possibly make a cup of tea or hot chocolate on the coldest nights straight from the stove.

1) Do I need a soapstone steamer since my stove is soapstone? Or can I use other materials like cast iron with no problems?

2) If not a soapstone steamer, do I need to use a trivet?

3) With soapstone steamers, I imagine it's not a big deal if it runs dry, that's just more soapstone mass for the stove to heat. Is the same true with cast iron or stainless steamers or do you need to make sure they're always full?

4) Do you wait until the steamer and kettle are cool before adding water? If you run your stove all the time, how does this work? Or is it OK to put water straight from our tap into a hot steamer or kettle? That won't crack anything?

5) Does anyone know where to buy soapstone steamers? I see Hearthstone makes (made?) one. I can't find them anywhere online. Lehman's still lists them but it says "Temporarily Unavailable". Yikes they're pricey.

6) Can you point me to steamers and kettles people like?

7) What else should I know I'm too stupid to ask?

1) nope, any material is fine. Just don't move it around on the stove top or you'll bugger up the stone faster than if it just sat there.
2) No trivet required, ever.
3) It's okay if stone or cast runs dry. Both materials are heat tolerant.
4) Both materials can shatter from thermal shock. Don't pour cold water into a hot, dry, steamer.
5) I got mine from hearthstone.
6) No.
7) You're wasting your time. Chase butterflies instead.

 

[Sprinter]

As for a teapot, I looked through Amazon until I found a nice, colorful teapot that I liked. Take a look at colorful enamel ones, or clear ones that can be used with those tea flower things. Those look pretty cool. Some have whistles, but I don't know if the soapstone will get hot enough to boil water or not.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Here are some steamers:

http://store.woodstove.com/home.php?cat=322

We have always used just any old pot or pan for on top of the stove but we do not place it directly on the stove. A trivet will work. We use the soapstone boot warmers. http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16285&cat=298&page=1

 

[ddddddden]

I like it dry, so I don't use one, but I would just get the cheapest cast pot I could find. I think I've seen plain cast by Lodge ~ $30 at Target. Maybe check Goodwill or yard sales.

If you want something snazzy, here are some reasonably priced enameled cast iron pieces:

http://m.samsclub.com/ip/tramontina...overed-dutch-oven-various-colors/prod11460011

http://m.target.com/p/6qt-cast-iron-covered-casserole-pot/-/A-14345909

 

[ddddddden]

. . .The Heritage is too cool to boil the water. I did not use a trivet and still too cold. . .

Seriously?

 

[Highbeam]

Seriously?

Yes, seriously. The best I ever got with a stove top temp of 550 (600 is redline on a heritage) was the tiniest little bubbles that would form on the bottom of the kettle. They never rose from the bottom so not even a simmer.

I suspect a cat stove would have a hotter top temp since that cat element is right there and is freaking hot.

 

[ddddddden]

. . .
I suspect a cat stove would have a hotter top temp since that cat element is right there and is freaking hot.

Yeah, agreed, but I would think that anything above, say, 300°F would boil water. Dunno though; haven't tried it on the FV and we didn't run a thermometer with the tea kettle on the old insert. I don't recall ever hearing the kettle boil, but steam would usually come out when the lid was opened to pour water for tea. Perhaps a thread of scientific inquiry is in order: "Wood Heat and Vaporization of Water."

 

[Highbeam]

You need a surface MUCH hotter than the boiling point of water to make a pot of water boil.

 

[ddddddden]

Agreed, but how hot? It'll vary with atmospheric pressure, etc, but perhaps the hearth.com braintrust could come up with a target stovetop temp range for boiling water. This would be good to know, for those who need to boil for purposes of sterilization. For those who just want steam, are bubbles really necessary?

 

[Sprinter]

It probably depends on how much water is involved. Imagine a thin layer of water on a 500* surface. It would boil. But a kettle full of water could dissipate it's heat through the container's and water surface's exposure to the ambient air faster than it gained it from the stove so the water temp could never get above a certain point.

 

[Three stove operator]

I'd like to get a steamer and/or a kettle for our Hearthstone Heritage stove. First, to put a little bit of humidity in the air (I've read a bunch here and see some people debate the beneficial results from this). Second, to possibly make a cup of tea or hot chocolate on the coldest nights straight from the stove.

1) Do I need a soapstone steamer since my stove is soapstone? Or can I use other materials like cast iron with no problems?

2) If not a soapstone steamer, do I need to use a trivet?

