Hi, I very quickly encountered the problem of lack of thermal mass in my converted shipping container. I could have built a masonry heater, but I had the following issue: when I come back in the middle of winter after being away for several days, the temperature is often around 0°C. I can’t wait hours for the mass of a stove to heat up.
I built a high-radiation stove, known as a “DEOM Turbo” stove in France.
I then covered two sides with bread oven bricks, 20 in total. This gives me immediate radiant heat for quick warming, reaching up to +19°C in one hour inside the container. I typically burn fires for about 1 hour 30 minutes, once in the morning and once in the evening. After the fire goes out, the 20 bricks continue to release heat for about 6 hours. Each morning before lighting the stove, I gain about +5°C inside the container, and my humidity level has decreased by 10%.
My feedback / experience in 2 years of use :
- It is important to keep two sides of the stove exposed if you want to heat the space quickly.
- The best stoves to modify are simple, high-radiation models.
- The bricks must be in direct contact with the stove.
- If the bricks are placed inside the stove, the heat will primarily go up through the chimney flue.
- You should monitor the stove body at first, as the bricks can cause the steel temperature to rise more than usual.
