Did I make a rocket stove or a backyard foundry?

[Xist]

Mom's friend didn't make it and I still have all of the lumber. I chose a twin XL mattress that is specifically designed to prevent back pain, so I will get rid of mine, push my desk 8" further under my loft, get rid of my brother's old recliner, bring in my office chair from storage, and build a Murphy bed next to the loft with the new mattress.

I will use some 2x4s for that, but I plan on making a box out of plywood for the actual mattress.

There is plenty more space that I can free up.

I loved my fire box, but of course my sister refused to use it. She was happy to use her burn hazard to kill part of the lawn. She has done that 3 times now. The last time she decided to take her daughter to the dentist instead and waited to visit until she knew I would be out of town.

Mom had me buy and assemble a barbecue grill and picnic table, but since none of her outdoor stuff can survive the outdoors, the fire pit is in the garage, and the others are in the shed, which I am in the process of insulating.

I finally ordered gravel for that and got some volunteers to shovel it, so I should finally have a decent foundation on Tuesday the sixth and then I can finally install the drywall.

I will just have a picnic table and barbecue in my insulated and drywalled office.

Eh. Working in the house (with HVAC) has worked for a while now.

Anyway, everybody knows that charcoal chimneys are the best way to start charcoal--because they are rocket stoves!

Apparently charcoal chimneys are cheaper than rocket stoves, but you can use them like one.

How much do you think the insulation helps rocket stoves? That was the whole point of the one that I built, but unfortunately, furnace cement doesn't seem to withstand the kind of cold you would expect in areas where you would want a brick fireplace.

At some point I am going to brush what is left of the cement off of my bricks and find another use for them.

I hadn't thought that the chimney that I saw at Lowe's would be big enough for a full load of charcoal, but Cook's Illustrated said it was, and it was the best chimney they tested.

It still took 30-40 minutes to prepare the briquettes, though.

Who has that kind of time?!

Would it work faster if it were insulated? Would an insulated chimney be light enough to move with 2 hands?

I think that building a rocket stove with a removable container large enough for a load of briquettes makes more sense, but how about simplicity?

All of these chimneys have air holes on the side, but what about the top and bottom? Isn't that adequate? You are putting this on a grill, so it is sitting on a grate.

Here is what I am thinking: Buy 2 #10 cans of whatever you want. Eat the stuff. Then cut the bottom off of one, the top half off of the other, and drill a bunch of holes in the top (the original bottom). Drill one big hole in the side. Shove some newspaper in it, set it upside-down on your grill, set the other can on top, and fill it with charcoal. Light the newspaper through the hole, give it some privacy, remove the top can with tongs, let the briquettes fall out, and then remove the bottom can.

It would hold more than other #10 can designs because the burn chamber is external. It should be easier to use than other designs because you aren't picking up several pounds of burning briquettes, you are just picking up empty cans with big holes in them.

What do you guys think? Do you use charcoal chimneys, or just lighter fluid? Normally I just build a fire, but a chimney should keep the briquettes closer together, so they should heat up faster.

[Piotrsko]

Can't see where insulation makes a difference to the process, but would keep your hands cooler when moving the unit.

I use the chimney because it lowers my starter material useage. Somehow my wife doesn't like random fireballs in the backyard.

[freebeard]

What do you guys think?

Not going to reread the whole thread, but for me a rocket stove is defined by secondary combustion. As I stated on 09-20-2020, 12:05 PM at Permalink #14.

Two months ago this appeared on Youtube: www.youtube.com/results?search_query=smokless+fire+pit

[Xist]

That was just an ad for policy genius!

The insulation keeps the heat from radiating out, enabling higher temperatures and a cleaner burn.

[freebeard]

That was just an ad for policy genius!

I have no idea what that means.

Insulation is good. Better might be counter flow or high thermal mass like an old Russian stove.

