permies: "wood burning stoves"

RMH Workshop in Reno, NV June 8-10

neil bertrando — Mon, May 14 2012 17:00:57 MDT

Hi all,

If you haven't been to Ernie and Erica's site to see their schedule, I wanted to let y'all know they will be in Reno, NV teaching a workshop June 8-10. If you're in the area or know someone nearby who wants hands on experience with a build, come participate. We'll have free on-site camping for the weekend if you're from out of town. for more details or to register, check out the flier on our website. http://www.lopingcoyotefarms.com/

thanks,
Neil

Long Term burn for RMH kiln

Fred Morgan — Sat, May 12 2012 03:54:05 MDT

I have been experimenting on how to get longer burns out of my RMH for our kiln. In other words, bigger wood hopper. I am making progress for sure, but I was curious what others have tried. The wood is outside and so is the burn chimney (the 55 gallon barrel)

I have found my making a air intake the size of the intake below, I can load up wood and then cover the top. I have to put a grate in place though or the wood will plug the hole. One work without a grate is to make an air intake closer to the vertical chimney area, but I am trying a grate today. Since I have two units, I have one working normally, and then a test one. The test one is now up to 2 hours without refilling, compared to 45 minutes for the original (often only 30 minutes)

We tend to burn 12 hours a day.

RMH and flue fires?

Steve P — Sat, May 12 2012 02:27:41 MDT

Hi there fellow rocket scientists,

After having initial success with testing a combustion chamber and getting a sideways burn in my brick mockup behind the shed, I was ready to get all the materials for the full blown version in our off grid house. I got everything I need except the 10m or so of flues. The guy behind the counter of the business I went to to get my flues ask me what I needed the flues for and after telling him, he told me to get lost. According to him such a system would be prone to soot build up and eventually cause a flue fire and there would be no way for him to let me build it. Even after I told him that the flue would be basically buried in literally tons of rock essentially and that the exhaust gases at the end would be hand warm he still refused to sell me my flues.

Well - I know better next time than to burden the poor man behind the counter with the truth but out of curiosity: is there a potential higher risk of flue fires with RMH?

Thanks,

Steve

Cob Oven - Adding Rock to Cob Mix

Diego Footer — Thu, May 10 2012 12:54:38 MDT

I am looking to build a cob oven. I have a ton of small landscape rock (marble size) laying around that I am looking to get rid of in a productive way. I figured that I would add some of the rock to the insulating layer of the cob oven because the rock will help increase the thermal mass. I see it as an advantage to having it in the mix. Any reasons that I shouldn't do this? Are there disadvantages that I am missing? I realize this isn't "cob" in the true sense, so I don't want to debate over that. Thanks.

Wood Pellet feed idea

Van Tojan — Mon, May 7 2012 08:33:23 MDT

looks like it works well in this small stove

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV0WDudP538&feature=related

looks like combustion air is supplied through a tube in the center of the mesh, as well as around the sides

easy refill

I bet there is a way to burn wood / biomass chips successfully in a rocket stove, perhaps with a similar feed

chips require less energy to manufacture then pellets

YARMHQ

Jasper Aorangi — Thu, May 3 2012 20:44:13 MDT

Good day all,
Yes I am here following the youtube videos, where you talk about this stuff... all the time 8)

My flatmate and I have built a rocket mass heater, starting protypes outside, following 'the book' (Ionto and Leselie), bu found that we couldnt get enough draw with thier dimensions, so we copied as best we could the proportions of the portable RMH from the RMH/Cycling you tube video.
Unfortunatly after getting a prototype that worked well outside, when inside it smokes back way to much, has not enough draw, and as a consequence produces lots of ash (and we assume results in incomplete combustion)
It starts well but gets worse as it heats up.

What we have done:
6" inner tube
8" outer
Filled with clay slip+polite.
Cut similar to that on the video, just without the false floor, so straight onto the bricks
5.4" square
with the small barrel as per youtube vid.
The horizontal section is one brick on wide + outer heatriser thickness. (Pretty much exactly the proportions of v1.2)
We built it off the floor with bricks supporting some galv. sheets, then brick base on top.
The exhaust can escape the barrel on all sides, leading to an enlarged opening (under the barrel) on the exhaust pipe side.
The exhaust pipe rises at a slight incline, and at this stage goes straight outside.
The fire is constructed of one layer of bricks sealed with clay. no extra material around the outside.
Placing a brick half over the enterance reduces smoking, but does not stop it.
The barrel gets nice and hot. I believe there is a 1.5" gap between the heat riser and the barrel top.
I remade the exhaust gas -> pipe bit to try and increase flow... it seems unlikely that there is a bottle neck there.
We have made sure that the horizontal burn chamber is isolate from the barrel exit.
Following the 'troubleshooting' section of 'the book' the only things I can think of are that the wood enterance is too wide or too hgh.
I wonder also if my burn chamber is too wide generally.

Anyway, thougths, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! The house really stinks now... but its warm!

cheers

Jasper

Researching RMH....many questions and ideas

Van Tojan — Thu, May 3 2012 15:13:36 MDT

Hello,

Fortunately I live in an area of Patagonia where currently there are with no building codes. Rather I have a friend who has property in a rural area that is not monitored (yet). The towns have building codes.

I think one of these rocket stoves would be perfect for her small cabin as her wood stove is fast consuming the amount of wood on the property.

However, I don't want to build one in a permanent way (cob, concrete) and then have to tear into it in a year or two due to problems. Once I build a permanent version I would like to have it be relatively maintenance free for 10-20 years.

Here are the parameters I would like to build to:

1) For the test (year or two), I would like to build one that did not require cob. Is it possible to have the heat mass be sand? What are the implications of expansion and contraction for the box (probably brick) that would hold the sand? Would the sand expand crack the brick box or compress the stove pipes?

2) What are the experiences and expectations of corrosion in the metal pipe through the mass? This is quite a length of pipe, and were it to corrode in the cob, what are the implications? One would have to deconstruct the cob and rebuild the stove....

2a) What about having the exhaust channel be mortared brick instead of metal? I suppose only the entrance would need to be firebrick. What about expansion / contraction with the stove mass, if it were sand?

3) The construction here is already with a concrete slab floor. I would want to insulate the stove from the concrete floor.

4) The walls of the home are single brick. I would also want to insulate the mass from the wall. Either hollow bricks (ie. terra cotta chambered brick), rigid insulation, or wood boards.

note: http://mangaloreclaytiles.com/HollowBlock/8x8x4-Hollow-Brick1.jpg Hollow bricks (i.e. chambered/channelled terra cotta is very common here....). I was surprised to find out that they are fairly efficient, when the channels are external horizontal in wall construction as there is no vertical convection current inside the wall.

