Masonry and Metal Wood-burning Stoves

This is an approximation of a Tyrolean Masonry heating stove. It has the odd design of the chimney being in the front where the fuel is added into it. Composed of Antigorite stone, also known as Serpentine in the Tyrol region of Italy. It is laid up in flat layers, just like bricks. Because of its unique properties this stone is both thermally insulating and conducive along its layers. The mortar is part clay and lime. I'm not sure how they covey the heat through the house with this style, but air is allowed all around it, even underneath. If I were to try this at home I might try to incorporate some kind of water or anti-freeze through tubing wrapped around it and fed to another insulated reservoir and then pumped through hydronic radiant heat lines.

The picture above shows the wooden armature that is used to assist the masonry, where long slats are just tacked onto the hemi-circular ends to create a half-cylinder. When it is all cured up the armature and slats are pulled out the door.

With less Antigorite located where I live I have set about to try to do something similar by adapting the double-barrel burner from 55 gallon barrels. Such a set-up allows additional combustion of gases and heat exchange before it is let out of the chimney. In this case I have situated a 30 gallon barrel within both and filled the cavity with either sand or ground up fire brick.

The picture above shows how one might be able to situate a flexible copper tube within the larger barrel before adapting the inside barrel inside it. I am estimating that two and a half turns will allow plenty of heat to be absorbed into the fluid. I have no idea what sort of temperature it might get to yet with only a moderate wood fire. Boiling temperature is not my aim.

There is already a bolt-on kit that is on the market at Northline Express where all one has to supply is the 55 gallon barrels. This might be a good set-up for a barn or workshop. I still would like to see if I could design a regular, more architecturally aesthetic fireplace and chimney which can take the same sort of thermodynamic advantages of these design.