Frequently Asked Questions

Maine Wood Heat Company does not have sales or discounted ovens. We extend discounts to those purchasing multiple ovens at once, or if you’re a returning customer.

There is a one year warranty on the Le Panyol oven core.

There is a two year extended warranty on the Le Panyol oven core and a ten year limited warranty on the oven dome.

We recommend using a blend of dry seasoned hardwoods such as Hornbeam, Ash, Maple, Birch, Elm, and Beech. The wood you use should test at a 20% moisture content or less. Avoid using resinous woods (Pine, Spruce, Fir), recycled wood (could contain harmful material such as grease, varnish or paint), damp/wet wood, or hardwoods that contain tannins. Use kiln dried wood with caution, it’s a great fire starter, but not something you should use to heat your oven.

Maine Wood Heat Co. does not offer any in house leasing however we can recommend a handful of third party financing companies that our clients have enjoyed working with.

Santander – Ben Pitkow, ben.pitkow@santander.us / (857)271-6673
Leaf Capital – Joe Burns, jburns@vendlease.net / (410)933-8138
North Star Leasing – Mike Wasko, mwasko@northstarleasing.com / (802)540-8391

Our ovens can reach well over 1,000Ëš. It’s a great tool for those who are seeking to cook at high temperatures for foods such as Neapolitan or 90 second pizzas!

Great question. This timeline can differ depending on a couple different factors (including model number, wood used, and temperature you’re trying to achieve). Typically, our residential ovens take roughly 45 mins to get up to a high temperature. Our commercial model 120 takes about an hour and a half and our model 180 takes a bit longer than that (expect around 2 hours or so).

Anything. You can cook and/or bake anything… The options are endless. Utilize the high temperature live fire for more than pizzas “ try meats, roasting vegetables, and putting a finishing touch on all of your dishes . For low temperatures when the fire is out, you can bake delicious breads, pies, beans, and casseroles! We sell cook books that may be a great tool to expanding your wood fired food palate!

Yes, it is safe to use the oven year round. For our masonry ovens, you will need to be sure that the oven is protected by a pitched roof to keep the weather elements from reaching inside the oven veneer. With the Turnkey oven, the oven dome acts as it’s roof (you will not need to add a roof). Be sure to put the door in when it’s not in use to keep water and moisture out. If you are winterizing your oven, be sure to take the oven chimney off the Turnkey and place the cap on until you’re ready to start cooking and baking again.

No, we are the North American distributor for Le Panyol which is located in France. We do work with masons around the U.S. and Canada that we can connect you with.

Great question! Check out our shipping page here.

Our oven cores contain the dry stack components of the inner oven elements “ this includes hearth tiles for the oven floor, the door components for the door opening, center keystone, and voussoirs (wedge shaped/tapered arch element). It also comes with a pizza peel, a Le Panyol insulated door, and a bag of refractory mortar.

We highly recommend purchasing one of our two insulation packages with the core kit because it’s important to have insulation under the hearth and around the core.

It does not include a veneer, stand/base, chimney pipe, oven tools, or insulation (unless you purchase a Pizzaioli or Professional insulation package).

The Core Kits are geared towards Do-It-Yourselfer’s or for those who want a masonry facade. Our residential ovens are fairly easy to put together with our manual provided with the oven core. If you’re purchasing a model 120, we do recommend hiring a seasoned mason. Our model 180 is installed by Maine Wood Heat Co. only, as it’s a part of the UL Listing. It’s a very difficult model to put together. It’s up to you on whether or not you think you’re oven building skills are up to par, or if you should hire a local mason. Maine Wood Heat Co. is a phone call or email away if you do have any questions.

In order to construct the core kit, you will need the following tools:

¢ Stabilizing Scissor Jack ¢ Gloves ¢ Strap ¢ Mallet ¢ String ¢ Level ¢ Trowel ¢ Drill ¢ Sponge ¢ Bucket ¢ Pencil ¢ Watering Can ¢ Tape Measure

It all depends on a number of different factors, including: number of people building and their experience/knowledge on building, location on where the oven is being built, and the veneer/enclosure. It could take a few days to a couple weeks.

No, our copper and corten domes are a part of our Signature Series Turnkey ovens only. We do not sell them separately or with core kits.

Once payment is received, we ask for a two to three week lead time before shipping out your oven core. Typically, it does not take that long, however it gives us a little wiggle room in order to fit packing the oven core up in between oven builds and custom projects. This lead time does not include transit time which will be given to you at time of quoting and updated at time of shipment.

