This is a one of a kind course and offered nowhere else in North America.

The curriculum is 32 hours long, 16 in the classroom and 16 hours of constructing a “core” of a masonry heater. It provides the participant a must have foundation and knowledge of basic masonry heater design and fundamentals necessary before taking on the task of building masonry heaters.

Classes are currently scheduled for:

• Everett, WA        July 11-14, 2013
• Perth, Ontario       Sept. 12-15, 2013
• Parkesburg, PA     Oct. 3-6, 2013

Cost:   $800 for MHA members and $900 for Non-members

For more information contact the MHA office:

Phone:  520-883-0191

Email: execdir@mha-net.org

The post MHA Offers Classes on Masonry Heaters appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

(Revised April 16, 2013)

Article I:  Name

The name of the organization shall be the MASONRY HEATER ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA, hereinafter referred to as the Association.

Article II:  Objectives

The particular purposes for which the Association is formed are:

1. (a) To promote and increase the use of masonry heaters, wood-fired masonry bake ovens, and other high thermal mass solid fuel appliances in the United States and Canada. (See Article VII)
   (b) To inform and educate the users and builders of masonry heaters and wood-fired masonry bake ovens as to the use and merits of these devices and systems.  Users and builders of masonry heaters and wood-fired masonry bake ovens refers to architects, engineers, designers, manufacturers, educators, students, heater builders, mason contractors, code officials, building inspectors and others involved in the construction industry, and in addition, the general public.
   (c) To encourage and assist research and investigation with reference to utilization of products and concepts of the masonry heater and wood-fired masonry bake oven industry.
   (d) To establish an entity which will be instrumental in the formation, adoption, and maintenance of specifications and standards of excellence for the manufacture, sale, delivery, design and construction of masonry heaters and wood-fired masonry bake ovensfor the protection of the public and the good name of the masonry heater industry, and to work in cooperation with others outside the Association.
2. To purchase or otherwise acquire, own, sell, assign, transport, or otherwise dispose of real and personal property of every kind and description.All property, both real and personal, is to be used or disposed of only in the interests of the Association and in furtherance of its objectives and the contract for the performance by others at work or service deemed necessary or desirable in carrying on or for furthering the purposes of the Association, and in the upkeep, improvement or preservation of the Association’s property interests.It is the Association’s desire and intent that it be known that its objectives are predominantly educational, ethical, moral, social and non-profit.Furthermore, the Association accepts these Bylaws as its constitution for all purposes necessary to comply with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service of the United States and for such other purposes as the Association may benefit thereby.
3. To conduct business and to have one or more offices at such places as may be necessary from time to time and as approved by the Board of Directors.
4. To have such other powers in furtherance of the foregoing objectives as are usually possessed by similar organizations with similar purposes.

Article III:  Governing Authority

The association is governed and operated in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, which is the state of its incorporation, as a 501(c)(6) corporation, by these Bylaws, by the instruction of its members, and by its Board of Directors and Officers.

Article IV: Association Membership

Section 1:  Eligibility

Builder Membership

Any individual, firm, corporation, or association engaged in the design, construction, or building of masonry heaters in any form shall be eligible to become a member in accordance with Section 3 of the Article.

Manufacturer Membership

Any individual, firm, corporation, or association engaged in the manufacture, sale, or promotion of masonry heaters or their material components in any form shall be eligible to become a member in accordance with Section 3 of this Article.

Affiliate Membership 

An affiliate membership in the Association shall be limited to any individual, partnership, association, or corporation interested in the furtherance of the masonry heater industry, but not actively engaged in the manufacture or construction of masonry heaters or their material components.  While this type of membership is generally intended for architects, engineers, designers, students, educators, code officials, and those of similar occupations and professions, it may, at the option of the Board of Directors, be extended to Builder Members and Manufacturer Members.  Acceptance as a member in any of the listed categories is subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

Affiliate members may attend all regular meetings of the Association and enter into discussion: however, they may not vote or hold office in the Association.  Other restrictions may apply to affiliate members as determined by the Board of Directors.  Annual dues for all members shall be determined for each fiscal year, according to membership category as listed in this Section, by the Board of Directors.  Special assessments may be levied against all membership categories except against those holding affiliate membership.

