by Rhett » Fri May 02, 2014 6:05 pm
Finally did a burn on the Dr Seuss core. The clay was totally wet at this time. Wet to the touch even.
And then it all went sideways:
Luckily, after that I pulled off the broken, bread-loaf sized chunks, resculpted it, and now the thing is completely dry, crack free, and very hard. I have moved it into the shop to its final location. This summer I plan to make a bunch of adobe bricks, then cob those around the core and either weld up a boxy radiator or find some barrels and do that thing. Very happy with it.
One interesting thing, the stove pipe I used for the feed tube/burn tunnel/riser is already showing extreme signs of wear. I probably have less than two hours total burn time on the thing but it is clear the metal will not last. Any doubts I had about the "metal is doomed" mentality have been put to rest.
Edit: I should add, when the stove is the shop it never got dry, but after a few days in the Texas sun that thing was fully baked. Sunshine ftw.