3) With soapstone steamers, I imagine it's not a big deal if it runs dry, that's just more soapstone mass for the stove to heat. Is the same true with cast iron or stainless steamers or do you need to make sure they're always full?

4) Do you wait until the steamer and kettle are cool before adding water? If you run your stove all the time, how does this work? Or is it OK to put water straight from our tap into a hot steamer or kettle? That won't crack anything?

5) Does anyone know where to buy soapstone steamers? I see Hearthstone makes (made?) one. I can't find them anywhere online. Lehman's still lists them but it says "Temporarily Unavailable". Yikes they're pricey.

6) Can you point me to steamers and kettles people like?

7) What else should I know I'm too stupid to ask?

 

[Three stove operator]

I have a soap stone heritage. We have a soap stone steamer and a cast iron one. I have only got them boiling a few times but they go through water without boiling. There is no need to have a boil. We still fill them up at least twice a day. I don't know why people say its makes no difference in humidly. The water is being vaporized? I'll admit it doesn't boost up the humidity level a lot but it doesn't hurt. I add water in when its hot but try not to add cold water when it's empty and hot. Had no problems for 4 years. And if you don't slide the Steamer the soap stone is in great shape still. We just got the Manchester at our vacation home. We have a big cast iron pot on it but it doesn't get very warm as the stove has a large air gap between the surface and the fire box. So looking to get a smaller kettle that will fit on the heating plate. We have the rear venting so there's a nice metal stainless plate that gets to 400-550. That will make a lot of vapor

 

[MN nice n warm]

I fill a coffee mug with water and actually add drops of tea tree oil. I doubt that it actually raises the humidity level but it does improve the air quality of the room. I can see steam rising when the stove top hits about 550 and the water starts evaporating.

 

[Oldman47]

If you want humidity in your home, start keeping fish tanks. I need to replace a few gallons every day from mine due to evaporation.

 

[SteveKG]

My Keystone will boil water just fine, I keep a glass kettle on it for brewing tea.

 

[DougA]

1) Do I need a soapstone steamer since my stove is soapstone? Or can I use other materials like cast iron with no problems? I use stainless pots just fine.
2) If not a soapstone steamer, do I need to use a trivet? Too cool with a trivet unless you want to rise bread dough.
3) With soapstone steamers, I imagine it's not a big deal if it runs dry, that's just more soapstone mass for the stove to heat. Is the same true with cast iron or stainless steamers or do you need to make sure they're always full? No idea, don't have one.
4) Do you wait until the steamer and kettle are cool before adding water? If you run your stove all the time, how does this work? Or is it OK to put water straight from our tap into a hot steamer or kettle? That won't crack anything? With a stainless steel pot, add whenever.
5) Does anyone know where to buy soapstone steamers? I see Hearthstone makes (made?) one. I can't find them anywhere online. Lehman's still lists them but it says "Temporarily Unavailable". Yikes they're pricey. No idea
6) Can you point me to steamers and kettles people like?
7) What else should I know I'm too stupid to ask?

There is a huge difference in temperature on the surface of my Equinox soapstone compared to my old cast iron VC. My Equinox heats the home much better at 350 surface than the VC which was 600, both read with IR gun. That's the advantage and mystery of soapstone.

I have often cooked on both and it took quite a lot of experimentation to start getting successful cooking on the soapstone. A pot of beans in a ceramic crock pot would not simmer, let alone boil. Once I dumped the beans into a flat bottom SS pasta pot, the beans bubbled just fine. So, a soapstone steamer adds too much mass to heat and not enough surface contact, just like the ceramic crock pot.

Of course, it depends whether your stove is cruising or if you are blasting it to the max. I agree with others that if you want more moisture in the air, a small atomizing humidifier is much more effective. A pot of water for tea or coffee is just fine but move it to a different area each time and don't leave it in one spot all the time. Marks normally will burn off the soapstone if you get the temperature up high but I would make sure that food spills are cleaned up quickly.

 

[FionaD]

If you want humidity in your home, move to Scotland. I wish we could export the stuff. I love that my stove is reducing the humidity in my home a bit.

I put a heavy-bottomed, steel pot of around 4 pints of water on the (cast iron) stove during a recent power cut. Pot went on the stove just as the new full load of wood was hitting around 400 F and heading for a max of 600. Water took just about 30 minutes to come to a full boil.

 

[JA600L]

I went to tractor supply and got a kettle for $15. It does the job perfectly.

 

[craigbaill]

I looked into this before we bought our stove. One day before install, It hit me. My kids take such hot showers, its like Brazil in the house after.

No need for a humidifier.....