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We have an old wood cookstove from the 1910s. It is old, worn out and beyond economic repair. It's best use at this point will be as multiple boat anchors.
They are very friendly. I have bought parts from them previously. They do really good work, and they stock a nice inventory of older cookstoves. From my previous experience, I tend to think of cast iron as hard to repair and kind of fragile. I have had multiple cast iron stoves in the past that have had cracks and warps in them. So I have been thinking of going to a stove made of rolled steel.
This guy can go on for a while about all of the virtues of cast iron stoves. He insists that if you keep the proper heat-shields inside the firebox, a cast iron stove should never wear-out. Lacking a source for tailor-made heat-shields he recommends refractory cement. Many of their stoves have been lined with refractory cement because nobody makes the proper heat shields anymore.
I have done a lot of masonry before using refractory cement. But I have always poured it. Yesterday he showed me that you can work it to a potting clay consistency, so it can be molded much better. So I think that from now on I will try using it like that instead.
But this still does not resolve my quandary between rolled steel cook stoves and the cast iron cookstoves.
What do you people think about cookstoves?
Who here uses a cast iron cookstove?
Who here uses a modern steel cookstove?
What do you prefer and why?
We already have a woodstove that usually heats our house. It also heats water that is circulated through a thermal-bank and through our radiant flooring.
We want a new cookstove for winter baking and stove top cooking, along with heating water.
We have a typical kitchen indoors, with a modern fridge and propane-fueled range. Our house, at 1120 sf is a good deal smaller than yours (you stated 2400 sf?). So heat tends to build up in summer if a lot of cooking is done inside, and at any time of year, we can run out of room if cooking for a holiday meal, not to mention the mess and grease in the kitchen.
We do heat with wood (mostly) and use a cast iron wood stove - a vintage Vermont Castings Vigilant. This stove does have a cooktop, but we don't use it for cooking. Sometimes we heat water on it.
But back to the kitchen. To alleviate the problem if unwanted indoor heat, not enough space, and build up of grease, we have an "outdoor" kitchen, which is basically a propane-fired grill, a griddle, and a wood-fired oven that I built myself of fire brick. This outdoor kitchen is located on a deck in back that is screened in during summer, and glazed with greenhouse plastic in winter (the panels just pop out and I change them twice a year).
This really does cut down on the grease and crumbs in the kitchen inside. When it gets gunky I just hose it all down. Typical male solution! The wood-fired oven cooks our holiday roasts and our pizzas and even our breads/cakes when the wife's kitchen is otherwise unavailable.
Keeping your wife happy is a good way to keep your life happy!:
I've got a Monarch range in the cabin. Bought it used, and it had been the primary cook stove for the guy for many years. We put it in the cabin and it still works great.
My mother uses it to cook everything including baked goods in the oven. It's heavy cast iron, has a flattop grill over the oven, and a reservoir that holds about 15 gallons of water.
I don't have an exact date of manufacture, but it's probably pretty close to 100 years old.
The fire grate is getting worn, but other than that, everything is in great shape and works fine.
The only rolled steel stoves I've used have been camp stoves. They work pretty well, but I've never used them for extended periods of time to check for how they hold up for daily use. I will say they throw a lot of heat, but don't hold it very long once the fire's out.
Cast iron stoves ... hands down ... have more thermal mass than rolled steel stoves. At least in all the ones I've ever seen in use, the iron stoves will outperform the rolled steel stoves.
We use a Waterford Stanley wood cook stove. A 1998 production stove much the same as they'd been making for almost a century. It is used to supplement heat our house and we do most of our winter months (generally 5-6 months per year) cooking on it. For some months of that season, it's powerful enough to be the primary heat source in the house and a very pleasant heater to be near. Located centrally in our living room adjacent to the kitchen, it's reasonably convenient to use. We burn an average 5 cords of wood per year, most recently beetle kill pine trees (well seasoned and aged so as not to spread the beetles) from the national forest areas not too far from home. The oven is pretty good sized, I've had a large Griswold oval cast iron cooker in it with a 25lb turkey to roast. As always with these old cookstoves, one must turn the food in the oven from time to time to cook uniformly, especially when baking breads or cookies.
I've neighbors who have installed rolled steel stoves. These seem to transfer and heat very quickly even from a modest sized fire. What shows as a big difference in operation is that they must make frequent small additions to the fire to keep the stove heating consistently; ie, a lot more work to keep them operating at peak efficiency without damaging the stove. I recall that the house we were at last Thanksgiving had the owner stoking the fire every 15 minutes or so to keep the stove perking along ... and it was an expensive european stove designed primarily as a heating stove, not a cookstove although it had a sizable flat top to cook on.