I am thinking of putting two chamber hollow brick (see photo), the wide side flat, UNDER the heater mass to keep the heat of the mass from the concrete floor. Something similar for the brick walls.

5) Has anyone designed a burn chamber that takes outside air?

6) The cabin will eventually have more rooms on the first floor. I am thinking that getting the heat from the mass into the other rooms is going to be important...and into the bathroom also. One way to do this would be to circulate water with a simple 12 volt pump through standard metal plumbing pipes in the heat mass and carry it to the other rooms where it could go through a radiator or warm another heat mass.

7) I have seen rocket stoves on Youtube where the burn chamber, rocket, and outer heat skin are all welded. This might be a good solution for a long lasting stove...comments? The thicker heat skin would require more heat to bring to operating temperature, but it would not be wasted heat.

8) Seems to me that on the output end of the rocket, just before the final chimney, would be a good place to have a small chamber to prime the air flow through the ducting in the mass when starting the stove. Is anyone doing that? Starting a small ball of paper then closing the chamber to start the air moving?

9) What are the considerations for making one of these with a long, maintenance free life? Included in this is a construction where if there were a problem it would be easy to fix.

10) How well does the cob mass work? Does the expansion / contraction crack it? How would one know if the metal pipe were to corrode? And what could be done if the pipe corroded?

Thank you in advance for your ideas and conversation.

"Stick Wood Fired Furnace" DOE Report from 1977-79

Craig Moore — Thu, May 3 2012 09:48:31 MDT

I stumbled across this today and thought it looked very much like a rocket style device. They used forced air for combustion, and a heat exchanger for hot water heat. From page 6, "The heat exchanger and combustion can are connected to a storage system through pipes large enough to permit gravity circulation. An open-to-the-atmosphere expansion tank will prevent overpressure." I think Ernie and Erica will be able to glean a lot of useful information from it, it gives a lot of information regarding efficiency and exhaust gas makeup.

Design, Construction and Performance of Stick-Wood Fired Furnace for Residential and Small Commercial Application

Rocket Stove Thermal Oven?

nancy caudill — Wed, May 2 2012 22:32:13 MDT

Hi everyone, i'm a newbie to permies.com, actually i'm a wanna-be with permaculture... Am wondering if anyone has used a rocket stove to fuel a baking oven, wanting to design one for my straw bale off-grid home... anyone tried it yet?

measuring emissions

Helen Sullivan — Wed, May 2 2012 03:30:14 MDT

Is there some inexpensive way to measure how much CO2, or whatever else, is exiting the RMH exhaust?

Rocket mass heather pipe for Green House

Gabriel Jansen van Rensburg — Wed, May 2 2012 01:42:42 MDT

I am installating a greenhouse which is 30meters long and 10 meters wide. I would like to use about 3 rocket mass heaters to heat the soil. What type of pipe to you recommend I use that is fairly cheap Metal, Asbestos, etc? I need about 100meters of pipe, because I want to install 3 mass heaters outside the greenhouse and run 3 pipes under ground to heat the soil surface for the plants on top. How deep must the pipe be? Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Onto a new one.

Satamax Antone — Sun, Apr 29 2012 12:57:20 MDT

Hi everybody.

Well, on my way to make a small six incher.

Start.

Castable vermiculite mix.

View from affar.

The jigsaw used to vibrate the vermiculite and casteable mixture.

Any ideas what Im doing wrong? RMH

Carol Morgan — Sat, Apr 28 2012 08:22:30 MDT

Hello
Well I have collected my fire bricks and set them up outside to do a mock up as suggested in Ianto's book. I havent mortared the bricks die to it being a mock up but they are sitting together quite tight When I first lit it as per instructions in the book, the flames did what they were supposed to do and went along the burn tunnel nicely. Then when the paper i had used to light it went out and the flame had caught the next bit of kindling along, it came up the feed tube instead. I put some longer pieces of fine wood into the feed tube but they caught alight along the length and I have the burn taking place in the feed tube rather than the tunnel. I havent put the drum in place, all I have set up is the feed tube, the burn tunnel and the heat riser, all made up of fire bricks. Would the burn maybe not perform correctly because of not having the drum in place? And yet it happened as it should have, when I first lit it?
My other question is, is there a quicker way of getting the paint off the barrels? The weather in Wales at the moment is showery and I have been trying to light fires in my barrels for a while now, between the showers. Its taking forever as they dont burn that well without any air feed and also, with each burn, only a fraction of the paint comes off. Im trying to prepare them to be ready for when I have got thr burn tunnel etc right. Is there a quicker answer or do I have to be patient?

Tangental feed

richard orr — Wed, Apr 25 2012 17:56:44 MDT

What would happen if the burn tunnel was led into the heat riser at a tangent? Would the resulting extra spin help intensify the burn, or would it tend to cool the the burn by keeping the gasses in the tunnel longer?

Tent living - 5kW cast iron burner/horizontal cobbed-over flue

Matt Jackson — Wed, Apr 25 2012 15:22:48 MDT

Hello!

I'm making a moving to SW France from England to work as an apprentice on a cob/strawbale house build. My girlfriend and I are staying under canvas in a corner of a grassy field at the work site.

The plan is to build a yurt over the summer, ready in time (hopefully) for the Christmas, but until then I want to work out a way to intelligently heat a 6m 12oz canvas 'bell tent'. It will sit on a raised (a foot or so), flattened earth platform.

I had an idea to place a 'cleanburn' Morso Badger 5kW cast iron wood burner in the middle of the tent, and then snake the flue horizontally- cobbing the flue over, perhaps into a bench and/or bed headboard. I'd like to cob over the entire stove, but it's on loan.

The tent has an attached, heavy canvas groundsheet - and I don't want to go slicing and dicing it up as reselling it will help fund the yurt. On top of the groundsheet i'm thinking a plywood form, with insulated bottom layer, covering the entire footprint of the horizontal flue.

Could I capture & trickle release a good amount of escaping heat this way? Can you forsee any problems with this?