Section 2: Voting

(a)      Each voting member may appoint and certify to the Executive Director, by mail or

e-mail, an individual to be his proxy, who shall represent and vote for the member in his

absence at the Annual Meeting or special meetings.  A proxy must be a voting member

in good standing of the Association.

(b)    Only voting members in good standing shall be entitled to vote or act on any issue whether in person, by their proxy, by mail or electronic vote.  (See this Article, Section 5 and Article IX.)

Section 3:  Selection of New Members

Each prospective member who has submitted a membership application and the first year’s dues, shall be accepted into the Association in the appropriate  membership category, subject to the ruling of the Board of Directors.

Section 4:  Quorum

At any meeting of the Association, a majority of the voting members of the Association, entitled to vote, must be represented in personor by proxy, and such majority shall constitute the quorum for any and all purposes.  In the absence of a quorum, the meeting may proceed with all action taken subject to confirmation by mail or electronic vote.

Section 5:  Mail Referendum

Whenever, in the judgment of the President, any question shall arise which he considers should be put to a vote of the voting members, and when he deems it inexpedient to call a special meeting for such purpose, he may, unless otherwise required by these Bylaws, submit such matters to the voting members in writing by mail or electronic ballot for vote and decision, and the question thus presented shall be determined according to the vote received by mail within thirty days after such submission to the voting members just as though the vote were cast a regular or special meeting of the voting members, provided that in each case votes of at least a majority of the voting members shall be received.  Any and all action taken in pursuance of mail or electronic vote in each such case shall be binding upon the Association and its members.  Likewise, a mail referendum may be ordered by written request to the President by twenty-five percent (25%) of the voting members of the Association.

Section 6:  Order of Business

The order of business for meetings of the Association shall be as determined by the President.  In the absence of the President, the acting presiding officer shall determine the order of business.  The order of business may be altered at any meeting by a majority vote of the voting members present.  Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern except when otherwise provided in these Bylaws.

Section 7:  Voting

At each meeting of the Association, each voting member in good standing shall have one vote only, either in person, or by proxy.

Section 8: Committees

Committee’s, Standing or Special, shall be appointed by the President as the association shall deem necessary to carry on the work of the association. The President shall be ex-officio of all committees except the nominating committee.  (Added Jan. 2009)

Section: 9: Meetings

Members of the Board, standing committees, special committees, and committees at large may  participate in a meeting through use of conference telephone, video conferencing or similar  communications equipment, so long as members participating in such meeting can hear one  another. Minutes of the meeting must be taken by a secretary or chairman and be made available for review by board/committee members. Voting by participating board/committee members may be done via email so long as the results are made available to all board/committee voters.  Results should include the name of the voter and the position of their vote. (Added Jan. 2009)

Article V:  Board of Directors

Section 1:  Government of the Association

The affairs of the Association are to be governed by its Board of Directors, hereinafter called the Board.  The Board will be composed of seven (7) members.  All members of the Board of Directors, including the President, are voting members of the Board.

Section 2:  Duties

The Board shall have control and management of the affairs of the Association, with authority to conduct the business of the Association.

Section3:  Vacancies

Vacancies caused by the death, resignation, loss of voting member status, or otherwise, of any Board member, shall be filled by interim appointment by the Board until the next annual election, special meeting, or mail or electronic vote called for that purpose.

Section 4:  Removal for Cause

Any elected officer or member of the Board of the Association may be removed from office for conduct on his part likely, in the opinion of the Board, to endanger the welfare, safety, interest, or character of the Association, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board, provided however, that notice in writing, together with a copy of the charges and specification shall have been sent to such officer or member of  the Board at least twenty (20) days before the meeting of the Board, where such action shall be considered and an officer or member of the Board so accused may appear before the Board at that meeting.  The majority decision of the Board of Directors at such meeting shall be final.

