Whether most people know it or not there are two major materials that are used to make fireplace grates – steel and cast iron. What is the difference? Did you even know there were different materials? Most people could care less I would assume. So, me being the ever curious guy that I am set out to find out which one was better. Which material would burn a hotter fire? A larger fire?
I started my experiment with the steel version. Steel fireplace grates are the strongest ones available. But does strength really matter when it comes to a grate? Don’t all we need is a grate that will ensure a healthy fire? You would think so. So I built a 6 log fire in a steel grate that I purchased online. The fire started and burned very quickly and evenly. To be honest with you, I really couldn’t tell the difference between this material and anything else. Wow, I need to get a hobby!
I then proceeded to start the same 6 log fire in a cast iron grate. Same thing, started easily and burned strong. Now here is one interesting thing that I didn’t expect. To me, the cast iron grate provided for a hotter fire! Why? I think the cast iron material absorbed the heat and radiated into my living room better. It seemed to me that the grate was much hotter than the steel counterpart and therefore threw off more heat. Who would have thought? I did an internet search and could find no such information to confirm my thoughts but I’ll tell you this, I felt a difference. I actually thought I should put a thermometer outside my fireplace to check the temperature between the two grates but I couldn’t find a thermometer that would work. You can thank me later but this lame little experiment was actually very interesting. For me, I see no reason not to buy the cast iron grate over the steel one.
So who reading this thinks I’m crazy? The beauty of the internet is that anyone can have a voice. I’m a little strange and have various interests. Since I’m a firefighter many of my interests revolve around fire so this little experiment was actually kind of fun. If my buddies knew I had actually built a website around this they would totally laugh at me. However, where else could you get someone to do a test between different kinds of fireplace grates?