Thanks
Matt

Advice on thermal mass

Carol Morgan — Wed, Apr 25 2012 14:18:45 MDT

Hello I would dearly love to set up a rocket mass heater. We have quite a large house in a cold climate and it is constantly, well, not warm! We have recently had a wooden floor laid in the living room which is where I would set it up. There is a large fireplace in there so could site the actual 'rockety bit' there. In order to have a cob bench I would need to lift some of the wooden floor as a health and safety {that old chestnut!) precaution. I realise I could lay insulation down instead but even I would be nervous about putting a large combustible set up on top of the wood. So I have been trying to explore other ways of getting the heat out into the room, and was thinking of the possibility of running the warm air through one or more of the old cast iron radiators, as the thermal mass?? I think I have noticed that the inlet and outlet on these are much larger than the standard radiators and also they are freestanding, and quite nice to look at. Would anyone know of any problems with that? Would it be unwise to run the warm air through them, rather than water? Does anyone else have sleepless nights trying to plan Rocket Mass Heaters?!

Old World vs New World Wood Stove design comparisons

Kevin Jarvis — Tue, Apr 24 2012 10:03:42 MDT

Old World vs New World Wood Stove design comparisons...rocket mass heater... masonry stove...cast iron with lots of mass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5toVd1thMFA&feature=youtu.be

Problems with my combustion chamber

Bill Blacks — Sun, Apr 22 2012 22:28:43 MDT

I recently built a rocket stove out of a 55 gal drum. I do not have the welding materials to fit my pipes together and getting the elbow for the stove pipe is out of my budget for the project. What I am using is a ammo can as my elbow. The can is laid on its side and the pipes enter from the side and tope. This setup up works perfectly and is easy to disassemble. My problem now is that I want to make a smaller version out of a 5 gallon container but the ammo can idea won't fit inside. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Again welding is just out of the picture for me at this time.

RMH Supplies

Carol Morgan — Sat, Apr 21 2012 16:43:12 MDT

This is my first post on Permies. I live in Wales, Ianto's country, in South Wales. I read about Rocket Mass Heaters and Stoves about three weeks ago and at 10.30 at night. Went to bed a few hours later and couldnt sleep for wanting to make one straight away! I wanted to use reclaimed supplies in order to save items from waste and also to keep the cost down while I experimented but this is proving to be quite difficult as the items are not freely available. Natural clay is going to be a problem, is there a substitute for it? On a different thread someone suggests using cat litter but another post says that cat litter isnt clay The oil drums are probably going to be a little easier, my question with this is, how to light a fire in them to burn the paint off? The first one I tried was a smaller one, approx 25/30 gallon size and because the lid has to stay on, its a big deep bin and I think there was not enough oxygen to keep it alight I imagine the bigger drums would be even harder to keep the fire going? Or do I put it on a fire rather than light a fire in it? I thought that may distort it. :cry:

steam boiler fo boat

richard orr — Fri, Apr 20 2012 18:39:40 MDT

Hello, new on this sight. I have been into steamboats for some 15 yrs. and have been building one for just as long. (a large steamboat) Am now ready to build a boiler and have recently been looking into rocket stove technology as an option. Am intised by this technology because the firebox is outside the generating tube area and the gassas could easily be routed around them during stand-by or emergency situations.
On the down-side, this means that the tubes will only be heated by convection and not radiation. This in turn would call for more generating tube surface, convective gassas around 1200 deg. and ample velocity of gasses.
From reading about rocket stoves, I gather that the gasses from the fire box want to slam into the bottom of the riser in order to create turbulance and then as it exits the riser it again slams into a top-plate surface. This slamming and the additional torres created outside the riser help create a clean burn and is possibly a main facter in the high temperatures of the gasses. O.K. so far assuming this is correct thinking.
What I am wondering is weathwer this slamming reduces velocity. What would theoreticly happen if there was a gentle curve transitioning the fire box to the riser. I am imagining a design that would put another gentley curving elbow at the top of the riser that would disperser the gasses onto a rectangular generating tube configurationin of a down-draft type? Am also wondering about riser heighth and the roll it plays in increasing velocity and or heat? If it is kept to a minimum I am wondering weather the top surface of the generating tubes might actually see some radiant flame but perhaps at the loss of velocity?
The floor is now open for opinion!

Test pucks.

Dale Look — Fri, Apr 20 2012 14:42:17 MDT

Made four test pucks today.
1. All clay.
2. One part clay one part ash.
3. One part clay one part sawdust.
4. two parts clay one part ash one part sawdust.
The clay was a clay slip about the same as pudding.
Now the hardest part waiting for them to dry.
I will keep this updated as I get results.
I'm in hopes to use one of the above mixes to cast my burn tunnel and heat riser.

I want to surround my normal wood burning stove with thermal mass... how?

eric torral — Wed, Apr 18 2012 01:28:49 MDT

Any and all suggestions welcome. thank you

Rocket Stove progressing.

Nick Sellick — Tue, Apr 17 2012 09:37:44 MDT

Hi All,
I have finally got around to a test burn on my rocket stove. Pretty pleased, good flame, not too much smoke. I did get a bit of flame and smoke blowing back out of the fuel/draught opening. Would this be because the chimney is too low, about 2.2m, or is the fuel/draught hole too short?
Does the principle of the rocket stove mean that as everything gets hotter it works more efficiently?
I have attached a picture. Once I have finalised the design I will "pretty" it up.
Any comments, suggestions really welcome.

Multifunction outdoor rocket system

Matt Walker — Mon, Apr 16 2012 13:37:04 MDT

Well, I see lots of folks wanting a system that does it all, and a lot of different ideas on how to accomplish that. Here's a system I built over the weekend. It's neat in that it can function as an outdoor rocket oven, a bbq, a big cooker for canning or boiling corn or crab or the like, a mass heater, and a cozy spot to sit around and watch the fire while being warmed at your feet, under your seat, and by the barrel. The mass responds very quickly so you can cook your meal and have a warm seat in the time it takes to cook, and the warmest spot is down low so it's lovely to hang around it while you cook.

gassification wood furnaces

Brenda Groth — Mon, Apr 16 2012 12:01:57 MDT

4 years ago we bought a Greenwood gassification furnace..immediately we began having problems with it..but found out that we were sold a furnace from a company that had filed bankruptcy and that our 10 year warranty was dust.

well, we had problems with it overheating during power outages and blowing hot steam all over and burning out pumps and such.

on Feb 29 we had a horrible storm and power was out for days..our furnace did it again and this time it pretty much ruined it to where we didn't want to deal with it anymore ..so we called a prof and our ins co and we have decided on a NEW gassification furnace

the Empyre 200 which will be installed next month.

it is supposed to be a better unit, safer, and easier to use..so we hope so..anyone have any experience with these? We have our downpayment down on it and it is being constructed as I write this.

