Want a masonry heater, Russian, Finish, kakelofen type

[Norway_wood]

Hello from Norway.
I'm new here, but not new to wood and fire.
Live in the deep woods, lots of snow and down to -30C in winter, but the normal is around -20C.
Now we use wood for heat, 90%, like to be able to use wood 100%, electricity is getting crazy expensive here, but that's another story.

I am looking at some kind of masonry stove, many names, Russian, Finish and the German/Swiss style called kakelofen.
From what I se, belive, is that the German type is covered in tiles, the kakkels, not so on the Russian/Finish type, part from that, are they the same design, operate the same way?

The house is a log house of around 1750-1800 square ft.

Any information on these type of stoves, what will be "best"?
Also looking to use wood for cocking food.

Take care all, stay warm.

 

[Todd]

Masonry heaters are beautiful heaters but they’re heavy and expensive! Sounds like you’ll need a large one. Make sure you have the support underneath. Many of them have ovens incorporated into them for cooking.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

They work on the same basic principal, heat the thermal mass and it’ll heat you. However they have different regional differences and probably efficiencies.

Since it’s such a big, and permanent investment/project, I’d research each style as much as possible to find what suits you best!

 

[stoveliker]

I am not at all an expert on masonry heaters.

I would go for a brand that has been in business a long time.

Remember that more mass.means a longer time to release the heat - but at a lower rate per hour. Also the (initial) heating up will take longer.

I think with these systems, their volume and weight, choosing one depends also a lot on the boundary conditions of what you can install in your home. Geometry and weight might dictate more what you can do than other issues.

 

[begreen]

Kachelofens and Russian or Finnish fireplaces are usually custom-built on site. They are expensive but can be works of art. Search in your country for masonry stove builders. There is also Tulikivi out of Finland.
Here is one artist who makes these stoves in Canada.

Stone House Kachelofen – Hand Made Warmth

Here is one in Scotland

Kachelofen - stovemason

kachelofen - ceramic stove - tile stove scotland - england - wales - uk

www.stovemason.com

This company in Poland sells them

Kominek tradycyjny - model t82 - wkłady kominkowe, grzewcze Małopolska, Kraków – Kominki GP

kominkigp.pl

Note that these stoves usually are not for cooking other than maybe having an oven built in. This is because the burn cycle is one or two feedings a day. You might want to look at alternatives including a wood cookstove for that if it will be used all the time for cooking.

 

[EbS-P]

Here is a good discussion. Not sure if it’s relevant to you.

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[qwee]

Norwegian company with small masonry heaters. The stores are all over Norway so Norwegians must like these little soapstone masonry heaters (room heaters).
https://www.norskkleber.no/us/products/

Here is the dealer map.
https://www.norskkleber.no/english/dealers/

 

[Norway_wood]

Hello. Thanks for all the help, sorry for my lack of reply.
Yes, there are some small soapstone heaters in Norway, but they are so small, for a room up to maybe 45m2 and holding heat for 6-8 hrs, I know these because my brother has one, not something I like to have.
For me, I think I will go for a Russian type, thanks for the link betreten, the stove fitter in UK can come and help me out.

Now, it is -24C here, keeping warm, but a large masonry heather will be nice, keep the house warm during the night, when we are not home and so.

 

[KDubU]

Hi, just joined and wanted to reply that we had a masonry heater in a home we lived in Ontario, Canada. It was by far the best method of heat we have had and regret not being able to take it with us! Ours was built by a certified mason who came on site and built it all by hand. We had planned for it while building the house and had a masonry tower built In the basement up to the main floor to support the weight. We finished the exterior with used bricks that we were able to purchase from an old mill that was torn down and it really made it stand out. The size was approximately 60-72” wide, 36” deep and 84” high if I recall correctly. It heated the whole 1800sq ft of house as we also built with SIP construction and triple pane windows so the house was well insulated. If I could, I would do it all over again and yes we have a “pizza” oven built into it and yes it cooked very well.

