My next chapter...

[smallhagrid]

Been a while since I've posted here because my life is at a cross-roads & no particular direction has yet become obvious.

No matter that outcome - I will resume sharing about the RH which I made that got me through last winter very well DESPITE the inherent weaknesses in how I made it.

It is finally apart and my suspicions were confirmed - and then some.

It was made around a 6" burn tunnel of heavy gauge stovepipe cast into a mortar/perlite mix; this was followed by a heavy stovepipe elbow also partially cast in the same stuff - and the rocket tube was more of the 6" stuff inside an 8" packed with perlite.

Learnings:
1 - When making a rocket tube of metal - be sure & close off BOTH ends !!!
2 - Metal elbow is OK... ONLY if it is absolutely 100% cast in & sacrificial - as mine was NOT.
3 - Very high heat does truly AMAZING things to metal parts !!!
4 - Ceramic/mortar ALWAYS trumps metal, every time.

I will grab some shots ASAP & share them here, but the short of it is that the elbow was apparently the hottest spot & disintegrated;
The bottom section of stovepipe did some truly wacko looking squiggles in the process of distorting & disintegrating; the perlite fell into any & every place it could - and despite all this craziness the RH -still- burned pretty well (though not AS well as it had originally).

Projected repairs will need to be fast & cheap & NOT centered upon metallic parts where it gets the hottest as clearly proven.

SO:
The rocket tube is being re-made with more heavy inner pipe - BUT will be closed with mortar top & bottom BEFORE it is installed.

Where the elbow WAS will be replaced with the cheapest ceramic that came to mind (sacrificial...) which is a pair of 8" terra cotta plant pots which will be cast into the same stuff as the burn tunnel that held up very well indeed.

I am also considering making a nice clean-out port in the barrel just above the outlet so it can be checked & cleaned WITHOUT pulling it all apart to do so.

Bottom line with this build is that I still consider it to be a raging success.

It was cheap-cheap-cheap to make & fuel - utterly safe - zero heat at the bottom as verified with bare hands - and the forced draft concept made it work no matter how insane the winds outside swirled around trying to back-draft it.
Having both horizontal & vertical feed ports (as in a tee) worked very well for feeding & getting enough air into it as needed.

Therefore it will be repaired & used for as long as I am here to use it with what wood as I have on hand...

More later, as this develops.

[matt walker]

Nice to see you SH, and glad you made it through the winter. Metal sure doesn't last long in the burn areas, as you found out. Sacrificial is the key word there. Look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[smallhagrid]

Given that what comes next does not need to be an actual 'elbow' - I began my learning of how one works with terra cotta plant pots.
Saw where folks had posted about their woes trying to cut them, and got a couple to try working with...

Started out with the 4" angle grinder & only had metal cutting wheels - so decided to sacrifice a die cutting wheel as the 1st test.
Worked great (but not for very long).

Wandered into Tractor Supply & got a couple of masonry cutting wheels - delighted about how cheap they are too; and...and...:

Great results !!!
Lots of dust, but going slowly with a steady hand is all it took.
Took both bottoms off and shaped one without any breakage.

Found out when I got back upstairs that more needed to be cut away - so tried the hacksaw - and that worked pretty well too.

For the fine work I used a carbide encrusted wire saw blade in the hacksaw and that was easiest of all.

Re-shaped the end of the burn tunnel a bit (very carefully) to accept the replacement piece - and will soon be ready to mix mortar.

It'll be good to know just how well the clay pots hold up to the extreme heat - and especially as I plan to mortar them in as solidly as possible.

Sorry not to have pics to post just yet - found out belatedly that the fussy camera demanded that I MUST recharge ALL its batteries before I could move ahead with that - but soon, soon !!

Moral of this part of this story=>
I'd much rather spend around $10 on a couple of clay pots & wheels than to waste even more than that on sacrificial metal stuff.

[DrewInToledo]

[mannytheseacow]

Really good to hear your updates and hear that you're still going. I really loved your original build since it was so NOT by the book and you managed to make it work based off what you had. I think the really great thing about these stoves is that they do require some maintenance now and then. Building them is so much fun that when the work is done and they run properly it's like, "now what?" Like Drew, I'm excited to see how the clay pots work for you. Keep us posted....

[smallhagrid]

I meant thin stuff like even the thickest stovepipe.

If'n I was tooled up & had a safe space to work with thick steel here - no doubt I'd be in hog heaven after visiting the local scrap yards & making really durable stuff instead just to see what holds up - but that is not here & now for this guy...So=>

Hi Folks.
Thanks for the great & welcoming replies !!