Rocket Stove Wood Kiln

Fred Morgan — Sat, Apr 14 2012 07:05:38 MDT

Hi all, Ernie, Erica and myself have been experimenting with a Wood Kiln made with a Rocket stove. My company paid them to do a design (which I promptly argued about lol ) which has been a great help. The kiln is now working, this morning the kiln was significantly warmer than outside, which is impressive, it is also meaning the cob we poured in is finally getting dry. I figure first wood load will go in early next week.

We started off with a six inch system, Ernie and Erica recommend 10 inch. The truth was somewhere in between. The biggest danger on a kiln is too much heat, not too little, so I went with the smallest possible.

The final product looks similar to what Ernie and Erica recommended, but with two barrels, instead of one. One of the issues here is that you can't get 8 inch chimney, so I had to work with 6 inch. It has been fine, though. It takes no longer to feed two systems next to each other, as one. And starting the second system is merely using gloves to move some burning wood over... Two six inch systems end up generating roughly the heat of one eight inch, if my math is right. We have lots of drums so there was no extra cost in the drums.

Burn time tends to be 1 hour, so we feed it every 45 minutes or so. My office is about 200 meters away, so it gives me a break from sitting. Also, I have a worker who works in the gardens we have, cuts grass, clears brush, etc for this part of the plantation, he checks it when I can't.

Our business is wood, so scraps I have, more than I can use most likely. So far, for the two kilns, they use about 1 sack (think feed sack) of waste wood every two days. The mill can produce all the wood needed for a week, in one day. We burn for 10 hours, and let it rest over night. This produces a much better result in drying, because the danger in drying is to dry the outside of the wood too fast, resulting in case hardening. Sort of like when you sear meat so that inside stays moist. Same idea, but that is a problem with wood, you want the inside to be as dry as the outside.

The plan is to build three more once we finish a complete cycle with this one. My current cost per board feet in drying wood is 20 cents. (we have a kiln that runs on electric). Each kiln should hold roughly 2500 BF, which means a load which should dry in about 3 weeks, will save us 500 USD, in other words, more than it cost to make. With 4 kilns running, we will save about 2,000 dollars a month - and I get rid of scrap wood, which can be an issue at times.

Kiln dried wood is very much in demand here and our own factory consumes a lot.

Rocket Water Heater - Greenhouse Fish Tank

Jonathan Hall — Fri, Apr 13 2012 11:53:58 MDT

So I am putting together a Rocket Stove for my greenhouse and have dreamed up an idea and can't really seem to find any good answers out there. So hopefully someone has either done this or has some ideas why it would or would not work.

Here is the primary concept without the added modification just so you know what I am working with;

Rocket Stove, built inground (no above ground thermal mass save for the heat riser and barrel). The exhaust runs underground just below the surface and winds underneath my four IBC fish tanks. This essentially radiates up to heat the tanks as well as heating the ground as my "mass".

Now for the modification idea;

Place a stainless steel barrel (smaller) on top of the rocket stoves barrel. Place a stainless steel drain hose which will drain back into the fish tank. (Copper(brass/bronze) will not work due to toxicity issues. So stainless steel is about the only choice. Pex is a consideration but it can't take much more than 200 degrees F.

Take a very small water pump and pump the water out and into the top of the stainless water heating barrel, and then the water should essentially get heated and drain back into the fish tanks.

I considered pex tubing as it would be more movable so I could take it down easier, but it has a max temperature of 200 degrees F. I would be afraid I might melt it, so I would have to put some sort of insulation between it and the top of the rocket stove otherwise it might get too hot. This could be another alternative if steel piping is to tricky.

Alternate Option;

Make the water heater, heat exchanger a closed loop. and just have the hoses lay in the water with no waterflow to the water, just let the water cycle naturally and radiate the heat.

What do you all think?

Using and eco fan, and any connections in New Mexico?

Robin Mayo — Fri, Apr 13 2012 00:10:19 MDT

Hola,

I am buying a home in Taos, NM, and I would like to put in a rocket stove/bench and do away with the wood burning stovepipes that are all over the house with no stoves (they were taken out by the previous owner). I have no skills when it comes to building something such as this; I have friends that probably could help me. Wondering if you know anyone in New Mexico or the Taos area that might be able to help me with this project, or do you ever come this way? Also, I use an EcoFan with the wood burning stove in my current home, would the EcoFan be useful with the rocket stove? Thank you for your time, keep up the great work!

Combining passions

Jonathan Fuller — Thu, Apr 12 2012 17:23:35 MDT

Hey all,

This is still a very doughy idea but I thought I would put it out there for ideas anyway. worst case scenerio is no body responds. Well here goes

I am a homebrewer and love to brew beer, however, as much as possible I would like to step lightly on the earth and brewing has some seriously questionable environmental effects. I try to buy only organic ingredients and I buy as local as I can. These two goals can sometimes interfere with each other but that is another story.

"So where's the stove question?" you may be asking.

Here it is

The BIGGEST worry I have is that I use propane to do the actual brewing. this involves heating around 15 gallons of water to around 180f and then maintaining a temp of around 150f for 1-2 hours and finally boiling around 13 gallons of liquid (now very full of sugar) for 1-2 hours.

**EDIT**
I am also considering working a solar water heater into the equation.
**END EDIT**

The maintaining step I accomplish with a big ol' beverage cooler but the initial heating and boiling is all propane on a big outdoor gas burner. So I was on here reading about RMH and I started to wonder if it would work for my purposes.

My idea:

Two or three separate heaters, one for heating the water, one (or possibly a cooler area on the first) for maintaining temps (thus less plastic in my setup) and a third (or second) for doing the actual boil.

The additional idea I had was to creat this structure on three levels so that after water is put in the top I can move from one station to the next via gravity alone.

So other than the fact that this starts to look like a 15' long masonry behemoth does anyone have ideas? Critisisms (except of my spelling, no spell check on this computer). laudits and praise also gladly accepted.

Thanks in advance!
Jonathan

Heat deflector over the top of the rocket stove pipe?

Peter Apalais — Thu, Apr 12 2012 01:27:23 MDT

Will adding a heat deflector over the top of a rocket stove throw the hot air outwards at all do you think?

I'd like to have a metal hood over the top so the heat will be thrown outwards from the center of the stove.

Does anyone think that this will work? Same as the gas patio heaters you can buy. Except the rocket stove will have the flowing
air which I hope will blow outwards towards us sitting around it.......

How hot will the outer drum get on a rocket stove/heater?

Peter Apalais — Thu, Apr 12 2012 01:08:48 MDT

I have not yet put a bigger drum over my rocket heater/stove. How hot will the drum get? Will it be good for sitting around at night and getting the heat to keep you warm? or will it not throw out that much heat?

