Stovetop cooking while using extra stone

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Backwoods Savage

Minister of Fire
Feb 14, 2007
27,811
Michigan
There are a few folks who have purchased extra soapstone to place on their stove. Some have done it hoping for extra heat retention and others just for cooking. Woodstock has extra stone cut to size to fit the Fireview. Extra stone

On their website it states, "In general temperatures on the cooking stone are 1/2 that on the stove top directly." I got to wondering so when I started the stove from a cold start, I placed two of the boot driers where the thermometer sits and placed the thermometer on top of the extra stone. I then placed another thermometer on the opposite side.

The difference was a lot for sure. I noticed the biggest difference before reaching 250 degrees which is what I expected. Above 250, when the cat was engaged the temperature was close to 100 degrees difference. The hotter fire has to wait for colder temperatures outdoors but I'll do more experimenting.


The reason I bring this to the attention of others is if they are covering their stove top, they need to be aware of the difference if they are doing this on a cat stove.


Back to the cooking. We considered purchasing the extra stone but really doubt we need it. The reason for us is because we have 2 sets of the boot driers and one set of the glove driers. We find that using these between stove top and pot bottom works very well.....except when I have the boot driers out in the woods with me. I use them to put inside of extra gloves when going out to cut wood. That way if my hands get cold I can change gloves and have a really nice warm pair to put on. I also snow plow a few driveways with the atv and change gloves a few times while doing that. It makes the work go much nicer.
 
This is one of the reasons why my soapstone topper actually sits a 1/2 inch or so above the top of the stove . . .
 
I bought a pair of those cut to size stones for my FV along with the stove. They are now gathering dust for the most part so I don't really recommend them... The long side of it -

As BS points out - while the stove is on the "heating" side of things the stones run about 100* cooler than without (I did IR temp checks with one stone on and one stone off, swapping sides on different burns), on the cooling side they show about a 50* differential. Bottom line though is that with the stones on top the top of the stove stays cooler - well, this is all fine and dandy if you aren't trying to get all the heat you can off the top of the stove eh? For me this is a problem so I don't use them. Now to the point of the stones - cooking! Well, I rather like having more heat available when I cook. So... if I'm cooking I'd rather have a bit more heat available and thus will just risk the damage to the original surface if I REALLY need the heat, or more likely use my antique trivets (cast iron) that sit on the stove and thus lift the pot/pans just a bit above the stove. Ok - they aren't directly on the stone so they don't get the max heat, but they do get hot.

The best option may well be to do what BS is doing - use smaller blocks of soapstone (i.e. the boot/hand warmers) to place cookware on. They then can be easily removed after cooking so the heating capacity of the stovetop isn't reduced after the fact. Removing the cut to fit pieces is very difficult when they are hot.
 
Slow1 said:
I did IR temp checks with one stone on and one stone off, swapping sides on different burns... on the cooling side they show about a 50* differential.

I got a 50º differential between the two sides on the Fireview at the Woodstock plant as well. That stove had been running all day, so I don't know what to call it - heating or cooling. I don't see the big deal over 50º on a square foot or so of heating area, but in a situation like you have, I guess every BTU counts. I would expect that, come morning, that side will be hotter than the plain side. The heat is never really lost, just detained in the extra stone for a while.

Of course, you can skip the soapstone entirely and go with a cast iron stove and get even higher temps. ;-P
 
Battenkiller said:
Slow1 said:
I did IR temp checks with one stone on and one stone off, swapping sides on different burns... on the cooling side they show about a 50* differential.

I got a 50º differential between the two sides on the Fireview at the Woodstock plant as well. That stove had been running all day, so I don't know what to call it - heating or cooling. I don't see the big deal over 50º on a square foot or so of heating area, but in a situation like you have, I guess every BTU counts. I would expect that, come morning, that side will be hotter than the plain side. The heat is never really lost, just detained in the extra stone for a while.

Of course, you can skip the soapstone entirely and go with a cast iron stove and get even higher temps. ;-P

What I mean by "heating" and "cooling" is that when the stove is in the midst of the primary burn and temp is rising I see the greater difference, when the stove has peaked the burn and is headed down in temp the difference is less - even though the FV keeps a pretty steady temperature it isn't flat the entire burn in my house - it does have a peak that it reaches - may hold it for a while - then it begins to slowly fall. Wish I had some fancy recording equipment to log so I could draw graphs of it :).

