I understand that you can remove the insulated top of the Ashford to cook directly on the steel firebox to get the high temps needed to sear & boil from cold etc. I'm curious to know what the stove looks like with the top removed. Anyone know where I can find an image of this?
Ashford with top removed for cooking.
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VirginiaIron
Minister of Fire
From my research, you don't want to cook on steel/cast iron that is not replaceable like the circular rounds due to microscopic cracks that form in the steel from the sudden temperature change. That is why cooking stoves have a replaceable round or plate. Maybe the answer to this is some flat stock, soapstone or plate that remains on the stove at all times between the stove and the cookware. Do not rely on my input, please perform you own research.
This is good to know, thank you.
I don't intend to cook on the stove regularly, was curious for emergency situations.
That's a first for me. Sounds more like conjecture than anything. Got a link?
I have been boiling water for coffee most winter mornings for the past 15 yrs on the stovetop.
It looks like a steel stove top. Note that the top is heavy and large so it's best to have a place planned out in advance to put it before removal.
Heavy, large, and hot!
Seriously, figure out a proper cooking solution for emergencies. Something designed for cooking. The woodstove is like a last resort for me.
I have a couple different size tea kettles that I use. A big one that is used to heat large amounts of water, say for washing dishes, and a small one that’ll heat enough water for a couple cups of tea. I have a percolator coffee maker I use for camping, but never thought to put it on the stove. Probably because I’m not a coffee drinker. I got it so my wife would be comfortable camping. It hasn’t been used much, lol.
Being a newb, I am surprised at how many folks say wood stoves aren't for cooking. Throughout history wood stoves have been used for heating and cooking. I get that the insulated walled stoves aren't ideal for this, but I wish more manufacturers designed them for cooking so that they can be used in emergency situations. So far the PE Alderlea series (and perhaps the HS Heritage setup with rear venting to gain a hot plate) seems to be the only ones that I've found in these next-gen stoves that has a dual purpose design. Interested in hearing if there are any others like this.
In addition to boiling tea and coffee water, we've cooked several times on the T6. This was mostly not during power outages. I don't cook things that can splatter. They make a mess of the stove top. Mostly I do slow cooking in a dutch oven. The nice thing with the Alderlea is that have almost infinite temp control. My wife likes it for rising bread and pizza dough. As far as I can tell, they had cooking in mind. Otherwise, why the swing away trivet tops?
A stove doesn't need to be made for cooking in order to be useful in an emergency. Any stove with a single wall top will work just fine. It really comes down to what your intentions are if you want a stove to heat with that can be used to cook some many will work. If you want a stove to do a lot of your cooking get a cook stove but they aren't that good at heating comparatively.
Because they invented the oven and other cooking appliances much better suited for cooking than what they had in the 1800s.
You can cook your burrito on your car engine block too but are you making decisions vehicle purchase decisions based on the suitability of that engine to heat your lunch? Don't let that tail wag the dog here. Go buy yourself a barbecue or a coleman stove.
That said, the alderlea setup looks great for those that insist on cooking on their woodstove. I can't recommend a hearthstone design due to past durability issues, low efficiencies, along with current modern technology issues. The hearthstones do look nice aesthetically though.
VirginiaIron
Minister of Fire
I'll look. I seem to remember posting a document here regarding this topic years ago. I have always performed some cooking with a stove being mindful not to put wet/cold pots on the surface.
I never put a wet pot or pan on the stove top, that would stain it, but it's always cold.
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