Rocket Mass Stove Question

Kia Tikaboo — Tue, Apr 10 2012 11:27:15 MDT

I am currently building a rocket mass stove to heat the perimeter of my greenhouse.

I am using 6" single wall stove pipe to channel the exhaust, and was wondering what the maximum length should be.

I consulted Ianto's book and he indicates a range of 32 to 40 ft.

My run will be 40 ft with 4 90 degree turns.

Does that seem reasonable?

Thanks,

kt

55 Gallon Drums

James McFall — Tue, Apr 10 2012 08:25:53 MDT

I am thinking of building a rocket mass heater and was wondering if the 55 gallon drum has to be food grade or not.

Thank you.

Insulation vs inertia for the burn tunel?

Satamax Antone — Mon, Apr 9 2012 01:12:45 MDT

Hi everybody.

Well, daft'ish question.

What we want in a rocket is high temps in the flame path, very high ones if possible.

I was wondering, even tho firebricks aren't insulative, they have inertia, so a burn tunel made only of firebricks oughs to work all right. Since heat will take it's time to travel through the brick, temps inside will raise to a high temp.

Am i completely wrong? What's your opinion on the subject.

The idea behid my thinking is to try to extract a smidge more "primary" heat out of a small rocket.

Thanks.

Max. http://www.traditionaloven.com/articles/81/insulating-fire-bricks

rocket stove idea

samiam kephart — Sat, Apr 7 2012 22:01:14 MDT

has anyone tried an outdoor feeding(maybe pretty large) rocket stove to heat a crawl space for floor heating? just an idea

Rocket stove build advice needed please.

Peter Apalais — Sat, Apr 7 2012 20:39:05 MDT

I have been tinkering with a rocket stove. This is the mach 2 version. It is better than the mach 1 version, but is still not what I think it should be like.

I have used some 75x100mm RHS steel that is 6mm thick (1/4" 3"x4").
The height of the chimney is about 750mm.

Now it did burn and got very hot. So hot infact that the inside of the chimney was glowing red/orange, definantly not a dull orange. I guess it was around 600-700 degrees? Which would seem about right because I think it would have melted a soft drink can.

My problem that I have is that to make it burn the best I have to keep scraping out the hot glowing coals all the time. This allows more air to get sucked in.

I was not able to get water to boil, well it had those tiny little bubbles. It did not boil violently.

Interesting though, later on in the night I put a nearly 2" thick x 1 foot long tree branch down the chimney and within about 30seconds I had a massive foot and a half flame roaring out of the top. So I put the pot back on with the water and it
got the water boiling in no time. What a difference that made loading the timber in the chimney.

But, still after that died down I added more wood in the top, but because of the leftover glowing coals it did not have the same effect.

I noticed that the whole metal section was glowing on the inside all the way up until where that bucket is welded on. Now I wonder why it stopped there? I did run out of vermiculite and the top bucket is not filled with anything. Maybe this lack
of insulation did not allow the heat to travel up the metal further?

SO I was thinking to chop off the bucket section as I know it glows read hot just about all the way to the top there. This will give me a chimney length of around 500mm (bucket is 250mm).

This should place the bottom of my pot at a place much hotter than when it was 250mm higher up. So my water might boil there then??

Is a rocket stove meant to have ll those glowing coals at the bottom? Are they supposed to burn out or what?

In the photos you can see.

The overall unit.
The wood feed area and all the coals.

The measurement of the inside diameter of the RHS steel is about 63mm x 89mm

Any thoughts or suggestions to improve it at all.

And how hot should the outside of the drum get? I have it filled with the vermiculite and When it is burning hot you can only hold you hand on it for a second or two. Does that sound about right?

Is there a calculation to workout what internal dimensions of the steel needs to be and what length the chimney height needs to be?

Is chimney height critical?

Peter

Rocket Stove Basics.

Nick Sellick — Mon, Apr 2 2012 14:03:47 MDT

Hi All
Are there some basic starting points for a J Stove? I have been reading as much as I can, but still don't seem to know a fat lot.
I am building what I think will be a J stove, in that the fuel hopper has built up sides, rather than being fed in horizontally. Is that correct?
I am using the bricks from inside a storage heater to form the stove itself and then insulating around them. The cross section will be square rather than round, does that matter?
Is there a ratio of cross section to height of burn tube, fuel inlet length, etc, etc?
Thanks again for any help and advice.
Cheers
Nick

Biochar gasifier questions

baanboo Hatfield — Sat, Mar 31 2012 08:34:55 MDT

I am in the process of building a biochar gasifier like the one shown here http://biocharproject.org/biochar-technology/tlud-gassifier-awesome-modifications-karl-frogner-phd/

As a fuel I have bamboo offcuts, some are long peices that will need to be cut down, while others are peices of 1.5" - 2.5" and 6" long 12", these are from the base of the pole and are almost solid. Most of the bamboo is dry, some is still a bit green however.

I also have access to tons of rice husks. These are very fine particles, smaller than wood chips, but nothing like sawdust. They are very uniform.

Does anyone know if these fuels can work and what are the best steps to ensure success? I chose this gasifier because I already have the 55 gallon drum and because it has lots of adjustments for air flow, so I figured it may be suited to a wide variety of fuels.

Any help is much appreciated.

Biochar gasifier questions

baanboo Hatfield — Sat, Mar 31 2012 08:31:21 MDT

I am in the process of building a biochar gasifier like the one shown here http://biocharproject.org/biochar-technology/tlud-gassifier-awesome-modifications-karl-frogner-phd/OO

As a fuel I have bamboo offcuts, some are long peices that will need to be cut down, while others are peices of 1.5" - 2.5" and 6" long 12", these are from the base of the pole and are almost solid. Most of the bamboo is dry, some is still a bit green however.

I also have access to tons of rice husks. These are very fine particles, smaller than wood chips, but nothing like sawdust. They are very uniform.

Does anyone know if these fuels can work and what are the best steps to ensure success? I chose this gasifier because I already have the 55 gallon drum and because it has lots of adjustments for air flow, so I figured it may be suited to a wide variety of fuels.

Any help is much appreciated.

Rocket Mass Heater that can heat a "pool/pond"

T Stan — Sat, Mar 31 2012 02:37:54 MDT

Hello Permies,

This will be my first post on these forums. I have been actively involved in "greening" out my life for some time now and I've been subscribing to many Youtubers that continually keep talking about permies.com! So here I am with some Rocket Mass Heater questions for all you pros out there.

