Masonry Heater - Fuel Sources

Fuel Sources

These heaters are primarily fired by wood, and those fires are meant to burn hot and quickly (never damped down, as is often the case with standard wood stoves). They are not burned continuously. This method of heating may have been a reaction to the dwindling resource of wood before the advent of coal and other mineral energy sources. Open hearth fireplaces were an important source of light, as well as heat, and with an "unlimited" supply of wood to fire them, there is no incentive to increase the efficiency of their heat output, which is rather poor. However, once firewood became a scarcer resource, fireplace builders began to enclose the firebox to capture as much heat as possible.

Since masonry heaters burn hot and fast, they can accept any dry, split (usually three to five inches in diameter) wood. In some areas of central and eastern Europe, these heaters are sometimes effectively fired using grass, straw, and hay. It is also common in eastern Europe to modify these efficient heaters so that they are connected to the gas network and are fueled with gas. Some modern models incorporate electric heating elements connected to timers. These are used only as a backup heat source during periods when the structure will be left unattended for long duration in winter (and therefore with no one to build a new fire in the heater each day or as needed) to prevent the structure from freezing.