Free plans to increase wood stove efficiency Lovely friend Erica Wisner (she's the cute one on the right w/out the fuzz) put the heater hat details down on paper and gave them to us to share -- and I've finally figured out how to post them as a new "product" in the bookstore -- available as a free download, here. If you wonder what the heck I'm talking about, a masonry heater hat is a smallish amount of masonry (300 lbs or so) that you can add to a conventional metal box stove to improve performance, reduce wood consumption, and increase your comfort. Downloaders beware: this is an . . .

Improving woodstove efficiency: Rocket Stoves & Masonry Heaters: Editor's introductory note: Masonry heaters, many of them self-built, warm millions of homes in the former USSR, where Alex Chernov grew up. Now working as a certified heater mason in Canada, Alex designs and builds heaters and ovens, and consults on projects all over the world through his company, Stovemaster (his website offers a wealth of background info). In the article below, he combines his professional expertise with his own background and experience in a culture where most people have long experience heating with . . .