Solid grate or not.

[peatff]

Our Hunter stove body is made of steel boiler plate and it hasn't warped in the years since I installed it. The door is cast iron and glass.

[trigger_andy]

Our Hunter stove body is made of steel boiler plate and it hasn't warped in the years since I installed it. The door is cast iron and glass.

Both my Stoves are the same.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, Bogqart said:

Was always on the opinion that one had to use cast iron. Was told by a structural engineer, many years ago,  that one should not steel for a lintel over a log burner/fireplace as it cannot handle the heat. Unlike cast iron has the propensity to suddenly warp messing up any brickwork above.  Hence my thinking that cast iron is the way to go, especially as the stove is all cast iron.

All Burley stoves are Steel .

[trigger_andy]

All Burley stoves are Steel .

That structural engineer must have got his degree in a pack of Weetabix. [emoji16]

[Steven P]

Difference is if a steel lintel warps a bit or expands and contracts it could stress the house, cracks or broken plaster, if a loose fitted plate in a stove warps then it will just be a bit more leaky around the edges, slightly less efficient but you probably wouldn't notice. My register plate eventually warped enough that it didn't catch on the supports but plenty of warning this was going to happen.

 

Now as for a steel lintel in front of a stove... my stove has been ticking over all day, not mega hot, but the concrete lintel is nicely warm, 35 degrees C maybe, maybe 40. If it was a steel beam it could expand by 2mm over its length -if- it was at boiling point (100 deg C) (1/2mm at 50 deg C), I don't know these things but unsure if this would cause big problems when concrete would expand about the same

[bmp01]

I'd imagine a piece of steel might conduct the heat away a bit better than stone, might find it never hats up more than a few degrees. 

Still,  the principle is right,  steel will expand with heat, stone or brick won't go the same degree so might be an issue.  I've often wondered what happens to the long steels over multiple glass windows....

 

[bmp01]

As far the stove is concerned,  what about a sheet of vermiculite ? A bit fragile maybe?

Was thinking further insulation around the fire box could improve combustion temperatures for a better burn. ... same as the layer of ash principle.

Edited November 7, 2021 by bmp01
Correction

[Bogqart]

Was thinking of putting some fire bricks out of an old storage heating in the base not sure what temperature they can withstand. As I already have some nothing to lose.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Bogqart

[Dan Maynard]

Just stop emptying the ash, it will build up over the grate.

I only take ash out of my stove every couple of months, it melts down with a good hot fire so builds up very slowly. Then take most out but leave an inch or so in the bottom.

[Rob_the_Sparky]

I have a multi-fuel (Clearview) and TBH a bed of ash builds up really quite quickly on the grate if you don't disturb it.  I'm surprised that this is a problem but have no experience with other grate designs.  When the ash is getting a bit full I will poke it to reduce the amount but never to zero.