Rocket Stoves

[slowp]

Anybody been around one of these?

http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

 

[sdt7618]

Have looked st building a small one, very efficient, but would be for camping etc.

 

[Jredsjeep]

i would be curious to hear from someone who has one or has used one. it looks like they are just using regular galvanized pipe that would not hold up to a regular wood stove makes me cring a little. how would the pipes hold up inside the mansonry, woudl i have to tear the place down to fix it? i am also curious to hear if anyone uses one for more than a toy or occasional burning. using one to heat your house through the winter, what is the cost, heat output and burn times like, how long would i expect one to last?

 

[angelo c]

google it and you will come to a few sites that specialize in the "green" way of doing thing...lots of folks use them indoors as room heaters as you sit on the bench once heated and it retains heat through the 'mass'. heck of a twig burner system by the looks of it. Ive never run one but though about building one for my patio winters.

 

[trailmaker]

I've never seen one in action but it it seems to work on the same principle as a masonry heater; super high temps that heat a large mass which then radiates heat over a long period of time. There's an outfit in Washington manufacturing these but I'm not sure what kind of certifications they have.
http://www.zaugstoves.com/wordpress/.

 

[BrianK]

The metal burn tunnels and risers don't necessarily hold up to the extreme temps in a rocket mass heater.

There is a company in Texas making the burning tunnel out of cast refractory:
http://www.dragonheaters.com

Walker Stoves in the Pacific NW uses a similar design:
http://walkerstoves.com

 

[cantoo]

Don't forget the fire insurance aspect of these types of stoves.

 

[zogger]

Don't forget the fire insurance aspect of these types of stoves.

---they seem way safer than most any other type of wood burning anything. There's nothing to catch fire unless it burns through like thick rock or cob. And they extract so much heat from just a little fire that the exhaust is back down to cool again. Plus burn cleaner.

Not seeing an insurance angle unless you mean because they are home made.

I don't have one but would consider one of those way safer than even a light socket or a clothes dryer, etc in most homes. Certainly safer than any complicated electricity required (any fuel) furnace or even a traditional fireplace.

 

[Whitespider]

---they seem way safer than most any other type of wood burning anything. There's nothing to catch fire unless it burns through like thick rock or cob.
Not seeing an insurance angle unless you mean because they are home made.
...way safer than even a light socket or a clothes dryer, etc...

zogger, man... have you looked close at those things??
Holy crap man, most of 'em use a 55 gallon barrel as combustion/heat chamber.
Not to mention... every one I've seen is ugly as hell‼

You may not see the insurance angle... but... but... c'mon man, you ain't an insurance man either.

*

 

[colson04]

My dad is putting a plan together to build a Rocket stove style OWB. He likes the idea of a traditional OWB, but doesn't like the amount of wood they consume. He built a rocket stove fired grill this past summer that works really well so he's doing his research and putting a materials and construction list together on it.

Plan calls for large hot water storage so that he will do a burn once a day or so, and then draw the heat down until the next day when he does a burn again to heat it all back up. He lives in a modest house, well insulated house that is fairly cheap to heat right now, so with careful planning, this should be very doable. Plus, the stove is outside, away from the house so if something should happen, it's all outside.

 

[zogger]

zogger, man... have you looked close at those things??
Holy crap man, most of 'em use a 55 gallon barrel as combustion/heat chamber.
Not to mention... every one I've seen is ugly as hell‼

You may not see the insurance angle... but... but... c'mon man, you ain't an insurance man either.

*

Well, not that kind, but I once was an A,H&L agent....good at it, too..

You can build them any way you want to.

If you can find a reference or two where they burned a house down because of the basic design, well...

As to ugly, it looks like rock work and furniture to me, a bench. Ya, seen pics of real crude ones, but more of nice looking ones, and they could be designer real nice with more rock work.

 

[slowp]

I was brainstorming about one out in the shop. A 30x30 uninsulated, tall, metal building with concrete floor. The Grapple Cat would sure like it.

 

[disk_55FL]

opcorn: Do they ever need to be cleaned out .............. and if so how would you do it ?

 

[slowp]

opcorn: Do they ever need to be cleaned out .............. and if so how would you do it ?

One puts cleanout things in them, like plumbing in modern houses. I'd want to put one together outdoors first and figure things out from there. I doubt one could make "cob" from the volcanic soils around here. I'm thinking pack gravel around it, cover it to keep it from becoming a giant kitty litter box and that would do it.

 

[Jredsjeep]

My dad is putting a plan together to build a Rocket stove style OWB. He likes the idea of a traditional OWB, but doesn't like the amount of wood they consume. He built a rocket stove fired grill this past summer that works really well so he's doing his research and putting a materials and construction list together on it.

so did your dad see results like the videos claim? just curious

i still think insurance could be a nightmare, they want to know the the make a model of a stove and a completely home grown one is not going to cut it. if anything should ever happen God forbid i dont think the fact that you watched a bunch of youtube videos and bought plans off the internet are going to help any. not that i agree with this stance but it is something you might want to seriousely consider before you invest all that time and money building a permanent structure in your home.

with regulations and documentation it can kill out of the box thinking even if it is better.

 

[zogger]

so did your dad see results like the videos claim? just curious

i still think insurance could be a nightmare, they want to know the the make a model of a stove and a completely home grown one is not going to cut it. if anything should ever happen God forbid i dont think the fact that you watched a bunch of youtube videos and bought plans off the internet are going to help any. not that i agree with this stance but it is something you might want to seriousely consider before you invest all that time and money building a permanent structure in your home.

with regulations and documentation it can kill out of the box thinking even if it is better.

I think if you just call it a masonry heater, and perhaps hire a pro licensed contractor type mason just for a scosh of help, so it can be documented, it might help with that insurance angle

 

[slowp]

I think if you just call it a masonry heater, and perhaps hire a pro licensed contractor type mason just for a scosh of help, so it can be documented, it might help with that insurance angle

Yeah, or build it using chimney flue type bricks and fire brick. I think I'd use a brick enclosure to hold the stove pipe too. I'd use gravel for the filler around it. The soils here are what we call pummy. Pumice and ash plus organics.

 

[zogger]

Yeah, or build it using chimney flue type bricks and fire brick. I think I'd use a brick enclosure to hold the stove pipe too. I'd use gravel for the filler around it. The soils here are what we call pummy. Pumice and ash plus organics.

Ya, that's what nice about them I think, it is an idea that can be made a thousand different ways, from a quick cobjob using available cheap scrap, to a very very nice installation, using quality materials.

 

[nk14zp]

I heat my house with one. Instead of a bench I used a 275g oil drum for a heat exchanger ( I still need to add mass to that) I love mine. Mine is in the basement.

 

[BrianK]

Yeah, or build it using chimney flue type bricks and fire brick. I think I'd use a brick enclosure to hold the stove pipe too. I'd use gravel for the filler around it. The soils here are what we call pummy. Pumice and ash plus organics.

That's the direction Dragon Heaters is going with their rocket stoves: