Does anyone use a wood cookstove?

mom-from-missouri · #1 (**permalink**) 04-22-2005, 08:48 PM

I see in my area there are several old fashioned wood cookstoves (for in the kitchen for sale). Does anyone have one that they use?? I was thinking it may be nice to have for power outages, and to help keep the thermostat down in the winter. My parents have a earthstove and mom keeps water heating on it for humidty during the winter, and she sometimes uses the hot water from it for dishes or sets soup to simmer on it. Don't know that I would use the oven, but would be willing to try it if it was not too complicated. My wood is free.

zakity · #2 (**permalink**) 04-23-2005, 09:54 AM

We have a woodstove and we keep a teapot on it to add humidity to the air. It is just a woodstove though (fireplace insert actually) though it does have a flat spot that you can use with small pans for cooking. I know people who keep a pot of water on the stove for their tea in the wintertime. I haven't done that yet, but I want to try it next winter.

We want to have a "pioneer" day next winter where we turn down the heat (don't want to risk frozen pipes), cook homemade soup on the stove, and use candles for light.

JennyG · #3 (**permalink**) 06-28-2005, 11:54 PM

Hi Everyone!

Here in Ireland we used to have an open fire which burned a lot of turf and gave very little heat. So, we bought a stove with a cooking plate on top. It burns wood or turf and is brilliant. We use only one third of the turf we used to and it has also saved us money on bottled gas which we use for cooking. For soups, stews etc... just bring it up to the boil on the gas and then transfer the pan to the stove-top and leave it to bubble away! We've also found that food doesn't stick to the pan like it does when left to cook on the gas cooker.

Hope this helps.

JennyG

PrincessPerky · #4 (**permalink**) 06-29-2005, 04:44 AM

Is it safe? I mean maybe cause I have a 1.5 yo and a 3yo but it seems to me that the worry most people have about a regular stove (which I never worried much, the thing is pretty insulated when shut) would be a lot more of a worry with an woodstove, or is it insulated too? btu then how does it get the house warm?

CRFSaver · #5 (**permalink**) 06-29-2005, 09:18 AM

I think part of it is how easily can you get wood for it as well. My friends used to live in the Sierra foothills and all they had to do was go to their back yard to get wood. My friends in the city have to buy wood and 5 bucks for 5 pieces of wood that lasts you a whole hour is not cost affective.

JennyG · #6 (**permalink**) 07-02-2005, 11:07 PM

Hi,

yes - the stove would be very hot, so you'd need to put a safety guard around it or prevent your children from entering the room where it's located.. Regarding the btu's - all fires are different and you would need to check this out with the seller/manufacturer who will advise you which is the best for your needs. Ours doesn't have an oven (that would be great!), just the single hot-plate. It heats the room beautifully, and provided you are happy about the safety aspect I'd say 'go for it!' - especially if you can get the wood for free!

All the best,
Jenny.

zakity · #7 (**permalink**) 07-17-2005, 08:08 PM

Ok, I am a bad parent! My kids were tiny when we moved in here and we let them play in the room with the woodstove. The woodstove is in our living room and we couldn't get around not using it around the kids. They understood it was hot and they weren't allowed to run around in the living room. It actually has been a good tool in teaching the kids to not play with fire. They see the wood go in and the ashes that are left. It sunk in that that is what would happen to the house if the fire was outside the stove.

JennyG · #8 (**permalink**) 07-17-2005, 11:45 PM

You're absolutely right - generations of people have grown up around fires, including me. That is how you learn.

Our stove has more than paid for itself in a very short time and it's great to come down to a cosy room. It's summer now - so no stove - and I miss using it for cooking. The food never sticks to the saucepan and meat seems to be more tender than when cooked on the regular stove.

Jenny.

Fern · #9 (**permalink**) 07-18-2005, 08:38 AM

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/stov27.shtml

If you're going to use a wood burning stove, buy a new energy efficient one; they are much more efficient than the old ones, which spew a lot of pollutants, inside as well as outside. Check out the link

liz18436 · #10 (**permalink**) 08-07-2005, 11:38 AM

for over 25 years we have use a Stanley kitchen stove for--
I use wood for both of my stoves . The stanley is in the celler. cooking canning much easier to do because you can move it around for the right spot (Stanley)
I baked 10 pans of bread and & etc. ...when the kids were home.Now I just cook for myself.
The big thing was we heated water in a canner, the water was for the baths and dishes.Had to carry it up to the bath room .This was all done on the kitchen stove in the
celler Hot water for tea or etc. on both stoves
WE get heat from a Fisher stove upstairs on the first floor
and I do cook on it in the winter with cast iron pans. There is nothing like cooking in a cast iron.I stack all the wood myself, not bad for 67.
I even use a drying rack for the cloths.
I think it became a life style for us.
Please excuse the spelling and et. I'm haveing one of those DA days