TESS Thermal Energy Storage Systems

[K.Landrum]

This was hard for me to find any resources or help, so I'm sharing to help others in the same boat, few as they may be.

I moved into a new home back in April. One of the main selling points to me was a centrally located freestanding masonry fireplace that was nearly 30' of exposed brick inside the home for radiant heat. I couldn't wait to get my hearthstone Clydesdale moved in and unleash the heating power that was overpowering the previous 2000sqft home. I had no idea what was hiding inside...

This home has been a fixer' upper so I've been too busy to do too much with the fireplace. Several months in I heard rumor from the original builder that the fireplace was something special. I started looking inside to see how clean the flue was and to observe how difficult it was going to be to line it. I overserved multiple "bars" running front to back with layers above that offset by half and also running front to back. I had no idea what I was looking at. I called the original builder again which wasn't too helpful. Then i called a few chimney sweeps in the area to see if they knew what i had going on. One gentlemen remembered the property and remembered cleaning the system some 20 years ago. He was excited to come take another look. He said it's the only one he's ever seen.

Turns out, after looking through more paperwork, I learned it is a TESS model 36R and/or 148. The basic idea is to capture as much heat as possible in the chimney through the use of shear mass including refractory, mortar, and brick - some 13,000 pounds of it. Slow the burn with sealed fireplace doors and offer fresh air intake to conserve the warm air inside. The mass can store 266k of BTUs for hours. The freestanding chimney radiates heat all the way up until to goes through the roof in the final 5 feet.

I've only burned twice so far this year. It will take another several months of learning to get the most out of this. Air flow will be important to get the most out of the wood. Also, this thing is going to chew through some wood. Good news is the logs can be +36" easily (if i feel like handling them..) I will be reaching out to Wilkening fireplace for some custom new sealed fireplace doors.

If anyone has this type of unit, please reach out. Interested to hear the user experience and gain any tips/tricks. I'm happy to have something that appears to be particularly unique - so long as it heats my home okay.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

K.Landrum, you seem to have bought a version of what is genrally referred to as a masonry heater. They originated in several places in Europe and have different names. Masonry heaters are large mass heaters that vent burn gasses through an extended flue system that maximizes combustion and absorbs as much heat into the masonry as is feasible. The heat is given off over a period of several hours. Fires were burned once or twice a day, and were generally burned very hot, resulting in a clean and efficient burn. They are also supposed to be very efficient in the use of wood, getting more energy into the masonry and thus the house.

There do seem to be a few minor differences in design and intended method of use - the large firebox and leaving the doors open. Hope you enjoy heating your place with it.

 

[ejp3pe]

This was hard for me to find any resources or help, so I'm sharing to help others in the same boat, few as they may be.

I moved into a new home back in April. One of the main selling points to me was a centrally located freestanding masonry fireplace that was nearly 30' of exposed brick inside the home for radiant heat. I couldn't wait to get my hearthstone Clydesdale moved in and unleash the heating power that was overpowering the previous 2000sqft home. I had no idea what was hiding inside...

This home has been a fixer' upper so I've been too busy to do too much with the fireplace. Several months in I heard rumor from the original builder that the fireplace was something special. I started looking inside to see how clean the flue was and to observe how difficult it was going to be to line it. I overserved multiple "bars" running front to back with layers above that offset by half and also running front to back. I had no idea what I was looking at. I called the original builder again which wasn't too helpful. Then i called a few chimney sweeps in the area to see if they knew what i had going on. One gentlemen remembered the property and remembered cleaning the system some 20 years ago. He was excited to come take another look. He said it's the only one he's ever seen.

Turns out, after looking through more paperwork, I learned it is a TESS model 36R and/or 148. The basic idea is to capture as much heat as possible in the chimney through the use of shear mass including refractory, mortar, and brick - some 13,000 pounds of it. Slow the burn with sealed fireplace doors and offer fresh air intake to conserve the warm air inside. The mass can store 266k of BTUs for hours. The freestanding chimney radiates heat all the way up until to goes through the roof in the final 5 feet.

I've only burned twice so far this year. It will take another several months of learning to get the most out of this. Air flow will be important to get the most out of the wood. Also, this thing is going to chew through some wood. Good news is the logs can be +36" easily (if i feel like handling them..) I will be reaching out to Wilkening fireplace for some custom new sealed fireplace doors.

