Correct Burning
Incorrect fire lighting procedures are also a cause of much of the pollution associated with wood burning. Masonry heaters are particularly well configured for the ‘top down fire’, in which the largest pieces are placed at the bottom and subsequent layers reduced in size with a kindling pile at the top. This fire is slower to start, but as the heavier pieces heat up, the gases released from them are consumed by the small hot fire at the top. Because there is no need to re-stoke the fire there are none of the unburned gases that are given off when new logs are added to conventional heaters.
Construction and availability
Construction of masonry heaters has traditionally been carried out by skilled artisans who work with firebrick to create the core and then face it with a variety of masonry materials; brick, stone, slate, stucco. In the old houses of Europe the tiled facings of the Kachelöfen were works of art.
That artistry is continued in many beautifully sculpted modern masonry heaters.
Masonry Heater Association of North America
In recent times the construction of masonry heaters has been made easier and less expensive by the introduction of precast refractory components which are assembled as a kit and then faced with masonry. Even with this prescribed design pattern a great variety of forms can be achieved.
At Heavenly Heat we sell in Australia the Tempcast heaters made in Canada and have now sent them into New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Buyers seem particularly to like to option of a bake-oven that the kit offers. As soon as the fire is out, in can go the pizzas for a great round off to an evening in front of the fire. They can even be used in outdoor covered entertainment areas just to sit against or to bake hot treats for the party.
Conclusion
In an age of climate change and the pressures to find cleaner, greener ways of doing things it is comforting to find that a five hundred year old technology brought into the modern age can show us a way forward.
Alan Burdon and his partner, Fiona, are the proud owner-builders of an off-the-grid, pole-framed, strawbale and rammed earth home near Narooma, NSW, Australia. Of course the home has a wonderful masonry heater!