When purchasing our Turnkey wood fired ovens, you are purchasing a preassembled Le Panyol oven core with standard insulation enclosed in a copper, corten or stainless steel facade. Including in this pricing is all the cooking accessories you need to operate the oven (Pizza peel, small round perforated peel, ash rake, hearth brush, handheld infrared thermometer and insulated door). For outdoor ovens (that do not need an insulated chimney), we also provide a stainless steel chimney. We offer upgrades/add ons such as metal stands to place the ovens on top of, copper chimneys, and tool holders.

Lead time varies depending on the number of projects we have going on. There are times during the year where lead time is quicker (less projects happening) than other times. On average, we’re booking 3-4 months out. If you have a timeline in mind (close by or a year or two down the road), don’t hesitate to let us know so we can give you updates as our lead time expands and/or to see if we can fit something in.

Great question! Check out our Commercial Ovens Google map to see one of our ovens in action closest to you!

These ovens are for both indoor and outdoor use as long as they meet clearance to combustible and chimney/venting requirements.

Our ovens are compliant with UL listing standards as a wood fueled oven only. Adding gas assistance will void the UL/Omni listing which is important to local codes and Maine Wood Heat Co.

All oven cores are paid in full upfront at the time of ordering. Our Turnkeys require a 50% deposit with the remaining balance due ten days before pick up or delivery. Please note all instate purchases/pick ups are subject to Maine state sales tax.

The ovens reach very high temperatures that will kill and remove all bacteria, food, residue, etc. from the oven. There is no real need to clean the oven except for raking out the coals and ash and occasionally brushing the floor if you see fit. The hearth tiles do not harbor any tastes or residues from food. If you have food stuck to your hearth floor, simply rake some red, hot coals over it and let sit for fifteen minutes or so. Once you brush off the coals, the food/stain will be gone!

You can cook/bake pretty much everything right on the hearth floor “ pizza, steak, ears of corn, bread, and more! We highly recommend using cast iron if you’re cooking or baking something that needs to be in a dish. If you’re not using cast iron, be sure it’s rated for extremely high temperatures. Using something not equipped to take the heat will break under extreme temperatures. But feel free to use the hearth floor as your surface for pizzas, steaks/meats, veggies, breads and more!

The main difference in our product is the material our oven cores are made out of. Terre Blanche clay is only found in Larnage, it’s no where else in the world. It is a kaolinic clay of exceptional composition and quality. Kaolin gives the clay the pure white color, it contains no iron oxide, the clay does not distort the taste or quality of food. It’s 100% organic, consists of all natural elements and free of impurities, additives and/or chemical bonding agents common in cold cast refractory (concrete) ovens. Our ovens are dry-stacked together to eliminate mortar between the hearth floors. The core is double or quadruple the thickness of other wood fired ovens and with the material of the Terre Blanche clay it stores heat hotter, longer and more evenly.

A masonry heater is a wood-fired heating device that warms an interior space with radiant heating. They typically feature an upper chamber oven heated during the burning of the heater. One or two fires a day charges the heater’s “battery” (which is the thermal mass of stone + firebrick that the heater is made of) by directing heated gases through channels in the heater. The exterior of the heater then emits a gentle radiant heat for 12-24 hours. It is the most comfortable and healthful wood fueled heating that has been developed.

Once or twice a day for 1-3 hours in most well insulated homes.

Well seasoned (a year or more) dry wood under 20% moisture is always the best choice. In Maine and most of New England, hardwood is generally burned. On unique properties a client may have a large supply of soft wood only. Well seasoned dry soft wood can also be used.

We build with brick, and stone in granite, sandstone, and other fieldstone, split and smooth faced soapstone and in stucco.

A prefab masonry heater kit can go up in a few days to a week. A brick veneered heater with two skilled masons can take 55-70 hours. Adding a heated bench adds 20-30 hours. A stone heater usually takes longer to build than a brick heater. A split face or smooth face soapstone heater is usually cut out and dry set first in our shop and then reassembled with mortar on the job site in about one long week. A foundation usually takes 2-3 days. A chimney can be built at the rate of approximately 5 feet a day including set up; clean up is about a day. Of course, this is all estimates.

It should be centrally located and not on an outside wall. Heaters are often successfully built as an architectural element in the first floor as a centerpiece and room divider in a new well insulated home.

