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Article Archive

by Marcus Flynn
by Dave Misiuk, Cold Climate Housing Research Center
CNBC, July 2/08
"Heating oil now costs a whopping $3.88 per gallon. That translates into about 38,000 British thermal units of heat per dollar, versus about 100,000 BTU per dollar for firewood."
Cornell University
by Dick Smith
by Ferenc Bujna

by Marcus Flynn
New York Times, August 29/08
- Canada
- in French, with English summary, 2 pages
thanks to Quebec MHA members Tristan LeBreton and Marcus Flynn for flagging this and following up.

by Marcus Flynn

by Marcus Flynn
Using Castable Refractory Concrete in the Field
by Marcus Flynn
by Marcus Flynn

Refractory Core Construction Sequence, 2006
by Marcus Flynn

by Maggie Keiley,
as part of an MBA Marketing Course at Memorial Universtiry, mentored by Dr. Katherine Gallagher.
Conducted for MHA member Martin Palmer
Check out the article on mass heaters, forwarded by Tom Stroud
January 15, 2008
MHA January 2008 Newsletter
Kachelofen Masonry-heater School of Canada
by Barbara Kessler
a new Internet Journal for dissemination of information on energy and environmental technologies

John Fisher splitting out a sandstone arch piece,
Birmingham, Alabama. Check out his cool
new website.
Results will be presented at a seminar at Wildacres 2008
Dan Givens, Dave Misiuk and Norbert Senf during recent testing at
Cold Climate Housing Research Center
(CCHRC) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Alaska testing photo report

"We are a group of professional energy specialists – scientists, power station and national grid operators, economists, bankers, academics, engineers etc who have been discussing energy policy and technology on and off for some for 30 years, recently grown to over 200 participants.
Journalists often contact us for an independent view of energy issues. Many members use the group to pose questions or to ask for technical expertise and there is almost always someone who has the knowledge....
Alex built this restaurant oven with some modifications to Pat Manley's design.

There is a lot of interest currently in natural thin stone facings for heaters, particularly in combination with the brick shiner system backing developed by William Davenport (see Shineology article, below).
Although the image shows a zero clearance fireplace, the facing is a beautiful example of high level craftsmanship applied to a thin veneer product, by master stone mason John McDougall. John states that the labor was not significantly less than with full dimension stone, to achieve this level of fit. However, the interesting application for heater cores is that you could prefab this facing in your shop, and then install it very quickly on a long distance job.

Kachelofen/fireplace insert with tubes for hot water heating (from a Russian book)
check out Superpanel - looks interesting.
Published on Sunday, May 25, 2008 by The Independent/UK
"...Houses
All new houses in Britain will have to be zero carbon - burning no fossil fuels such as oil - by 2016, the Government announced, and housebuilders are struggling to meet the target. At present the standard can be reached only at great expense, but the industry is confident of bringing the cost down as mass production kicks in. It is even more important to adapt existing homes.
The key step is to super-insulate the house to make it as energy-efficient as possible - and only then to provide renewable energy sources. Solar water heaters, ground source heat pumps and boilers powered by wood pellets are favourites...."
Orion Magazine, April 27/08

Check out MHA member Fred Schukal's new design
updated on April 2/08

Canadian Home Builders' Association, April 1993
Draft of the National Green Building Standard
National Association of Homebuilders

thanks to John Fisher for the link suggestion
by Sam Foote P. Eng. (Retired)
from the 1992 print edition of MHA News
Heating Water with a Wood Stove
John Gulland

Refractory Core Construction Notes
by Marcus Flynn
Rocket Stove report from John Fisher
Design, Construction and Performance of Stick-Wood Fired Furnace
by Professor Richard Hill, University of Maine, 1979
(The original Rocket Stove - NS)

the lintel and 2 flank stones weigh 3,000 lbs

MHA Booth at HPBA Hearth Expo, Atlanta. Feb 29, 2008
From left to right: MHA Executive Director Dick Smith, MHA members Jerry Frisch and
Albie Barden, HPBA Senior Manager, Codes and Standards, Tom Stroud.
photo credit: Norbert Senf

MHA Booth at HPA Show, 1992
Email from Marcus Flynn regarding source for non-carcinogenic ceramic fiber
by John Gulland and Wendy Milne
Fire theory for large scale fires (rooms) has applicability to wood fired ovens

- the cutout in the solid cast iron panel was made by a programmable water jet.
Connie Huffman: What's happening on the regulatory scene with masonry heaters?
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
The Toronto Star, March 29/08
Wikipedia listing on masonry heaters
Here's a graphical listing of websites that link to mha-net.org:
http://www.alexa.com/data/ds/linksin/mha-net.org?q=link:mha-net.org/
To see a list of web pages that contain links to the MHA site, use the following search term in Google:
link :www.mha-net.org - - - (note the space after "link )
December 8, 2007
Report on Wildacres 2007
by John Rousseau