I've looked at hundreds of old cast iron stoves around the western USA over the decades at farm/ranch auctions. Some of them are pretty broken up due to abuse; generally, the ones with warped firebox liners are missing pieces or show clear signs of over firing. Perhaps folks packed the firebox full of smaller pieces and left the doors open for a much larger hotter fire? I have no problems with a smaller fire and stoking as needed through the day and night, usually about 2-3 hours between stoking. For the latter part of the night, I'll bank the fire and stoke it full to get 6-8 hours of burn time with the air control almost completely closed. Even if the fire burns out, the thermal mass of the stove stays warm for hours afterwards to continue heating the house. I think it helps to start a smaller fire and warm up the cook stove gradually rather than build a big fire to begin which can shock the stove. Since we run the stove almost continuously in the winter, it's not difficult to keep the stove warm.
If you've got somebody who knows cast iron wood cook stoves and can rebuild them for a reasonable price, I'd be looking at one of the older models that has an airtight firebox and/or easily adjustable airflow control. Or check out the new models at your retailers or look into the Lehman's catalogue offerings.
We have a typical kitchen indoors, with a modern fridge and propane-fueled range. Our house, at 1120 sf is a good deal smaller than yours (you stated 2400 sf?). So heat tends to build up in summer if a lot of cooking is done inside, and at any time of year, we can run out of room if cooking for a holiday meal, not to mention the mess and grease in the kitchen.
We do heat with wood (mostly) and use a cast iron wood stove - a vintage Vermont Castings Vigilant. This stove does have a cooktop, but we don't use it for cooking. Sometimes we heat water on it.
But back to the kitchen. To alleviate the problem if unwanted indoor heat, not enough space, and build up of grease, we have an "outdoor" kitchen, which is basically a propane-fired grill, a griddle, and a wood-fired oven that I built myself of fire brick. This outdoor kitchen is located on a deck in back that is screened in during summer, and glazed with greenhouse plastic in winter (the panels just pop out and I change them twice a year).
This really does cut down on the grease and crumbs in the kitchen inside. When it gets gunky I just hose it all down. Typical male solution! The wood-fired oven cooks our holiday roasts and our pizzas and even our breads/cakes when the wife's kitchen is otherwise unavailable.
Keeping your wife happy is a good way to keep your life happy!:
My wife does a lot of canning in the summer. That is most of her indoor 'cooking' in the summer. Otherwise we do need to shift to an outdoor kitchen, we have discussed doing such.
With all of our windows open and 2400 sq ft our gas stove does not seem to heat the house much in summer.
I've got a Monarch range in the cabin. Bought it used, and it had been the primary cook stove for the guy for many years. We put it in the cabin and it still works great.
My mother uses it to cook everything including baked goods in the oven. It's heavy cast iron, has a flattop grill over the oven, and a reservoir that holds about 15 gallons of water.
I don't have an exact date of manufacture, but it's probably pretty close to 100 years old.
The fire grate is getting worn, but other than that, everything is in great shape and works fine.
The only rolled steel stoves I've used have been camp stoves. They work pretty well, but I've never used them for extended periods of time to check for how they hold up for daily use. I will say they throw a lot of heat, but don't hold it very long once the fire's out.
2 and 3 inch thick cast iron does hold heat much better than 1/4 inch steel that is certain.
Our primary heating method will remain heated water to thermal bank to radiant floor. This year I am already 2/3 through building our Active Solar heating system, which will tie-in with our existing thermal bank and radiant floor. I am hoping that our consumption of firewood for home heat will reduce significantly.
It would be nice if the only time we end up burning firewood will be for during meal cooking
Cast iron stoves ... hands down ... have more thermal mass than rolled steel stoves. At least in all the ones I've ever seen in use, the iron stoves will outperform the rolled steel stoves.
We use a Waterford Stanley wood cook stove. A 1998 production stove much the same as they'd been making for almost a century. It is used to supplement heat our house and we do most of our winter months (generally 5-6 months per year) cooking on it. For some months of that season, it's powerful enough to be the primary heat source in the house and a very pleasant heater to be near. Located centrally in our living room adjacent to the kitchen, it's reasonably convenient to use. We burn an average 5 cords of wood per year, most recently beetle kill pine trees (well seasoned and aged so as not to spread the beetles) from the national forest areas not too far from home. The oven is pretty good sized, I've had a large Griswold oval cast iron cooker in it with a 25lb turkey to roast. As always with these old cookstoves, one must turn the food in the oven from time to time to cook uniformly, especially when baking breads or cookies.
I've neighbors who have installed rolled steel stoves. These seem to transfer and heat very quickly even from a modest sized fire. What shows as a big difference in operation is that they must make frequent small additions to the fire to keep the stove heating consistently; ie, a lot more work to keep them operating at peak efficiency without damaging the stove. I recall that the house we were at last Thanksgiving had the owner stoking the fire every 15 minutes or so to keep the stove perking along ... and it was an expensive european stove designed primarily as a heating stove, not a cookstove although it had a sizable flat top to cook on.
