25 September, 2009

Preparation of a stainless steel coil for the Russian stove


(This document was generated using Google Translator and then correcting some errors from the original spanish article).


Recently I showed you how to get better performance from a wood stove, using a Masonry Heater.
Yet I realized I could get even more performance (the accumulator design is not very efficient), and could benefit even more from the heat from the flames by adding a similar coil placed on the other stove my parents to recover more heat for other uses.

Underfloor heating
Hopefully, this floor was rebuilt in 2003 I had the great idea of putting underfloor home heating.


(of which I only keep this photo) made with copper pipes covered with dough and small amount of cement to make it loose and allow expansion of the tubes.
The technique of using the floor instead of radiators is the best way to heat your home for several reasons:
  • Being a greater heat-emitting surface the water temperature can be much lower so the energy efficency  is between 15 and 20% higher than with other systems.
  • By the same reason, solar energy systems can be used to transfer heat energy from the sun roof to the rooms of the house, for its performance at low temperatures (around 20 to 40 º C).
  • The comfort is higher, since heat is evenly distributed and from the bottom up ... it is a pleasure going barefoot with the flagstones at 25 º C! Soil is also the heat accumulator, thus heating it for several days, we will be warmed up for two days.
  • We eliminated the pesky radiators, usually placed next to windows covered with curtains so the losses through the glass are accentuated. All this is avoided.
  • When working at low temperatures we can use cheaper plastic materials and is often used PE.
The disadvantages of this system are almost nonexistent. It may be mentioned that requires more work and labor (if done at the moment of building the house could be even cheaper) and that if there is a leak it is difficult to repair (could involve a large surface lift) and it is inappropriate to use soil with low transmission of heat as wood.

On my system I should have isolated the soil below the radiant tube, since underneath is the rock of the mountain to which is transmitted 30% of the heat and taking longer to reach temperature. The good thing about this is that if the soil is heated to 40º C (which requires several loads of wood in the stove), the soil will remain hot for 24 hours ;-).