New to the stone.. can you put a kettle on the top??? wondering if it is hot and you spill some water on it will it crack the stone? Another thing here, That ash pan is worthless piece of crap....I have read here where a couple of people removed the ash pan grate,"or perhaps just went over it" and simply installed fire brick in it's place. is this cool to do? no harm done?
soapstone question...
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I have always put a kettle on top of mine. Never had a major spill, but had a little bit of water flow over and it just sizzled away with no ill effects of the stone.
Like you I hated the ash pan, more trouble than what it's worth. When I had my Homestead I removed the ash grate and used that circle piece of iron over the gap for support, then used a couple firebricks on top and just scooped the ashes out.
Like you I hated the ash pan, more trouble than what it's worth. When I had my Homestead I removed the ash grate and used that circle piece of iron over the gap for support, then used a couple firebricks on top and just scooped the ashes out.
Yeah, the ash romoval system could be improved for sure. I'm not using the grate on the Mansfield either. I find that it catches coals when you try to shut it. I just burn the coals down a bit then take out a few scoops a day when I get home and before getting it going again.
I had the Defiant before and its ash system was among the best, but I would not trade that for the soapstone as the only redeeming factor was the ash system.
I purchased a couple of soapstone boot warmers from Woodstock to use on top of the stove, then I put the kettle on that. You do have to be careful with spilling on the stone; a little spill (as said before) no problem, but I would not want to find out what would happen with a big spill.
I also got the soapstone steamer made by Hearthstone; Lehman's and Tom Oyen, Chimney Sweep sell them. I had a stainless kettle, but the soapstone steamer really was designed for this stove and looks great on it.
Keep on enjoying it!
As a side issue, I let it go out today and cleaned ashes. I'll start a fire tonight but its supposed to be in the 40's all week so we are in a thaw with off season conditions; I find that a pain as you have to be careful not to overheat the house, and that usually involves restarting more: I like 24/7 better!
I am using between 1/2 to 2/3 of the wood I used to use. And, the house is warmer; a nice warm to boot.
I had the Defiant before and its ash system was among the best, but I would not trade that for the soapstone as the only redeeming factor was the ash system.
I purchased a couple of soapstone boot warmers from Woodstock to use on top of the stove, then I put the kettle on that. You do have to be careful with spilling on the stone; a little spill (as said before) no problem, but I would not want to find out what would happen with a big spill.
I also got the soapstone steamer made by Hearthstone; Lehman's and Tom Oyen, Chimney Sweep sell them. I had a stainless kettle, but the soapstone steamer really was designed for this stove and looks great on it.
Keep on enjoying it!
As a side issue, I let it go out today and cleaned ashes. I'll start a fire tonight but its supposed to be in the 40's all week so we are in a thaw with off season conditions; I find that a pain as you have to be careful not to overheat the house, and that usually involves restarting more: I like 24/7 better!
I am using between 1/2 to 2/3 of the wood I used to use. And, the house is warmer; a nice warm to boot.
wood wacker said:
On mine you could take out the bottom firebox soapstone panels, they were just laying in there on top of an iron frame. The square piece of iron with the circle grate in the middle was elevated to match the thickness of the stones. I just pulled everything out of the bottom and placed the circle grate over the square ash pan hole for support, then placed the stones and firebrick back in.
I have over filled the streamer on my Heritage a few times. Makes some noise as it evaporates. And leaves residue salts on the stone. I just rub off the salts with a damp rag when the stove is cold.
We've used a copper kettle on top of our Homestead this season. Trying to be real careful when using it and want to replace with a soapstone one for next year. I don't use the ash pan - I just scoop out ash every few days. Did let it cool down yesterday and cleaned it good. Still get a dirty window quite often - even though burning good dry oak now. I agree that the house got a lot warmer once the weather turned colder and we kept good fires going.
Small bit of hot water spilled shouldn't be a problem. Large amount of cold water could crack stones on a very hot stove top.