I've looked at hundreds of old cast iron stoves around the western USA over the decades at farm/ranch auctions. Some of them are pretty broken up due to abuse; generally, the ones with warped firebox liners are missing pieces or show clear signs of over firing. Perhaps folks packed the firebox full of smaller pieces and left the doors open for a much larger hotter fire? I have no problems with a smaller fire and stoking as needed through the day and night, usually about 2-3 hours between stoking. For the latter part of the night, I'll bank the fire and stoke it full to get 6-8 hours of burn time with the air control almost completely closed. Even if the fire burns out, the thermal mass of the stove stays warm for hours afterwards to continue heating the house. I think it helps to start a smaller fire and warm up the cook stove gradually rather than build a big fire to begin which can shock the stove. Since we run the stove almost continuously in the winter, it's not difficult to keep the stove warm.
If you've got somebody who knows cast iron wood cook stoves and can rebuild them for a reasonable price, I'd be looking at one of the older models that has an airtight firebox and/or easily adjustable airflow control. Or check out the new models at your retailers or look into the Lehman's catalogue offerings.
You burn a lot more wood than we burn.
I can see where a steel stove would heat-up faster and cool-down faster. There simply is not the same amount of mass there.
To repair what we have will cost more than to buy a new one.
If a stove requires frequent addition of fuel, I wonder if that is not because the firebox is too small.
Sub, I haven't used any of those models but I like the size and features of the Flame View, especially the larger firebox. The glass door is convenient for keeping an eye on the fire and emits some light into the room. If the stove is to be free-standing, I would prefer that one with the firebox opening on the side. If not free-standing, I would probably go with the Irish one. Photos can be deceiving but some of them look cheaper in quality, like the Roby.
We're in a colder, windier climate zone than you with our place at 6,000' altitude in one of the highest average wind energy density areas of the USA. Winters here last more months than yours and post many more "heating degree days" than you experience.
I can see where a steel stove would heat-up faster and cool-down faster. There simply is not the same amount of mass there.
To repair what we have will cost more than to buy a new one.
If a stove requires frequent addition of fuel, I wonder if that is not because the firebox is too small.
One of the key features of a wood cook stove is a much smaller firebox than would be in a comparable wood fired heating stove. As a design parameter, you don't want the cook stove to be so hot that it would be uncomfortable to be near it as a work space.
As well, you want the fire BTU output to be manageable for the intended temps of the oven. If you had a much larger fire output, it might be difficult to keep an oven at a uniform 350-400 F temp range, which are typical baking temps for breads and meats.
A larger volume firebox which might require burning a smaller fire to keep the BTU within the design parameters for cooking wouldn't be as efficient as a firebox running closer to capacity.
On a trip to Lehmans some years ago, I got to see a couple of the sheet metal stoves you've pictured in operation. We spent a half-day there (it's a BIG place) and I came away as impressed as ever with the abilities of the cast iron stoves to perform. At the time, the sole advantage to the sheet metal stoves was the cooking surface area/oven size lower cost compared to the cast iron stoves.
For us, the decision to buy a Waterford Stanley was justified. We anticipate using the stove for 40-50 years and it will still be working as new. We've used it for 16 years and it looks/performs as new ... no warping and no wear on any of the parts with the exception of having to replace the asbestos rope seal at the firebox door.
FWIW, in our travels through southern England I got to see identical model Stanley stoves in daily use which were at least 80 years old, still working and looking great. I have two other Waterford cast iron stoves ... smaller box stoves which were used as supplemental heaters in an alcove/study or an enclosed patio at a house at 8,500' elevation in the Colorado mountains. Both were used for 20 years (continuously in winter months) in that house before being replaced with Jotul brand stoves that were slightly larger and had airtight fireboxes for improved combustion control/efficiency ... and more modern styling. I've only installed and used one of those wood box stoves in a shop, and it's a great little heater to this day, although it does go through more wood than the newer Jotul stove that I have at the other end of the shop. That Jotul stove came out of a neighbor's house in Vail Colorado when they banned wood burning in the Valley and it was replaced with a gas-fired heating stove; for the most part, once the Jotul is fired up and at temp, the stack is not smoky and it's an efficient burner. For 25 years, that Jotul was the primary heat source in the Vail house and did a very good job of it ... but it's not a cook stove.
In friend's cabins throughout the rocky mountain area, I have cooked for decades on just about every brand of cast iron wood cook stove ever available. With rare exception, they've all been a pleasure to use for cooking and heating purposes, the proportions, design, and construction were no trade secret in the industry. Some of the line shacks I've stayed in had 2 or more of these stoves to provide sufficient cooking/oven space for the crews and to heat the building. Most of these stoves are 80-100 years old. From what I can tell, it takes a lot of work to abuse cast iron wood stoves to the point that they're burning through, warping, or destroying the fire grates beyond use. Most of the ones I've seen that weren't serviceable had been removed from a house when replaced with a more modern convenient liquid or gas fueled stove, or a central heating system in the house ... and were destroyed by careless handling/dropping, or vandalism.
Last edited by sunsprit; 08-21-2016 at 10:54 AM..
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