Fuelwood - Firewood
Soapstone Stove
The pros and cons of soapstone stoves and what you should consider if you want to buy a soapstone stove.
What are the benefits and disadvantages of a soapstone wood burning stove? To find answers to this and many other questions please read the article below.
What are the benefits of a soapstone stove?
What is the story about soapstone stoves? Why should I buy this type of wood burning stove? First of all, a soapstone stove looks good. Soapstone is available in various combinations of texture and colour, i.e. in white, purple, grey, black, brown, blue and additionally in multicoloured variations. This allows you to buy a soapstone stove that fits with the decor of the room. However, not every type of soapstone is suitable for soapstone stoves. Only soapstone with very high heat storage capacity is used for soapstone stoves.
This leads to the second argument for soapstone stoves. Compared to a conventional wood burning stove which emits heat to the environment straight away, the soapstone of a soapstone stove absorbs the heat first and then emits heat over a longer period of time. Depending on the design and layout, some soapstone stoves have the capacity to store heat over 24 hours. It is possible to have a warm stove for a day with just one fire without adding further fuel to it. Usually, soapstone stoves are built using Finnish or Brazilian soapstone, as it has a particularly high heat storage capacity. This type of soapstone is so hard that it is impossible, unlike conventional soapstone, to carve it with the mere fingernail. Hence, the surface stays smooth for longer.
What are the disadvantages of soapstone stoves?
A soapstone stove is not a quick heater. In other words, it is slow in heating up its environment as it heats up the soapstone first of all. However, thereafter it emits the heat evenly. Furthermore, soapstone stoves are very heavy. This is rarely a problem but can lead to difficulties in old buildings where it is not possible to install a soapstone stove as the floor might not be capable of supporting the excess weight. We recommend consulting a structural engineer before buying a soapstone stove. Another drawback could be the design. The rustic appearance is not to everybody’s liking. Furthermore, the surfaces are very delicate. One should be very careful depositing metal or ceramic pots, jugs or bowl on a soapstone stove. However, there is nothing more to say about the disadvantages of soapstone stoves.
Asbestos in soapstone?
Finally, a comment regarding the exaggerated panic about asbestos in soapstone. It is true that some types of soapstone contain asbestos fibres, however, worldwide these types of soapstone are not quarried anymore. Generally speaking, soapstone does not discharge asbestos. Asbestos is only problematic during the mechanical handling and processing of soapstone.
Enjoy your soapstone stove!
Source: kaminholz-wissen.de
