Heating up the kitchen

[seerubyfall]

Good afternoon, I have a simple question with too much back-story:

My husband and I are going to be building a home ourselves, in phases. Phase 1 is a one-bedroom cottage. The house will be off-grid so I will need a heat source in the cottage great room. However, I hate to put a fireplace/wood stove in there, because when we compete Phase II, that room will just be a kitchen, and there will be a real great room next to it with a huge fire place.

My question: how much heat does a pizza oven put out in the house? Would it have any hope of heating a 600 square foot cottage over one relatively mild Arizona winter if you burned it regularly? Just hoping - because a pizza oven would be awesome

Thank you for your help!

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

I am thinking you haven't received any responses because most builder's oven installations are outside. A brick oven might be an inefficient heating tool since an oven's heat is designed to be absorbed and contained within the interior of the oven. Now, if you were able to design the oven with a temporary exposed and uninsulated metal flue, the oven could semi-imitate a pot-bellied stove, albeit not quite as efficient.

[heliman]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

I have heard of a few local WFO manufacturers building inside ovens for both private and commercial customers so I don't think heat emmission is a problem. Not sure of the exactheat output figures though but Neill here can possibly give some comment on this as I think he has an inside oven...

Rossco

[dmun]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

Although WFO's produce a blast of radiant heat when they're at full fire, the actual amount of heat they produce is minimal because they're designed to keep heat in.

The heat has to go somewhere, though. If you had a sealed outer door, and had Masonry Heater type cutoffs to both the flue and the air intake, you might use the thing like a masonry heater.



Plan B could to build the chimney with an eye to using it later for a WFO, and hook up a woodstove until that came to pass. Just as a note, two people building a wood fired oven is not the work of a moment, particularly with a chimney big enough to get past a roof, to say nothing of building a house around it.

Good luck with your ambitious project. Keep us posted.

[heliman]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

Whilst I don't think WFOs are that common in households, considering that every woodfired pizza restaurant has a WFO in it - this should be fairly straightforward with the right ventilation. Most WFO pizza restaurants have a "cosy" feel to them - in contrast to those with electric ovens which seem to put out more heat.

I guess you would have to ensure that there is a good supply of oxygen to feed the fire. It's good that you are in the planning phase of your house project so you can make necessary changes to accommodate the oven.

Rossco

[Archena]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

Nothing says you can't build a WFO/masonry heater combo.

During firing there will be some heat loss to the room but since so few have interior ovens it's impossible to say how effective that loss would be at actually heating the house. Mind you, from what I've read keeping ovens from over heating the house is the usual concern but as I understand it a standard WFO usually won't heat the house much.

My own (daydream at this stage) plans are for a masonry heater as heat source with a cooking fireplace/brick WFO (yes, guys, I plan to pay someone to do that kind of work - heresy, I know) in the kitchen when I (hopefully) eventually build my own house. I want a cob house (which should surprise no one around here) so fire is not as great a concern for me (dirt just doesn't catch fire well at all). Okay, that and I'm paranoid enough to install sprinklers - I only like fire as long as it plays nice. The heater would be more centrally located in order to better heat the house but the Dutch frequently place masonry heaters in the kitchen so you might consider it.

Best wishes - let us know how it goes!

[drogers]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

600 square feet should heat easily with a WFO contained within the home.

[Archena]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

Oooh! Lookie what I found!

Welcome to Thomen & sons Masonry - Gallery 1

A bunch of these are masonry heater/ pizza oven combos!

I admit, I have no clue why anyone would want a working fireplace as a mailbox.


Well, it's kinda on topic....

[dmun]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

White ovens over masonry heaters are pretty standard. Here's something that isn't:

This heater was built with a kit from Masonry Stove Builders Masonry Stove Builders - masonry heater manufacturers, from finish floor to top of 28' Chimney took 4 1/2 days.

A masonry heater enclosure and a twenty eight foot masonry chimney in four and a half days. Wow. What did you get done this week?

[heliman]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

The Home Masonry Stove Builders site has a great section on WFOs (with FB well represented). Good find!

I found it an interesting read with plenty of links to other useful sites: The Brick Bake Oven Page

Rossco

[Archena]

Re: Heating up the kitchen

White ovens over masonry heaters are pretty standard. Here's something that isn't:

Duh, I forgot they were white ovens.

A masonry heater enclosure and a twenty eight foot masonry chimney in four and a half days. Wow. What did you get done this week?

I told a girl she might have syphilis and a guy that he had HIV - I'd have rather been mixing cement... Sigh...

I wonder if they could use an out of shape middle age woman with no experience?