Anyone have a Tulikivi?

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bikedennis

Burning Hunk
Jun 21, 2021
160
Nor Cal
I know that there are Tulikivi prefab soapstone fireplaces and also soapstone stoves. They are beautiful and very efficient. I'm interested in the stoves and wondering if anyone here has one of the stoves and what your experience has been with them.
 
A friend put one in his guest house in AK. It's a beautiful heater, but very heavy, needs a foundation. They are good when constant heat is needed, not great for a short burst of heat or chill chasing.
 
I don't see them on the list of 2020 compliant stoves are they even for sale in the us market still?

Btw they don't all burn pellets just the model they entered in the competition you pulled that quote from. I have never seen any sold here that burnt pellets as well. But I could be wrong.


They are very interesting heaters based on masonry heaters used in Europe allot but most of their stoves are a smaller mass that the traditional masonry heaters. But still heavy enough you need structural support.
 
The heat from a masonry heater 'feels better' compared to other wood burning appliances. Why? Tulikivi did a study. The heat wavelength from a masonry heater was found to be similar to that of the sun. We as humans evolved with the sun so this kind of heat warming us feels good. Masonry heaters are a long-term solution to heating but we live in a short-term gratification culture - i.e. I want heat right now! I might be moving! It takes too much planning! $$$!etc...

If I lived in California (or other parts of the West), and I was in the phase of planning a house build, I would plan carefully. I would use an outer material that could better withstand fire and high winds (look in the green forum for hemp blocks, or ICF's or some sort of non burning skin), and that provided better insulation than conventional construction. The climate is changing. With this house, you could centrally locate a Tulikivi in an open house plan.
 
The "heat wavelength" is nothing special; it (no, not it, but its spectrum) simply depends on the temperature of the radiating body.

As the temperature of any stove is not independent of the heating power requested from it to keep the home warm (i.e. you need x000 Btus per hour), the infrared coming from the stove will be equal for any stove of a similar size (I.e one not having a 10 times as big surface area as another). (Yes, there is some caveat here about convective heat shedding, but overall, in the temperature range for stoves, this only result in a very minor change in the above.)

So, I view the statement you are quoting above as marketing nonsense.

Now, this does not say that a stove with a big thermal mass is not a nice solution to the question of how to create even heating - it is!
 
I have been in houses heated with a Tulikivi and also with a Russian masonry heater. The warmth is gentle and even. What was missing was that deep, bone-warming heat that one gets from a more radiant source and the nice fire view.
 
I know that there are Tulikivi prefab soapstone fireplaces and also soapstone stoves. They are beautiful and very efficient. I'm interested in the stoves and wondering if anyone here has one of the stoves and what your experience has been with them.
I have a Tulikivi for sale in CT. Call or txt: (315) 767-2268

Tulikivi 1.jpg
 
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What are you selling it for pricewise? How did it work for you - your burning routine with it? It looks like a smaller one. Was it too small for your house? Is it already disassembled? Thanks