Eric Schroeder's Maine Masonry Heaters create a natural gathering place by exuding a soft radiant warmth that naturally attracts people and causes them to slow down and relax. We offer traditional designs as well custom heaters, some designed using the Austrian Tile Stove Guild's design system which allows even custom heaters to qualify for tax credits in many places in the US.
Our Maine Masonry Heaters operate in a fundamentally different way than either an open fireplace or a metal woodstove, in that our technology uses the fire to heat the stove and in that we use intermittent burning.
Because wood burns best when it burns hot the metal woodstove faces a contradiction: To extract the most heat from the fuel you will use the fuel too fast and overheat the space, leading to an unstable thermal environment within the home.
1) We Burn Clean:
With our managed air introduction system and correctly sized fireboxes we attain combustion temps as high as 2,000 degrees with a fire that lasts 1-1.5 hours. At that temperature you don't have to be concerned with creosote
for a very simple reason: Creosote is essentially condensed smoke, and we are burning the stuff that becomes creosote.
2) The Fire warms the Thermal Mass:
The hottest part of the fire extends about 36" down the first channel. After the burning is over we have clean, hot exhaust. This exhaust moves through what I think of as a folded-up chimney, as in the diagram at right (which shows a German style stove). The exhaust pushes energy into the Thermal Mass.
3) The warmed stove slowly releases energy for 12-24 hours following the firing.
"Unlike the sterile heat of conventional heating systems or the blasting heat of a wood-stove, our stoves give a personality to the space, make the best use of a renewable resource, and invite gathering in a way no other source of warmth can."
- Eric, the Masonry Stove Guy.
How We Complete Your Home Together
Security only we can offer
Live well. Live free. Live Cozy.
Buy wise, buy once.
Central Heating Systems last 20-30 years. Heat pumps and on-demand water heaters maybe half as long. Eric Schroeder's Maine Masonry Heaters are designed to last a lifetime and beyond.
With simple security and a cozy place to spend time with family, you may even be disappointed when the power comes back on.
Simple Elegance
The damper slides in and out. The loading door hinges open and closed. No computer controls needed, no valves, no tanks, no doohickies or whoziewhats to break and leave you facing a cold winter night.
Anyone who has ever had a late-night wintertime service call on a conventional heating system knows how vulnerable they can be. Even when they work well they need maintenance regularly to keep going. Your masonry heater just needs an annual(ish) cleaning and it's always there, always ready to work.
Real-Life Experience
When I bought my home, the previous homeowner had spent about $1,500-2,000 every season to heat it.
Now that I have installed a Maine Masonry Heater, my average heating cost including all sources is about $600 a year including having the wood split for me.
Maine winters are hard. Maine winters are wonderful with a Maine Masonry Heater.
Simple and Custom
Designing truly custom stoves enhances our simple designs.
I don't believe that any Masonry Heater is a commodity and I believe that designing unique stoves has empowered me to design simple stoves better.
Most Masonry Heaters built in the US are based on the Finnish Contraflow and are the same. I am blessed to have studied under masons who build these and Austrian style and Russian Bell heaters, to have had unique experiences that have taught me how to size and shape heaters to fit into any space. Learning to custom-design heaters and living with heaters has taught me to find elegant and simple approaches to accomplish your goals.
If you want a simple stove, I can build one simpler and more effective than any one-size-fits-all unit. Just call and ask me about my house and my Maine Masonry Heater!