Masonry stove workshop with Ekonomka in Sweden

Posted by on Sep 13, 2012 in Blog, Videos | 0 comments

This summer I had the privelage to do a workshop on masonry stoves with Ekonomka. It was a very good time with nice people and nice food in a very nice place called Gotland, a small island outside the coast of Sweden. The instructors, Peter and his wife Tatyana, did a great job hosting this. The where skillfull and knowledgeable, and willing to share their knowledge generously.

Their stoves utilies the FMG (Free movment of Gases) that utilise chambers or bells if you like in stead of only channels. This is developed by I. S. Podgorodnikov and later Igor Kuznetsov. This tradition of masonry stoves are brought to the west by builders like Ekonomka.se (Peter and Tatyana Östberg) and Stovemaster.com (Alex Chernov) and a few others.

More about stoves

FUNDAMENTALS OF STOVE CONSTRUCTION In any hearth the hot gases coming out of the burner and moving inside it return their heat to the walls and after they are cooled they are discharged into the chimney. What is meant by the notion hearth? The hearth includes a firebox in which the process of combustion of fuel takes place, and convection system to use the fuel heat This may be the stove of any functional purpose (heating stove, heating and cooking stove, Russian stove, bath stove, etc.) stove with a fireplace, heating boiler. While heating or burning of wood part of its substance is fumed, the other part remains on the hearth bottom. The quantity of matter which vaporizes from the wood, e.g. birch, reaches up to 88 %, and the quantity of solid matter amounts to 12 % only. The majority of the substance that vaporizes are combustible fumes, therefore in order to use the energy content efficiently combustion of these gases is also foreseen. The most common error while designing a hearth lies in the fact that one forgets about the existence of the gaseous fuel part of wood. Energy or heat content of wood is a maximum amount of chemical energy incorporated in it that theoretically can be separated from the fuel during its combustion. Being guidied by this, we shall specify the following concept. In order to have a good hearth it is necessary to provide the following: ensure the best conditions for the complete carrying out of combustion reaction, i.e. obtain maximum useful quantity of heat inherent in the fuel; organize the natural movement of cold and hot gases, separate the gas flow coming through the hearth, direct the hot gases for heat accumulation and vent the cold ones; fulfil the structural part of the convective system of the hearth in accordance with the necessary functional requirements in order to reduce the heat losses from the smoke fumes, ensure optimum heating of all parts of the hearth , turn the greatest part of wood energy content into useful heat, that is to achieve the highest efficiency factor. The possibility to use electric energy as reserve fuel. http://www.stove.ru/index.php?lng=1&rs=15

The stoves Ekonomka make are tested with effeciency level 95%, that is close to a theoretical maximum!!  They arrange workshops so that this technology can benefit as many as possible. And I would say profit is not their only bottomline, they have a true passion for the art of their work and also concider the benefits it has for the environment and peoples wellbeing as a part of their motivation to do what they are doing.

We builded two stoves in a home at one of his klients. So it was a work that had to be done throughly, because it was not just for the workshop , and than to be tared down again. I personally found it very motivating that we where actually building something that would keep someone warm through the winter! Peter himself offcource checked up on us and made shure that everything was according to his standards. On the course it was a mix of skilled masons and just normal handy people with a burning interest for stoves.

As for my self I learned many things in general about brick-stoves that are relevant for our project here in Azerbaijan, and specially about firebox-designs and how that could be done in a good and simple way.

We have talked about hosting a workshop with them here in Azerbaijan, translated to Azeri/russian, time will tell if that will be possible.

 

Ekonomka`s website

 

 

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