On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 10:15:29 -0800 (PST), mike
wrote:

On Mar 8, 9:49*am, Tony wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:

I've read about the Scandinavian or Finnish style fireplaces that have a
huge mass of masonry which does the same darn thing. I've always thought
that if I were to ever build a home, I would want such a fireplace. Add
a bit of hysteresis to the heating cycle and keep things comfortable.

The only problem is they take a long time before putting out any real
heat. *Maybe a fire all day until the mass of masonry gets hot. *The
more mass, the longer it will take. *Also the more mass, the more even
the heating will be.

Agreed. I don't like heating systems with a large lag factor. I want
instant heat when I want heat, and when things are warm enough, I
don't want the system to keep pumping out heat.

Right. Cast iron isn't worth its hype. Copper/aluminum is the way to go for
homes (cast iron is more rugged for commercial use).