Cristobal Cristo

Mark,

How will you tie the 3 other walls of the bell to the existing house wall to make sure that it's gas tight?
The dividing wall will heat up and expend at a different rate than actual walls of the bell.  Bells are built as separate units. I'm not saying it can not be done, but I'm seeing potential problems. In masonry construction, material compatibility is important and it's even more pronounced in the heaters.

Meredith,

Emitters require minimum 1 atm/15 psi. 1 arm is a pressure of 10 m tall cylinder of water, so to meet the minimum, the tank would have to be at least 10 meters (33') above the highest elevated emitter.

White currants will have lowest light requirements as in general green/white versions of fruits require less sun to ripen.

Mike,

Vitcas HRTA is the 1000 C tile adhesive. This rating is a little bit funny, because already at 600 C the tiles would glow red, but maybe it just proves that it's really good.
New kachels sell for around $400/m2 for basic white 22x24 cm size. Colors are usually 40-60% more expensive. Full sets may have discounts. In Europe it's possible to find used sets from demolished heaters. Importing would not be too difficult - they would fit on one pallet.

It is being done - for example in some Russian heaters or in case when the chimney entry is higher than desired and for some reason can not be moved lower within the chimney wall.

Good job Matt!
Are you going to cover the slit in the floor (that exposes T-bar part) when you build your heater inside?

Rico,

It was sold as super duty (over 40% alumina) and since I have other bricks (Alsey) also in super duty rating so I was happy to find the match.
Since the firebox ceiling is not exposed to fluxing with allaline oxides in ashes, alumina contents probably does not matter too much. On the other hand - bricks with higher alumina contents are more resistant to thermal schocks of heating and cooling cycles.

I purchased them to use as 4.5" wide lintels.
If I used the slab to cap a firebox I would probably cut it into 4" wide slivers to relieve the tension.

Chris,

Has coppicing helped to develop more lateral growth?
I have 4 blue elderberries that grew quickly, but do not produce much fruit if any in my lower garden (that did not produce much of anything at all due to lack of shade).
I decided to get rid of them, but felt bad and transplanted them to area with better microclimate. I have coppiced them hard to 50 cm height. They were difficult to dig because of taproot.

Masonry heaters deliver the heat by radiation of the skin and the firebox. How will you direct it to the first floor if you place the heater in the basement?

After edit:
I just noticed that you asked about a metal stove,. Problem with location also applies to the stove, but to a lesser extent - being hotter it produces more convection type heat that rises to the upper levels if there are some openings.

Peter van den Berg wrote:I suspect those refractory slabs aren't available in the US.

I have purchasesd 18x18x2.5" super duty (over 40 Al2O3) slabs for around $30 a piece in Los Angeles. I do not know the manufacturer. It could be HWI. Well stocked refractory material stores should have them.