soapstone ?

[doug60]

Been burning for 20 years.
My current stove is a 1977 Defiant.
I'm trying to talk myself into a new stove.
I'm thinking Hearthstone Equinox, my questions are.
Is there any problem keeping moisture in the air?
The Defiant puts about 2 to 3 gallons a day back into the air at 400 degrees stove top temps.
Can I still put my big olé pot of water on the Equinox.?
Does the soapstone stove take less moisture out of the air?
thanks,doug

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Doug, we've been burning a few moons longer than you so we both love wood heat. We finally broke down and bought our first soapstone stove last year and installed it over the summer. We heat entirely with this soapstone stove.

You ask about putting moisture into the air. 400 degrees is the same heat no matter the source, so if you put a lot of moisture into the air with your Defiant, you will with a soapstone. The only caution is to be super careful filling your water pot. I'd say if you spilled cold water on a hot soapstone, you would be asking for big problems and would crack it.

As for the soapstone taking less moisture from the air, I don't see how it could. We may feel the heat differently, but it is like feeling the cold different with different humidities and different wind speeds. Air temperature stays the same. Same with humidity in the air. Why would it make a difference if the 400 degrees was given through soapstone vs. cast or steel?

Good luck on your new stove. You might also want to look strongly at the Woodstock line as they definitely are top of the line.

 

[swestall]

Hey! I made the same trip this year after a bad experience with the new Defiant. I love the Soapstone. We use a little soapstone pot on the stovetop. It doesn't boil down as much water as the Defiant did. But, the water the Defiant boiled down was inadequate. We use a mid size Honewell humidifier in the house and it gets the humidity up to 30-40% which is just fine. The heat from the Soapstone is very nice. It takes a bit of getting use to because the burn is different, etc. You will have a lot of company here because we have had a bunch of new Soapstone burners this year. Everyone can have a ball in the Fall, caring and sharing.
Best to you. We replaced the Defiant with the Mansfield. The side door was of no use to us on the Equinox. We are very happy with it.

 

[Todd]

I have a steamer on top of my stove and usually go through a gallon or so per day. I don't think steamers can put out enough humidity. Better to use a humidifier in my opinion.

 

[colsmith]

We have a Hearthstone Phoenix soapstone stove. During the winter we keep a large glass pot (Visions) on top of the stove, or sometimes a flat 13 x 9 cake pan, filled with water. We have to refill several times a day so although I can't give you an exact number (depends on the pot used and so on) it definitely puts at least a gallon of water into the air every day. It keeps the air in the house nice and humid, no need for any other humidifier. Why buy an object that takes electrical energy when the old fashioned pot of water works so well? No moving parts, nothing to break, simple to use! We are quite fond of our stove.

 

[Vic99]

I agree with backwoods about air moisture.

I have a soapstone steamer pot:
(broken link removed to http://www.lehmans.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=3042)

On the coldest winter days a full pot will last about 2 days.

Spilling a bit of water on the soapstone stove will not cause a problem. Dumping a huge amount could definitely crack the stone.

You'll find lots of us that enjoy soapstone and those that prefer iron or steel stoves here. Soapstone is best for the 24/7 burner. If you plan to burn just when you get home from work, you may get frustrated that it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get up to temperatures that put out solid heat. However, for 24/7 burners, when the fire goes out, and the stove is 200 F with coals, relighting and getting back to 400+ isn't hard for 2.0+ cubic foot fireboxes.