Chico Hot Springs custom Tulikivi

For years General Manager Colin Davis and I had entertained the idea of replacing the ancient and terrifying wood stove in the lobby at Chico Hot Springs with a Tulikivi Fireplace. I had all but given up on the idea when Colin called and said he was ready to move forward with the project. I had mixed emotions about putting a standard model in the lobby where it would presumably be stress tested by over zealous employees and the public at large.

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Erkki Jarvinen, Technical Manager and Engineer at Tulikivi spearheaded the concept of combining a large soapstone mass with a metal and refractory core to create a fireplace that could heat with both radiant and convective heat. This fireplace has a by-pass damper that will send the heated gases straight up the chimney after the stone is sufficiently heated, thereby avoiding overheating the soapstone. The fireplace continues to produce convective heat in this by-pass mode and gives guest a longer opportunity to enjoy fire viewing.

In early June our Tulikivi installation team, Jerry Jessen, Phil Bullard, Stoney Holmquist, James Pihl, and I, installed this new fireplace at Chico Hot Springs Resort with Erkki's guidance.

Architect Rann Haight designed the outer stones for the fireplace with help from Erkki and Juha Turunen, who is our design service and technical manager from Finland here in the U.S. Local artisan Ann Swainson etched Chico's logo, a broken wagon wheel, in the stone. The fireplace weighs nearly 10,000 pounds and is 8 1/2 feet tall, offering massive heating capabilities. It fits perfectly into Chico's lobby and is just beautiful! I urge everyone to take the opportunity to visit Chico, take a look at the Tulikivi, enjoy Chico's "hot wada," fabulous food, and western hospitality.

Tulikivi is now offering three standard lightweight models in Europe based on this concept. Take a look at them here.

I wish all of you a great summer and I always look forward to hearing from owners and customers alike. With warm regards,

Ron