Rocket Stoves

[trailmaker]

Your dad needs to do a lot of research into "Russian Fireplaces". They have been around for over a hundred years and it is what the rocket stoves are, just renamed.

Going the route of using water would make it very much more complicated. All that would be needed is several tons of mass in the form of rocks, brick and cement. Putting water in the mix is going to make it ten times more complicated.

I believe "Russian Fireplaces" is another name for "Finnish Fireplaces" and "Masonry Heaters". They were developed hundreds of years ago when wood became scarce in Europe. They have enclosed fireboxes which probably makes them safer than rocket stoves. The high temp combustion pathways are stone or brick and will last much longer than steel pipe and drums. I think people get excited about Rocket Stoves because they are billed as a cheap and fun DIY project. Masonry heaters can be purchased as a kit but they are expensive and require some masonry skills. They are also too heavy to be easily retrofitted into a structure.

 

[cantoo]

Around here it's next to impossible to get fire insurance on a homemade wood burning appliance or fixture. The agent wants to be able to read the specs off the plate on the back of the stove/ fireplace. No plate then no pass = no insurance. Your Country or State might be different.

 

[zogger]

Around here it's next to impossible to get fire insurance on a homemade wood burning appliance or fixture. The agent wants to be able to read the specs off the plate on the back of the stove/ fireplace. No plate then no pass = no insurance. Your Country or State might be different.

Normal brick or stone fireplaces aren't allowed?

 

[cantoo]

Zogger, only if the unit is an insert that has the specs on it. Some insurance companies are different though and aren't as strict. We seem to have regular house fires around here and during the winter it's usually the fireplace or stove that get blamed. In the summer they blame it on Electrical. My insurance company inspected my electrical 2 years ago, they plan on doing it every few years. I build houses for a living and we do a lot of insurance work.

 

[unclemoustache]

I would really love to have something like this in my home, but there's simply no way it would work in an old Victorian. Too many windows and doors. Hadn't thought about the shop, though. It could certainly work out there, and I've got the space for it. If I only had the time! Maybe I could build it late at night instead of hanging out here.

 

[colson04]

Dad hasn't built it - yet. Just planning and acquiring materials for it so no results yet. I'll probably be helping on this project in the upcoming year and will post a build thread whenever we get it off and going.

 

[Motorsen]

Well it all relies on the gasification principle more or less with a secondary burn at a high temperature. Thats way to go in my opinion. The trick is then to extract and store the huge amounts of energy released. Can be done with brick or water.
Problem is sometimes space to accomodate such a behemoth indoors. As a gasification OWB I think it's a great idea instead of a smoldering shed. I see the insurance problem but man to me the world is in disorder nowadays due to ignorance and being square.
Would like to experiment some with the consept myself . Think it's full of potential.

Motorsen

 

[Jredsjeep]

Dad hasn't built it - yet. Just planning and acquiring materials for it so no results yet. I'll probably be helping on this project in the upcoming year and will post a build thread whenever we get it off and going.

please do keep us updated if this happens. i think the idea is great and i like seeing some outside the box thinking.

 

[Coldfront]

I am think of building one for my garage/shop. The wood stove I have in there now burns way too much wood, and the garage cools off way too fast when the wood burns out. I like the bench idea with a wood box type bench filled with 4" to 6" dia. rocks with sand or fine gravel in between the rocks for the mass. the double wall stove pipe and insulated thimble through the roof are already there.

 

[046]

been looking at rocket heaters for years ... pretty darn tempting

 

[MattB]

You guys are discussing two different but related technologies.
The first is the rocket stove. It's a J shaped burn chamber with passive secondary air for complete combustion.

The second is the mass heater part. If you run the flue pipe through something with mass it will absorb the heat and release it slowly.

This is the best burner I've seen. You could also pipe the gases out of this burner through a bench and make it a thermal mass heater.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gQH0iHmNJ4&list=FLkSjtX44-K50jRCKBFKlNQA&index=2
Here's the same burner unit heating a wood shed...without a chimney!!! Complete combustion!!!