 

[Todd]

Hi, just joined and wanted to reply that we had a masonry heater in a home we lived in Ontario, Canada. It was by far the best method of heat we have had and regret not being able to take it with us! Ours was built by a certified mason who came on site and built it all by hand. We had planned for it while building the house and had a masonry tower built In the basement up to the main floor to support the weight. We finished the exterior with used bricks that we were able to purchase from an old mill that was torn down and it really made it stand out. The size was approximately 60-72” wide, 36” deep and 84” high if I recall correctly. It heated the whole 1800sq ft of house as we also built with SIP construction and triple pane windows so the house was well insulated. If I could, I would do it all over again and yes we have a “pizza” oven built into it and yes it cooked very well.

How many firings did it take to maintain a comfortable temp in the dead of Winter? Thanks for sharing.

 

[KDubU]

How many firings did it take to maintain a comfortable temp in the dead of Winter? Thanks for sharing.

We would have at most two firings a day on very cold days. One around 7am and another around 5-7pm. It was always warm to the touch 24hrs a day during the winter.

 

[moresnow]

We would have at most two firings a day on very cold days. One around 7am and another around 5-7pm. It was always warm to the touch 24hrs a day during the winter.

Do you have pics? Design details? Does the builder maintain a website? Interesting topic.

 

[KDubU]

Do you have pics? Design details? Does the builder maintain a website? Interesting topic.

I have some somewhere….just need to find them. It was very similar to this one. This is the website that we found our mason at: http://heatkit.com/html/gallery.htm

 

[St. Coemgen]

I live in Hungary, and mass heaters are very common. And very beautiful as most are tiled.

But they are massive. So they are often built in as "furniture". In the winter, you can sit on parts of them and warm yourself, and in the summer you can still sit on them. But they are massive and do dominate a room. So rather simply ... there... in the warm months.

Here, they are custom built. By professionals. I know... someone posted some Youtube video how to build one... but seriously.... they are more complicated than one assumes to avoid issues. Hire a professional to build one if you want one.

As for us, our house at purchase did not have one, and my wife wanted one. But when we got experts in to consider one, they all said not to bother. Why? Because fist our house was rather small and the mass for one heater would be too large to heat our space (walls and extra rooms are a problem), and second our house sat over our large wine cellar and the mass was too heavy. So... again... Hire an expert to at least evaluate your site. Just don't start to build.

Also maybe simply think about a Jøtul wood stove. Made in Norway since 1853

 

[Norway_wood]

I live in Hungary, and mass heaters are very common. And very beautiful as most are tiled.

But they are massive. So they are often built in as "furniture". In the winter, you can sit on parts of them and warm yourself, and in the summer you can still sit on them. But they are massive and do dominate a room. So rather simply ... there... in the warm months.

Here, they are custom built. By professionals. I know... someone posted some Youtube video how to build one... but seriously.... they are more complicated than one assumes to avoid issues. Hire a professional to build one if you want one.

As for us, our house at purchase did not have one, and my wife wanted one. But when we got experts in to consider one, they all said not to bother. Why? Because fist our house was rather small and the mass for one heater would be too large to heat our space (walls and extra rooms are a problem), and second our house sat over our large wine cellar and the mass was too heavy. So... again... Hire an expert to at least evaluate your site. Just don't start to build.

Also maybe simply think about a Jøtul wood stove. Made in Norway since 1853

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I know that have to be made by an expert, yeah, youtube maybe say something else, but, not for me. I am thinking about getting someone from finland, Germany, Austria and so to come here in spring and make one here in my home. Maybe from Hungary? You have a good name in mind? Jøtul is good, but not what I seek.

 

[begreen]

Does a google search for Masonry Stove Builder Norway show anything? Or maybe Masonry Fireplace builder Oslo? We will get different results out of the country and not in the native language.