The footprint of a masonry heater is typically 48 wide by 36 deep plus chimney to the side or rear (a top exit can be an option). Most fireplaces are not 36 deep and often have one or two flues to either side of the fireplace firebox and the chimney is mounted on the top of the fireplace. MWH have done some retrofit work. The presences of an existing fireplace can often represent a major challenge as well as an opportunity.  Sometimes only the foundation of the existing fireplace can be saved. Sometimes the existing foundation needs to be modified or enlarged, etc.

Two projects by MWH that did this kind of conversion are the Schultz project (on Blog) and the Abbott Project. With the Schultz heater we modified and increased the foundation, enlarged the floor framing, gutted the fireplace, saved and stabilized and supported the side and rear walls and the chimney and added a chimney liner, installed a core and heat exchange. Re-veneered the face in brick and than added a real stone (vs. Concrete stone) thin veneer to the entire mass to create a gorgeous and effective and expensive heater.

In the case of the Abbott project in an old Maine farmhouse. The original period fireplace and bake ovens side by side until were pretty battered. We tore out the original units, enlarged the foundation and then cleaned and recycled all the original brick to create a beautiful and highly functioning heater for the great room of their lovely home. 

1) Use only dry wood with less than 20% moisture content

2) Use top down burn or other means to maximize combustion of volatile gases at top of firebox

3) Keep glass doors closed during the burns

4) Never let ashes built up above the grate level

5) Open soot doors at least once a year to inspect channels and remove fly ash with a shop vacuum. Be sure to wear a dust mask for this process.

Masonry heaters come in many forms and sizes and depending on the style, size, foundation, bench option, chimney size, etc. As well as how much of the labor is done by a professional and how much is done by the home owner or volunteer/workshop students. A complete hand built masonry heater pour with foundation and chimney can range from $30,000-$35,000 to $50,000-$60,000 or more.

Less expensive options are available in the form of recycled materials, smaller heaters and pre-fab kits in a wide range of shapes and sizes that MWH is now importing from Europe. Potential clients should be very clear about their budget limitations as well as the features they would like to include in their project. With these two pieces of information, MWH can help each client determine what options are realistically available to meet their needs and requirements. Any requests in bottom line cost totals is a poor approach to purchasing a masonry heater. A serious client should read as much as possible about masonry heaters which could include books on the subject. The client should also look for experienced craftspeople who do this work. Masonry heater design and is a trade or craft within a trade and the best craftspeople build the best heaters which yield the best results. Have said all of this, it should also be noted that a D.I.Y client with a limited budget and a craftsperson attitude, humility, and attention to detail, can build a very high quality and beautiful masonry heater and MWH has assisted many people who fit this profile.

We have two functioning heaters in our shop in two different sizes. One has a heated bench; both feature an upper chamber oven. In the Skowhegan area we have other heaters that we readily view also and in many places in Maine and beyond that we make referrals to clients who have heaters.

The AlbieCore systems are designed to integrate complex show formed cast refractory shapes (elements) with local firebrick. Genuine masonry skills, humility, careful reading of the construction manuals and a good 14 diamond saw are all necessary to successfully build an AlbieCore. The addition of benches or an extra set of channels or a deeper firebox or a top exit require additional manuals. Coaching and paid consulting services are available from Maine Wood Heat Co.

We have trained a number of masons in the U.S. and Canada. Maine Wood heat Co. typically handles initial customer contacts, conversation and design and once the client commits to a project we either send one of our own masons to the project or offer assistance to the client on finding a qualified craftsperson to do the work. MWH does not have a dealer network.

We can typically fulfill an order for a kit in about two weeks after payment is received.

The AlbieCore includes a firebox plate, elements, and supports, angle iron lintel, firebrick splits for the firebox, the top bake oven floor, arch elements, along with the wedge divider and throat elements.

A complete AlbieCore kit typically includes the AlbieCore, plus necessary hardware, insulation, gasketing, refractory mortar and refractory concrete. MWH can happily provide Proforma invoices to correspond to the design request of our clients for the so-called exotic components. Completing our exotic components includes the AlbieCore elements for a standard heater are locally purchased materials including firebrick (4.5 x 9 x 2.5), local mortar mix, brick or stone veneer, foundation block, concrete, reinforcement, etc. For chimney materials, MWH can provide all necessary Class A chimney components and have them readily drop-shipped to any location, if a client wishes.