I've been putting this off for a long time and I went out today to pick up the last of the materials I need to buy to do this project. The mold has been staring at me since March and I know that once I start there will be no stopping until it's done.
I got home after the long trip and I'm looking at it and I wonder, "just what am I getting myself into here?" So I take a pick and take a couple swings. Seriously, in no more than 15 minutes I'm down to the heat tubes in the bench. The barrel is off, the riser is down, the water tubes are out. It's like, "Oh yeah, this thing is just made of dirt and rocks."
Part of me really wants to try the water again, this time just a tight coil heat exchanger wrapped around the exhaust just after it comes out of the plenum. Part of me just wants to tear this thing out, get the 8-incher in, and get the mess cleaned up.
I'm really astonished by how well the heat riser has held up. I can totally salvage it and use it on another 6" stove.
One last goal of this project- the bench has always been fantastic to sit on and warm my bones, but honestly- it's not that comfortable. Anyone know anything about chair design?