Masonry Heater advice / experiences

[NCLivingBrit]

So while I've had to pause actually making my new place to live. I've been doing research.

Anyone have any experience with a Masonry Heater aka Russian Stove? It's basically a rocket stove built into a big pile of bricks that functions as a heat battery. You burn a fierce fire for a while and get continuous gentle heat for many hours afterwards.





I've not got a lot of experience with fireplaces and stoves, but none of the bricklaying seems outside my capability and a big chunk of warm masonry seems like a nice way to warm my "cabin", especially without the chimney issues you can get with a wood stove.

I'm not that fussed about cooking with it, it would just be for heat, although I'm not entirely averse to the idea.

Anyone have experience with or use this kind of setup rather than a traditional wood stove?

 

[SnowRooster]

Seen one in use once at a ski resort. It gave off heat like a radiator. Wasn’t as face melting as a wood stove.
People were getting their hot chocolate and going sitting by it. I remember an employee saying they kept the fire going all winter long.

I know that’s not much help but that’s the only experience I’ve ever had with them.