Article VI: Officers

Section 1:  Number of Officers

The officers of the Association shall be the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer.  Other officers may be elected according to the pleasure of the members, including, but not limited to a First Vice-President and a Second Vice-President.

Section 2:  Election of Officers

All officers shall be elected by a majority of the voting members at the regular annual meeting of the Association, or at a special meeting called for that purpose.  The officers, so elected, also become members of the Board of Directors upon installation in their offices.

Section 3:  Installation of Officers

All officers duly elected in accordance with this Article, Section 2, shall be installed, and take office, within sixty (60) days of the election of officers.

Section 4:  Term of Officers

All officers duly elected in accordance with this Article, Section 2, shall hold office for a period of two years or until their successors are elected.

Section 5:  President

The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association.  He shall preside at all meetings of the Association.  He shall have general charge of the business of the Association, shall execute with the Secretary, in the name of the Association, all deeds, bonds, contracts, and other obligations and instruments authorized by the Board of Directors to be executed.

Section 6:  Vice President

The Vice-Presidents shall be vested with all the powers and in order of their precedence shall perform all of the duties of the President, in case of the absence or disability of the President.  The Vice-Presidents shall also have such other powers and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors.

Section 7:  Secretary

The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate minutes of all proceedings of the meetings of the Association in books provided for that purpose.  He shall attend to the giving and serving of notices of all meetings of the Association, all deeds, bonds, contracts, and other obligations, and instruments authorized by the Board of Directors to be executed.  He shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of the Association, and, when so ordered by the Board, shall affix the seal to deeds, bonds, contracts, and other instruments.  He shall keep and have charge of the journal of meetings of the Board, the Book of Bylaws, and such other books and papers as the Board may direct.  He shall, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary, subject to the control of the Board of Directors.

Section 8:  Treasurer

The Treasurer shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate accounts of the receipts and disbursements of the Association in the books to be kept for the purpose. He shall receive and deposit or cause to be received and deposited all monies and other valuables of the Association, in the name and to the credit of the Association, in such depository as may be designated by the President or by the Board of Directors.  He shall distribute or cause to be distributed the funds of the Association as may be directed by the President or by the Board, taking proper vouchers of such disbursements.  He shall render or cause to be rendered to the President, and to the Board, whenever they may require, accounts of all his transaction as Treasurer, and of the financial condition of the Association.  He shall, in general, perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer, subject to the control of the Board.  At the expiration of his term of office, the Treasurer shall deliver over to his successor, or in the absence of a Treasurer-Elect, to the President, all books, monies, and other properties.

Article VII:  Area of the Association

The area of the Association shall be as follows:  All of the fifty (50) United States of America, and all of the twelve (12) Provinces of Canada.

Article VIII: Fiscal Administration

Section 1:  Fiscal Year

The fiscal year shall begin January the 1^st of each year.

Section 2:  Dues

(a)    Dues and assessments shall be established and may be modified at any meeting of the Board by a majority of the Board members entitled to vote.

(b)    A member or his proxy will lose his right to vote on any issue if his dues are sixty (60) days or more in arrears at the time of any vote in person, by proxy, by mail or electronic vote.  His right to vote shall be restored upon his payment of his dues that are in arrears and upon the acceptance of the payment by the Association.  At the start of each meeting of the Association, the Treasurer shall advise the President, the Secretary, and other Board members present of the status of any member of the Association who is not entitled to vote at that meeting.

(c)    The Treasurer shall be authorized to assess a past due service charge to the account of any member whose dues account is in access of sixty(60) days delinquent.  The amount and terms of the assessment shall be determined by action of the Board and may be changed by the Board at any time.  The Board may also exempt a delinquent member from specific past due service charges if the Board determines special circumstances justify such exemption.

