Some Euro heaters

[begreen]

Here are some snapshots of heaters I ran across while traveling. The first is a kacheloven room heater in Ukraine. The next is a small woodstove in a local internet cafe in Bulgaria. The last is a room heater, common in better homes in the mid 1800's in Bulgaria. In the room behind the stove there was an equal masonry assembly, but without the feed port. The flue was ducted so that the exhaust traveled through the second room's stove before exiting up the chimney.

 

[begreen]

And here is the heater that our guest house in Koprivshtitsa used. The second image is of the hotwater jacket plumbing. Notice the flue scavenger. These were common on wood stoves I saw there.

The last image is a local firewood sawing operation. Note that the wood is being cut by a large, (estimate about 20" diameter) unguarded saw blade.

 

[cbrodsky]

I REALLY hope Elk comes to check out these installs - especially the internet cafe example

Neat pictures!

-Colin

 

[cbrodsky]

By the way, now I'm also curious - what do you do for work that has you going to these places? (or was this recreational?)

 

[begreen]

There were lots of things I saw that violate our safety minded society. Seat belts are rarely used, wiring often debatably safe. Even the sidewalks can be daunting experiences. But they seem to get along just fine. Sometimes I think we work too hard at being risk free. It can remove the need to think at times and the ability to take risks when warranted.

This was not for work, it was on my own nickel. I love traveling and seeing living from fresh perspectives. So every few years I bust out in a new direction.

 

[tutu_sue]

I imagine the people there are more relaxed as well.

Hey, maybe next time you can bust out on Macchu Picchu - or have you already?

 

[begreen]

It was much more relaxed, especially away from the big cities. Waiters would never rush you from the table or show up with the check until it was asked for. And everyone was more into walking, even in the cities. Another big difference I saw was much less advertising and media pressure. People seemed more satisfied with what they had, rather than what someone told them they needed. From conversations I got a strong message that they prefer the idea of life first and job second, as opposed to working for a living. One fellow told me the idea of only 2 weeks vacation a year seemed intolerable.

South America is on the short list. We're considering Argentina, but Peru would be very interesting too.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Cool pictures! The one with the gentleman cutting the rounds reminds me of a device I saw at the Great Oregon Steam Up. The one I saw had a stationary engine, but the large angle iron table was spring loaded, so you'd set the log on the table and then tilt the table and log into the stationary saw. The other difference was that the operator in Oregon was wearing protective gear and standing to one side instead of right in front of the blade.

Is that a thatched roof in the upper right hand corner?

-Kevin

 

[begreen]

Yes, this wood cutting setup was definitely not OSHA approved. But they all looked to be in their 50s and still had all their fingers .

That's a boxed wall overhang on the right. Almost all the roofs I saw in Bulgaria were tiled. I didn't see any thatched roofs at all. Here's a shot of the house that contains the 1800s stove. It was owned by one of the revolutionaries that started the uprising against the Ottomans. He died at the young age of 26 in the war. But Bulgaria joined forces with Russia and after the Crimean war, they got their independence.

 

[cbrodsky]

South America is on the short list. We're considering Argentina, but Peru would be very interesting too.

We spent a couple weeks backpacking in southern Patagonia in both Argentina and Chile a couple of years ago - highly recommended! Probably one of the few places a dollar still buys you something too... very inexpensive once you get there, and we went on free tickets from an American Airlines promotion. Felt completely safe everywhere we went - they are very welcoming to outdoor tourism. If you're thinking of anything near Torres del Paine, the Moreno glacier, Fitz Roy, etc... I could probably help answer some questions. Or PM me w/your e-mail and I can send you our online photo album.

-Colin

 

[jjbaer]

From conversations I got a strong message that they prefer the idea of life first and job second, as opposed to working for a living. One fellow told me the idea of only 2 weeks vacation a year seemed intolerable.

I found the same thing in Norway. The first thing the relatives all asked me was "how much vacation time do you get"............

 

[cbrodsky]

I found the same thing in Norway. The first thing the relatives all asked me was "how much vacation time do you get"............

Wow, in one thread, we have now also hit upon my other all-time favorite trip... Norway! Awesome country but boy can you burn through money quickly going out to eat. We quickly learned that you just don't drink alcohol in Norway unless you are filthy rich, soda costs more than juice, and a burger combo meal runs about $12. We ate a lot of meals out of grocery stores and spent a lot of nights in the DNT mountain huts which made for a great time.

And to make this on-topic for hearth.com -

The mountain huts were mostly self service including woodstoves. And boy did those things throw off heat... we went to one that was miles from anything up on top of a mountain. When you join the DNT club you get a key. It was downright stupid/reckless to try to find this the way we did and it was nearly dark when we got to it - we were 15 minutes from sleeping in the cold with no real backpacking gear. Just raingear, snacks and hostel sheets in a daypack. Anyway, long story short - we get into this place and it was stunning. Must have been built in the past 5 years - but all via helicopter drops so amazingly pristine. And when we found the woodstove, what a feeling - a huge woodshed chock full of super prime dry wood. That night I decided I wanted one in our house!

-Colin

PS - the bluish color in the photo attached is real - just what it looked like when we arrived that night. Not far from arctic circle so very neat evening light. It was set out in a sea of rocks with snowmelt lakes all around it.