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Sweet! Congrats Manny, I knew that bypass would draw like nobody's business. That's great performance on the coil, fantastic news. And 750! Yikes, that's a hot barrel man. Yep, you can put larger fuel in. As you have learned, it totally depends on the fuel, but for the most part I am able to feed fairly normal sized firewood. I'm so excited for you man, now I think I have to tear mine apart just to keep up with you.

Sounds great Manny, congrats! 750° F. on the barrel top is what I've read other 8" systems can easily achieve running full tilt. You're ready for the next arctic vortex.

Curious to know if this is a by "the book" configuration, or did you go with something different than the 2" riser to barrel top clearance? And what's your riser to barrel side clearance?

I'm still planning on going with an 8" system for my first build. Available RMH footprint is a little tight at 4 ft. x 10 ft.

Matt, adding a bypass to yours should be a fairly small project, eh? I'm sure you could do it in a day.

Byron, this rebuild is pretty my by the book, straight off of Matt's dimensions in his videos. I did add a trip wire, kick tail, and sloped transition to the rise when I built the mold from plywood. I never did measure but I'm guessing I have about a 6" gap above my heat riser. From what I have read here and on donkey's board the larger the better.

Yeah, I think it would be pretty dang easy. It's time to get my barrel off anyway, I should have a look in there.

I'm thinking if I do the bypass, I will probably add some length to my bench. Since I'll be able to power start, I'm sure I could heat another 6' or so. And, while I'm tearing things up, I will probably put a batch firebox on the front end just to see how it goes. My long flue runs may not be compatible with a batch, as per Peter. It may stall, but I think I could do the conversion in a day so I wouldn't agonize over switching it out if it doesn't flow. We shall see how I feel when I get done with the next three weeks of stove activities.

I'm pretty excited to see the additions. Will you have to add more support under your floor if you add length to your bench? I've been thinking about how to make my bench bigger too (yes bigger), if needed. I remember somebody on the donkey site saying I may need a bigger stove AND bigger bench so I'm keeping that in my back pocket if I need it come January. I think it would be super easy to add a extension via the cleanouts at the end of the bench.

Anyway, here's some crappy photos of my dark room that I've finally managed to get uploaded. What a process....

For my bypass, I just tapped a 6" pipe into the exhaust and then laid a small piece of mason's cloth to shape the plenum area and form that 90 into bypass. I used perlite/fire clay mix over the top of the bypass to seal in the vermiculite that I just poured into the area surrounding the bypass which flowed nicely in there to fill the spaces.


And here's the stove as it was Friday (before cleaning up the living room):


Here's the mighty fire as the fire was starting up, and the stove in action:

Cool, I can see your Guy-style contoured sofa starting to take shape. Where is the bypass damper control? I couldn't see it there.

What you mean my ultra-high fidelity, high resolution, grainy ass photos don't show the detail? Gosh, you would think the iphone would have a better camera. I should invest in some better lighting for that room, too.

Here's a better photo:


In other news, I took the copper that I dug out of my old bench to the salvage yard and got $43 for it. I didn't spend much on this rebuild- just the materials for the core and riser.... and new copper. The recycled copper pretty much paid for my new copper (minus 20 bucks).

Well I had my first SNAFU with this water heater over the weekend. I was burning pretty hard on saturday while plastering to dry the bench out and the water coil was getting pushed pretty hard too. It gets hot and heats water very well... too well, in fact. It get's so hot that the volume of water moving through the coil is not sufficient to cool the coil and it overheats. Completely melted down the controller sensor that turns the pump on and off.... it's fried.

Wah, wah, wah.... back to the drawing board. I need something that pushes a larger volume of water, or a less efficient coil. I think something that heats water in more of a "batch" style manner would be better. Then the pump wouldn't run as much either.

Awee shucks Manny!

Is batch the same as a thermosyphoning system? That sounds like the way to go since it would eliminate electronics, right?

Dang! I have RMH envy! I wish I had one to fool with....

All I meant by batch was a larger volume of water that would take longer to heat up. Once it or hot it could be pumped out and refilled with cooler water to cool the system down a little. This would also keep the pump running less.

I wish I could do a thermosyphon but my setup just isn't right for it. The lines go up between the floors and then back down. If I would have been thinking several years ago when I put the floors in I should have run the lines under the lower floors. Oh well, live and learn.