Article IX:  Amendments

These Bylaws may be repealed or amended, or new Bylawsmay be adopted, at any regular annual meeting or at any other meeting of the Association called for that purpose by a vote representing a majority of the members entitled to vote. Bylaws to be repealed or amended or new shall be mailed via postage to all members entitled to vote a minimum of 45 days prior to any regular annual meeting or any other meeting of the Association called for that purpose. The written consent of the majority of the members entitled to vote, by person or proxy, shall also be effectual to repeal or amend any Bylaws or to adopt additional Bylaws.  Bylaws amendments shall be placed into effect immediately once passed by a vote representing a majority of members entitled to vote.  (Revised Jan. 2009)

Article X:  Dissolution

Upon winding up and dissolution of the Association, after paying or adequately providing for the debts and obligations of the Association, the remaining assets shall be distributed to a non-profit fund, foundation, or association which is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, education and/or scientific purposes, and which is in a position to utilize the funds in such a manner that would further the interests of the masonry heater industry, and which has established its tax-exempt status under the appropriate section of the Internal Revenue Code.

The post By-Laws of the MHA appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

Norbert,
Tony Dasilva, Barrett Funka and I recently
completed a project in Bluff, Utah on the Navajo reservation.

The home is being built by the a group of University of Utah students for a Navajo
widow. The students got in touch with Steve Bushway who lined Tony up to
lead the project, then Barrett and I tagged along. The link to the project
is:
www.designbuildbluff.org/blog.
Sincerely,
Matt Helicke

The post MHA Project on Navaho Reservation, Bluff, Utah appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

Subject: Let’s help Sub Rosa

Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013

Two letters here, one from Antoine and one from myself. Please forward at will.

Bakers, builders, friends and family,

On Tuesday night a devastating fire struck my dear friends bakery in Richmond Virginia. We built Evrim and Evin an oven early last summer and I had the great honor to visit them and see their beautiful establishment up and running, full of loving and loyal customers, just last week. It had been a project many years in the making, and they had just opened their doors this past December. Thankfully, no one from the bakery nor any of the other tenants in the building were hurt, but the structure sustained massive damage and the building is currently condemned.

Despite the cause of the fire having been deemed accidental and originating on the outside of the building, this has been a very sobering experience for us oven builders given our work with fire. It’s my hope of hopes for all of you who dance with this great element: be vigilant. However you commune with it, whether in baking, in heating, in cooking or simply in getting lost in it’s timeless mesmerizing beauty, never fully be at ease. It’s a giant, no matter what it’s size or nature, so please do all you can and more to be safe when harnessing it.

I send this to all of you not only as a reminder to awaken before your own fires, but to put Evrim and Evin in your prayers. Such passion and love for ones work and the people around them I have rarely, if ever, seen paralleled, so give them a thought as this challenge unfolds.

Also, there is currently a site raising funds for them, chip in if you can.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/friends-neighbors-for-sub-rosa?c=home

And you can find contacts for them below if you want to drop a line.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Rosa-Bakery/82428708441

http://subrosabakery.com/

I’m sure more will come out soon as to what kinds of support they need most.

Best to all of you. Happy spring and be safe.

Antoine

========================================================

Hello Everyone,

As many of you know our dear friend and brother Evrim Dogu lost some of his bakery and all of his living space to fire earlier this week. After years of earnest planning, a long renovation process and an oven build, Sub Rosa opened in December of 2012 and was the realization of Evrim’s desire to share his love of bread and food culture with the rest of us. Sub Rosa is located in Richmond, Virginia.

I am appealing to each of us, and asking that we respond to Evrim’s loss by sharing some of what we can, so that he may feel our love and support, and have the courage and resources to rebuild Sub Rosa and proceed onward.

It is impossible to find rhyme or reason when accounting for folly such as the fire at Sub Rosa, or any other of the other myriad of disasters that, once occurred, leave so many affected and so many lives rearranged. In every opportunity Evrim has deflected concerns away from his own personal loss and instead attended to the needs of others, including the housing needs of the upstairs tenants left homeless.

