RMH picking up a little speed now...

[smallhagrid]

After careful consideration and sourcing what was within my reach, I've got a plan now.

The original (really nasty, totally NOT airtight) box stove here was liberated as I got a great deal on a much safer airtight stove.
The 'new' stove will be used for burning the big chunks of cordwood here as needed - despite it's ridiculous location way at the front of the apartment where little heat is needed at all.

I've stripped down the nasty old stove to just a sort of flat base with it's legs attached.
It was literally bolted together and all the extra cast iron left over will make some dandy thermal mass.

I will re-use that base & legs to boost the burn tunnel off of the old wooden floor - so the 1st problem is now solved !!

The potter I got the bricks from also gave me a small, old kiln, which has nicely banded top & bottom parts of stainless steel & firebrick, and I aim to re-use these under the riser and at the top of the 1st barrel, most likely.

I remain uncertain as to what I can use the kiln's body for as it is just around 14" tall, so I may dismantle it and re-use it's bricks.

This is where the project stands presently - before I can actually start the build I need to partially dismantle and move a monster side-by-side 'frig through a bit of an obstacle course (it literally will NOT fit through the mud room's inside door !!!) so it must go down & up some steps to arrive in the actual kitchen minus it's doors.

Once I've cleared that space I shall start getting photos of all this stuff and I will post them for others to see here.

Thanks Folks - for the guidance in all of this, it is greatly appreciated !!!

[matt walker]

It sounds great Hagrid, you've got some really good materials and I love the base idea. Perfect. That little kiln really has me thinking, can't wait to see pics. I think you will come up with a really effective burn chamber using what you have there. I'm hitting the road here so I might not be able to help as much over the next three weeks or so, but I'll try to check in when I can.

[smallhagrid]

Thanks Matt.

After moving the monster 'frig, the very next thing I'll need to do is to extend the base I'm making from the old stove bottom as it is too narrow.

With 2 farriers on the premises I am hoping it will be easy enough to get some used horse shoes, which I can then weld together to simulate something like a sheet of metal and then bolt that atop the base for placing the bricks in a sturdy fashion.

I send you my Best Wishes for Safe Travels !!!

[smallhagrid]

OK - prep work has been done as far as possible and it's time to get into action !!

One goal is to keep the heat off the floor of this really old house, and given that air is a good insulator, this RMH is going up onto a platform with legs which used to be the base of a box stove.

Here's the base from the nasty old stove; there's some old bits of hard firebrick and horseshoes being used to level it so as to keep strain from what goes on next - and I may also add mortar to firm this layer up a bit, later...


The next layer is a couple of really sturdy ceramic tiles because the base needs some extending to hold the bricks:


And a 2nd shot of that:


The next layer is a full coverage of firebricks - and I somehow forgot to snap a shot of that - but it'll be obvious in these:




And here are the extra cast iron stove parts which I plan to use for some of the thermal mass inside the 2nd barrel:


I have some connection and dimensional problems to work out yet, and since I also have the bones of a small kiln to work with, right now I am thinking that rather than making the heat riser go up from the base, I will keep it straight longer and join it using stovepipe into the kiln as a good base with an elbow as a form for perlite/mortar mix - then continuing upwards into the smaller barrel placed atop that.

The heat riser itself will join to the molded in elbow and be made of a 6" and 8" stovepipe filled with perlite/mortar mix.

Next I think I'll join the 2 barrels using more stovepipe, make the thermal mass out of the old cast iron and some bricks (space allowing) and finally exhaust using the flexible hose that is sort of visible in some of the pics, above.

The only big questions for me right now are these:
- I have to work out how I'll adapt the carcass of the kiln
- Whether I need a bigger stovepipe to go between the barrels than the 6" that I have on hand ??
(Any clues for me on this, please ??)
- I also need to work out the final arrangement of all the big parts so as to allow free people passage through the room.

I will greatly appreciate any clues, suggestions and/or education in regards to any of this !!!

Thanks.

[mannytheseacow]

You have one of the most interesting builds I've ever seen going on there SmallHagrid. Thanks for posting the photos, it really helps give an idea of what you've got going on there. I really like the way you've incorporated the base from the old stove to keep the core off the ground. Those old stoves got to be good for something!

I don't quite follow your heat riser idea. I re-read your post a couple of times and just can't wrap my head around it. (it was a late night last night). Could you sketch it out? I think what you have there already will work if you just build a brick riser up and invert a barrel over it, then connect a second barrel to the first using stovepipe, as you suggest. You just lost me on the elbow part... You could just build a rim around that core you have now using brick, and cut a square hole in the end of the barrel and just slide it over the brick riser column, then a round hole in the side of the barrel to connect it to the other barrel.

What is the cross sectional area of the burn tunnel in that brick core you have? That should dictate the size of the pipe you'll need between your barrels, I think, and it should be the same as your outlet, too. I'm not sure that flexible duct work will be strong enough for your outlet. These are just my thoughts, though. Take them with a grain of salt. Good luck!

[smallhagrid]

Hi Manny and Thanks !!!
I am just soooo - NOT artistic, seriously.

Try this, if you will:
Imagine a brick sized burn tunnel as shown in my pics - that is pretty much the same cross-sectional area as a 6" stovepipe, I think.
Looking at my 2nd-to-last photo, the lower end is where the connector will go and the higher end is short end of the 'J'.

Instead of the usual upward (longer) portion of the 'J' (heat riser part) being made of bricks though - imagine the burn tunnel going a little farther horizontally into a short stovepipe, then inside the kiln body where a cast-in-place elbow begins the heat riser, which is also made of stovepipes.

Set over the kiln body top will be a 30 gallon barrel, and together the kiln + small barrel will make for a nice, tall heat riser.

This will then be connected with a 55 gallon barrel with a thermal mass inside it before finally exhausting.

My choices swayed from using a brick heat riser because it will not fit inside the 30 gallon barrel, nor is there any easy way to make the bigger barrel fit with the base I've chosen.

The flexible hose should be fine as long as the exhaust is as cool as others have suggested it should be - but only time will tell if this is the case - and if it doesn't work out I'll put stovepipe in it's place right away.

Here's a try at a simple sketch (sorry if it hurts your eyes !!!) it is VERY not-to-scale, just done with paint:


Thoughts ?? Opinions ?? Ideas ?? Please ?!?

Thanks.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Should the intake of the second barrel be above the exhaust pipe? That way the Bell you have created will fill with heat before it exits. An elbow at that point would work if you can't make the pipes line up any other way, You want the heat to fill the bell and heat it up before it exits the unit. With your design maybe it would anyway, just a thought about how heat raises and what you want to accomplish inside the stove. I liked the use of the old stove body to protect the floor, and the reuse of the kiln in your design. I wasn't quite as sure about the 2nd barrel design and the mass you have placed inside it. Would the mass be better placed on the outside of the 2nd barrel ? That is a question, not a suggestion. I do not know the answer as to which way would work best for you. I was just wondering out loud.

[hpmer]

In the drawing, It looks like your burn tunnel is longer than your heat riser is tall. If so, this is likely to be a very sluggish stove. Usually we try for 2:1 or even 3:1 riser:tunnel.

That also means you might not get the temps high enough for your kiln.

[smallhagrid]

[smallhagrid]