We raised almost $9,000.00, with a top donation of $2,671.00 by Mid-Atlantic Masonry Heat
December 7, 2007
MHA Fall 2007 Newsletter

Heater Research and Testing Workshop - Wildacres 2007
Virginia Radiant Heat Fall Tulikivi Newsletter

MHA Treasurer Doug Hargrave breaks ground for his new showroom in Virginia
Boiling Point |
by Christoph A. Roden, Tami Bond, et al.
Fairbanks, Nov 14 - 15, 2007
Content from the Conference is now online, including:
"Biomass Energy R&D at CCHRC" by Dave Misiuk
Blast From The Past 1

Tom Trout and Robin Dreyer in front of a contraflow heater that they built in 1981.
Original UPO doors with tempered glass.
Blast From The Past 2

Contraflow heater built by Norbert Senf in 1981.
Reclaimed brick with thin lime mortar joints.
Original UPO solid doors with small air inlets - the unlined 4x16 chimney on this heater is still clean after 27 years of use (Don't try this at home, kids).
YouTube
Field Testing of Double Bell Heaters
by Alex Chernov
A Design Tool for Wood Fired Storage Appliances
Zweifel et al
Building Simulation 2005 Conference, Montreal
Online University Courses Big Hit
The free online courses offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are getting
more than a million hits a month.CBC News, Dec 31/07
Content from Sustainable Northern Shelter Forum
Cold Climate Housing Research Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, October 28 - 30, 2007
36 Hours in Asheville, North Carolina
New York Times, Oct 2/07
New York Times article on Outdoor Wood Boilers
Dec 19/06
Traditional Rammed Earth Construction in France
(2Mb PDF File)
The Oil Depletion Resource Page
"For the past several years I've spent a lot of time studying the problem of petroleum supply, the question of when oil production will reach its peak and begin an inevitable decline. It's a kind of morbid hobby.
................The awareness of petroleum depletion has caused me to change my behavior. While planning for their financial future is a preoccupation of most middle-aged people, at our household we are devoting more effort to planning our energy future by reducing our demands and using renewable energy resources."
John Gulland
Emission Testing For Real People
Dr.Tami Bond
Bond Research Group: Aerosols in the Global Environment
Dep't of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr.Tami Bond
Bond Research Group: Aerosols in the Global Environment
Dep't of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Contraflow heater by Marcus Flynn
Creating Greener Future for Urban Youth
ABC News, Feb 14/08
HPBA Announces up to $5,000.00 Matching Funds for MHA Heater Testing
September 7/07: Tim Seaton reports that he just has just returned from a strategy meeting at HPBA, and that HPBA has agreed to match MHA funds for our current testing effort to gain recognition with EPA. As of today, the total amount for our fundraising drive stands at $3,495.00.
Please visit the Fundraising Page If you have not made a donation yet, please consider doing so. If you make your living from building masonry heaters, you will benefit directly from this effort.
MHA Newsletter, 2006 (Click)

with Tom Trout
MHA Financial Records, Board and Committee Reports are Now Online
Available to Voting Members in the Members' Lounge
Find out what your association has been doing
Dale Demary sent this one in.
Scientist Brings Odd Bedfellows Together to Save The Earth
San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 24/07
New System of Fuel Combustion and Prospects for its Application
by Igor Kuznetsov
Sydney Morning Herald/Australia

Heikki Hyytiainen's Air Injection Research

Jack Arch Construction Sequence
by Marcus Flynn


Small Contraflow Heater built from plans in MHA Plans Portfolio


Thanks to longtime MHA member Bill Derrick for forwarding this story from a friend.

Swedish bake oven builder John Fisher, checking out an Alex Chernov
double bell heater project north of Toronto,
BERC - Biomass Energy Resource Center

New York Times, Sun Aug 26/07
Arctic Thaw May be at "Tipping Point"
Reuters, Sept 28/07
More Industries are Seeking Regulation by the Feds
New York Times, Sep 16/07
The Boston Globe, Nov 16/07
MHA President Norbert Senf gives a presentation on MHA and masonry heaters at the State University.
Feedback from organizer Patricia Greene was:
"What a crowd you had!! lots of interest, feedback was they wanted to know more about how the stoves work."
Afterwards, local MHA member Tom Hagelund bought lunch at a great little Jamaican place.

by William Davenport
by Marcus Flynn

This page last updated on September 4, 2008
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