Now that I am back from a bit of a wild time (for me...) running the roads entirely too much lately, it is time to attend to the very needed RH rebuilding effort here & now.

Here's some pics=>

A mix of the 'customized' plant pot & melted, destroyed stovepipe parts:

The long bit is the former rocket tube liner sitting on top of a tin can so as to make the distorted area visible;
Around it are all that remains of the really beat 90 degree elbow which is paper thin & breaks like eggshell;
Lastly is the terra cotta pot that has been adjusted as the new bottom part.

A more revealing shot of the dead rocket tube liner:

The visible distortion is ALL from heat exposure.

The bottom end of the rocket tube's outside layer:

Included here to illustrate how the heat discoloured it.
The affected part will be cut away once measurements are taken to adjust the height for the new additions.

Here is what the cut & stacked clay pots will be like before getting entombed in mortar:

(Notice the oddly shaped mating of the small ends which may even result in a bit of a venturi effect ??)
There will be an outer shroud of stovepipe around the clay pots used to mold mortar around them & also some firebrick bits added to fill gaps.

Here is the now bottomless clay pot used as the top portion of the newly added, stacked area:


It has seemed obvious to me that turbulence is good in a RMH, so it occured to me that the hourglass shape & other protrusions may aid in stirring things up nicely in the gaseous burn process.

Here is the bottom-most cut-away clay pot placed for fit with some scraps around it as fillers:


A more revealing shot of the same thing:


In the bottom pic there is some exposed metal which was used in the original build as the mortar mold as well as some spots where the mortar was removed as it was either poorly mixed in the 1st build, or weakened too much by heat exposure in usage.

These problems will be remedied as it is rebuilt...most notably, the visible firebrick is in the best shape of all.

More as it gets done !!

[matt walker]

Love the go-for-it attitude SH, way to get it done. Thanks for taking the time to post pictures, very cool to see the inner workings. That looks pretty good in there! Keep it up man, it's looking good.

[smallhagrid]

[smallhagrid]

Howdy Folks.
Here's an update with what I've gotten done on the RH this week which includes getting another 80# sack of type N mortar & dragging out the huge sack of perlite from the storage room.

Over & over I've been reminded of what superb stuff mortar is - so incredibly flexible to use !!
All sorts of permutations are possible with it & so very easy to make too.

Need to fill a space ??
Make it soupy & pour it right in there; need an insulating structure ??
Add perlite & shape it as you like.
Need to fill a rocket tube with an insulating mixture ??
No biggie - just make it soupy WITH perlite added & pour that glop right in where it is needed !!

Left-overs are always useful for smoothing & filling gaps not noticed before & cleanup is super easy.
Yep - sure is great stuff.

The above having been said - I also use mostly junk for tools - old kitchen utensils, a couple of pans, a bucket, a bondo squeegee and my one genuine bricklayer's tool - an ancient pointing trowel (I think ?!?).
Have a look:


Here's the conglomeration of pots lined up & partially mortared in:


The repaired rocket tube waiting to be filled:


The next phase of making pots into 'elbow' & riser in 3 shots:






Rocket tube in place & 'glued' in:








Here is the top of the rocket tube waiting to be solidly mortared in & pointed after the goopy stuff cures for a while:


The only difficult part of such work for me is the waiting between doing a layer of stuff - allowing some curing time before the next layer of stuff is added.

A comment about the pots & mortar & perlite route which I've chosen to travel here:
Given that I've absolutely zero clues about the heat tolerance of terra cotta - I had considered molding the whole outsides of the pots into a thick mortar jacket.

Looking at what I got done these past few days gave me pause as it became obvious that doing so would reduce the air space around the rocket tube more than I desire to do.

So - even though the risk exists for the clay to spall - crack - fall to bits and so on - I am leaving some of it exposed & will see how that works as time passes & it gets heated more & more as the winter arrives & progresses.

I will be very happy if this latest permutation proves to be durable as it is easy to make & reproduce as well as nice & cheap.

When I visited the h/w store I got a good look at some clay flue pipe & though it looks alot like the material of clay pots - I am quite certain it is made of sturdier stuff.

Maybe one day I'll have a place where I can build what I'd really prefer to have out of much bigger clay flue pipe - and I'm certain that if I can get that one right the 1st time that it will out-live lil' 'ol me !!

Best Wishes to All.

[matt walker]

In light of your follow up post last time, I'll just call you Small. Great to read your update, stay warm!