Thursday, April 11, 2013

The Book of Masonry Stoves: Rediscovering an Old Way of Warming by David Lyle.

The Book of Masonry Stoves: Rediscovering an Old Way of Warming by David Lyle.  Paperback book published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company 1997, 192 pages with black and white photographs and illustrations.


Winter is fast approaching and it’s that time of year where I start to stock up on fire wood whilst bracing myself for the onslaught.  Yes, it gets hot here in Australia and whilst it doesn’t get as cold as Russia, Iceland or Antarctica, it does get cold enough for me to notice.  Fortunately i have good heating and warm jumpers (sweaters) that do a reasonable job in keeping me unfrozen but without a good wood heater i doubt that i would be as positive about the season as i am.  

So, i find a book about wood heaters and of course i immediately identify with it.  I understand the importance and the desire to have an appropriate source of warmth when there is none.  I don’t have a Masonry Stove.  Mine is a ummm… a wood burning… ahhh… something.  It’s good and does the job.  According to the publishers blurb of this book I might be better off with a Masonry Stove.  

“Masonry stoves offer good solutions to many of the problems associated with wood burning. They provide clean combustion at a high temperature, good efficiency, a high degree of safety, and little or no pollution. Masonry stoves require little care, needing to be fed only once or twice a day. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from simple to elegant and from austere to gothic.”   

I don’t know that I need a gothic stove and to be honest the wood heater I currently have will do just fine for the moment.  Anyone who is building, renovating, DIYing or lacking in warm jumpers, might have a passing interest in this book, particularly here in the forthcoming frozen wastelands of Clunes.

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