Does anyone have a soapstone woodburning stove? (Fairbanks: houses, to buy)

[gdkodiak]

We are thinking of installing a woodstove - a back-up energy source - and have been looking closely at the soapstone stoves. The retailer and manufacturer claim that you get a very even, long-lasting and uniform heat compared to the very warm and then as the fires dies down the rapid drop typically experienced by a cast iron stove. They claim that the soapstone retains heat much longer than cast iron (makes sense) and that the burn time is much longer (10 hours for the model we are looking at).

Does anyone have any experience with these stoves?

[akbound08]

i got one a little over a month ago. i love it! right now its my only source of heat. it does stay warm longer than steel or cast iron. they both heat up faster, but cool much quicker as well. i have an antique hearthstone brand soapstone wood stove and it keeps my house warm long after the fire burns out. i fill it in the morning and let it burn out. it warms my trailer home to 82 and it slowly drops over 8 hrs to around 67. then i lite another fire and keep it around 74till i go to bed when i fill it up and it does the same temp change over the night. maybe a few degrees colder in the morning, but not much. you would definetly like a soapstone stove. here is a link to the brand and model stove i have. the new ones probably work even better than my dump special! here ya go! Stove Details | Hearthstone Stoves

[gdkodiak]

That is exactly the model of stove that I have been looking at. Thanks a lot for your input.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by gdkodiak

We are thinking of installing a woodstove - a back-up energy source - and have been looking closely at the soapstone stoves. The retailer and manufacturer claim that you get a very even, long-lasting and uniform heat compared to the very warm and then as the fires dies down the rapid drop typically experienced by a cast iron stove. They claim that the soapstone retains heat much longer than cast iron (makes sense) and that the burn time is much longer (10 hours for the model we are looking at).

Does anyone have any experience with these stoves?

All depends on the cast iron stove. For example, I have a Jotul 500 that weights around 400 pounds. That's a lot of iron! Not only that, but the firebox's back wall is lined with fire bricks. Once the temperature is up to optimum range, it stays hot for a long time after the fire has died down. I was planning to buy a soapstone stove, but was told by a friend that soapstone can break if you drop something heavy on it. For example, one of the cast iron pots used to humidify the area around the stove.

By the way, all stove manufacturers list long burns from their stoves. The problem is that such burning figures apply to the area where the stove was tested by the factory. Once you get the same stove to Fairbanks, for example, the burning time does not match the advertisements.

[arctichomesteader]

Some soapstone stoves are steel or iron with soapstone panels over the metal, so, damage to the stone doesn't necessarily mean a ruined stove. Soapstone stoves really are nicer than iron for giving off heat longer, but they heat up slowly too...

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Some soapstone stoves are steel or iron with soapstone panels over the metal, so, damage to the stone doesn't necessarily mean a ruined stove. Soapstone stoves really are nicer than iron for giving off heat longer, but they heat up slowly too...

Soapstone is delicate and can crack. Depending on construction, both cast iron and soapstone are about the same. For example the one I have is supposed to burn as long as the soapstone one talked by the OP (over 9 hours). The problem is that it's extremely heavy. However, the Jotul 500 has front and side doors. The side door allows for adding logs to the fire already burning without having smoke coming out (the side door is lower than the front door).

This is the one I have. Well...my wife wanted this one (ivory enamel) instead of black. I have outside air coming to it, and the stack goes straight back though the wall. It has a back and floor shield, and the shield can be around 6" from back wall, but I got the installer to leave 12" of room behind the stove.



I can load 22" logs in it, but use 18" ones instead.

[gdkodiak]

I can certainly see where the side door in addition to the front door for loading would be an advantage.

[akbound08]

my soapstone stove has a couple cracks in it but they dont go all the way through. most of the time when soapstone cracks it is superficial.

[ImAHobbit]

I've had a Hearthstone stove for 6 years now and I love it. Mine's not soapstone but it's still 75% efficient burning wood. My neighbor across the road just bought one (Bennington? model) and his is 80% efficient and has the side door also but no soapstone. There's several people here at the base that have Hearthstone stoves - you can tell which houses because they hardly ever have any smoke coming out of the chimney. And on that note, I cleaned my pipe out last weekend for the first time in over 2 years and only got enough soot out to fill an ice cream bucket about 1 inch deep.
No, I don't sell Hearthstone stoves, I just love mine and I've owned 2 other Earthstoves, and 3 other stoves that I can't remember what brands.

[tidelines]

I'll have to ask a friend what brand of stove she's got; it's not what you've described here. She puts in 2-3 pieces in the morning about 5 a.m., lets them burn through, then adds another load of 2-3 pieces and leaves for the day. Around 5 p.m., she comes home and finds the house - over 5000 sf - warm and comfortable, mid to high 60s range. She'll repeat the process of 3 pieces for two loads in the evening and that's good until the morning. It's wonderful, radiant heat all day long. We sidle up to it on a rainy day and there's nothing warmer - and it won't burn you to the touch, either. It's just like having a hot rock in the middle of your bed. It's efficient, that's for sure. When the time comes to replace my metal stove, it'll be with the brand she has.