Wood cookstove question

timfromohio · #1 10/30/08, 07:51 AM

Hi everyone,

I have a silly wood cookstove question. I just finished installing a new Napolean 1150 wood stove - it's not a true cook stove, as it does not have an oven, but does have a cast iron cook top with two burners. There is a handle that you can use to remove the round burners - question is, why? Is this for cleaning purposes? The burners are thinner than the rest of the top, so they do get quite a bit hotter than the surrounding area of the top. I didn't know if you were supposed to remove the burners and put a pot directly over the exposed opening to the firebox or the burners were removeable simply for cleaning purposes. I've seen similar setups on older cookstoves.

Thanks for any input.

homesteadforty · #2 10/30/08, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timfromohio

I didn't know if you were supposed to remove the burners and put a pot directly over the exposed opening to the firebox...

It depends on what you're cooking. You pretty much must remove them if you want to boil. You also remove them if pan searing meats. Generally you will leave them in place for other cooking.

In other words... remove them when you would have your regular stove set at it's highest.

Helena · #3 10/30/08, 08:04 AM

Use the "holes" on the burners if you want to do broil type cooking. You can also take the lids off to put small pieces of wood in the fire box or just to get a pot boiling fast. You will have a dirty bottom on the pot afterwards though just as if you were cooking over an outside campfire. I would suggest you look into any good homesteading book that tells you how to cook on a wood stove. A good book is.. Woodstove Cookery by Jan Cooper. If you only use your stove to cook the occasional bacon and eggs you will probably never need to take the lids off the stove. Good Luck and Enjoy your new stove.!!

**Ross** · #4 10/30/08, 08:23 AM

Some stoves had rings within rings to a center cut out so you could vary the amount of heat that got through or size smaller pots.

timfromohio · #5 10/30/08, 09:09 AM

Thanks for the input and for not blasting my wood cook stove ignorance! Makes sense. While we've had multiple small fires over the last week to break in the stove, last night was the first time we had her really cookin'. It was so nice and toasty.
Thanks again.