I am going to be building a fairly serious Greenhouse this summer. It will be 12 x 24 when finished, although I am building it in stages. The first section of the Greenhouse will house a fairly large water tank, at least 250 gallons. This water tank will be used for Aquaponic purposes, it will house fish.

I have some ideas about heating this pond with a Rocket Mass Heater. My theory is that I would build an insulated box on all 6 sides. Although the top of the box will be a lid (naturally...) In the bottom of this box I was thinking I could lay the duct work for the RMH to vent through, pour sand all around the ducting to make it flat and then put pond liner on top of the sand in the box and fill it with water. My theory is that a Rocket Mass Heater could be heating the sand, which would then heat the water of the tank. My concern is that I can't see the weight of the water wouldn't crush the ducting and I can't figure out how to make this work.

So I'm sure there must be ways of strengthening the ducting so that it could handle the weight of the water, perhaps big iron pipes or something instead of tin ducting? Concrete or Cob instead of Sand? Also any other tips for me would be a great! Thanks a lot for all you guys do :D

A few rocket stove questions.

Nick Sellick — Thu, Mar 29 2012 15:00:38 MDT

Hi All,
I have pretty much decided what I am going to build, but have a few final questions. If anyone can help, I'd be really grateful.
I am hoping to construct a rocket stove heating two hot plates, one dire3ctly over the heat, the other on the left and thus slightly cooler. Both plates will be sealed and the exhaust will then travel up a chimney and away.
I am thinking of building a thermal block stove and insulating with sand. Then building in brick around it to finish off, support hot plates, chimney, etc.
I was going to use stainless steel flue fittings for the sctual stove, combustion chamber, etc, but it is really expensive, so I thought I would try and build it from thermal bricks. My questions are:
1. Is there an ideal length of pipe where you put the fuel/ air intake, before it reaches the elbow?
2. Also is there an ideal length between burning chamber and hot plate?
3. Is the diameter of the tube important? I would like to do one of about nine inches.
4. Is the inside of the tube better smooth or rough. I can sand the bricks I'm using so they are really smooth if necessary.
5. Any other comments and suggestions extremely welcome.
Thanks
nick

Cob + Firebrick = Masonry Heater Experiment

Nate Johnson — Thu, Mar 29 2012 06:29:54 MDT

I got some clay and sand and firebrick and put together an experimental (for me, anyway) small masonry heater this last winter. I wrote about it for my friend Max Edleson and his website Hand Print Press.
You can read more here:
http://www.handprintpress.com/home-heat/cob-firebrick-masonry-heater-experiment/

-Nate

DIY Rocket stove from a 5 gallon bucket

Chris Dean — Wed, Mar 28 2012 08:38:57 MDT

Came across this this morning and thought I'd share

http://www.rootsimple.com/2012/03/rocket-stove-made-from-five-gallon.html

Outdoor cooking project.

Nick Sellick — Mon, Mar 26 2012 06:28:24 MDT

Hi All,
Just joined, so this is my first post.
I have long been a fan of outdoor cooking, not just BBQ's but real outdoor cooking.
My project for this year is going to be something along the lines of a Lo Trau.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Lo_trau.JPG&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lo_trau.JPG&h=768&w=1024&sz=93&tbnid=SBqqWaiP4WOqrM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=123&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlo%2Btrau%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=lo+trau&docid=v5JCTtkx7jHL3M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OExvT9b8Kce-8gPL1-zADQ&ved=0CEcQ9QEwBQ&dur=1

Basically I want to construct something that burns wood, has an oven and two hot plates. That's where I start needing help. I have got hold of a stainless steel chimney and cowl and would like to use reclaimed/recycled naterials where possible.
I am very interested in the idea of Rocket Mass heaters and the paving slab Kachelofen. If I can I would like to create something using the two ideas and the lo trau.
Any help, ideas, suggestions, etc would be very gratefully received.
Cheers
Nick

Is it possible to have a rocket stove with two exit pipes?

SasaX Xasa — Fri, Mar 23 2012 08:52:24 MDT

Hello Erica & Ernie,

I see you get a lot of questions. Hope you have some time to give me your thoughts..
Is it possible to have a rocket stove with two exit pipes?

Maybe there exists some system to open/close these pipes so you can choose to heat
the kitchen in the morning and the livingroom (or bath-, bedroom..) in the evening?

Friendly regards,
Sascha

Does anyone have experience or ideas how to integrate a cob oven into a rocket mass heater system?

SasaX Xasa — Fri, Mar 23 2012 08:38:51 MDT

Hi guys,

Does anyone have experience or ideas how to integrate a cob oven into a rocket mass heater system?
Maybe the best position is above the heat riser, but I would like to use the top of the barrel for cooking..
- Would it be possible to sculpt a small oven over the burn tunnel?
- Or right after the exit flue and 'curl' the first part of the exhaust pipe (under, up & behind) around the oven?

Would it get hot enough to bake a bread, quiche or chicken???
Any theories are welcome before I start putting the house on fire ;).

Thanks,
Sascha

shredded paper made into a bisket for fire

Karen Crane — Wed, Mar 21 2012 14:42:45 MDT

Saw "preppers"program on National Geographic last night and one person showed how to
make chredded papper into a bisket to burn for firewood.
The demo was so fast I was not able to catch it at all.
I would like to know how to do this! think it is a great way
to use paper and could make a ton of them for firewood. sustainable and
can be free.
If anyone know how to do this I would like to know.

Could not wait, built my first rocket stove before reading the book. Let me know what ya think.

Jared Mevissen — Tue, Mar 20 2012 20:56:22 MDT

So I have not read the book yet, basically just went from lots of diff forum posts and vids and got the gist of it. I wanted to try it out before it got hot "which I accomplished" got this finished and tested outdoors about a week before the snow was gone. I still have not tested it in my workshop but I have to do some leveling etc in there before I can install it so will not be able to do that until next fall anyhow, but at least I know it "works".

Anyhow any comments or suggestions would be appreciated I plan to read the book this summer, and make another one like this but smaller for heating a deer blind I have.

Here is a vid I made of building it and testing it.
http://youtu.be/aHF1edk5d0c

I am sure I may have screwed up a few things, especially the heat riser. I want to read up and redo that because I don't think it is void of voids. But it does seem to work so I dunno, maybe its ok.

Also sorry about the vids being so long, I wanted to document the main stuff so that I could easily look back and see how I did it later on etc.

Rocket mass Heaters finishing?

