SunRay Kelley (featured in Builders of the Pacific Coast) just finished this stove in a strawbale house in Lake County, California. The design is the result of many stoves built over many years. The outer facing is soapstone. There are copper coils that heat water and as well, run hot water through pipes in the floor for radiant heating. At the top is a bread/pizza oven. This one unit heats the house (the air as well as the floor), provides hot water, and is an oven for cooking. SunRay says the soapstone “…takes on deep heat.” The floor is a “…heat battery” that stores heat. He calls it the Goddess of Contentment stove. He says it works really well, the floor is toasty warm and the pizza gets perfectly cooked.
SunRay and his girlfriend Bonnie were here last night, on their way to Santa Barbara, LA, then Mexico for 6 weeks, in their soon-to-be solar-powered camper.
Next up for SunRay in the stove department is in a new house he’s building on his own property in Washington: the same configuration stove, but with the addition of a steam boiler to run a turbine that produces electricity. We are into new territory here!
Photo by Bonnie
Steam used to run powerful locomotives…..why not electric for a home. gooooooooooooooooo SunRay Kelly!!!!
He's going to put the power company out of business….good!
Here in NZ, we call these 'wetbacks' which I think is a rather good term. With the addition of the oven, I guess this would be a wetback oven, Now adding power capabilities to it, well that's a CHP( combined Heat and Power) but I can certainly say that I have never seen a wood powered power generator/oven!
I want to housesit. For about 45 years.
This is just what a lot of people all over the US could use right about now!
I hope the project goes well for SunRay, from what I have seen and read he seems to be one of those rare folk who has an astounding understanding of just about everything he works with.