Soapstone Heatsink Panels for Coal Stove?

Saw an ad selling custom soapstone panels that can be attached to the sides of a coal stove if the sides are flat.
I know what soapstone is/does but Im wondering if it would make any difference on something like my little Hitzer?
Anybody have a soapstone stove ? Does it make a noticeable difference over metal as far as heat radiation?
I have about a dozen soapstone panels and am considering sticking them on the sides of my stove.

Ive always though of soapstone stoves as a gimmick like Amish electric heaters.

Soap stone stoves are great.

But I see little use for them in a coal system.

They excel by being able to take the heat from a small fire about 1hr or so, and putting it to use for a long period of time.

Where we run a coal stove all the time, you would not see this benefit. unless you were willing to relight your stove twice a day.

If it works like my Weso, it might be a good idea.

The Weso has ceramic panels surrounding the actual stove. They stand off a couple inches to form a sort of chimney on both sides. It draws air in from the floor and blows it out the top. For a stove with no fan, it moves a fair amount of air just by convection.

Plus the added benefit of being able to put your hands on the stove without getting scalded like my Harman.

Got a link to these soap stone panels? I might want to look at them myself.

I would say steer clear of attaching any stone to a 3/16 steel cased stove (Hitzer's spec.)because I have, from personal experience, seen that the extra heat it will hold in and reflect back on the stove may help damage it in an overfire situation. and many people regularly overfire their stoves even if only by a little for a short time. although soapstone and refractory brick are definitely different, the effect on placing refractory brick on the opposite side of the metal from the fire can be devastating. I was experimenting with some custom ideas when I came apon this effect. basically melted down a nice piece of 3/8 steel over short time by firing hot while shrouded in refractory. Not a good idea for your stove

I agree ,I would not attach soapstone to my stove ,I would consider using it on the walls and harth,it dose have a extreme capability to with stand high tempetures and its so non pourse its the only natural stone that is FDA approved for counter tops , I used soapstone for my kitchen counter tops and made a farmstyle sink also,very nice stuff to work with , but extremly heavy also if I remember correctly a 1ftx1ftx1 1/14'' thick is 20lbs, when I set my slabs I had to use a hydraulic jack they were so heavy, I am saying all this because I have know Idea how you would mount them on a stove being soapstone is heavy.

Have a Harman Mark III that I got a couple of weeks ago to fix up and sell. I got a hell of a deal on it and so I "over looked" the fact that it had some light pitting on the stove top from what looks like a cook pan or maybe a crock of water. Anyway it is not super deep but is quite noticeable. My question is: How do I get rid of the pitting or hide it? I am asking under this post because I had thought about putting some Peach Bottom black slate on the top of it. Do you guys think this would hurt the stove at all? I can not stand to see the pitting and the rest of the stove is in excellent condition. Was thinking I could use three pieces of slate as follows: Use one piece to cover the top upward lip of the top of the stove. Then using small copper hinges attach it to a large piece of slate that would cover the large flat top of the stove. Then a third piece that I would attach to the large piece with the two copper hinges. This third piece would cover the small downward lip that is over top of the loading door. What do you guys think? I am thinking like 1/4 inch thick slate cut to fit the stove. Just don’t want to hurt the top steel plate. I am painting the stove Rutland Stove Black with the accents in Aged Copper.

Thanks,
Glenn

I don't know if covering up your stove with stone will effect the performance of the stove ,Im sure someone here will chime in on that , Slate is a soft material will it last ,what is the heat range of the slate you are talking about,it might not tolerate the heat and crack, Soapstone is also a soft stone but is very dense nonpourse and can tolelrate temps to 2000 deg ,and you cant stain it ,thats why they used soapstone in labs like you proberly had in your science classroom ,that was Vermont soapstone witch is usualy solid black ,but imported soapstones come in varity of colors tones like granite or marble. On the other hand I saw a picture of your stove , looks to me that the previous owner put a pot on the stove when it was brand new and did not let the paint burn off (heat cure ) before they put the pot on the stove causing the pot to burn a impression in the stove , I would think you could take the top area down to raw steel by sanding or sandblasting to bare metal and repaint when you are repainting the stove as you said.I have had good results with thermolux heat paints they make just about any color you can think of and also a a clear gloss if you wanted to make those trim parts shine . Good luck

My mothers coal stove has a soapstone panel sitting on top. There are pieces of stove gasket material between the stove and the panel so panel is not actually touching. According to the original owners manual there must be an air space to protect the panel from extreme temperatures.

The panel does help to "smooth out" the heat swings to a small extent. The panel came with the stove but if it were up to me, I wouldn't bother with it.

If I were to have to do any cooking on the stove I'd remove the panel.

Mom likes the way it looks and its her stove so, that's what counts most.

That is a great idea. Now ths stove gasket is it in the corners of the soap stone or down through the center of the stone.

Thanks again,
Glenn

grobinson2 wrote:That is a great idea. Now this stove gasket is it in the corners of the soap stone or down through the center of the stone.

Thanks again,
Glenn

The gasket material is about 1/8" thick cut in 1" or 2" squares spaced about 6" to 8" apart in a grid pattern. the panel on my mother's stove is the parquet (checkerboard) style. I think the spacing is to support the soapstone from splitting. If what you are using is a solid piece of stone, probably a piece in each corner and a couple in the middle would suffice.

Sounds good. That is eactly what I am going to do. I will have to post pics when I am finished.

Thanks again,
Glenn