Masonary Heater

[Stephen1]

I am looking for info on a masonry heater. I want to have one built in my new house.
They are a radiant heater that you fire up 1-2 times a day. The heat is stored and radiated off the unit. It is a big block of concrete with a tile chimney. No creasote as it burns at over 1000 degrees

[mike_belben]

Change the spelling to "masonry" heater and google will bring up volumes on them.  Ive looked into them years back but have no experience.  Obviously thermal mass is a big theme in how they work.

[Bruno of NH]

I wish I built one in my house.

[curved-wood]

My son has one of those masonry stoves ( in french we say ''foyer de masse'' which literally translate : massive fireplace ). It is massive , weight tons and need a special footing. It works really really well. I am jealous. In cold day , like -20 or colder, he does one fire in the morning and one in the evening. Otherwise, it's only one fire in the morning. The fires are very strong, so zero creoste. Very good outfit to burn slab. The wood quantity use for heating is a lot less than with my wood stove. More expensive than a standard wood stove but may be cheaper than an outdoor outfit. The only weak point is that it is tricky to control the heat on shoulder seasons unless you don't mind to open the windows !!

[barbender]

I looked at them when I was building our house, it looked like a house building project unto itself so I moved on😊

[hedgerow]

We were in a house in Montana about six years ago that had one and they loved it. It was winter when we were there and it seemed to work well. There's had a oven in it and a hot water panel in it to heat there domestic. They built the house around. it.

[Stephen1]

When I was in Italy skiing a few years ago, I ran across them in the alps. 
I have found a builder a bout 1.5 hrs away from me. I was hoping to find a few more people on here that have experience with them.

[red]

Masonry Stove Builders - masonry heater manufacturers has info 

[DonW]

In a house I renovated I had one built in. A small house and medium size heater centrally located heated the house with as you say a single firing a day with the exception of infrequent extreme cold. Since it generates a radiant heat it is important the living space is draft-free. You might miss the the constant fire of other types of wood heating but the trade off is about 99 percent efficiency and, in my opinion, a far superior atmosphere of the radiant heat. Of all the heating systems I've lived with this is far and away the best and worth the investment on many fronts. You say concrete but I wouldn't go with this material. Traditionally compressed clay blocks or tile are used and not brick, the compressed block having the mass for proper functioning. 

[Stephen1]

I have seen a the kits and am wondering if any mason can put a kit together and still keep the insurane happy. A mason that can build from scratch are few and far between.

[hedgerow]

I have seen a the kits and am wondering if any mason can put a kit together and still keep the insurane happy. A mason that can build from scratch are few and far between.

The one I saw was a kit. I didn't ask the name of the  company but the contractor  that poured the footing and slab for the house had a mason that laid the kit up for them. They said they didn't have any issues with the insurance company. In my area it getting hard to get insurance on a house that has a wood stove. 

[Prizl tha Chizl]

Can't tell you about the insurance man, but I built one for ourselves from plans I bought from the masonry heater association, a double bell type. My favorite project I never finished, as three years later I still haven't completed the veneer, but the heat feels great, and no more constantly loading a fire with the damper down. The heat is in the mass, not the air-open the window for 10 minutes in January and as soon as you shut it it's warm in the house again. We can be gone all day and the house is warmer than when we left it, the temperature of the surface of the heater peaks about 10 hours after the fire goes out. A little tricky during those shoulder months to decide when to light a fire though, 50s and rainy, we had one this morning that will still be heating our house during sunny and 79 tomorrow.
Any mason should be able to build one for you from their plans, make sure to add a warming seat in the design- the original electric blanket.

[Don P]

This is one a friend built that I thoroughly enjoyed;
Crossfire Fireplaces | The Ultimate in Radiant Heating Systems

[Crusarius]

I have seen them built using soapstone. I really wanted one but just couldn't justify having one.

[barbender]

I looked into them, but it started to look like a 2 mortgage situation...1 for the house, 2 for the masonry heater😁

[Prizl tha Chizl]

Not cheap, but we built ours for a little under 2 grand.  600 in used firebrick, just over 6 more in iron parts, the rest in the masonry shell and mortar, plus some bucks to a good buddy for running the wet saw for us. Hoping that it'll last close to the lifetime. 

[barbender]

That's not bad at all. The kits I remember looking at way back when we're way more than that!

[Don P]

We have the footings for a soapstone Tuli Kivi here, its cost always outstripped my earnings :D. I am looking at a little over $100/foot for insulated stainless class A chimney pipe. Putting in a woodstove isn't cheap just for something to weigh the cost against.

[Prizl tha Chizl]

That's not bad at all. The kits I remember looking at way back when we're way more than that!

Ours was about as affordable as they possibly get, I've got better than 200 hours labor in the planning, gathering and prepping materials, building footings and then finally the heater that I didn't charge a dime for, and I've still got more work left to do. Get a real mason to build you one and don't be surprised if they start at ten times what we paid. I was sold on the double bell style plans as they don't push out hot smoke with the exhaust-only the coolest gases leave the bottom of each "bell" (chamber.) We looked at kits too as I'm a crappy mason and was worried I wouldn't pull it off, would be interesting to hear from someone who's built one about how it went.

Another factor to consider is those masonry stoves really like your wood to be split on the smaller side and DRY. We should all really be burning our wood dry, of course, otherwise we waste potential btu burning the moisture off. Using less wood in the heater and other factors finally let me get in a 2 year supply- something I've been dreaming of for the last 10 years!

[Stephen1]

My masonry heater is built and working as I finish   the house around it. I brought in a mason that is certified to build one and also he provides the wet certification for insurance. It burns beautiful and hot. I did have creasote on the glass door for a while as I broke it in. Small fires for 2-3 weeks. I now fill the wood box full and light it. When it's down to the coals I close the damper and air intake. The heat hits the outside of the walls about 4-6 hrs later and will stay warm for a long time, depending on the outside temp and if the contractors have opened the windows and doors  to cool off.

 

 

 

 

 

      

[Prizl tha Chizl]

Would you mind sharing the cost with us?

[Stephen1]

Would you mind sharing the cost with us?

My cost was 18,500 Canadain from the foundation out the roof with insulated chimney. So far I am quite happy with the qaulity of the build, the het it produces and the look in my house. In russia and finland they are caled the 'The heart of the home" and I can see why. Next winter will be the real experience. 

[Prizl tha Chizl]

Not bad at all when you compare it with the cost of installation, operatio, and relatively short longevity of a forced air unit or many other heater options. And you can sleep easy knowing that the insurance angle is covered as well.

I'm sure there are more design considerations than this, but the "heart of the home," needs to be in the "heart" of your home. Ours is in our living room and shares a wall with our bathroom, but if I had a blank slate, (we were remodeling an old farmhouse,) I would have it share a wall with the dining/kitchen instead. Heat rises, so the entire upstairs is quite comfortable, but it takes a small fan to move the warmth into our eating area or grandma's room on the first floor.

[aigheadish]

That's neat Stephen1! I didn't know there was a name for these. I really like the design of yours, with the keystone, looks great!