# silicone carbide woodburner?



## headintheclouds (Sep 6, 2012)

Has anyone got an Ecco silicone carbide wood burner ? They're relatively new, only on the market for a couple of years but I'd love some feedback if anyone has direct experience of one - does it really store its heat for 12 hours from one or two charges of wood and does it really heat the whole house with no need for radiators??? THanks!


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## heaterman (Sep 6, 2012)

Got a link to company website?


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## headintheclouds (Sep 7, 2012)

heaterman said:


> Got a link to company website?


 
Hi-
www.eccostove.com
sorry its not a link- can't seem to do it!
The stoves are based on concept of Finnish soapstone stoves where a really high initial burn heats the mass of the stove which then emits heat at relatively low level but for much longer time- (as you;ll see on website 12 hours for the model we're looking at). 
The difference (and improvement) with this silicone carbide stove as opposed to the stone version is that it can be fired again throughout day if needed which can't happen with stone burners, and they're obviously much smaller and lighter.
Have seen temp readings taken throughout all rooms 2 storey house with one of these installed in the kitchen and they range from 24 in the kitchen to 22 in farthest bathroom upstairs- and thats over 12 hour period- cant' quite believe its true though!


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## jebatty (Sep 7, 2012)

Btu's are btu's. Heat loss is heat loss. And then stove efficiency. As a practical matter, about 6000 available btu/lb is realized from 20% mc wood at 400F stack temperature. If this stove can capture/store btu's at that rate into silicon carbide, like a gasification boiler can do into water with sufficient water storage, and if this stove can then deliver the stored btu's at the rate you need them to meet your heat loss, then multiply lbs of wood by heat loss and you will determine how much wood you need to burn to provide heat until your next burn. Unless there is a heat distribution system, this stove will then heat space like any other stove. Warmer near the stove and cooler the farther away the location.

Check out the firebox capacity to determine lbs of wood that can be burned per charge and the potential storage per charge. Check out the stored btu's output (not burn rate) and match with your heat loss. That will give you the hours of potential heat between burns.


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## jebatty (Sep 7, 2012)

For the Eco Stove E580 model, output is 6.6kw = 22,440 btu/hr. Wood load is 3.33 kg = 7.3 lbs which maybe is 3 splits of oak, for example. At 6000 btu/lb, btu/load = 43,956 for 1.5 hours, or 29,304 btu/hr. Efficiency is 22,440/29,304 = 77% which I think is very good for a wood stove and into the bottom range of a gasification boiler (my Tarm with storage is into the mid to high 80% range). I would guess that output at 29,000 btu/hr would be sufficient for a pretty well insulated 1000-1500 sq ft home in a cold climate. And wood needs to be loaded every 1-1/2 hours.


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## PassionForFire&Water (Sep 7, 2012)

This unit is availalble at Maine Wood Heat.
Albie Baerden
Tested by OMNI I believe
http://www.landyvent.co.uk/ecco-stove
Product flie: http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/var/uploads/exhibitor/3360/tfsmr8fma0.pdf


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## BoilerMan (Sep 7, 2012)

Jim said it!  BTUs are BTUs.  You need so many/hr and wood burned @ a certain efficiency delivers so many BTUs/hr.  No magic, just numbers. 

TS


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## heaterman (Sep 7, 2012)

Utilizing "gravity" heating to warm a structure evenly depends more on the floorplan and design of the building than any type of stove that may be used. Air movement is what creates even heating patterns. An open style floor plan will lend itself to this. Matching btu output to the heat load also plays a large part. A stove of any type that provides far more heat than actually needed will greatly amplify the warm here/cold there pattern.

As far as the silicone carbide construction goes, its specific heat is not much different than any other mineral based high mass product. I can't see that it would operate noticeably better than a soapstone unit or cast cement product of similar weight.


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## DaveBP (Sep 8, 2012)

> As far as the silicone carbide construction goes, its specific heat is not much different than any other mineral based high mass product. I can't see that it would operate noticeably better than a soapstone unit or cast cement product of similar weight.


 
Every material carries the hope of miraculous properties for those unfamiliar with it. And salesmen are always ready to take advantage of our weaknesses.

But silicon carbide is a well known and commonly used refractory in ceramic manufacture. It may well hold up to wood combustion better than common kiln bricks. It may make for a longer lasting wood burner. And for the price of these things they better hold up a long, long time.


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## BoilerMan (Sep 8, 2012)

Well said ^^^^^ sir!

TS


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## Corey (Sep 8, 2012)

> ...Silicon Carbide is a combination of two minerals extracted from the ground (Silicon and Carborundum)...


 
LOL - I don't think I would buy anything from this company...they can't even get the basic description right...how likely is it they worked out the physics equations correctly for the stove?

Silicon Carbide is NOT made from 'silicon and carborundum"- carborundum is another name for silicon carbide.  Silicon carbide is made from silicon and carbon!  So their ad is essentially saying "This water is made from hydrogen and... water!"   No, it's made from hydrogen and oxygen.


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## BoilerMan (Sep 8, 2012)

"Instant water!  Just add water and stirr"!!

TS


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