Cooking on a stove top

dll · By: **dll** On: Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:51 am

I cook a lot on the top of my Harmon MKII, mostly stews, soups, chili and spaghetti sauce. This works out well even when the surface temperature of the stove top is down to 200 F during the warmer weather. Most of the time I use a wire shelf from an old toaster oven to keep the pots from touching the stove top and burning the contents.
I also have an oven that consists of an old charcoal grill cover that I use to bake beans. The grill cover is not insulated so to get the oven to baking temperature (275-300) I have to get the surface temperature of the stove up to 500. This is no problem when the outside air temperature is below 20F but when it gets above that the house can get uncomfortably warm.
The cover-off picture shows the bean pot sitting on a piece of refractory insulation. This keeps the beans in the bottom of the pot from getting burned.
Also and because I am in maple syrup country I use real maple syrup in my baked beans.

endinmaine · By: **endinmaine** On: Tue Feb 20, 2007 3:16 pm

I will be buying and installing a Margin Gem Cook Stove in my kitchen when our house is completed.

Our kitchen design will look something like this as well.

It burns wood and coal and is make in Ontario, CA

Charlie Z · By: **Charlie Z** On: Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:34 pm

Been looking at that Margin Gem. Keep us posted; looks like a neat stove.

endinmaine · By: **endinmaine** On: Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:45 pm

I called the factory that makes the Margin Gem and another factory that make the Monarch by Enterprise-Fawcet.
What I liked about the MG is that it will hold a burn (wood) for up to 10 hours and this was confirmed by an owner who lives in Ontario Canada who uses her's as the only source of heat. It will also burn coal for up to 20 hours.
The Monarch only burns wood and up to 3 hours,, probably because it's design is not air tight where as the MG is.
I am researching the savings whether to make the drive to Ontario and pick it up ,,, would be a 10 hour drive one way but if the savings including diesel is worth it I will do it.
I have a Royal Charm Crawford that was built in 1901 in my summer lake house and my family have come to rely on it for all our heat and cooking.
When my house that is being built now in southern Maine is done , my Harman Mark III will do the bulk of the heat and hot water needs and the MG will be used mostly for cooking with the benefits of additional heat.

Eric

Oo-v-oO · By: **Oo-v-oO** On: Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:16 pm

That's a great idea, dll! I think we have one of those grills... :twisted:

My wife has done some cooking on our Ashley - seems to work well as long as it is relatively cool outside and the stove is pushing some heat, like you say.

NorthernIndiana · By: **NorthernIndiana** On: Fri Nov 11, 2011 1:01 pm

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Nice looking setup dll. I do baked beans on mine. It's not pretty, but it works!

LiftedAWDAstro · By: **LiftedAWDAstro** On: Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:43 pm

You know...If you use a cast iron dutch oven I bet you could turn out some awesome roasts as well as soups, stews and beans!

endinmaine · By: **endinmaine** On: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:18 pm

It's been 3 years now since I made the post above regarding my cookstove. The Margin Gem burns both wood and coal and heats the majority of our house. I've learned to cook most of our meals on it , both on the stove top and in the oven. I've used crock pots, cast iron skillets/pots, woks, you name it. I've even baked bread in it as the oven can get up to 500* easily if the stove is cranked up.

dll · By: **dll** On: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:11 pm

Thank you endinmaine for the update on your really good looking and versatile cooking stove.

Here is an update on my stove top oven.
By putting pot holders and a towel on top of the cover the oven is able to do baking at a higher outside temperature which equates to lower stove temperature. (top picture)

After picking up another bean pot it now has the capability of cooking two pots of beans at one time.
I have added baked potatoes to the menu, these I wrap in foil. I am not really into the baked potatoes but I do like the home fries that can be made from them. (middle picture)

Unrelated to the cooking but here is something that the wife loves. I leave the pipe insulation off the feed lines from the hot water coil and put a bath towel over them before a shower, it makes for a great towel warmer. (bottom picture)

endinmaine · By: **endinmaine** On: Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:00 pm

DLL , Nice setup. I like the idea of baking potatoes. I've done that many times in the stove part of my cookstove and they come out very crispy which my wife loves,,, me,, not so much. In looking at your hot water setup ,,, the copper pipes to the left ,, are those soldered joints ? If so , any problems with leaking from the joints not holding with the heat from the stove ? I have been reluctant to tackle that part of the job but would like to some day. I would have to use a pump to move the water through the pipes as my hot water tank is 35' away in the basement.

Thanks,
Eric/endinmaine

dll · By: **dll** On: Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:47 pm

The copper is soldered, they look white from age (3 years) and temperature. So far there are no leaking problems other than the slight leakage from the unions. With those I found that most leakage can be reduced or eliminated by first putting on Teflon tape then pipe dope over the tape.

My electric hot water tank is approximately 20 feet away. I do not feed the stove to that tank, it is fed by therm o-siphon to a 50 gallon storage tank that is located about 2 feet above the stove and behind the brick wall you see in the photo.
I have a 3-way ball valve that takes the electric hot water tank out of the loop for 8 months out of the year. When the stove is shut down for the heating season (I burn wood during spring and fall) I flip the 3-way ball valve and the electric hot water is back in the loop. I still use the stove/storage tank in the summer months to bring the well water up from 47 degrees to a minimum of 68 degrees before it goes to the electric heater.

endinmaine · By: **endinmaine** On: Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:21 am

DLL ,, Thanks for the information. Your idea of temping the well water is good,, my well is also quite cold making the cold water tap painful to use. Since my cook stove is in the kitchen the wife would "give me the look" if I put a storage tank nearby. The Mark III in the basement will therefore be used.

Eric

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