Over twenty years ago I purchased a two story farm house with a full (dry!!) basement. It had forced-air heat driven by a coal furnace. I soon replaced the furnace with an outdoor wood-burning boiler tied into the existing fan / ductwork. It has worked great but uses a lot of wood and is worthless during a power outage without a generator.
I was excited to read about the rocket mass heater and am seriously contemplating putting one in the basement in what used to be the coal storage room. I intend to have a large thermal mass with extra ducting above the stove exhaust which would be used to draw the return air from the house back through the recirculating fan. I am just at the “thinking about it” stage and would like some feedback.
First does it sound feasible? Would the heat transfer from the thermal mass to the heating ducts be sufficient to be effective? What would be the best material to use as mass material?
If you give a thumbs up to the concept, I plan to purchase DVDs and books to make certain everything is done correctly.
Thanks!