If anyone has this type of unit, please reach out. Interested to hear the user experience and gain any tips/tricks. I'm happy to have something that appears to be particularly unique - so long as it heats my home okay.
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Greetings Mr. Landrum,
We have this unit in our home. We definitely feel our "fixer" has a number of unique things about it, with this fireplace being one of them! We were excited to see your post and to see how recent it was, since we moved into our place a few years back to discover this unique "ski lodge" type of fireplace tacked onto the end of the home. We do not have it located centrally in the home (which would obviously maximize the heat capture in the home), but included onto a high-ceiling, A-frame, "great room" that was added by the previous owners in the mid-eighties. We have had some downdraft issues with it and were wondering if you have had similar issues. We have a similar package of drawings and specifications as you have posted, but yours appear to be a bit "newer" as ours do not include the sales documentation and color glossy photos (we did find a color post card that was sent to previous owner-attached here). They are mostly the installation/construction documents. We did however key in on the fact that the outside air intake for the firebox was supposed to be located right at the front (first brick, front and center, just inside the doors, in the floor of the fire box). This is NOT what was installed for us, and we believe its placement is critical to the airflow vortex inside the firebox. The updraft out through the chimney is also important, but we find we have smoke working its way back into the house, curling into the room at the area of the curved arch at the top of the door opening, when we burn with the doors open, which is the most beautiful way to enjoy any fireplace. Anyways, just thought we would reach out and tell you that you are not alone in owning this unique unit. The previous owners here must have loved the "science" behind this fireplace for sure, enough to have it included in their home addition back in the '80's! We are certainly enjoying how warm the massive chimney masonry assembly gets and stays during the cold winter months. We just hope to figure out how to fix the downdraft issues so we can enjoy it more. Thank you so much for your helpful post. All the best to you and yours sir!

 

[mellow]

Does your system have metal bars that you can pull out and push in to adjust the direction of the exhaust? A friend of mine has one that does that and once you get the hang of it, it really is an efficient system that burns super clean.

 

[ejp3pe]

Does your system have metal bars that you can pull out and push in to adjust the direction of the exhaust? A friend of mine has one that does that and once you get the hang of it, it really is an efficient system that burns super clean.

Greetings,
There is no adjustment related to the exhaust except for a spring activated cap at the top of the chimney which does not appear to have a tight seal, since we get downdraft and odors in the off season, especially rainy days. There is no traditional flue damper. There is an outdoor air intake duct that runs under the firebox connected to a grille on the exterior of the chimney. It seems this was initially designed to have a damper to close it, but that is long gone. The only adjustment is the hinged cast iron ash dump opening, which serves as the outdoor air intake up into the bottom of the firebox. As I indicated, this "hole" in the floor of the firebox was not installed forward but directly under the raised grate area/burn area. We are hoping to find a chimney specialist that can take a look at our system and 1. Clean it properly. 2. Help us address the downdraft issues.

 

[qwee]

It looks like a fireplace to me. Masonry heaters have bells. Bells are internal chamber(s) where the gasses swirl around - I don't see any bells in the diagrams. Also generally, masonry heaters will have the gas flow going down or sideways somewhere within, but this fireplace has the exhaust going straight up - maybe I missed something though.
Certainly, the extra mass will grab some heat as the exhaust goes up the flue.

Moreover, fire boxes in masonry heaters are small. I guess a big fireplace sized firebox could be built. No way to close the flue is another sign that it is not a masonry heater. Closing the flue is how one captures the heat in the masonry heater's mass. Also living in Arkansas, I would think it would favor a fireplace - you don't hear of many masonry heaters built in the Southern US. Enjoy it, it is beautiful, designed for looks and ambience (with a little heating which may be all you really need).

 

[begreen]

Yes, there is no counterflow that I can see. Cleaning of the heat-exchanger block and keyway are my concerns with this design.

 

[mellow]

Well, it is called a Heat Storing Fireplace......

Would not classify as a masonry heater by any means.

 

[LouCT]

Greetings Mr. Landrum,
We have this unit in our home. We definitely feel our "fixer" has a number of unique things about it, with this fireplace being one of them! We were excited to see your post and to see how recent it was, since we moved into our place a few years back to discover this unique "ski lodge" type of fireplace tacked onto the end of the home. We do not have it located centrally in the home (which would obviously maximize the heat capture in the home), but included onto a high-ceiling, A-frame, "great room" that was added by the previous owners in the mid-eighties. We have had some downdraft issues with it and were wondering if you have had similar issues. We have a similar package of drawings and specifications as you have posted, but yours appear to be a bit "newer" as ours do not include the sales documentation and color glossy photos (we did find a color post card that was sent to previous owner-attached here). They are mostly the installation/construction documents. We did however key in on the fact that the outside air intake for the firebox was supposed to be located right at the front (first brick, front and center, just inside the doors, in the floor of the fire box). This is NOT what was installed for us, and we believe its placement is critical to the airflow vortex inside the firebox. The updraft out through the chimney is also important, but we find we have smoke working its way back into the house, curling into the room at the area of the curved arch at the top of the door opening, when we burn with the doors open, which is the most beautiful way to enjoy any fireplace. Anyways, just thought we would reach out and tell you that you are not alone in owning this unique unit. The previous owners here must have loved the "science" behind this fireplace for sure, enough to have it included in their home addition back in the '80's! We are certainly enjoying how warm the massive chimney masonry assembly gets and stays during the cold winter months. We just hope to figure out how to fix the downdraft issues so we can enjoy it more. Thank you so much for your helpful post. All the best to you and yours sir!