For the Ashes . . . someone here gave me a great idea that seems to work. Make sure the stripping around the ash pan lip is in good shape. Fill the ash pan all the way with ash, close it and don't touch it ever again. Should not leak if you leave it be.
Now I use a fireplace shovel from those 4 piece tool kits they sell. Works just fine.
I wouldn't bother trying to get bricks to fit just right and all.
For the Ashes . . . someone here gave me a great idea that seems to work. Make sure the stripping around the ash pan lip is in good shape. Fill the ash pan all the way with ash, close it and don't touch it ever again. Should not leak if you leave it be.
Now I use a fireplace shovel from those 4 piece tool kits they sell. Works just fine.
I wouldn't bother trying to get bricks to fit just right and all.
Like swestall, we have some boot warmers we bought from Woodstock and have a kettle on those. We also do a fair amount of cooking and heating of food on our stove.
The boot warmers come in two sizes and we have 2 pair of both. They do work great for drying wet or damp boots and the smaller ones work great for gloves. They also work great for taking with you to the woods. I take an extra pair of gloves and sometimes 2 extra pair with the boot warmers in the gloves (and then wrapped in something to keep them covered). That way if my gloves get wet or my fingers get cold I can change and have a nice warm pair of gloves to work with. I always for sure keep one pair of gloves that I put on just before I head to the house so that I have warm gloves for riding the atv, which I use to pull the trailer.
The boot warmers come in two sizes and we have 2 pair of both. They do work great for drying wet or damp boots and the smaller ones work great for gloves. They also work great for taking with you to the woods. I take an extra pair of gloves and sometimes 2 extra pair with the boot warmers in the gloves (and then wrapped in something to keep them covered). That way if my gloves get wet or my fingers get cold I can change and have a nice warm pair of gloves to work with. I always for sure keep one pair of gloves that I put on just before I head to the house so that I have warm gloves for riding the atv, which I use to pull the trailer.
They make griddles and saucepans/dutch ovens out of soapstone. I mean griddles that can go on charcoal/gas grills and saucpans/dutch ovens that can go on a stovetop.
I made a pizza stone from an old sink and can throw it right into the woodstove.
I made a pizza stone from an old sink and can throw it right into the woodstove.
Hi I am new to this site and have questions about the soapstone stoves. I hope this isn't a silly question: If soapstone only has a hardness of 1 on the MOHS scale, how does the stove hold up? Is there a firebox inside made of metal?
When you use pans on top of it, does it scratch? How do you clean dirt and ash off, when it is cold with water and soap?
When you use pans on top of it, does it scratch? How do you clean dirt and ash off, when it is cold with water and soap?
Welcome to the site.
The inside of my Hearthstone is the same piece of stone that you see on the outside. Yes the inside is soapstone. No, I don't care if it gets scratched but I think you may have the wrong idea. The stones are pretty hard. Not like granite but not like butter either.
If you set the object on top of the stove and lift it off it is fine. If you scrape the pan around like trying to rub scratches in it then you will be able to scratch it. Folks on here have been able to buff scratches out with very fine steel wool.
I clean it all the time with a sponge wetted with clean water. The wetness makes the stone look very cool until it dries off. It doesn't need to be cold, just not so hot that you burn yourself.
The inside of my Hearthstone is the same piece of stone that you see on the outside. Yes the inside is soapstone. No, I don't care if it gets scratched but I think you may have the wrong idea. The stones are pretty hard. Not like granite but not like butter either.
If you set the object on top of the stove and lift it off it is fine. If you scrape the pan around like trying to rub scratches in it then you will be able to scratch it. Folks on here have been able to buff scratches out with very fine steel wool.
I clean it all the time with a sponge wetted with clean water. The wetness makes the stone look very cool until it dries off. It doesn't need to be cold, just not so hot that you burn yourself.
Thanks for the quick reply! What brand is your soapstone? (sorry to ask but as soon as I clicked on reply, the other posts disappeared!).
