Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2009
Subject: Our new heater - a couple of questions
From: john bell <bell.john.m(at)gmail.com>
To: "Senf, Norbert" <mheat(at)heatkit.com>

Hi Norbert

We've been using the heater on a dialy basis for 3 weeks now - It's a vast improvement in comfort level in the house. The steel stove is sitting there staring at me - it's too much work , too hot up close and too cold far away - nobody want's to bother with it.

We are burning our spring and fall dry spruce - so short fast fires - latter on we'll be burning the hardwood (birch)

We get condensation dripping down the front of the brickwork from the two front cleanout doors on start up. Have you tried or heard of someone "sealing" the cleanouts with silicone caulking?
We were getting some dripping from the glass doors as well, but this has stopped.

We are making use of the oven - mostly roasted veggies etc. - haven't been able to get the oven hot enough for bread (425F) yet - we're hoping the hardwood will make a difference. We've roasted a chicken, and are trying rice pudding this morning!

Overall Cathy and I are really pleased with the heater - Martin and Graham have done a beautiful job of the stone and brick work - the heater has used about half the wood the steel stove would have used over the same time period and takes a small fraction of the work. The warm stone bench is a delight when you come in chilled, fingers numb from the cold after working in the garden.

My compliments on the design

J. Bell