Cob Masonry Stoves

[Renewpwr at aol.com]

At the 1997 Midwest Renewable Energy Fair, Masonry Stoves was one of the 117
free 90 minutes workshops that was presented. I have been to the workshop
presenters house and was encouraged by his homemade, energy efficient
stove/heater. Perhaps you can e-mail the MREA and ask for information to
contact Mark Klein. I beleive he does one day, two day, and weekend hands-on
workshops too. He may be able to recommend a book or two for you to read. Belo
w is a description of his 90 minute free workshop from June 20, 1997:

Masonry Stoves -- A discussion of modular and custom built masonry wood
stoves (Intermediate). Mark Klein, Gimme Shelter Construction, Amherst, WI.
Friday 4:30 

The MREA can be contacted at: MREAinfo at wi-net.com

Please check out their website for more information:

http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~hulet/

They are a not-for-profit group of individuals who anually host an energy
fair for about 10,000 attendees. Many of the attendees and members live off
the power grid using renewable energy and various forms of energy efficient
housing.

Dave Knapp

In a message dated 97-08-06 02:57:12 EDT, you write:

> Speireag writes:
>  
>      In my ongoing quest for the perfect construction, I have run across
>  references to masonry stoves, but no good definition for one.
>  
>      How do I make one?  Must I buy one?  What are the parameters?  What
>  must I allow for in construction?  Are they all huge?
>  
>  
>  I too have an ongoing quest for the perfect construction.  On that quest
>  I've also looked at masonry heaters.  They can be very expensive - enough
>  so that I wouldn't feel comfortable spending that kind of money - even if
I
>  had it.  There are kits made up of pre-cast refractory modules for a
design
>  called "contra flow" that stack up relatively easily to form the basic
core
>  which then will presumable be covered with brick or tile.  I personally
>  would consider covering the thing with cob.  You'd probably want to have
>  some kind of a thin expansion membrane to avoid cracking, but after that
>  you could make the thing as massive or creative as you wish.
>  
>  Given that much of the charm of a radiant heated slab is in having the
>  warmth where it is in frequent and direct contact with the human body,
>  there is a good argument for the heated cob bench as built by Cob Cottage
>  Company.  Having little direct experience with them, I worry that the down
>  draft combustion system that they typically employ can be problematic. 
>  Also, I was recently unable to get one through the City of Eugene Building
>  Department.  They have never been suitably tested.  Still though, they
seem
>  like a good idea.  I think of it as the poor person's masonry heater. 
>  Instead of possibly thousands of dollars in fire brick, you're talking a
>  few dollars worth of scrap steel parts and a lot of earth, sand and straw.

>  Being in the form of a bench, the heat is pleasurably applied to your
butt.
>   Due to the massiveness, the heat will presumably be retained for many
>  hours after the fire goes out - especially if within a straw bale
>  structure.  If designed well, little or no smoke will be visible exiting
>  the chimney and the exiting gases will be about 300 degrees (F) -
>  relatively cool meaning that the heat has been left where it's supposed to
>  be.
>  
>  Any combustion enginoids care to run with that one?  I could go into
>  greater detail about the down draft combustion.
>  
>  Robert Bolman
>