Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

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Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby George Collins » Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:55 am

A friend called me last night and emplored me to come visit him today to assist him with some of the manual labor associated with building a rocket mass heater. I was initially reluctant to go for he lives a considerable distance away and there are more than the normal share of farm chores of late as Youngblood recently had some minor surgery on his eyes that is keeping him from doing any heavy lifting. However, it all worked out and I loaded five of the kids up and we made the trek. Here is how far we got in about six hours effort.

Image

Working on this thing has renewed my interest in them. Now I'm wanting to hurry up and get our deck constructed so I can build an outdoor version if for no other reason than it just seems that one isn't quite permaculturally enough without having a rocket mass heater.
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Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Sun Jan 13, 2013 4:27 am

Looks like a great start to a RMH there George. I understand exactly how you feel about not being Permaculturally enough with out one. I keep trying to think of a place where I could put one, or a place where I could use one, or a place where I actually had a spare chimney flue. I have thought about building one outside like Matt, I have thought about adding on to the garage so I could have one out there, I have even thought of building another building so I would need one to heat it. It seems like I need one to be a true permie kind of a guy and besides, I want one. That last thing there is the biggest reason to build one, lol, I simply want one. Not being Pernaculturally enough is not a Huge motivator for me. I never cared much about labels of that kind, or what others might think, but something that I truly WANT, well, that is a motivator. ;) Maybe I will find a place to build one at some point. :D
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Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby matt walker » Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:37 am

Right on George, glad to hear you got your hands dirty. They are a lot of fun to mess around with. I've been wondering when you and Guy were going to start getting permaculturally enough. I'll get the hats and certificates ready to send out.

In all seriousness, that looks like an interesting heater build. Are you going to go back and help some more, or see it finished and running? I'd love to see some more pics as the project goes along, if at all possible. It is an unusual design. Is it as close to that wall and window trim as it looks?
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Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:54 am

I wondered about that too Matt, and about the electrical box along the wall, it looks like the cob bench might cover it. I think of things like that, I sold Insurance for 35 years, lol. Minimum distance requirements for wood stove safety and for fire insurance and Home owners insurance availability, I always think in those terms, its a bad habit. ;)
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Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby George Collins » Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:03 pm

I didn't take any measurements but I know that it is a six inch system and the six inch pipe can easily fit between the wall and the heat riser.

Please feel free to comment negatively or positively. All feedback will end up delivered to the home owner either directly or indirectly (i.e. he will either come here and read it or I will tell him myself). He has two very small children so safety is of the very highest priority.

I know he wants pictures made to document the whole project start to finish so and I'm sure he will gladly send along any pictures of the project at the various stages.
"Solve world hunger, tell no one." "The, the, the . . . The Grinch!"

"If you can't beat them, bite them."
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Location: South Central Mississippi, Zone 8a

Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby pa_friendly_guy » Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:05 pm

From an Insurance point of view George the Companies want 18" of no combustible materials on the floor in front of the stove for sparks, 36" on the sides and back to any combustible walls and I think it was 18" from the stove pipe to the ceiling. The ceiling is not an issue with this stove. He should use a thimble or triple insulated stove pipe to go through the wall to the out side. The distance to the wall is of concern. Especially for the barrel, I would not think the cob bench would be of concern because the cob is non-combustible. The barrel however will get extremely hot and could be of concern. Adding a piece of thin metal sheeting placed on 1 " spacers [ I used copper pipe cut to 1" at my place and nailed through the center of the pipe ] will effectively double the distance that he has to the wall. Another alternative would be to place a cement board behind the stove that would be non-combustible. He has a plastered wall there now, but just plaster is not considered non_combustible. If he wants to be on the Safe Side, he could call his insurance guy and ask about his companies requirements. That has a down side though, his agent may tell him NO WAY and cause him a lot of problems. If the Company does not know about the stove it would not void his policy and they could not do any thing about it in case of a loss, at least here in Pa that is the Law, I am not sure about your area. If they inspected the house at some future date however, they could cancel his policy if the stove did not meet their specs. You pays your money, you takes your chances so to speak. My advise is be up front about what he is doing and get it per-approved by the Insurance Company. Then he knows he is safe and has no problems.
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Re: Worked on a Rocket Mass Heater Today

Postby matt walker » Tue Jan 15, 2013 2:47 am

Well, without being there it's hard to evaluate safety concerns. I'm sure there's a ton of folks who would have guaranteed I was going to burn my house down with mine.

That said, six inches from the outer barrel to a wall is way too close, let alone the internal riser. I think 36" is still a bit close to combustibles for my comfort. The top of my barrel is regularly 800* F and more.

Additionally, if that pipe behind the riser is going to part of the system, it's for sure way too close to the wall, let alone that baseboard trim. I assume its just lying there though, but if not, I'd say that needs to be addressed. I just put a thermometer on my bench, and through 6" of mud from the flue the cob is 220*F right now.
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