Fireplaces that don't heat but look good
- Thread starter Whitenuckler
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Burnin Since 1991
Feeling the Heat
I get it, I guess. But why the F would anyone spend that much time and money to build a grand fireplace such as that and then not make it real? Sometimes I don't understand people that clearly have too much money,
Possibly it's at a resort where there is a great room?
I’ve wondered if fireplaces like that would be as bad if it was run long enough to heat up that thermal mass, then had the coals removed and damper closed. Depending on how it’s built, that could be a few thousand lbs of thermal mass slowly heating that room.
I’m not saying it’s the most efficient way to do it, but run in the right way, it might not be as bad as we imagine.
I’m not saying it’s the most efficient way to do it, but run in the right way, it might not be as bad as we imagine.
I think that was the principle of all the pioneer stove fireplaces. I think some even had a bend in them to retain heat. They probably had the fire going all winter, as they cooked on it too. Always a big pot of stew ready to go.
If this was a real room, I wonder how much heat loss is passing through that wall of glass, no matter the true heat source.
Burnin Since 1991
Feeling the Heat
If that wall faces south on a sunny day you would AC
The house next door to me was the original farm house in my area. It’s a center hall colonial now, but didn’t start out that way. It was originally a single story home and then they added on a second floor.
Around 20 years ago flippers got ahold of it and gutted it. They found the 1st floor interior walls were brick. The exterior was stick built. The brick did not go past the floor into the basement. I imagine that the open fireplace on 1 end of the house heated those brick walls and that radiated heat the rest of the time. I’ve always wondered how well that worked.
I imagine they went through a lot of wood.
Around 20 years ago flippers got ahold of it and gutted it. They found the 1st floor interior walls were brick. The exterior was stick built. The brick did not go past the floor into the basement. I imagine that the open fireplace on 1 end of the house heated those brick walls and that radiated heat the rest of the time. I’ve always wondered how well that worked.
I imagine they went through a lot of wood.
I bet back then the men spent their time in the woods during winter cutting wood or cutting ice on a pond. Maybe some hunting and trapping as well.
Depending where you were, sure! Logging was a huge winter thing! They could get the logs out much easier on sleds.
There’s an old ice house on the site where my cabin is.
There’s an old ice house on the site where my cabin is.
There is a heritage house near me that was a sawmill and grain mill location. Also because they had mill ponds ect one pond they harvested ice and the horses hauled it up to a barn. I guess they used sawdust from the sawmill and hay? to insulate the ice and it lasted a year.
Also there was a lot of people employed cutting trees for the railroads to make the ties. They got paid by the tie, and it was all done by hand with saws and broad axe.
Check this out! It popped into my feed this morning! It’s a traditional cabin in northern Ukraine. The woodstoves look to be half masonry heater and half open fireplace! By the sounds of his explanation, the main stove location was chosen by lack of ground moisture and the cabin was then built around it!
It's good that he explains the theory. Those lessons were learned over many generations in the extreme cold heating only with wood. I never knew about the ability to sleep on the stove.
I think it’s a great idea! A very efficient use of space! You can fit a couple tons of thermal mass under a bed! In a 2 story house, you could have quite a bed size block of masonry and firebox on the 1st floor!
They must have built the floors after the stoves were set on the ground or built the stoves first, then the house. If you were building a slab foundation for your "camp" you could have a nice footing for it. Might have to find a chimney mason who knows all the tricks.
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