European Thermal Mass stoves.

[Mesquite]

Mr Chickadee filmed the building of his latest mass stove and included a link to the person who designed all his stoves.

If you've not watched Mr Chickadee before then make the time to. His videos are so enjoyable and his building a variety of things using antique hand tools is a delight to watch.

 

[slowworm]

If anyone is tempted to install a DIY mass stove, make sure you put in a CO alarm

Anyone with a any type of stove should have a CO alarm.

 

[slowworm]

I wonder how much of a Midway step could be made between the Two types - Bigger than a Modern aesthetic stove - smaller than a massive unit of thermal material. A Goldilocks type stove if you wish.

I've been mulling over one of these types of masonary stove which might fit the bill? https://eccostove.com/

They would fit in with our lifestyle, i.e. firing it up a couple of times a day and then using the heat. However, I often cook on our wood burner which I don't think you can do on these sorts of stoves.

I have the skills and room to build my own but I expect in a normal house it would be very hard to get building regs sign off and even harder to get mainstream companies to insure the property after that.

 

[TLM]

Kadushu stated the problem, first: complete burning, second thermal storage and heat exchange to room air. If one wants stable temp some kind of automation is needed, not necessarily very complicated. Otherwise nothing very difficult in the design. In practice it has been noted that water is a fairly good medium for heat storage, I have 2 cubic meters of insulated hot water storage that is enough for about 2 days hot water and heat for the cottage while outside -25C.

Stone can be used for heat storage and it works but it does require some clever design to fulfill std living requirements.

There are quite a few practical solutions for keeping a house warm. No witches required, just some good basic engineering.

 

[SaraR]

That describes it so much better and more clearly than I did
It's not upright like those tiled European 'wall' stoves, it's a kind of low recumbant sleeping dragon kind of thing It's not a fierce drawn fire either, it's a burn it and let it go out, doesn't need constant feeding. It's literally a huge great warm mass that gives off a very comfortable heat for very little work. Really, really efficient.
I wish I had room for one.

The Swedish ones were also meant to have a smaller fire for short periods of time with long intervals in-between. They were pushed as a way of reducing firewood consumption and smog in the cities, if I remember correctly.