Porcelain option

[TypeB]

Wood stoves coated in porcelain. Sooo very glossy. Adds $400 to the cost of the stove. Really glossy. Husband likes it. I'm leery. Did I mention the gloss?

Pros? Cons? Do you like it? (Or is it just me?)

Thanks for your patience. My questions will subside soon. Hopefully.

 

[djkeev]

Personally, I'm not a fan.

Why?
Too "appliance" looking. Heating devices shoukd look like they've worked hard giving you warmth, not all frilly.

I've shopped for used stoves, ceramic ones, especially the lighter colors show rust and chips. They look old beyond their years...... there's no fixing chipped porcelain without spending big money.

Ever go into a store and notice the front entry door? Many are brushed Aluminum and look great for decades. Others decided to be adventurous and were bronzed or worse yet painted!
They are chipped, they are worn and honestly look like sonething that I haven't any desire to touch! (OCD)

No, wood stoves are black, painted black, if it gets old and rusty.....paint it again.

Dave

 

[jetsam]

When you paint chipped porcelain, you can see the low spots, which I imagine might be a concern for someone willing to pay extra for a decorative coating in the first place. I don't know that you can use chip filler on a stove.

Painted steel can just be repainted.

 

[TypeB]

Excellent points!! Convinced. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Wood stoves coated in porcelain. Sooo very glossy. Adds $400 to the cost of the stove. Really glossy. Husband likes it. I'm leery. Did I mention the gloss?

Pros? Cons? Do you like it? (Or is it just me?)

Thanks for your patience. My questions will subside soon. Hopefully.

A porcelain finish is nice. We have an early 1980's Jotul with a porcelain finish that still looks great. With minor care the finish lasts forever. It also makes the stove easier to clean. All the finish needs is a wipe with a cloth to stay looking sharp.

Some stove like Jotuls and some Hearthstones also offer a blue-black porcelain finish which lacks the final clear glaze coat. That gives it a much softer look which I really like, but it's not as common.

PS: Many stoves are not plain black boxes. If it's sitting in the living room then 6 months of the year it's more a piece of furniture than an appliance.

 

[jotul8e2]

I have had and used soapstone, enameled sheet steel over cast iron, black cast iron, welded steel, and porcelain cast iron.

Plain cast iron always, always looks dusty. I find this unacceptable for my main living space. Welded steel can be wiped down to look pretty clean and I have one in the shop. but it is still pretty industrial looking for my house. I liked my enameled Efel back in the 80's, but few make that type of convection stove anymore. Our ivory porcelain Jotul Oslo looks almost as good as it did over eight years ago and is very easy to clean. It does have a couple of minor chips, but you would have to know where to look.

It would be very hard to see any chips in Blue black porcelain.

 

[begreen]

Yes of all the stoves we've owned, the Jotul blue-black porcelain finish has been my favorite. Our 602 has a cranberry red finish.

 

[cableman]

I happened to find mine never used on craigs list so i had no choice that it was enameled, but im glad it is.
Cleans very easy and just looks outstanding. If i would have ordered one new i prolly would have ordered painted black due to it costing less.
It has been pretty durable but i do get scared of a chip if i drop something on it

 

[webby3650]

I love enameled stoves! They are plenty durable. Of course they show chips and look old if they are abused... like anything, if you take care of it, it will serve you just as well and look way nicer it's entire life!

 

[xman23]

I am a big fan of the high gloss dark green enamel finish of my Oslo. As said it stays perfectly clean. I think to damage it you would have to hit it with a hammer.

 

[webby3650]

I am a big fan of the high gloss dark green enamel finish of my Oslo. As said it stays perfectly clean. I think to damage it you would have to hit it with a hammer.

Or a firepoker..

 

[sportbikerider78]

It chips easy and under that nice enamel...could be a differed color primer or base. Then the chip will rust after it is exposed to air.

Not for me..too fancy pants!

 

[bholler]

It chips easy and under that nice enamel...could be a differed color primer or base. Then the chip will rust after it is exposed to air.

Not for me..too fancy pants!

it really does not chip that easily. Yes you need to be more careful with them than a painted stove but not that big of a deal really. We work on many pretty old enameled stoves that still look great

 

[jotul8e2]

It chips easy and under that nice enamel...could be a differed color primer or base. Then the chip will rust after it is exposed to air.

Not for me..too fancy pants!

A chip will usually expose the underlying cast iron. Cast iron is not prone to rust in a normal indoor environment.

 

[Rearscreen]

Had a few so far, not a fan. Wouldn't get one again. One chip, enter moisture, then the chip expands. Woodstock colors the cast iron which gives a nice look.

 

[bholler]

Had a few so far, not a fan. Wouldn't get one again. One chip, enter moisture, then the chip expands. Woodstock colors the cast iron which gives a nice look.

Moisture cant get under the enamel and wont make the chip expand. Yes it can chip but it is a very durable finish

 

[kennyp2339]

I forget who, but a member did a porcelain finish on a BK ashford, it was a dark red cherry finish and looked excellent

 

[webby3650]

Mine had several chips from the previous owner. After I touched them up its hard to find them. I prefer the porcelain because it always looks new and clean, even if it is more fragile.

 

[sportbikerider78]

A chip will usually expose the underlying cast iron. Cast iron is not prone to rust in a normal indoor environment.

Just telling you what I found with mine. It was in the house when bought it. 25 yrs old. All the chips had rust.

 

[Ashful]

Exactly what stove, and exactly which porcelain finish are you considering?

I've owned five wood stoves in as many years. Two of them were Blue Black Enamel Jotuls, and I can say that all FIVE of them would be Enameled stoves, if BK wasn't having so many manufacturing problems with their Blue Black Enamel at the time I placed my orders. They ended up canceling my original enamel order, and refunding me a partial difference.

With very few exceptions, most comments about chipping enamel mostly come from people who have never actually owned an enamel stove. My enameled stoves were both 20+ years old, and still looked nearly as nice as the day they were manufactured. Of course, I don't make a regular habit of beating them about the face with a fire poker.

 

[ddddddden]

Wood stoves coated in porcelain. Sooo very glossy. . .Really glossy. . .Did I mention the gloss?

I'm sensing a theme here. Like many, I enjoy the beauty of an enameled stove. However, I might not enjoy having one in my living room if, instead of ornate castings, it had large flat surfaces that throw lots of reflections/glare. If you might be bothered by that, you might want to skip enamel finishes, except the blue-black kind without the shiny coat.

We have had a few folks here who had problems with the enamel finish because the factory botched some part of the process, but other than that, I think the finish would last as long as it does on piece of enameled cast iron cookware. . .a very long time, if not abused. The cast iron bits on my stove are painted, and the paint looks nice, but the paint will eventually fade in hot spots and will need to be repainted if I want it to look new.

 

[Rearscreen]

Ouch!

 

[bholler]

Ouch!

Yes but that stove either had a bad enamel coat or was abused in some way. Spilling cold water on the top of a hot enameled stove will do that

 

[webby3650]

Yes but that stove either had a bad enamel coat or was abused in some way. Spilling cold water on the top of a hot enameled stove will do that

It most certainly was abused! There's no enamel left on the flue collar. Damage like that won't happen if it's ran properly and half way taken care of.

 

[bholler]

It most certainly was abused! There's no enamel left on the flue collar. Damage like that won't happen if it's ran properly and half way taken care of.

Yes exactly. That doesn't happen easily unless it was a bad enamel job but jotul is usually top notch when it comes to their enamel