Category: heating

A few words about the masonry heaters »

It would be good, at first, to have an idea of what a masonry heater actually is and what it is not. A masonry heater is the combination of a firebox (built from firebrick-šamott), a series of pathways for the smoke from an intensely hot fire to travel to the chimney (with at least one [...]

Don’t burn plastics, magazines or other household garbage »

There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is out of concern for the environment. Much of the plastics, magazines or other garbage have been manufactured using toxic chemicals. The burning of these materials releases these toxic chemicals into the environment, sometimes in an even more dangerous form than before. I strictly discourage [...]

If your oven has a door, keep it closed at all times after inserting the fire material »

The reason for this is simple. Once the heater is loaded with wood and set afire, the firebox will begin to heat up. And, if built correctly, should continue to heat up to the point at which secondary combustion begins to take place. Secondary combustion is the burning of the gases contained in wood which [...]

Never put too much wood into the firebox »

How much is too much?  For a  large heater, one that heats an entire apartment or 3 or more rooms in a house, no more that about 45 kilos of wood should be burned in a 24 hour period.  This amount of wood is usually burned in two cycles, one in the morning, one at [...]

What kind of wood to use for heating? »

The wood used in a masonry heater should be dry and seasoned for a number of different reasons.  The first one is for concern of the environment.  A masonry heater, if built correctly, should burn very efficiently, but this efficiency is only diminished when wet wood is used.  When the improper wood is burned, it [...]

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