If you know Evrim you may know him as I do. He is as a poem in motion. Seamlessly he swings between laughter, the love of life, appreciation of the moment, dedication and integrity, and a willingness to be vulnerable and brave. This poem he wears every day while sharing his love for bread and life with those around him. In one moment you are about to pee in your pants from laughing. In the next moment you are reflecting on something deeply meaningful, or receiving in your hands something made from his heart and headed for your belly. Most of all, our dear brother Evrim walks the earth emanating a spirit of deep and profound love. It is a great gift and a joy to be near.

Let us all see that Evrim not grow disheartened from this loss, but embolden him to persevere through the rebuild by donating our financial resources. Everything that has happened at Sub Rosa could happen anywhere and at anytime. Those of us who are safe and with our homes, businesses and families intact can give thanks for what we have and transmute the appreciation of our own security by sharing money, even if for a while it makes each of us a little vulnerable. This is about being there for each other. Evrim has been there for us with his compassion, laughter, and his love. Now we give it back, and in doing so, humbly thank him for being awesome.

Viva Sub Rosa!!!! Viva la familia Dogu!

We are all each other, each and everyone.

William Davenport

Turtlerock Masonry Heat
30 Strong Street #1
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 793 9910
info(at)turtlerockheat.com
www.turtlerockheat.com
http://turtlerockmasonryheat.blogspot.com/

“todos somos todos”- we are all each other

Donation links above.

==============================================================

From: sub rosa bakery <subrosabakery(at)gmail.com>

Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2013

Subject: Re: Let’s help Sub Rosa

To: William Davenport <info(at)turtlerockheat.com>

Cc: (hidden)

Hello Everyone,

These are most thoughtful and flattering words I have ever heard. We are not disheartened. We have seen how the community, here and everywhere, values and loves us. That is worth the world. Speaking for myself, I only feel more emboldened to try and live up to them, to be worthy of the honor, respect, and love that I hear and see coming our way.

Truth be told, we are blessed. No one was hurt. The psychological damage is lies heaviest on our upstairs neighbor whose apartment is unrecognizable and completely destroyed and whose cats, having escaped the fire, are still lost. My apartment is about 1/3 done for. Our elderly neighbor’s apartment sustained heavy water damage but otherwise his valuables and possessions are nearly untouched. Also, amazingly, most of the bakery, except for the kitchen, is unscathed. The oven sustained a large amount of water and we will see what needs to be done about that…

We have heard estimates ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months concerning the rebuild of the bakery. We will simply keep in touch about that. We are hopeful that it will be sooner as the whole thing is very central in the public eye and the City wants to look good.

As to what Antoine said about the Fire, please take it to heart. Fire, as we have said is the great purifier, but also the destroyer. Our fire was most likely caused by the flick of a cigarette on the back porch a full hour and a half before the fire was reported. The perfect place at the perfect time. We were extremely lucky that a neighbor saw small flames and called the Fire Dept. immediately and that we live mere blocks away. It could have been so much worse. . .

Now, about money. Insurance is looking to cover most if not all of the damage, including “business interruption” and “tenant loss,” but apart from myself none of the other tenants had renter’s insurance (if you are a renter I strongly advise you buy this insurance; it is usually around $100 a year). Thus, we are using all extra funds raised to go directly to the tenants to pay for temporary housing, new clothes, cleaning of furniture and clothing, as well as to help them buy their most important possessions lost to the fire. I want to say that while money can help I believe that there are other, even more important ways to do so.

The next time we break bread or raise a glass, let us be thankful and grateful for each and everything we have in our lives and to the communities that we are a part of. If you can send a good thought or feeling our way, as part of that prayer, I know that we will feel it and live accordingly. The benefit of such a prayer is immeasurable.

Thank you again for your kind care and consideration.

Keep your own fires strong, be vigilant and sensitive, and continue blessing others’ tables as ours are surely blessed.

Love and solidarity,

Evrim Dogu

p.s. feel free to forward this letter as well.