I wonder how soapstone compares to heating with coal? It sounds like soapstone gives off the same long slow heat, takes a bit to bring up to snuff, but only have to handle the fire about twice a day, same as my coal.
I wonder how soapstone compares to heating with coal? It sounds like soapstone gives off the same long slow heat, takes a bit to bring up to snuff, but only have to handle the fire about twice a day, same as my coal.
Hello elleninpa and welcome to the forum. We have a Woodstock Fireview soapstone. We do cook on it but we have small stones (boot warmers) that we have on top of the stove. Pans are placed on these stones so as not to scratch the top. We do have some scratches near the firebox door that we'll fix in the Spring when done burning for the season.
From the manual: The ornamental cast iron frame is painted wtih 2 coas of high temperature stove paint. ...We suggest cleaning by dusting with a soft brush or vacuuming with a brush attachment. Soapstone is a very soft material and the polished extrior surfaces can be scratched. Scratches can be removed by sanding lightly with .00 steel wool or 120 grit sandpaper. The surface can then be smoothed with 400 grit sandpaper of .0000 steel wool. Remove dust created by sanding with a vacuum cleaner; a dam cloth will simply spread it around.
One of the reasons these stoves are so heavy is the thickness of the soapstone. Our stove weighs 485 lbs. It is amazing a stove that small can weigh that much! But we got it in the home with no problems at all.
The heat from a soapstone stove has been described as a soft heat when compared with a steel or cast stove. We found out this is very true. It would be difficult to compare with coal because coal is burned in a different stove. But yes, the soapstone will continue to throw heat for a long period of time. Folks like to say it takes a long time to heat up a soapstone stove but we do not find that to be necessarily true. Yes, it does take longer than a steel stove to throw lots of heat but it isn't that long. Also, if you burn 24/7 there is no worry about taking a long time because the stove will always be up to temperature.
What we like about our soapstone is one of the things we were worried about before purchasing. We had made up our minds to stay away from a cat. in the stove. But we were finally convinced to try it and are very glad we did! Now I would be hard pressed to consider a stove without a cat. The stove top needs to be only 250 degrees before engaging the cat. and as soon as it is engaged, the stove temperature shoots up quite fast. It amazes me at times to see no flame and very few red coals but the stove is cooking at maybe 550 degrees. Amazing. Therefore the wood lasts a long time and it burns extremely clean. The cat. is what really makes it burn clean. Rarely (outside of right after putting wood in) will you see smoke coming from the chimney....and the chimney stays clean. We have an exterior chimney (straight through the wall, not ceiling) and have yet to clean it this year. Looked a week ago and it is still clean. We used to clean the chimney 4 times per year!
Good luck to you.
From the manual: The ornamental cast iron frame is painted wtih 2 coas of high temperature stove paint. ...We suggest cleaning by dusting with a soft brush or vacuuming with a brush attachment. Soapstone is a very soft material and the polished extrior surfaces can be scratched. Scratches can be removed by sanding lightly with .00 steel wool or 120 grit sandpaper. The surface can then be smoothed with 400 grit sandpaper of .0000 steel wool. Remove dust created by sanding with a vacuum cleaner; a dam cloth will simply spread it around.
One of the reasons these stoves are so heavy is the thickness of the soapstone. Our stove weighs 485 lbs. It is amazing a stove that small can weigh that much! But we got it in the home with no problems at all.
The heat from a soapstone stove has been described as a soft heat when compared with a steel or cast stove. We found out this is very true. It would be difficult to compare with coal because coal is burned in a different stove. But yes, the soapstone will continue to throw heat for a long period of time. Folks like to say it takes a long time to heat up a soapstone stove but we do not find that to be necessarily true. Yes, it does take longer than a steel stove to throw lots of heat but it isn't that long. Also, if you burn 24/7 there is no worry about taking a long time because the stove will always be up to temperature.
