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Old 10-21-08, 02:16 PM   #8
IndyIan
Lurking Renovator
 
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A caveat to adding mass to your stove is, don't put the mass in direct contact with the firebox. We used to cook stuff on a tile right on top of the stove, that was fine as we didn't have an extremely hot fire while cooking. But when we did have a hot fire the tile acts as an insulator and that part of the fire box overheated. So now our stove top is a bit convex and I had to repaint the area under the tile. Probably took a couple years out of the top but it seems no worse for wear and didn't warp the door frame.
I've heard of people putting a car rad behind the stove and running water through it to heat their normal hot water tanks or a heat storage tank. These should be "open" systems so it can't build pressure and create a steam explosion...
We have concrete floors and a couple years ago I made a aluminum foil reflector to take radiant heat coming through the glass and direct in into the floor infront of the stove. It worked fairly well as the concrete was alot warmer there but the reflector didn't fold up so it hogged space and got dumped by the wife. I may make a folding version that can be stored better if cabin fever strikes this winter.
Ian
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