David Texen — Mon, Mar 19 2012 01:58:33 MDT

:-( I'm looking through the forms and I can't find any talk of finishing the cob heater. We have ours inside and I want to be able to sweep and mop without small amounts of cob coming off, so what would you use to make the outside hard and stable to sweeping and mopping?

Poor draw in an under the floor system.

Rick Sherman — Sat, Mar 17 2012 13:53:48 MDT

I have been living with a variation of the RMS all winter in an insulated yurt. See http://sundogecovillage.org/sundogecovillage.org/Projects/Pages/Yurt_Project.html.

The heated mass has kept the 300 sq' space at an even 50-55 degrees all winter with inside temps up into the 70's if we burn longer than two hours. The issue for me is that we have not succeeded in getting the stove to draw without the use of an electric fan to pull the smoke and heat through. It burns wood down to fine white ash but smokes more than I would have anticipated at the outside stack. Over all the stove has been reasonably efficient for fuel consumption, considering we are using beetle kill Ponderosa Pine

At first the six inch system extended across the 20' space and back under the stove and out the back. With four elbows in place the distance was over 40'. I recently shortened the system to less than 20' and replaced two 90 degree elbows with a curved plenum box. It improved but did not cure the draw issue.

We were never able to get the down draft system to work in the beginning so we created a wood box that burns the wood horizontally. The two departures on the standard design is the horizontal burn chamber and the below the floor exhaust. The drop from the bottom of the barrel to the horizontal pipe run is about 2.5' then about 6' to the plenum. The whole exhaust system is below the level of the fire box.

I love living with the system and I like the ritual of the twice daily burns. The big problem is that the power goes out on a regular basis here. If the fire is full on, we get smoked out when it does. I am determined to overcome this issue and develop the concept further as we add more experimental structures to Sundog.

My question is, is the low exhaust the issue? Should I abandon the heated floor concept and go with a heated bench that exits the barrel and runs horizontally from the there?

Blaze King catalytic wood stove

Bill McCoy — Sat, Mar 17 2012 10:23:48 MDT

We are wroking to install a Blaze King Princess model catalytic wood stove for next year. These stoves have an automatic damper and very long burn times (20 - 40 hours depending on the model) There is a lot of information about Blaze King and other brands at : http://www.hearth.com/talk/ The Blaze King web site is: http://www.blazeking.com/

I am not affiliated with either site or company. I hope this is appropriate under the banner of "wood burning stoves."

CFD Computational fluid dynamics on RMH

Eric Reed — Sat, Mar 17 2012 09:13:08 MDT

See attachments for some Quick CFD work I did on RMH. This could be a easy way to test out modifications without building a prototype. A limitation I have with this tool is I have to estimate the volume flow rate after the initial combustion and I can't simulate the added gasses from the secondary combustion in the vorticities.

Can you burn duckweed in a rocket heater?

Karen Crane — Fri, Mar 16 2012 11:16:08 MDT

it occurs to me...why not burn duckweed in the rocket heater? Will it burn efficiently?
It grows like crazy and I thought it would be a csource of something to burn if it will work.
Anyone trying it?

Biochar TLUD Stove Workshop - Seattle 3/31

nancy sutton — Thu, Mar 15 2012 22:42:14 MDT

(I attended this workshop awhile back, and highly recommend it ;)

We will be holding a BioChar Stove Building Workshop
on Saturday, March 31st from 10am to 4pm
at S.E.L.F. - Seattle Earth Lost and Foundry / The Foundry MakerSpace, 4710 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle, WA. 98107
(Located at the former Viking Fire Foundry)

We invite you to participate by building either the Estufa Finca Five Gallon BioChar Farm Stoves pyroneered by Art Donnnelly at Seachar.org OR build an derivative design of the smaller Dome School Soup Can Emergency / Backpacking Stove.

The Estufa Finca Stove is great for BBQing in your back yard WHILE creating BioChar for your garden (if you chose to include the cooktop and air base add-ons to your stove). The Dome School stove is great for understanding the principles of gassification and biochar creation while replacing traditional expensive proprietary backpacking equipment. Either stove is good to have around and know how to use in personal / community emergency preparedness as well as building sustainable solutions for our soil and environment.

This is a fund raiser event to convert our Worker Owned Cooperative into The Foundry MakerSpace / Seattle MakerSpace in Ballard Seattle. A portion of the proceeds will go toward Seachar.org's continuing efforts as well as helping The Foundry's Worker Owned Cooperative open it's facilities to provide a Community Industrial MakerSpace in Ballard. Our primary focus being sustainability projects, skill sharing, Metal, and Fire. Current activities have included stove making, metal casting (aluminum and bronze) welding, black smiting, metal working, woodworking. and 3d printing. Future activities may include glass working, even more sustainability projects, etc.

If you are interested in participating in the workshop please RSVP S.E.L.F. on this Facebook Event Page http://www.facebook.com/events/251809421578755/ or email SeaEarthLostAndFoundry@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Larry James [ Steve Anderson, Micheal Kacena, Adam Reeder, and friends]
FoundryMakerSpace@gmail.com
Seattle BioChar - Stove Builder / Instructor / Volunteer
SeaChar.org for Nickelsville EcoVillage BioChar Stove Project
S.E.L.F. - Seattle Earth Lost and Foundry - Worker Owned Cooperative
SELF Reliance through Action, Education, and Community Cooperation.
Co-founder - The Foundry MakerSpace / Seattle MakerSpace - Industrial MakerSpace located in Ballard Seattle

additional details below...

Join us on Saturday March 31st, 10am - 4pm, at the Seattle Earth Lost and Foundry (4710 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle, Wa. 98107), for an Stove Building Workshop. Learn a little about biochar and build a TLUD ( top lit updraft) clean burning, fuel efficient, biochar producing cook stove.

* For a $25 donation build and take home a "Dome School Stove". This mini-TLUD is the perfect backpackers/hand warming version of our big stove technology.
* These elegant micro-gasifiers are, affordable, easy to build and safe to use. You will need to bring [Preferably Pre-emptied and washed] (4) tin cans for this stove: (1) 46oz. can [tomato juice], (1) approx. 32 oz. [crushed tomatoes], (1) 18.5oz. Progresso soup, (1) 15oz. can [tomatoes]. The Progresso Soup Can being the most necessary, we often have extras of everything else. Alternately a 20 oz. can be substituted for the Progresso Soup can.

