Insert 3 - Metalfire Optimum 700

Our current old Rocal insert is not very efficient. According to a calculation engineer Jansen found on the internets, so it is true, you need to divide your room's volume in m3 by 14, to find the number of kilowatts necessary for heating. For us that is 9,2kW.  You should add 1kW for every big window, but I did not do that. We're in southern Spain you see.

I wonder if the old insert has that capacity.  I think it's intended more for a "fun" fire, not to seriously heat a room, let alone a house. The heat exchange is at the back and top of the metal box of the stove, where an airflow is maintained by a ventilator.

The rest of the heat escapes through the chimney. Looking for a more elaborate heat exchanger in an insert "Kalfire" was found, and later "Metalfire" from Belgium. Kalfire has a front glass that slides up, Metalfire has a door with a handle.

Here is the schematic for a Metalfire Optimum.   Lots of zig-zag plates that take over the heat from the hot gases:

Three versions:

The first is the plain insert, the second has a "convection mantle",  the third has a block of soapstone for heat storage and slow dissipation for hours.

Enclosure

The insert must be inserted in an enclosure,  like this:

Airflow is by convection only, there is no ventilator. The convection mantle makes installation even easier.

Interior

Interior of the fire chamber can be a combination of Skamol (vermiculite like ceramic material) and metal, and ashpan:

All metal interior

Metal bottom, skamol side and top

All skamol

The metal versions can also be colored, terracotta, gold, ...

See for yourself what versions there are:   https://www.metalfire.eu/en/products/wood-fireplaces/optimum#finishes

They even provide a 3D model, that was immediately incorporated in engineer Jansen's LiveHome3D drawing:

Insert 2 - "rope"

For efficient burning the door of a stove needs to be airtight, air for the fire is only allowed from below the fire, through a grille in the the bottom, and from the top, through an adjustable opening in the top of the door. They make the door airtight by fitting a more or less flexible glassfiber "rope", about 1 cm thick all around the door frame. When you close the door the handle presses the door against the frame, the rope seals off the fire chamber.

You need to replace that rope every few years. If air leaks in, the fire burns a lot quicker, but you will lose a lot of heat through the chimney. Test: a piece of paper between door and frame, close the door, handle thight. If you can pull the paper out easily you need to replace the rope, or fit a thicker one.  It's ot expensive, about 10-15€, including a tube of heat resistant silicone paste to glue it in place, if necessary.

Engineer Jansen bought a kit, and carefully positioned the door on a sheer of cardboard as to not damage anything.Only, when he pressed on the frame to loosen the old rope it turned out that the little brass handle that controls the upper opening was touching the glass. And that cracked. (Damn! Blast! etc)

Down to the local stove shop in Turre, that was open till 14:00, according to their Facebook page. When the engineer arrived there, at 13:40, they were closed from 13:30. (Damn! Blast! etc)

The stove shop in Vera would look in their magazin for the proper size glass. After pressing them a few times they has a slightly bigger glass in stock. But it fit. And cost €100.  (Damn! Blast! etc)

This glass is not glass, but a special ceramic material. No recycling: basura.

Insert 1 - the fire

For heating in winter the house has an insert wood stove and airco. No central heating. Airco is noisy, does not have enough capacity. The wood insert also does not have enough capacity, and also is noisy, as it has a ventilator. It's old. Probably 20 years, as old as the house. So, the vermiculite interior is all cracked, and should be replaced. 

Vermiculite is a quite light ceramic material, "chamotte", that is very heat resistant. You can buy this stuff in plates that you can saw to measure with a woodsaw and files,  or you can buy the proper shapes from the manufacturer. A better, sturdier material is Skamol, but this one just has old crumbling vermiculite. The vermiculite cladding is important, as it insulates the fire chamber, making the temperature higher, resulting in more efficient burning. It also protects the metal interior, and reflects heat into the room.

But, with use it deteriorates and cracks, so after a number of years you need to replace the vermiculite. This insert needs a new interior,  they even put some fire resistant bricks in here to cover the cracks...

A fire is nice though, engineer Jansen can look at the fire all evening. So can the dogs, as you can see below. The only one complaining is engineer De Waal, who would prefer a pellet stove.  However, pellet stoves have more than one ventilator, and are quite noisy. They have a ventilator to blow the fire, and another ventilator to blow the generated heat into the room. Controlled by some electronics these ventilators switch an and off, and are speed controlled, so the pitch also changes, annoying engineer Jansen to no end.

Pellet stoves are very convenient though, no wood chopping, automatic lighting, automatic temperature control etc etc. 

(Will be continued...)

(video)

Papaya and Tex

Coco

Coco

Tex

Vermiculite interior, all cracked

The rain in Spain: Cascada in Cabrera

When it rains in Spain it pours.  And, the cascada runs. We had one in Antas. but this one is 100 m from home. Nice. 

This is after a few days, with about 300 mm in total.

You know you're living in the mountains after lots of rain:

The road to Turre

Abenjoar:

Two wheelbarrows in two days!

Terrace Table goodbye

On the terrace, under the pergola they constructed a HUGE table. 300 x 150 x 11 cm, made of concrete, nicely tiled. Unfortunately the measurements are not great for a dining table. The table top is too high up, and the thickness if the top means that you cannot have a chair properly under that table, even if you use higher chairs. 

We want to have a lounge ste there, so the table had to go. We expected that it was well made, it was. Lots of iron bars and solid concrete. Took them all morning to demolish it.        

Containers containers containers

We inherited a ridiculous amount of big planters. Big? HUGE ones, like the table.  All full of old soil, and plants like lantana. And geraniums. GERANIUMS! What WERE they thinking!

Engineer Jansen bought 8 big bags of new potting soil, emptied all the old pots, and is now mixing new soil for refilling  the containers.

Every pot need covering with geotextile and gravel, else we have six dogs with black snouts and potting soil everywhere.

Also, every big container has a few thyme, variegated thyme, and creeping rosemary plants. You van never have enough thyme and rosemary.

Mandarin, thyme, rosemary

BANANA! BANANAAAA!

Variegated lemon (limon rosa), and thyme

Variegated lemon (limon rosa), and thyme

Hibiscus varia

Oh, an empty pot! (It will have a grapefruit tree, and thyme and rosemary)