I have a new Lopi Leyden cast iron enameled stove im installing at my house. I also currently have a medium Dutchwest at my cabin up in the mountains. With my dutchwest which is not enameled, I would build fast fires simply by leaving the ashdoor open and creating a "blowtorch" in the firebox for several hours, while my cabin went from subfreezing temps to normal room temps during weekend visits. By overfireing it in this fashion, I could regularly bring the 2000 sq foot house up 15-20 degrees per hour, so if the cabin was 15 degrees, with four hours of an utter blazing fire I could have the place at 75deg. I know, I know, I shouldn't be puting the stove through that.....but it has held up very well to the abuse....Now with my new stove, I don't want to do anything to void the warranty, damage it, or overfire it, but is there a problem with starting the stove by using the same technique, but shutting it down right as it gets to good tempertatures? (not overfireing it). In other words, will an ice cold stove expand too fast by starting a fire in this fashion that I might crack the enameling or something? Anyone had problems with enameled stoves cracking?
Worried about cracking the enamel by building fast and hot fires...should I be?
- Thread starter rkymtnoffgrid
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rkymtnoffgrid said:
You will find very few folks who would recommend starting a fire with the ash box door open . . . the firebox door left slightly ajar . . . no problem . . . the ash door left open . . . nope . . . some manufacturers have manuals that specifically state not to do this unless you want to risk voiding your warranty. Part of the problem is that doing this can not only lead to a potential overfire, but by creating a forge-like situation you can end up potentially warping the metal parts inside the firebox such as the grates if present.
It sounds to me like the fact it works so well is the reason you don't want to do it, the stove heats too fast...I thought as much...I did note that the instructions said to leave the door cracked while starting, but did not specify which one. I suppose that since my leyden has a ash drawer, not specifically a door, perhaps there was no need to specify. Thanks for the input..
The risk is not so much to the enameling, but to the ash grate and bottom casting. Using the ashpan door to feed air to the fire creates a forge like effect under the ash grate. It is not designed for this.
From the manual:
Using the ashpan door to feed air to the fire creates a forge like effect under the ash grate. It is not designed for this. Failure to fully close and seal
the ashpan may lead to an over-fired stove, negating the warranty and creating a safety hazard.
From the manual:
Using the ashpan door to feed air to the fire creates a forge like effect under the ash grate. It is not designed for this. Failure to fully close and seal
the ashpan may lead to an over-fired stove, negating the warranty and creating a safety hazard.
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