* For a $75 donation build and take home a five gallon "GARDEN MASTER Stove". This gardener's version of our "ESTUFA FINCA" project stove, makes clean heat and soil building biochar from your garden and yard wastes. All materials for this stove will be provided.
*The Cook Top and Air Base addon that convert the basic stove into a free standing back yard BBQ are available for an additional Donation/Purchase. Supplies and Tooling for these will be available for you to build if you have time and/or have built the basic stove already and want these.

* Along with building stoves, we will be learning a little about biochar and how to use it in the your garden and/or backyard BBQ.

* This will also be an preliminary fund raiser for The Foundry MakerSpace / Seattle MakerSpace. Learn how clean burning, biochar-making stoves can build opportunities for everyone, fight climate change and improve lives.

* Bring a snack, a pair of gloves and if possible a pair of safety glasses, ear plugs. If you are planning on trying your stove after the build, bring a cup and/or a pot to heat your food up in and something to eat off of.

* Everyone should have a lot of fun, most will be going home with a tested stove, and an definitely an expanded understanding of biochar. If you wish to stay late, at the end the day we can test out our new creations by cooking up whatever is brought to share with the rest of the group.

If you wish you may make an additional donation to SeaChar.org directly for the workshop. We are recommending $25 donation for their continuing work in reducing carbon emissions while improving lives. You can use the PayPal button on SeaChar.Org website at: http://seachar.org/wordpress/?page_id=96
or mail checks to SeaChar.Org @ 603 Stewart Street, Suite 906 Seattle, Wa. 98101

Please RSVP! so we know how many materials we need on hand...
Bring your cash and/or checks to the event
For this workshop Contact: S.E.L.F. at SeaEarthLostAndFoundry@gmail.com for more information and directions. (be sure to subject line BioChar Stove Build Workshop)

Come reinvent fire with us and help build a better future.

Larry James
FoundryMakerSpace@gmail.com
(206) 552-8865 (personal phone till we get an office phone setup)

P.S.
We are currently accepting applicants to join The Foundry MakerSpace / Seattle MakerSpace in Ballard Seattle. There is common workbench space coming available April 1st, 2012. We are in process of converting the free space, putting together a common tool list, membership dues/fee schedule, and website. There will be basic membership (use of common space/tools during hours of operation) and limited number of keyed 24/7 access membership available. Subscribe to the below announcement list or visit our website for updates and more details. website

There will be a Private Event hosted by Rain City Brew at the Seattle MakerSpace on Sunday April 1st 2012. Local brewers are putting on a "Beer as Art" show. It is by invitation only, so you MUST be one the Guest List for entry. If you are thinking of going or becoming a Foundry Member you will need to RSVP to go be added to their list. Please visit http://beerasart.com/events.php for more details and email raincitybrew@yahoo.com and ask them to add you to the guest list.

To get updates on any future classes, workshops, and/or events at Seattle Earth Lost and Foundry, email SeaEarthLostAndFoundry@gmail.com, add yourself to our Google Group Announcement list at S.E.L.F. Announce - https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/self-announce, or visit the Seattle Makerspace website at http://seattlemakerspace.wordpress.com/

RMH Supplies in Seattle

Andy Cook — Thu, Mar 15 2012 05:55:59 MDT

Hello All,

Does anyone have a suggestion on a one-stop location from which to get fire brick, stainless stove pipe, perlite etc. . . . we have a short window of time to get supplies to Northland Barge while we are in Seattle in June.

Thanks.

seek help by a Chinese

pu zhou — Wed, Mar 14 2012 07:09:02 MDT

I am from a forestry center in hunan provience of the China
I just heard about RMH,and very interesting about it
,but I don”t know how to make it
And the worstest part is not how can I build it ,,my English the one I think

There are a lot of branch in my place,and it is very cold in the winter,
I do need to build one of RMH,
I would like to get a draw papers so that I can do it according the papers

I thank you so much for your any help and I appreciate it

At the last ,I hope you could understand what I say
thanks a lot

greenhouse rocket stove questions

Cheryl Spragg — Mon, Mar 12 2012 20:23:29 MDT

We are considering building a lean to greenhouse this year. It will be 8 ft. wide and 32 ft. long. I was interested in putting a rocket stove in it to heat it at nights in the winter. It will be built from a polycarbonate roof and used sliding glass doors for the walls. I am unsure how hot these stoves get and don't want it to break the glass or melt the plastic. I could build a small room to put this in if necessary with wood or metal walls and just put ductwork into the rest of the greenhouse. I understand that I can not use concrete as high temps with cause it to explode. I also understand rocks can do the same thing. We don't have clay in our area, so one of my questions is: What can I use to create a mass that will hold the heat that won't explode? Our ground is mostly sand here. My son's room is right next to where we need to build the greenhouse so want it to be very safe. How do I know how big of a rocket stove to make?
How long will the barrel and ductwork last? Do you have to replace it yearly? How hot will it get? How much of a fire hazzard are they? How long to you have to burn the fire to keep the greenhouse heated all night? I like to have all the facts before making a decision. Thank you so much for any help that can be provided. I appreciate any ideas. Thank you so much.
veggiegal

rocket stove in vermont

lisa rochelle — Mon, Mar 12 2012 12:11:28 MDT

Hi Ernie & Erica

After listening to the 3 hour podcast on rocket stoves and your request for people to suggest workshops, I wondered if when you come to Vermont to do the Yestermorrow workshop if you are available for hire to build a rocket stove before the class? My off the grid camp is only 30 minutes from Yestermorrow (the other side of Warren mountain in Roxbury). I was planning on originally hiring an experienced natural builder but I would much rather hire you both and help with your request to travel the countryside. Please let me know if you would consider it and we can talk off line. Thank you for all you do and the time and energy it takes to do it.

Rocket-Cob Oven Design w/heated bench or mass for Evergreen State College

Nick Wooten — Sun, Mar 11 2012 16:55:52 MDT

Hello!

I am searching for really good designs for a Rocket-Cob Oven with a heated bench or mass.

We are wanting to build something like this in our Permaculture demonstration garden and would love to work with someone enthusiastic about installing a demonstration unit at the Evergreen State College.

I know there are a lot of designs for rocket stoves and cob ovens but I've seen a couple of really interesting Rocket-cob ovens but haven't been able to find a good manual or walk through yet.

If you can point me in the right direction or share your knowldege I'm all ears!

A good article on some experiments with brick "barrel" RMH

Len Ovens — Sat, Mar 10 2012 13:45:40 MST

This is an article that shows some builds of brick RMHs. The comments tell of the builders experiences with the different designs, good and bad.

http://www.handprintpress.com/ovens/recent-research-on-rocket-mass-heaters-and-bell-design/

This is for those who don't want a steel barrel in their living room...