I was there when you measured the stove at the plant - as I recall it was very likely on the decline given the fire level in the stove, not a lot of wood in there and mostly burned so I suspect it had been a while since last feeding.
 
Slow1 said:
...The best option may well be to do what BS is doing - use smaller blocks of soapstone (i.e. the boot/hand warmers) to place cookware on. They then can be easily removed after cooking so the heating capacity of the stovetop isn't reduced after the fact. Removing the cut to fit pieces is very difficult when they are hot.

Slow, we actually have those small stones on the stove most of the time. If they are not inside a pair of boots, gloves or if I don't have them outside with me they are on the stove top so that when needed, they are ready to go. We really make good use of those little stones and they are well worth the dollars.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Slow1 said:
...The best option may well be to do what BS is doing - use smaller blocks of soapstone (i.e. the boot/hand warmers) to place cookware on. They then can be easily removed after cooking so the heating capacity of the stovetop isn't reduced after the fact. Removing the cut to fit pieces is very difficult when they are hot.

Slow, we actually have those small stones on the stove most of the time. If they are not inside a pair of boots, gloves or if I don't have them outside with me they are on the stove top so that when needed, they are ready to go. We really make good use of those little stones and they are well worth the dollars.

I believe it. I've been giving some thought to cutting my larger stones up into smaller pieces so we can get some good use out of the stone. I should have taken them with me when I went up there and seen if I could trade them in for some other stone as it does seem a shame to cut up nice big pieces...
 
Those stones are on my Christmas list but knowing hubby and sons I will have to buy my own. ;)

PS How do you cut or drill soapstone?

Shari
 
Shari said:
PS How do you cut or drill soapstone?

It's pretty soft. I'll bet you could cut it easily with one of those diamond Sawzall blades. I don't know about the dust. I wouldn't be breathing any of it if it was me, so some water sprayed on it while cutting would be the way to go. Wear a mask as well, just to be safe.

Any decent carbide-tipped masonry bit should make short work of drilling it. I guess the stuff varies, though. One of the workers at Woodstock told me some of it can be hard to cut. Worth a try with the cheap stuff before you go renting a tile saw or the like.
 
firefighterjake said:
This is one of the reasons why my soapstone topper actually sits a 1/2 inch or so above the top of the stove . . .

Picture please?

I recall seeing somebody's... a custom fitted soapstone top - was that yours? Liked the look!
Would consider it on mine except it would have to be split in two for the bypass damper arm.
 
Shari said:
Those stones are on my Christmas list but knowing hubby and sons I will have to buy my own. ;)

PS How do you cut or drill soapstone?

Shari

The Keystone comes with a slab for the top exhaust plate if your rear venting and since I'm top venting I cut that piece into little boot warmers and a trivet for my tea pot. I just used my chop saw with a regular wood cutting blade and it went through like butter. As far as drilling goes I bet any metal bit will do.
 
Now I know why there is a difference between Hearthstone and Woodstock as far as max stove top temps go. Hearthstone's tops are thicker so they stay a bit cooler. I think Woodstocks top stones are only 3/4" but the sides are 2 seperate layers of 3/4" and 1 1/8". I think Hearthstone is 1 1/2" thick?
 
Todd said:
Shari said:
Those stones are on my Christmas list but knowing hubby and sons I will have to buy my own. ;)

PS How do you cut or drill soapstone?

Shari

The Keystone comes with a slab for the top exhaust plate if your rear venting and since I'm top venting I cut that piece into little boot warmers and a trivet for my tea pot. I just used my chop saw with a regular wood cutting blade and it went through like butter. As far as drilling goes I bet any metal bit will do.

Thanks for the info!

Shari
 
tickbitty said:
firefighterjake said:
This is one of the reasons why my soapstone topper actually sits a 1/2 inch or so above the top of the stove . . .

Picture please?

I recall seeing somebody's... a custom fitted soapstone top - was that yours? Liked the look!
Would consider it on mine except it would have to be split in two for the bypass damper arm.

Here's my original thread . . . which contains some pics . . . by the way I have since put up wood trim around the window. ;)

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/45549/
 
Status
Not open for further replies.