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The soapstone building blocks ready to be assembled

Our primary heat source for the central portion of the home is a European Masonry Heater.  These masonry heaters come from Finland and the name Tulikivi literally means ’fire stone”.  These environmentally responsible wood burning  heaters take advantage of the thermal mass principle used for centuries by the Scandinavian people.  Unlike a conventional fireplace which sends warm air up the chimney, the Tulikivi soaks up the fire’s heat and stores it.  Then slowly and gently releases the warmth long after the fire has gone out.

Tulikivi European Masonry Heater

The beautiful and natural sculpture begins to take shape

Natural soapstone used in these masonry heaters generate a natural, evenly circulated radiant heat like the warmth of the sun.  This creates an atmosphere in the home that is never to hot or dry.  The soapstone used by Tulikivi is a high-grade, naturally quarried stone with a soft gray color and unique luster.  Both the interior and exterior of the unit are built of solid soapstone blocks fitted together in a unique manner using mortar, pins and clips.  This flexible system allows for expansion and contraction with the heating and cooling cycles.  Masonry heaters like these have been used in the coldest parts of Europe for thousands of years and are the predominate type of heaters used throughout northern Europe and Asia, east through north China and into Korea.  Various studies in the US and in Europe have shown that people perceive radiant heat as more comfortable and with this type of heat they feel comfortable at lower temperatures.

Both the firebox and the bake oven chambers completed

Masonry heaters like our Tulikivi lend themselves to a great degree of design flexibility.  Units are available to fit almost any size, style and décor of home.  As the soapstone blocks are stacked, they are put together with interior chambers (right) that circulate the heat around the stone before going up the chimney.  In fact, the flue outlet for the heater is on the back at the bottom of the unit.  The inside chambers create a convection moving the heat up the sides and back, then back down and finally up and out the chimney.  At the end of the burning the chimney flue is closed to prevent the heat from escaping.

Expert Masons pieced together the heater one stone block at a time until the masterpiece was completed

Designing and building a traditional masonry heating system is a highly skilled craft and there are limited resources for these heaters across the country.  It is likely that as our human awareness of global warming, sustainable methods of heating and independence from oil and gas continues to increase, more and more people will turn to this extremely energy efficient and wonderful method of home heating.

Cast iron doors for the firebox and the bake oven

The finished Tulikivi with the addition of surrounding masonry walls

Because a unique contra-flow design and long flame path ensure almost complete combustion, the fire burns extremely clean, producing minimal emissions of smoke and carbon monoxide.  Proper wood burning does not affect the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide balance, so using a masonry heater like this one does not promote the “greenhouse affect”.  A Tulikivi is very efficient and the soapstone possesses unrivaled heat retaining properties.  By volume, it retains more than twice as much heat as an ordinary masonry brick, absorbing the heat faster and radiating it out longer.  Our experience is that during the coldest of winter days it requires only one fire burning in the late afternoon to keep a comfortable temperature inside the home through the night and the stone stays warm for more than 24 hours.. 

A heater that is also a work of art

Learning to use the Tulikivi is easy.  Stacking the firebox, adjusting the air flow regulator and priming the flue make lighting the heater more of a ritual than a chore.  It quickly became evident exactly how much wood we would need to get the right temperature for both heating and cooking.  We’ve found that part of the pleasure of owning this beautiful stone “family member” has been our process of getting to know it.  Even in the coldest part of the winter here in the Arizona mountains, if the sun is shining, we usually only have to light the Tulikivi every other day.

A living example of connectedness on the planet...

The Eartha Madre Project

Interior Convection Chambers