Learning to heat with bricks

I have lived my entire adult life heating our various homes with wood-burning stoves only.
24-7 From September to May, the daily plan revolved around the current status of the wood supply and does the stove need more wood.
As the only source of heat in houses with running water it is imperative that you do not screw this up. (Frozen pipes suck! )
I have gotten rather good at it. I have never lost a house to a fire and have only had frozen pipes @-28F a couple of times. ( While I was home!)

As my backup plan,  for 40 years my best friend stopped by every afternoon when he got off work.
If we were gone on a town run , just in case we did not return on time, he always made sure that the stove was stoked up.
This allowed for stress-free trips to Missoula or Spokane, not having to worry about how long we had been gone.
A few years ago my buddy suddenly passed away, and we had no backup plan!
Enter Steve, the 10,000 btu unvented propane heater on the back bathroom wall.
A useful tool that might delay having frozen pipes, but it is a poor substitute for the wood stove or a good friend!

As many of you know, one month ago we replaced the old wood gobbler and installed a Shorty design Batchbox in a large brick bell.
Oh my goodness is this different!
I am still burning wood, but currently only one time a day.
I am now heating our home with bricks!

This is SO DIFFERENT than anything I have done in the past!
Sure for the last 11 years, I have had J-Tubes and I currently have three other Batchboxes, but this is my very first one that is in an insulated home.
The only thing I can compare it to is a top-of-the-line central heating unit.
Our rambling old structure now has an even temperature from the back bathroom to the bedroom at the other end!
You feel it as soon as you open the front door! And you feel it even more at 3am walking from the bedroom to the bathroom... wow it's not chilly!
And then you realize, there is NO fire... and it is OK... and there is no creosote, so never ever a chimney fire... well that's cool... and No ELECTRICITY is needed either, during those pesky power outages!



This is just So Fine!  You need to experience this in person to understand just how badass these RMHs are!
My bricks are running 170F on the outside and after 24 hrs they are still holding 85F!
Imagine having 500 solid clay bricks each one at 85F sitting in your living room in the morning... and then they stay close to that temp all day!
This sure is a step up from having an oil barrel in your living room!

Anyone capable of getting their hands dirty and following directions can build an RMH like this!
Sadly some states will not allow a homeowner built Masonry stove but require a licensed Masonry stove builder.
Hopefully, you live where it is allowed!

Currently with the not-quite winter-like temps, we often have windows open, sometimes all night!
I predict one cord of wood or less will be needed to heat the house this winter, instead of the normal three.
The big difference is how evenly warm it will be!
Of course, the uninsulated art studio will burn 5 cords, and the barley-insulated shop about 3-5.

Tidy work! I aspire to something as pretty for my next build. For now I'll be happy with the barrel in the living room look!

Yes, yes, yes, Tom… a masonry heater fired by a batchbox core is truly a marvel of a heat source and perhaps the ultimate heat source considering that you are in control of your fuel source, the effort to maintain is limited in relation to other options and the output of the system is remarkable. There is no better and more efficient way to heat a home and make your body feel comfortable in the frigid winter months than radiant heat. Living an off-grid, self sufficient life style presents many challenges and many opportunities for experimentation and adaptation. Now and then you implement a change and say “that’s a game changer”. Over the years we have said that phrase many times as we have implemented new process, procedures or systems but I can absolutely say that nothing has been as impactful as our masonry heater for taming the winter elements and adding a level of indoor comfort, convenience and efficiency.

We just emerged from 4 straight days of snow fall totaling almost 3’ so just venturing out to grab some more firewood from the pile would not have been fun. The fact that we had enough wood inside to service the heating needs for 5-6 days is amazing. I’m not looking to start trouble with anyone here but I’ve seen claims on the forum of 90% reduction in wood usage. Perhaps some people do experience this depending on what they were previously using. Tom is stating that he expects to reduce his usage by about 66%. This to me seems much more reasonable to expect and roughly about what I would expect too. I only say this to set what I believe to be more reasonable expectations for rocket heater technology.

I’ve mentioned it in another post that I'm familiar with Tom’s build and the reason he built a single skin bell. He has a limited weight carrying capacity floor and no reasonable way to add underfloor support. Even so, his performance from a single skin bell is excellent and the thermal battery characteristics of 500 bricks is enough to keep the house heated with only a single burn per day! For those of you heating your homes with wood you know this is a game changer to not be tending a fire all day and waking up to a house that is 50 degrees (10C).

Tom’s reality is that his structure would not support a double skin mass however it is worth noting that for those who can build a double skin bell you have now significantly increased your thermal battery storage capacity. My double skin masonry heater is heating a very large space so I burn twice a day. After a cold night my external brick is still around 135F (57C) and the thermocouple embedded into the brick of the inner skin shows an average of 260F (127C). If you live off-grid and wake up in the morning to check your battery bank state of charge, the significance of adding a whole new battery bank to your home will be well understood… only this one is a thermal battery.

Great job Tom! Hopefully we can inspire others to go beyond the imagining stage and begin the planning/building stage.

So happy to hear Shorty is working out so great for you and Liz.
Seems Steve has upped his game and is now doing a lot more than just keeping your house from freezing.
Good friends never really seem to leave us or let us down do they?

Hi Y'all, I stumbled across this 8 hr video of a mason building a beautiful brick heater which is claimed to heat for 50 hours and half the wood. You could set the speed to 2X and slow down for the transition parts of the build. The masonry is beautifully done but I do not understand how the stove directs the air intake or the smoke via the various doors and chambers inside. There is no diagram or explanation of the design. I thought I'd share it with Permies RMH experts and would like to know what you think of it. Is it practical and efficient and might it pass building codes in most states/countries? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN_gxZXzeZA

Hi Denise;
This appears to be a European masonry stove.
Much more challenging to build than a batchbox stove like Shorty core.
Either style is considered a Masonry stove, and by following the IBC (International Building Code) can qualify you for home insurance in most states.

