soapstone vs. cast iron or other?

[jameskira]

We are looking to buy a fireplace insert for our 1st floor fireplace, which is in our family room and pretty centrally located in our 1500 sq. foot house. We hope to use it for most of our heat (eventually) but do have an oil furnace as back-up.

Anyway, the fireplace is in a part of the house that we use A LOT, so we will be in that room a lot. And, we don't want to roast next to the stove while we watch movies, play games, etc. Someone told me that soapstone is a "gentler" heat and would make more sense for our situation (i.e. not wanting to roast next to the stove.) Any thoughts?

Why would you get cast iron vs soapstone vs other materials? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks!

- Sue in western MA

 

[jpl1nh]

I've gone from a heavy guage pre-EPA steel stove to a soapstone. Your friends' description is very accurate, it's much "gentler" and the heat production is spread out over a much longer time. Don't mistaket this for lack of heat production. It still produces lots of heat, but because its not so much the hot-cold of your fire cycle, it is much more subtle. I have not owned cast iron which I think is somewhat in between in its heat production cycle, but I believe there is still a noticable smoothing of heat output in soapstone vs cast iron.

 

[Harley]

We are looking to buy a fireplace insert for our 1st floor fireplace, which is in our family room and pretty centrally located in our 1500 sq. foot house. We hope to use it for most of our heat (eventually) but do have an oil furnace as back-up.

Hi, Sue, and welcome
The layout of the house, and that room in particular is probably going to be the most deciding factor as to whether you "roast" or not, regardless of the material the stove is made from (though I've recently become very partial to soapstone stoves).

If you can describe the overall layout of the house in general, that would help a great deal. Also (even though many would not think it's the case - Western Mass does have a big difference in heating requirements - Springfield is going to be different from N. Adams) Maybe the county or general area would aslo help for some of us "locals" to get a better picture of what you might need.

 

[DriftWood]

Inserts need fans to get the heat out. Soap stone is slow to heat about one hour till real heat is coming out. But you will not be baked out of the room. This is what we did in a similar room and home size.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3106/

 

[jameskira]

Thanks for the feedback. We live in Amherst. Our house is a 1920's bungalow, with an open kitchen/dining area in the rear of the house, then a large living room with a bedroom off the side, and a winterized front porch off the living room which is now an office. There are two bedrooms upstairs, and the stairway is just off the living room. Total sq feet about 1500 feet.

 

[webbie]

Soapstone is best when used in a freestanding stove - or even a hearth stove in front of your fireplace - but if you are buying an insert, and you want it to go part way back into the fireplace, then you are best (IMO) looking at other factors than what the stove is made from. Steel and cast (usually both) are used for most inserts because they need to be double walled, and this is just fine.

You mention games, etc - maybe TV or music. Keep this in mind - an insert that is all the way back in may need to have the blower running fairly high to get all the heat out. That is another advantage of a "hearth" stove - a blower is either not needed or needed less. Of course, whether you can use such a stove depends on a lot of factors such as the facing of your fireplace, your hearth, etc.

Oh, and howdy neighbor (easthampton/southampton area).

 

[jameskira]

Two soapstone/cast iron inserts I looked at by Hearthstone are the Clydesdale and the Morgan. Any opinions.....

- Sue

 

[Harley]

Two soapstone/cast iron inserts I looked at by Hearthstone are the Clydesdale and the Morgan. Any opinions.....

- Sue

For an insert - I think that might be it. I don't believe Woodstock makes an insert.

There's a few members here with Clydesdales - hopefully they will chime in. But I think what web was referring to was that a soapstone insert may not really gove the full "benefit" of the "gentle heat" compared to a frestanding soapstone stove. In other words... if you really want the look and feel of soapstone.... go with a free-standing stove if you can. If you really want an insert, then you have tons of options, and don't necessarily need to limit yourself to soapstone.