My next chapter...
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:16 pm
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.
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.