The post Bakery Fire at Sub Rosa appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

To: Richard Smith – Executive Director <execdir(at)mha-net.org>,
Norbert Senf <mheat(at)heatkit.com>
Cc: Steve Bushway <sbushway(at)mac.com>, Matt Coffman <mattcoff(at)gmail.com>

Once again, I have continued to spend time with customer service on the restore.

They have done a restore and most everything is working. Notably, all of the articles that you wrote Norbert, the large amount of work Matt recently did and in general most of the site is all back up. For a while I was seeing pages that weren’t working because my browser cache was remembering old pages.

What is notably still not working is the forms functionality including the membership application.

The main thing that comes out of this situation is how fortunate we are that we had a backup system in place and that an automatic backup was made just after Matt did the recent work that he did. While the restore is still not perfect, there is a HUGE amount of work and expense that we have been able to save. The hosting company pretty much fell flat on their face where not only their server malfunctioned but THEIR backup system was inexplicably not intact either. Amongst their customers, which I would imagine run in the thousands to tens of thousands, they have told me that we are very fortunate.

I am curious if other people see things that are missing that I have not caught. Please let me know.

Things are mostly back and we were fortunate to have a backup in this situation… a good moment to remind everyone in the association that it would be good business practice to also have backups to prevent such a challenge.

Regards,
Max
–
Max Foster Edleson
Craftsman/Builder
www.firespeaking.com
(541) 964-3536
(541) 294-5232 – Cell

The post MHA Website Outage Report appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

Hi Norbert.
Some pictures to share. Two-story 45×42 heater with single firebox at the lower level and white bake oven on the second floor. the oven has direct firing option. Facing with locally-made reclaimed clay brick.

We built this heater in the fall 2011. The heater has means of controlling heat output at each story from 100% on the lower level to 60% on the upper level / 40% on the lower. This heater heats very-well insulated house with 900ft2 on each story. The bake oven reportedly gets to 350-370F from one large firing a day. I do not have temps of the oven  reported with two large fires yet, but suspect that it will be at baking temps.

We built three similar heaters in the last 1.5 years. A nice option for well-insulated homes. Much lower cost than two stacked heaters and less work hauling wood around.

 

Best,

Alex Chernov
Stovemaster Ltd.
78 Centennial Rd. Unit 7
Orangeville L9W1P9 ON Canada
www.stovemaster.com
o. 1-519-938-9166
m. 1-416-708-8139

The post Two Storey Heater by Alex Chernov appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

Dick Smith

The post MHA at World of Concrete, Las Vegas appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

So called “air tight stoves” from the seventies and early eighties make up a majority of the pollution from residential wood smoke. The western valleys we inhabit are prone to wintertime inversions. Without a moving weather system to clear out the air, particulate matter can easily accumulate to unhealthy levels. The EPA is especially concerned with fine particles known as PM 2.5—particulate matter 2.5 microns in size that can become lodged in the lungs, causing long term health threats. In an effort to decrease such dangerous particles in the air we breathe, the EPA set limits for wood stove emissions in 1988.  Now, under pressure from state air agencies throughout the country, it is about to lower emission levels even further. Pellet stoves, masonry heaters, and outdoor boilers (previously exempted from regulations) will now be included in the EPA review. Details of the new wood burning regulations are expected out this spring for a 90-day comment period.

A warming fire in your home is considered by many to be an essential ingredient of cold weather living. Lowering heating bills and dependence on fossil fuels may be the goal, but the payoffs compound themselves. Burning wood wisely – using dry, split wood, with high efficiency appliances is considered to be ‘carbon neutral’. During its lifecycle, wood traps carbon dioxide – a major greenhouse gas. Whether burned as fuel or decomposing naturally, that once-trapped carbon dioxide will find its way into the atmosphere. While the timeframe is certainly different, there is no net addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere from wood burning.