What we like about our soapstone is one of the things we were worried about before purchasing. We had made up our minds to stay away from a cat. in the stove. But we were finally convinced to try it and are very glad we did! Now I would be hard pressed to consider a stove without a cat. The stove top needs to be only 250 degrees before engaging the cat. and as soon as it is engaged, the stove temperature shoots up quite fast. It amazes me at times to see no flame and very few red coals but the stove is cooking at maybe 550 degrees. Amazing. Therefore the wood lasts a long time and it burns extremely clean. The cat. is what really makes it burn clean. Rarely (outside of right after putting wood in) will you see smoke coming from the chimney....and the chimney stays clean. We have an exterior chimney (straight through the wall, not ceiling) and have yet to clean it this year. Looked a week ago and it is still clean. We used to clean the chimney 4 times per year!
Good luck to you.
Hey folks, a little update on the kettle thing. We did get the Hearthstone kettle, it is very nice and a good size; not too big or small.
Also, someone here pointed out that Woodstock sells the small stone that goes to the top of their stove separately for about $20; it makes a nice trivet to set the kettle on.
Unfortunately, I didn't see that before I went to the Vermont Marble,Granite,Slate and Soapstone company for one. I got a 6 inch square piece 3/4 inches thick and it is a nice trivet.(about the same as the woodstock small stovetop tile)
Hoping all is well with the Soapstone Society Members, et al.
Also, someone here pointed out that Woodstock sells the small stone that goes to the top of their stove separately for about $20; it makes a nice trivet to set the kettle on.
Unfortunately, I didn't see that before I went to the Vermont Marble,Granite,Slate and Soapstone company for one. I got a 6 inch square piece 3/4 inches thick and it is a nice trivet.(about the same as the woodstock small stovetop tile)
Hoping all is well with the Soapstone Society Members, et al.
So it sounds like cooking on top of soapstone is quite possible and that I cannot find anyone on this forum that is unhappy with their soapstone! that is quite remarkable and makes me think again about our needs in this house, that maybe a beautiful soapstone is what this huge place could use, the slow steady burn of coal, the capacity to heat the house, beauty, the low emissions (cause coal is not as enviro friendly), and cooking to boot!
Yes, my friend, it does appear you very well might become a proud owner of a soapstone stove very soon. You won't be sorry for it either. I do hope you consider one from Woodstock as I just can't say enough good about that company. They are unreal and will bend over backwards to make sure you have what is right for you and also to help after you install it. You will not be left out in the cold with them as they take care of their customers after the sale. Call for Mike, and tell him Dennis from Michigan referred you. (NO, I get nothing from this except a good feeling of advising someone about something good.)
thanks, bwdennis! now let's see, two kids in college...new job...dh considering a career change...hmmm...I don't think I'd want a used for it might have some stress fractures in the stone that could develop into worse...if that were to happen...is there a patch kit for cracks?
That one I'm not sure. It would take just a short time to call Woodstock with that question and they would give you a straight answer.
btw, for those hesitating calling Woodstock, let me assure you that I have never gotten one of those high pressure salesman on the phone. Those folks are just not like that at all. I get the impression they are there to help and not pressure you into a sale. So don't be afraid to call. I've talked to several of them and like Mike the best.
btw, for those hesitating calling Woodstock, let me assure you that I have never gotten one of those high pressure salesman on the phone. Those folks are just not like that at all. I get the impression they are there to help and not pressure you into a sale. So don't be afraid to call. I've talked to several of them and like Mike the best.
The stones are supposed to be relatively easy to replace if the crack was significant. Surface cracks are supposed to be normal.
Highbeam, you are right. The manual shows each piece of the stove and how it is put together. It would not be difficult to change a stone.
My hearthstone heritage has a lot of metal inside it and other materials too. A modern air tube secondary burn wood stove made of soapstone could have stainless steel, cast iron, steel, fire brick, ceramic glass, ceramic sheet and soapstone as construction materials. The engineers use a lot of different materials to make the stove strong, controllable and able to pass EPA and UL testing. Just look in one next time you are at a dealer.elleninpa said:
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