Yes or no?

[Creekheat]

So I had this nice cast iron kettle for our new stove. Our installer, a guy with 22+ years experience advised us never to use a kettle in our stove room. He said the moisture they put into the air gets sucked into the stove and can promote rusting.

I'm curious what everyone thinks? Stovetop kettle or no?

Tips?

 

[Woody Stover]

I doubt it would get sucked into the stove; It's rising, and the stove intakes are down low. The stove is hot anyway. Trying to humidify the air? What is the RH in the house now? We have decent indoor humidity here, no need to supplement...

 

[Hogwildz]

Your installer is nuts.
Millions of folks use kettles just fine. But really, you won't get enough moisture from it to raise the house moisture much.
Look into console humidifiers if you want to get the humidity level up in the house.

 

[ailanthus]

Your installer is nuts.
Millions of folks use kettles just fine. But really, you won't get enough moisture from it to raise the house moisture much.
Look into console humidifiers if you want to get the humidity level up in the house.

True on all counts...

 

[Creekheat]

That's what I was hoping to hear. We are not concerned with humidification but just love the smell of some orange peel in the kettle!

 

[FionaD]

Ah! Now....orange peel emissions are another matter... Very dangerous and very, very bad for your stove.

....only joking...

Sounds like your installer is doing what so many of them seem to do over here - proving just how necessary they are and how much more than you they know - by making things up

 

[firefighterjake]

HehHeh . . . just trying to imagine how long any moisture that gets into my firebox would last while it is chugging along with ol' Bezelbub threatening to step out of the Portal to Hell in my woodstove.

As mentioned . . . the guy is full of it . . . otherwise folks here a long time ago would have been complaining about their steamers rusting out their stoves.

Now in the Summer . . . the humidity and difference in temps can lead to some issues sometimes. Some folks put some dessicant or baking soda in their firebox over the summer while others block off the chimney/flue . . . and others don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[FionaD]

...Sweating the small stuff definitely rusts your stove!

 

[maple1]

Kinda makes ya wonder about getting a 'professional installation'.

 

[Jags]

He's smoking crack. Steam away.

 

[clark77]

I think the only rust you will get is on the stove top. but that will be from the pot and any spillage of water you do if you fill the pot when its still on the stove. maybe that's what the "professional installer" meant to say???

 

[Simonkenton]

We run a big 3 gallon steel pot on top of the wood stove, we put at least 2 gallons of water vapor into the air every day. Weird, it really doesn't make the house that much more humid.
After 17 years there is no rust inside the wood stove. Even if the wood stove inhaled that steam, in the middle of all that heat of the firebox, no way it could cause rust. For that matter, think of all the water you deliberately put inside your stove, even if your wood is down to 17 percent moisture content. A hundred pounds of wood a day is 17 pounds of water.

Your "professional" installer is running his mouth to try to show how smart he is.

 

[draughtdude]

I've always liked those ultrasonic vibrating humidifiers, they don't use a lot of electricity unlike the heated element ones, and their vapour mist is really pleasing. Check it out.

 

[draughtdude]

What do you guys usually shoot for for relative humidity in your house? I find it tricky to strike a balance between enough moisture but not so much that the windows are constantly sweating. 40% here.

 

[maple1]

I have come to the point of just not worrying about it.

Right now my meters are saying 30%. Might vary a little bit now & then, day to day.

I have also come to the point of ignoring moisture on the windows. I still get it on some windows even when I get into the 20's. It is not always & not so much an indication of high overall humidity levels, but also an indication of little air movement across them, and maybe higher pockets of humidity. Bathroom after a shower for example. I even get moisture or frost on my storm door windows - likely some air washing there, but also a very cold surface with only one pane of glass. The ones I see moisture on are usually ones that don't have a rad right under them - so no convective air currents.

 

[draughtdude]

I have come to the point of just not worrying about it.

Right now my meters are saying 30%. Might vary a little bit now & then, day to day.

I have also come to the point of ignoring moisture on the windows. I still get it on some windows even when I get into the 20's. It is not always & not so much an indication of high overall humidity levels, but also an indication of little air movement across them, and maybe higher pockets of humidity. Bathroom after a shower for example. I even get moisture or frost on my storm door windows - likely some air washing there, but also a very cold surface with only one pane of glass. The ones I see moisture on are usually ones that don't have a rad right under them - so no convective air currents.

Agreed, but moisture on windows with wood sills becomes irritating and somewhat destructive .

 

[maple1]

Oh yes, agreed. You do have to keep an eye on buildup & wipe if needed. We don't have wood sills so get a bit lax in that department - which leads to some cleaning eventually.

 

[newatthis]

Not to change the subject, but is no rust on the inside of the stove the norm? Our stoves are new, and I recently took our Morso insert apart a little after the chimney cleaners were here, and was surprised to see a light film of rust all through the inside of the box, and also on the way out, where the hot air blows toward the room (kind of a baffled area, you can't see that far in there.) The only think I can think of that i'm doing wrong is that a few times I loaded a cold stove, and didn't light it, just getting ready for the next fire, like I used to do when it was a fireplace. Is there anything I should be doing, now, or during the off-season? I was going to get some Damp Rid.

 

[Jags]

Other than maybe some Damp rid or a lit candle (of which I do neither) - no special treatment is needed. Many/most will simply clean the stove out well at the end of the season. Truth be told - I don't do that either.

Light internal rust ain't hurting a thing.

 

[Hogwildz]

My console is set to 50% humidity, but the actual humidity per two humidistats is averaging 33%. In the 20% range or lower, I get dried out, shocked from everything I touch, and depending on how half asleep I am, I can get a tad bit "shocked" mentally not being prepared for it, and also literally.
The wood is the house is very appreciative of the humidifier also.

Depending on how cold it gets here, there is some moisture on the windows when it is real cold, whether the humidifier is running or not.

 

[Swedishchef]

That's what I was hoping to hear. We are not concerned with humidification but just love the smell of some orange peel in the kettle!

Just a small tip: use a cast iront pot, not a kettle. A friend tried using a kettle with potpourri: once the water was totally evaporated his cinnamon/orange/spice smell turned quickly to a burn/char smell

Andrew

 

[Swedishchef]

I have also come to the point of ignoring moisture on the windows. I still get it on some windows even when I get into the 20's. It is not always & not so much an indication of high overall humidity levels, but also an indication of little air movement across them, and maybe higher pockets of humidity. Bathroom after a shower for example

+1000.
When my windows start dripping at the bottom, I wipe them and turn on a small fan. That happens about 3-4 times a winter (when boiling food all day, etc).