Investing in an EPA Certified wood stove that meets or exceeds current EPA emission limits pays dividends beyond healthier air. Today’s stoves improved combustion technology and higher efficiencies mean you burn 20% – 30% less wood than with the old clunker.  Masonry heaters, though more costly, are one of the cleanest burning and most efficient ways to utilize cordwood and have been in existence for centuries. Pellet burning stoves have long been recognized for their low emissions. With a pellet burner you can sell off the chainsaw and get some weekends back!

The Alliance for Green Heat, an independent non-profit organization that promotes the use of wood as a green heating alternative, has announced the selection of 14 finalists in the Next Generation Woodstove Design Challenge. The burn-in will take place in November of this year on the Mall in Washington D.C. The designs consist of especially efficient stoves with micro processors, state of the art hybrid stoves, and ironically, several ultra efficient masonry heaters designs from the 17^th century—all of which offer high combustion efficiency and heat storage.

So, whether looking backwards in history for the ultimate flame, embracing current technology, or waiting for the right smart phone app to light your fire, consumers have many choices when it comes to cleaning up their acts.

Ron Pihl is the President of WarmStone Fireplaces and Designs in Livingston and a board member of the Northwest Hearth Products and Barbeque Association. Ron has been building masonry heaters in Montana since 1982.

The post Still Smoking – Clean Up Your Act appeared first on Masonry Heater Association.

Hi Norbert.
Here are some pictures of a 6x10ft bread oven we built September 2011 in the Prince Edward County. I will put a complete article on my web site at some point, but here is some info to share.

My design decisions were inspired by low-vault ovens built by John Fisher in Sweden http://www.fishermureri.se and also influenced in part by what I have seen on pictures of French traditional guilard-style ovens Antoine Guerlain brought from his trip to France with Dave Bauer http://farmandsparrow.com/ . One of the main features is  that the oven was designed for use of canvas bread loaders (a device enabling baker to load and unload several rows of bread at once in matter of seconds with very little effort – something that every production bread oven I design and build will be equipped with from now on). The doors system for the oven was designed and built for this purpose by  William Davenport of Turtlerock Masonry Heat http://www.turtlerockheat.com/.

The oven is direct-fired and features:
-          a very low low-rise vault of 12″ maximum height and no reduction into a single exit, but instead two main exits: one in each back corner right in the vault (natural reduction of about 2″ due to vault rise).

-          a firing door at the back of the oven. We have decided that keeping all wood dirt out of the bakery is a good idea and bakery plan allowed it. I made another exit above the firing door simply to have firing door as high as possible while avoiding spillage when loading wood.

This central exit has a dropped in stainless pipe (a-la bagel oven chimney exit) to be flush with top of the firing door just to avoid venting the hottest gases out when firing. This way there is no spillage, but the hottest gases do not escape. Each of three exits has a dedicated sliding damper just above, right on top of the vault. The exits, therefore, are only shallow niches in the vault, so no large space of an open smoke chamber above. All exits come into a single smoke chamber that can potentially have additional chimney damper at the base of the chimney to avoid circulation in the chimney, but it was not installed in this case. With two main exits, plus central exit, with separate dampers, there is ability to control draft and firing and have some control over direction of the gas flow inside.
-          a triple layer jack arch with a reinforced bond beam over the 6ft-wide loading door opening. I think the strongest solution possible…
-          a continuous expansion joint John Fisher’s style with staggered side joints in walls and in the vault at the middle, plus expansion joint in the upper brick layer in the vault at the ends of the vault.
-          Thickness of oven walls and vault is 9”,  hearth is 10″.
-          The oven sits on total of 6″ of insulation boards – super-insulated.
-          Very strong I-beam harness with side supports.
-          The oven is insulated with ceramic wool/mineral wool/aluminum foil in multiple layers to the total of 11”.
-          Brick facing on front, cement board over metal studs everywhere else.
-          Shallow and deep mass thermocouples in the hearth and the vault connected to a reader.

The last attached picture is with the owners: Henry Willis (baker) and his wife Natalie  Normand. Our masons who worked with me on construction of this oven, Sergei Kouznetsov (right) and Matthew Froud (left) are also on this picture.

