Stone on stove?

[Thislilfishy]

Just want some opinions, my thinking is divided. I had some left over soapstone so I had cut a piece to originally use as a slab for cooking on with in the BBQ. Well, at some point I put it on top of the wood stove, because it really tied into the soapstone hearth pad I built. I also figured it might also hold some of the heat of the stove as well, maybe marginally increasing the length of useful heat from the stove.

After some more thought, I am wondering if this could possibly damage the stove by trapping heat between the stone and steel of the stove, or possibly increasing metal fatigue.

What do you all think?

 

[Prichan]

Just want some opinions, my thinking is divided. I had some left over soapstone so I had cut a piece to originally use as a slab for cooking on with in the BBQ. Well, at some point I put it on top of the wood stove, because it really tied into the soapstone hearth pad I built. I also figured it might also hold some of the heat of the stove as well, maybe marginally increasing the length of useful heat from the stove.

After some more thought, I am wondering if this could possibly damage the stove by trapping heat between the stone and steel of the stove, or possibly increasing metal fatigue.

What do you all think?

Might be a good idea to remove it, not take any chances. I would.

 

[SteveKG]

I don't see how it could cause any more trouble than putting a bunch of pots of water/soup/etc. on top, which there is room for there. Which is no trouble at all. But what do I know....

 

[bholler]

i seriously doubt it will cause a problem soapstone does not really hold heat in it is actually better at sucking heat away. But if you are concerned just put some metal spacers under it like 4 steel nuts in the corners or something like that

 

[Thislilfishy]

You know, I was thinking about making some small feet for it out of soapstone scrap, but I happen to have some 1" aluminum tubing that could easily be cut to size for feet. This idea I like! Thanks Bholler.


Ian

 

[firefighterjake]

I have a slab of soapstone on top of my woodstove . . . pretty much covers the entire top.

Bought the stone to see if it would offer any benefits . . . long story, short . . . nope . . . but it does look pretty and my wife feels as though it may offer the cats some additional protection in case any are dumb enough to try to jump up on top of the stove (for the record, I have yet to see any of them even think about jumping on top of the stove.)

I doubt your stone would cause any damage . .. but like you . . . I was wondering if it might be a problem by not allowing the top to vent off the heat . . . so I took some scrap slate left over from my hearth and use them as "footies" for the soapstone slab -- lifting them up a bit.

 

[mstoelton]

Well let's think about this from an objective viewpoint, several stoves have soapstone inside of them as liners in place of firebrick. If the soapstone is OK on hell's side of the steel/cast iron, then is prolly gonna be OK on the other side. JMHO

 

[DougA]

I agree that the soapstone should pull the heat from the stove rather than trap it.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I like that, kind of jazzes up the top of a stove. Im going to look for something like that for my stove, that looks great. I certainly wouldnt worry about it causing any damage or problems.

 

[Thislilfishy]

Thanks I like it too.

So I did some measurements with the stone. I found the surface of the stone was ~100 degrees cooler then the surface of the stove directly beside the stone, using the same thermometer. Now, I removed the stone and placed it on the hearth pad to cool. After 45 minutes, that little piece of stone was still way too hot to touch (as the small burn on my hand will attest). So the theory is, I may be loosing some max heat advantage by having the stone there, however, it seems to hold heat and release it very slowly. I think, back on it goes! Does it help? Probably not measurably, but every little bit counts in my mind! I think I will make some feet though just for peace of mind. Does it hurt, not sold in this yet. It seems to me the stove is a lighter colour now where I had the stone sitting, but I have had the stone off for a week or so and just had that copper(plated tin) kettle there. I am wondering if there is some copper transfer to the stove surface there now, as I don't remember seeing the lighter area when I removed the stone last week.

Ian