Putting pans on wood burning stove: will they hurt it?

[Lucy Cassidy]

Hello folks,

 

I'm hoping this doesn't qualify for "silly question of the day".....

 

We have a Squirrel woodburner, it has a temptingly flat top, and we'd like to use the excess (and "free"!) heat to boil kettles, cook stoo etc.

 

Would doing this leave marks on the top of the woodburner?

 

All comments welcome - yes, really!

[stuart]

Cooked sausage and bacon sandwich (frying pan) and boiled the kettle on mine yesterday!!

 

No problems with marks, just make sure you dont get fat splashes on the surrounding area.

Edited February 6, 2006 by stuart

[Richard Lacy]

We use a trivet on ours - but as the kettle stays there most of the time it does not make a lot of difference

[Bones]

I've used pans on mine and no marks, The squirrel is my only source of cooking and works fine. My pans are cast iron, but my kettle is the normal stuff.

[Liam]

We use a trivet on ours - but as the kettle stays there most of the time it does not make a lot of difference

 

We did that, but then, after a while we smelled burning paint which was coming from the trivet. We were given a kettle with a very large base. When we're there, we always have it full of water and sat on top of the stove. If left for long enough it boils. I did the odd pan of soup on our old Brunel stove on the other boat. It's slow but that's to be expected.

[DHutch]

We've done a stew on the top of ours before now, just put in on, teatowel over the top, and slow cook it.

- Never tried the kettle on it for some reason, or friing anything!

 

Mind you, the top of our stove is a bit of mess anyway after the flue leaked rusty water on it again this winter.

 

 

Daniel

[ian west]

i wrap poatoes (and other veg) in foil and leave then on for a couple of hours and they are cooked fine.

[Baron & Mrs Boater]

We've boiled the kettle on ours, it takes a while but then we aren't in any rush !

[Supermalc]

When I made mine I should have put the chimney to the back, as there is nowhere to boil the kettle.

 

[DHutch]

Malc, if only your sight was as good as that of Mr hind!

 

 

Daniel

Edited February 9, 2006 by dhutch

[Supermalc]

Exactly

 

It's still the best thing I have ever made.........in that when I visit this time of year, within 10 minutes I'm warm, and within an hour or so, the cabin is dry, even if there has been a leak from rain, or damp from condensaton.

[dor]

I've used my Squirrel frequently to boil a kettle, and occasionally heat up a saucepan.

 

It does mark the top.

 

But you can get a spray-can in most chandelries that sprays a heat-resistant matt black which rejuvenates your stove.

[neil]

Inside the squirel stove at the top is a deflector plate which diverts the flue gases 4 secondry burning(i think) as a consiquence of this plate the front top casing doesn't get as hot as one would expect and so cookin capability isslow.

 

its worth checkin out the plate cos it can get bound up wi soot causin poor burn/ CO ETC

 

Me i got myself a Epping woodburnin oven. it meens i can run the boat gas free and still have a roast!

whats more cos its compact and low to the floor its pretty safe for kids to use with supervision.

[Graham Bowers]

When I made mine I should have put the chimney to the back, as there is nowhere to boil the kettle.

 

Was that a gas cylinder in a previous life by any chance?

Graham

[Cris P]

Yeah it marks the top - but so what ? Its doing a good job !

[Chris Lingwood]

Mine didn't get marked untill i let the kettle over boil (whooops). got a rusty ring where it did that and a few white rings in general. But then again I don't really mind. We've cooked porridge/heated kettles/defrosted soup on it. Its cheaper than doing it on gas if its lit anyway!

 

I might get some of that spray on black stuff...in fact that was what I came into this thread to find out about Honestly though I probably wont because I'd die of poordom if everything was kept perfect!

[steaming floater]

Exactly

 

It's still the best thing I have ever made.........in that when I visit this time of year, within 10 minutes I'm warm, and within an hour or so, the cabin is dry, even if there has been a leak from rain, or damp from condensaton.

 

Nice stove dude

 

Ever thought about welding a hotplate off to one side should be simple enough

[blackrose]

There are plenty of products including stove paint & polish that will take out any marks you make from cooking. Just don't expect the stove to look its best over winter and clean it up when you stop using it next spring/summer.

[Christine]

because I'd die of poordom

 

 

 

Ha ha - it may have been a typo but its good! I know the feeling well

[Denis R]

"clean it up when you stop using it next spring/summer"

Yes, I thought that too, especially with the hot spell last month. The stove's seen plenty of action this last week.......

....and it's covered in yukky marks which have ruined the beautiful shine. Won't be so precious about polishing it so hard in the future!