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Need assistance. Moved into a new home 2 years ago and I have the exact same chimney TESS. I want to use it however I am terrified that it may not have been cleaned. Does it need to be cleaned? I have called about 20 chimney places, and no one knows how to clean or even heard of this type of chimney before. I live in Orange CT, and I would love to use it during the upcoming cold season. Any assistance would be appreciated. Ty.

 

[qwee]

What is the difference between a TESS fireplace and a traditional fireplace? It looks like there are many mini chimneys running upwards through thermal mass. The mini chimneys meet and go into one main chimney. The idea? I think the idea is to extract more heat from the chimney than a traditional fireplace as the mass soaks up heat. So one is trying to heat all of this mass (like a masonry heater). How would one clean one of these TESS fireplaces?

You would need to stick a small brush up into these mini chimneys I would guess. Since these mini chimneys are angled you would need a brush that was flexible. One would probably have to lay down in the firebox and work upward. Are these TESS fireplaces good heaters? Unknown. This fireplace is probably better than a traditional fireplace as far as heating goes. But fireplaces aren't good heaters as compared to EPA wood stoves, inserts, or masonry heaters.

 

[begreen]

Start out by determining the model. It looks like TESS has different designs, some with the multiple mini-flues (I148 & I136 Heat Storing) and some with more of a large masonry collar (T48 and T36 Traditional Series). The latter look much easier to clean with a straight shot up the throat.

Here is the TESS manual for identification reference. Note that this is a 5MB file.

 

[d.church]

Glad to find this thread - it's basically the only information I've found related to TESS fireplace systems out of NJ, although my set up is very different than the one's seen here. I just moved into a log cabin with a basement. The fireplace starts in the basement with an 8x8 column that extends up through the roof. In the basement (pics coming later), there is a hatch to collect ashes pushed through the firebox ash dump, and a 6 inch diameter round vent which pulls cold air from the basement through the firebox, and up through the 4 vents. I've yet to find a company that will come clean it for me. Anyone have this model or seen anything like this?

There are 4 vents that I can see in the living area - 2 above the mantle facing forward, and 2 on the side (not pictured).

The first picture is a plate mounted above the mantle. The thermostat works but doesn't show up in pics.

 

[d.church]

Glad to find this thread - it's basically the only information I've found related to TESS fireplace systems out of NJ, although my set up is very different than the one's seen here. I just moved into a log cabin with a basement. The fireplace starts in the basement with an 8x8 column that extends up through the roof. In the basement (pics coming later), there is a hatch to collect ashes pushed through the firebox ash dump, and a 6 inch diameter round vent which pulls cold air from the basement through the firebox, and up through the 4 vents. I've yet to find a company that will come clean it for me. Anyone have this model or seen anything like this?

There are 4 vents that I can see in the living area - 2 above the mantle facing forward, and 2 on the side (not pictured).

The first picture is a plate mounted above the mantle. The thermostat works but doesn't show up in pics.

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Here's a few more pics to show the size of this thing and some pics from the basement!

 

[Todd]

Awesome looking fireplace! How does it do heating the cabin? I think those 4 square vents are part of some kind of convection loop that is drawing air from the basement? Maybe that round one on the side is a clean out?

 

[d.church]

Awesome looking fireplace! How does it do heating the cabin? I think those 4 square vents are part of some kind of convection loop that is drawing air from the basement? Maybe that round one on the side is a clean out?

Thanks Todd! We love it and it's the centerpiece of our new home. I want to make sure I'm servicing it and using it the way it was designed!

The round hole is in the basement, and when the fire's roaring and the glass doors are shut, it's pulling cold air up from the basement through fire, then out those 4 square vents that are topside.

The firebox has a "trap door" where I can sweep ash which drops to the square door in the basement for cleaning. It sounds like the idea is to heat up all that rock mass which holds heat and continues to radiate long after the fire is out.

 

[Todd]

How long does that mass stay warm after the fire is out?

 

[d.church]

How long does that mass stay warm after the fire is out?

Hard to say, we just moved in last week and the analog thermometer was at room temp (70 degrees). I burned all day Saturday and all day Sunday - the thermometer got up to 122, which I assume is measuring the internal temp of the mass. The outside rocks were warm/hot to the touch. It was still reading 116 in the morning, and on Monday after work was in the high 90's after no fire for almost 24 hours. With the glass closed and the air vents flowing it goes through a lot of wood!

 

[rdsymmes]

My husband and I have just retired to a family property in Fauquier County, Virginia. The house was built by my parents in 1985 and needs renovation. There is a TESS fireplace, but we don't know which model. Can anyone tell us how to determine that? Also, any vendors in the area who can clean/work on these? We contacted a chimney sweep, who cleaned it, but said that there are necessary repairs to mortar joints, air channels, damper, etc. We really need some expert advice!

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Contact Maine Wood heat.
Ask for Albie Barden.
He probably knows more about these TESS masonry fireplaces "look-alikes".