OUR STORY
We live in the far south of New South Wales and are off the power grid. We began building our rammed earth, pole and straw-bale home at Dignams Creek in 2006. We wanted our home to be ecologically sound. Our heating options were solar power, bottled gas or wood.
With a constant supply of firewood falling down around us, a wood-burning heater was inevitable. But we were not happy with slow combustion heaters. They produce a lot of heat when going, and none the rest of the time. They send most of the heat up the chimney which is a waste and they are prone to creating pollution and deposits. So we spent a long time looking at other options.
While on holiday in Europe we were stranded in a mountain chalet during a blizzard. In the morning they lit a masonry heater. The fire lasted for about one hour. The masonry heater absorbed the warmth and then radiated it all day. We curled up against the heater reading books with damp clothes draped over it to dry. The heat was beautiful, not too hot. We had found what we wanted for our home. Then we researched it further and discovered that they weren’t available in Australia.
With all the experts being half a world away we toyed with trying to design and build our own. We looked at bringing someone out to Australia to build one for us. Then we discovered these kits and included one in our home. It was straightforward to build and we loved the end result.
Our heater met and even exceeded all our expectations – a single burn kept our home warm for 24 hours and we loved learning against it. Friends who visited were equally impressed.
We now knew that masonry heaters were the answer to the problems of the slow-combustion heaters that were getting wood-burning a bad name.
This led us to start Heavenly Heat. We now have highly satisfied customers in across Australia.
HOW A MASONRY HEATER WORKS
The firebox is filled with wood and is lit. You don't add wood while the fire is burning. The masonry heater is designed to burn very hot to maximise efficiency and minimise emissions.
The combustion gases are channelled up and down through the heater. The heat they contain is absorbed into the core and the masonry facing before reaching the flue, rather than being wasted as with other wood heaters.
This stored heat is then radiated out for 18 – 24 hours to warm your home.
OUR HEATERS
We sell a kit that is designed for an owner–builder or a tradesperson to build. The kit comes with all that is required (except the flue and facing which you choose and supply) and detailed instructions.
There are various designs:
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to fit against a wall, or
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inside a room (often as a divider between a lounge and dining room).
Then either:
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a glass door on one side or on both sides, and
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with or without a bake oven.
The core is rectangular in plan. It is 1.2m by 0.8m with the masonry facing. The flue can go at either side or the back, adding 0.5m. It can be displaced up to 1.5m from the heater to provide a heated bench.
FACING
The masonry surround may be in any solid masonry material; brick or stone; plain or with a rendered finish. It should be 100 - 125mm thick and must be without voids.
A clearance must be left to any combustible materials but the unit can be built against a non-combustible wall such as brick or rammed earth. The flue should be 200mm stainless steel. As for all wood heaters, installations must comply with AS 2918.
CONSTRUCTION
The heater comes as a kit. It is perfect for owner builders who can assemble the kit and then face it with solid masonry – stone, brick or brick with render or tiles.
If you aren’t an owner builder, any good bricklayer or mason can construct it. We are also able to recommend builders to you,
<- Have a look here at one being built.
FUEL
Any clean wood can be used as fuel as long as it is well dried. Hardwood and softwood can be used. Softwood is not as dense as hardwood so you need a greater volume for the same weight. Softwood burns faster than hardwood.
To maximise efficiency, burn a full firebox, which takes about 20Kg of hardwood.
Use well dried wood. As with all heaters, damp fuel creates pollution and reduces energy gained from the burn.