Kachelofen… best I can make of the sound in English is what happens if I kick my feet up and nod off at my desk. My wife might say “caught you loafin'” really fast, with an accent. Then it would be Kachelofen.
But that’s not what this post is about. Here’s a picture:
I found this picture at a Wasserofen.de , after I went searching for pictures of Kachelofens. Mary commented in the last post about fireplaces mentioning these and I went a lookin’. Way cool! Here’s more:
Then I hit the motherload of awesome pictures at der-ofenladen.de
The people that design and build these things are just so talented and creative it amazes me! And they apparently really work!
Heat Flows Inside
From what I can understand, the interior of these structures has pathways for heat (air) flow. The areas that you can sit, as best I can tell, are up against warm walls, usually tile or what appears to be a clay/stucco type material.
Clearly I need to learn more, but I’m hooked! If I had one of these, I can tell you where you would catch me loafin’ on a cold winter day!
Of course, it was in the mid-eighties today… that whole Florida thing… probably why I’ve never heard of these!
How about some incredible open beams and floors to go with it, like these from Kachelofenfreund.de
I’m in awe.
Not sure what I think about the Kachelofen, it’s like having a chiminea in your house – cool, but kinda strange at the same time. Thanks for exposing me to the world of Kachelofens!
i want one!
We will be building an earth-sheltered house (about 1600 sf) in North Texas, USA. (Sanger, an hour north of Dallas) Winters are about at freezing temps for a couple months of the year and extremely hot in summer – thus the earth-sheltered house. Would we get too hot using a kachelofen?
We want to have a Kakelofen for both heat and cooking, (but we would have a regular stove as well.) Can this be done in combination? That is, one fireplace for heat that also generates a cooking fire?
Would like to talk with you about the reality of such an idea.
Thank you kindly,
Beverly Caruso
caruso@across2u.com
951-245-4082
Please don’t post this online.