Denise Cares wrote: There is no diagram or explanation of the design. I thought I'd share it with Permies RMH experts and would like to know what you think of it. Is it practical and efficient and might it pass building codes in most states/countries?

As far as I can tell it is a Kuznetsov stove design with the corresponding 'dry seam'. (a lot) more complex to build over a batch box rocket with hollow bell, and I believe Peter did some testing to show that the efficiencies are not as high as a BBR.
You can find the Kuznetsov designs online as well. They use russian brick sizes though, which I believe is a problem.

Julian Adam wrote:
As far as I can tell it is a Kuznetsov stove design with the corresponding 'dry seam'. (a lot) more complex to build over a batch box rocket with hollow bell, and I believe Peter did some testing to show that the efficiencies are not as high as a BBR.
You can find the Kuznetsov designs online as well. They use russian brick sizes though, which I believe is a problem.

Fully agree with Julian here, in that this is complex vs any of the latest published designs, such as the shorty and batch box single bell designs.  All of which have very similar final profiles.

If you were to base your final design based on looks, you might as well bring in the cost factor to the equation.

While anything can be learned, the fellow in the video, is not new to brick laying.  So if  you feel you cannot do what he is doing in a timely manner, that would be a strike against this.  Again it can be learned, but perhaps not as your first project with brick laying.

Having a capable wet saw is a great help for almost all masonry stoves, it is almost imperative for the one in the video, again with the skill of knowing what/how it can be done.  You can get by without on simpler designs with good planning.

And lastly, as Julian pointed out, if you cannot source the required brick size ( and the one in the video, certainly uses quite a few non standard brick sizes) you tend to make compromises in the design, and like most things, one change leads to several more changes, which in turn can lead to still more.

All of this is NOT TO SAY,that this isn't a great stove, it is simply saying, that if you spend $10 to save $3  I can think of better investments.

COST-
Now I will add my spiel on cost,   If you know exactly what you need for brick count and size, And if your patient, using facebook market place, inventory sell offs of lumber yards, home remodels free be's, Even large brick buildings being torn down.  The major portion of your stove can be sourced.   Remember, if you need, 300 bricks, but find a pallet of 500 for $0.10 a brick, that is still only $50.00  nothing says you have to use the last 200.    Utilization of many different colored bricks is no problem, as a tile facade can be put in place in a few hours for a consistent look that is top notch. ( a thin second skin on your bell)    All of this is to reverse the cost factor,  spend $3.00 and save $10.00

Best of success!

He mostly builds in Poland, so the firebricks have the same dimensions as in USA. The regular construction brick in many European countries is nominal 250x120x65 mm.
Here is his website:

Kronis.pl

If you hover over "REALIZACJE" link you may access galleries of 27 various builds.

Cristobal Cristo wrote:He mostly builds in Poland, so the firebricks have the same dimensions as in USA. The regular construction brick in many European countries is nominal 250x120x65 mm.
Here is his website:

Kronis.pl

If you hover over "REALIZACJE" link you may access galleries of 27 various builds.

I would love to find the fire bricks used at 5:34:10  and then brick 1 and 2 used at 6:06:41  priced affordably in the USA--  same width, same height but nearly twice as long as standard fire brick.

It does look like he does outstanding work,   I wonder what he would get in America, to build such a stove? Perhaps a few $100?+ Material?  Maybe not!

Scott,

This is the quality people expect when arranging masonry heater building in a masonry heater country. The workmanship would be around $5k. Batchbox type mass heaters would be cheaper to build, around 3-4k.
The brick at 6:06:41 is certainly a slice of a firebrick tile. I purchased recently two of these at PTI in California for $30 a piece. Super Duty, dimension 18x18x2.5", so from one tile you could cut seven 18" long soaps or eight if the blade was extremely thin (continuous rim type for tiles).

Cristobal Cristo wrote:Scott,

This is the quality people expect when arranging masonry heater building in a masonry heater country. The workmanship would be around $5k. Batchbox type mass heaters would be cheaper to build, around 3-4k.

 A excellent trade to be in,   hope there is a ample supply of apprentice coming along.    it is good to see.

Cristobal Cristo wrote:The brick at 6:06:41 is certainly a slice of a firebrick tile. I purchased recently two of these at PTI in California for $30 a piece. Super Duty, dimension 18x18x2.5", so from one tile you could cut seven 18" long soaps or eight if the blade was extremely thin (continuous rim type for tiles).

Excellent source, I will be in the market for a few pieces..   https://ptithermal.com/    Thank you sir.

We're going into our third week of below average for us temperature, and Tom's Shorty is looking more and more desirable. We have a wood stove insert in the living room, and it pushes "too hot" when it's lit, but cools off to "too cold" within hours of going out. This is despite having a rock surround on the wall - but no realistic way to heat that surround!

So now that you've got February weather experience, are you still happy Thomas?

Now that it is February, we love Shorty even more than we did in November, and we loved her bunches then!

We still only burn two loads a day, with maybe a few extra sticks tossed in as the morning load burns down.
We still have windows cracked open, quite often all night long.
Temps here are running single digits above zero, with highs in the teens or low twenties.

You have to love it. Central heat in a 100-year-old log cabin in the mountains!
Once You Go Brick, You Will Never Go Back