Gerry Parent

Don't worry Richard, your secret is safe with me. Everyone has a story to tell and its nice when it has a happy ending!  

Got a hole that needs filling? Superwool to the rescue!

Great innovation Richard.

Hi Richard,  You are certainly not alone in your plight to get your dragon to flow in the right direction. This can be a very distressing time, but doesn't need to be if you know that this is just the teenager years of rebellion, smoking, and "life sucks" comments we all do growing up.
A fellow rocketeer Mark Dumont is going through the same woes as you are. Catch his thread here: Build-Rocket-Mass-Heater-Rocketingand pay attention to the suggestions made.
If you still have questions, come on back and we'll do our best to help out.

Any treated posts that I've seen when cut clearly show the soak line of how deep the copper/preservative has gone in. Varies around 1/2". Don't see that in yours.
Some treated posts have little punctures in them which helps allow the preservative to penetrate.
Also, the outside wood looks quite weathered which is something treated posts don't typically do this much.
Perhaps your posts are made from a species of wood that resists rot?
Does the wood have a smell when freshly cut? Smell like wood (perhaps cedar or locust) or smell like chemicals?

Great job Kenneth!  A couple of questions. 1) Did you solder the ends of the finger loops to the body?  2) Did you heat up the copper before bending?

Very nice picker David. Do you have problems with seeing the apple to guide the tines to just the right spot because the vinegar jug gets in the way? If so, wondering if it could be made out of a see-through clear plastic container instead?

This is really an interesting 'thingy' you have! I can see that the 'c' clamp looking thing can move up and down one of the arms, and that the body can rotate about 30 degrees to the frame but after that, I'm at a loss.
Doesn't seem to be able to be bolted down to anything indicating that its portable.

Mark,  
You've got the theory of operation backwards. Bells pose very little drag whereas a pipe system has the potential to put much more, especially when many bends are included in the run.
A good comparison can be read here: wood-heat-storage-flues-vs-bells

Floor of the bell should not matter how bumpy it is as it won't put drag on the system. Its called the Free Gas Movement because the exhaust is like water and seeks its own level, stratifying into all these nooks and crannies, not scraping by them.  

Again, cover your exposed half barrel bench, wait for a cold enough morning and let her rip!

Hi D.W.    
Always lots of options. First option is not to see the exhaust pipe as a big ugly thing. If you see it rather as a thing that saves you money and keeps you warm, then that's a good thing right?
I'm assuming your house does not already have its own chimney? If not, then through the roof is going to be your best bet. Through the wall chimneys is a legacy left over by Ianto Evans (one of the RMH pioneers) who had specific goals in mind but often compromised having to deal with poor draft and smoke back issues.

- Properly installed, roof chimneys don't leak which is not a hard thing to accomplish.
- I don't see interior walls having any effect on draft.
- Using fans should not be necessary to power draft. Fans can be good to spread the heat around in the house though.
- General recommendation for RMH placement is to put it in a place where you spend the most time (particularly with a J Tube) and as centrally located for even heat distribution. If your place is too big, then 2 or more smaller stoves can be considered. They just can't share the same chimney stack.
- Best place to install is closest to a wall that has no joist span issues vs in the middle of a room.

Matts Stove Chat Tip #28

For the most part, draft occurs as a result of temperature difference between the intake and the exhaust, also known as ΔT   (Delta T).
The bigger the difference, the more draft and vise versa. One way to really help a sluggish draft is to install a bypass.  A bypass allows you to change the conditions of your stove to overcome the conditions of the weather and environment.

Its an easy thing to grasp but is often overlooked as we rely so heavily on modern technology to take the place of natural systems and forget how simple and effective nature can be if we give it what it needs to just be itself.

Are you ready for your next fix of Stove Chat?...coming up in just a few more hours... I'll be there and hope to see you too.