Henry’s feedback on the oven performance has been very good. The oven keeps heat for a very long time and with proper planning can bake over 800 loaves from one firing. Henry has found that our goal to avoid necessity for steaming with the oven design was achieved – he gets great results without introducing additional steam – all moisture comes from the dough.

Henry is very comfortable baking with high percentage rye and his bread, and any kind I have tried is very good. All organic flour, natural levain, no commercial yeast. Pictures of several varieties of his bread are attached.

Best,

Alex Chernov
Stovemaster Ltd.
Orangeville, ON Canada
www.stovemaster.com
o. 1-519-938-9166
m. 1-416-708-8139

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Meet the judges

Germany takes climate change seriously and has legislated carbon emission reduction targets as federal government policy.
As a result, Germany is committed to biomass use as a major renewable energy source. However, they are also serious about minimizing biomass emissions health impacts. A new regulation requires annual on-site verification of PM performance for all appliances over 13,500 BTU/hr (4 kW). This is about 160,000 appliances requiring annual testing. The regulation was conditional on suitable testing technology becoming commercialized. Several companies were competing to develop technology and bring it to market, and Wohler won the race. Orders for the SM500 are backlogged by several months.
A Wohler technician prepares a pellet stove for demonstration testing in real time at the German lab.
Inserting sample probe into the stack.
Instrument has completed the calibration cycle and is ready.
PM plot.
At 4 seconds into the test, the filter catch is 0.0mgThe door to the pellet stove is opened momentarily

At 2:02 minutes.
A particulate spike is immediately visible on the screen. The last bar has not finished plotting, so appears lower in the photo. However the particulate reading is cumulative, since the filter weight only goes in one direction.
Carbon monoxide screen at 2:50. Note the large spike when the door was opened.
Stack oxygen. Ambient air is 20.9%, so the 3.8% depression indicates about 550% excess air. Stochiometric air is regarded as 100%, by convention. The pellet stove is running very cleanly, but probably not very efficiently. John Gulland has identifed efficiency as a major issue for pellet stoves.Test results.
The German test cycle lasts 15 minutes. Average O2 was 17.7%, or 653% excess air. Filter catch was 3.5 mg, which translates to an PM emissions factor of 169 mg/m3. Average CO was 97ppm, unadjusted for excess air. Normalized to 13% oxygen, CO concentration was 294 mg/m3.
“U” denotes uncertainty of the measurement, which for PM was determined to be 61 mg/m3 from prior testing. For CO, the uncertainty is defined in the regulation as 265 mg/m3. The Germans subtract the uncertainty from the instrument results to arrive at the official number. Therefore, 169 mg/m3 measured PM translates to 108 mg/m3 “official” PM.
Even more interestingly, 294 mg/m3 of measured CO translates to 29 mg/m3 of “official” CO, or 9.8% of the measured value in this example. This disparity would be less for higher measured values.
One explanation may be that the results have serious potential consequences. If your stove flunks the test, you have to pull it out of your house.
Some interesting discussion followed. All of the judges were able to contribute facets of an overall picture, and everyone learned a great deal from the discussions. The challenge is to define a fueling and testing protocol that will treat a wide range of stoves fairly, and be doable onsite outdoors on the Mall in D.C.
Sitting next to David Agrell is Jim Meigs, Editor in Chief of Popular Mechanics.
After our official business was done, we got to tour another lab that was conducting boiler testing.
Dilution tunnel hood. Under the EPA test method, the stack exits inside the lab at 15′ – 16′.
Rod Tinnemore (burgundy shirt) and Ellen Burkhard.
Rod is the Washington State Department of Ecology Wood Stove Co-ordinator.
Ellen is a Senior Project Manager at NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). Check out NYSERDA’s recent outdoor boiler study.The dilution tunnel is powered by the fan shown here.
Brookhaven was originally an army base. It is the site of the first peace time nuclear research reactor, known as “The Pile”. There is still evidence of its early days.

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