Masonry heater workshop April 13-19, 2015

Masonry heater workshop April 13-19, 2015

The Masonry Heater Association of North America will present a masonry heater, bake oven, and masonry skills workshop at their annual meeting at Wildacres Retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville, North Carolina April 13 – 19, 2015. 

Masonry heaters are site-built wood-burning appliances that radiantly heat a home with wood.  They are very efficient and use relatively small amounts of wood heat without the use of electricity, gas, fans, or ducts. Wood is burned in a firebox, which connects to channels inside a large thermal mass.  After the fire is out the appliance gradually radiates heat to the living space for many hours without causing large temperature fluctuations or drafts.

Brick masonry heater with
brick oven by Gene Padgitt

The annual meeting and workshop will include hands-on building a Rocket Heater Incorporated in a Masonry Bell, Five Run Masonry Heater with testing demo, Finnish ContraflowHheater for Beginner masons, Bake/pizza oven with vaulted arch, Grundofen Cabin Stove with a Cooktop, a bricklaying clinic, and Building a Masonry Smoker.

Classroom seminars include Google Sketch-up Clinic with Boris Kukolj, My Masonry Heater Smokes - Yikes!, Masonry Heater Challenges in Australia, and Untold Stories and Oops that Confront a Masonry Heater Builder. The Heater Mason Education and Development class will be held throughout the week.

The annual Design/Build Contest for masonry heaters, bake ovens and masonry will be judged during the week and trophies will be awarded at the final meeting.

An auction and pizza party are held every year.

For more information on how to join the MHA or attend the workshop contact Richard Smith, Executive Director, at 520-883-0191, e-mail execdir@mha-net.org or visit www.mha-net.org.

New Masonry Heater Education Program Available

By Richard Smith
Executive Director
Masonry Heater Association of North America

The Masonry Heater Association of North America has developed a new education program known as HMED (Heater Masons Education & Development) program. This program will:

• Provide an education program that starts with basic information and skills training.
• Provide a standard curriculum that will be delivered in facilities throughout North America.
• Provide opportunities to earn continued education credits for various certification programs.
• Promote safe building practices for everyone interested in building masonry heaters.
• Establish a training system that is specific to North America.

MHA’s education program provides an excellent opportunity to someone to learn the basic
theory and construction of a masonry heater. Classes are currently scheduled for:

September 17 – 20, 2011 in Perth, Ontario, Canada, level one, modules 1 &2

November 04 – 07, 2011 in Shaftesbury, Massachusetts, level one, modules 1 &2

Other locations to be announced. Costs vary according to location.

What are Masonry Heaters?

A masonry heater is a special type of fireplace made of stone, brick, stucco or tile which will  heat your home safely and comfortably.  Masonry heaters burn wood, which is North America's  cheapest and most abundant bio-fuel.  We currently use less than 10 percent of available  deadfall timber from our forests.  Masonry heaters burn efficiently and with very low emissions, which make them extremely “green”. 

Masonry heaters work on the principal of thermal storage due to the considerable thermal mass of the materials used in their construction (most of them are heavy, often weighing tons).   The best masonry heaters soak up most of the heat from the wood blaze within the firebox through a cleverly designed system of channels or chambers which "harvest" heat from the  hot  gases as they pass by.  This energy migrates through the masonry slowly until it reaches  the surface where it illuminates" the room with invisible rays of heat known as infrared radiation.  This way heat from a fire in the morning can still be warming a home in the evening.

For more information contact the MHA office:

 

Masonry Heater Association of North America

          Richard Smith, Executive Director

          2180 S. Flying Q Lane

          Tucson, AZ. 85713

           (520) 883-0191

          execdir@mha-net.org (email)

          www.mha-net.org (website)