Originally Posted by DDG

Greenstone Soapstone Masonry Heaters - Wood Stoves
Greenstone Soapstone Masonry Heaters - Soapstone Masonry Heater | Masonry Fireplace | Wood Stoves
Masonry heaters are also known as a Russian fireplace, soapstone stove, heat-retaining fireplace, ceramic stove, tile stove, contra-flow stove, Finnish stove, Swedish stove or kachelofen. Now these are not all the same device but do share the central design feature of thermal mass heat capturing, radiant warmth.

[Xist]

The longer it continues radiating heat the longer it takes to heat up.

[Piotrsko]

Originally Posted by Xist

The longer it continues radiating heat the longer it takes to heat up.

Not necessarily. High btu input warms it fast, low btu output cools slow.

Big raging fire gets it hot really fast, large thermal hot mass radiates slowly.

[Xist]

What kind of weirdo puts the chimney on the grill?!

Somehow I couldn't light the paper. The matches kept going out immediately and when I finally lit the paper it went out immediately, so I finally used a lighter cube:

[not cubical]
The cube worked perfectly, but there are two problems:
I couldn't find my large punch and I probably didn't make enough small ones. Punching holes is annoying and I could only do so much with a church key.

Mom told me that I was doing everything wrong, the paper is supposed to go in the bottom of the chimney, not under it, etc.

If only I had some way of knowing that she would completely ignore everything that I told her and make zero attempt to figure out anything!

I wanted to use the full area for charcoal, but when the top coals were glowing, they had sunk about 25%, and the bottom ones may have been used up.

I didn't take pictures of the coals out of the chimney, I put new ones on top immediately. I took the picture before I piled them:


Cook's Illustrated claimed the Weber chimney was big enough for a full load of charcoal, but obviously they don't know anything!

I tried looking up "What is bigger than a #10 can," but everything talked about how big a #10 can is.

I specifically wrote "Bigger!" Must go bigger!

I am thinking that I buy a large steel pan and put bigger holes in the bottom.

I should really put handles on it!

With a wider and shallower container the bottom coals will still be good when the top ones are ready.

[Xist]

I was about to go to bed when I saw his video about pressurizing aerosol cans. You just press a valve stem over the tube on top, pressurize it to 90-100 PSI, and restore the cap.

it will be enough to get the rest out of the can.

If you want to completely refill the can you remove the labels and inspect. If it maintains full structural integrity completely empty it, burn off the rubber from a valve stem, cut a hole in the top, fill the little depression with water, and solder the stem to the top. Then you remove the valve stem, slide in a tube, and fill it with whatever you want while pressing down on the cap. Then restore the valve stem and pressurize.

He showed how to fix cracks in a dash. He trimmed the vinyl around the damage at an angle, dug out the foam under the edges, packed with Bondo, sanded, primed, and painted.

Right! The sawdust rocket stove!

He got a metal bucket and a couple of pipes 2-3" in diameter. He cut a hole in the side slightly larger than the pipe, slide the pipe half the diameter past the center, and held the second pipe vertical, roughly making an L-shape.

Then, while you hold the 2 pipes you pack in sawdust as tightly as you can, remove the pipes, and just light the intake!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szsxcj9FQyE

[freebeard]

I got a Christmas present this last December. ...from myself.

The Aprevecho* Research Center's Stovetec Firefly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncZml3wA9Oo

It will run for 45 minutes on one load of wood pellets. I wonder if I crush wood pellets into a cylindrical block with some binder, would that make it easy to load and light and possibly burn slower and therefore longer?

I also have a 1915 Rudd gas water heater similar to this one:


https://i.pinimg.com/564x/53/de/ca/5...ba6895a4f9.jpg

It needs an adapter block and some way to reload and relight it.

*Aprovecho
aprovecho.net
Aprovecho is the name of two non-profit organizations located in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Aprovecho Sustainability Education Center is a not-for-profit organization based in the vicinity of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Its focus is on sustainable living, including permaculture and renewable energy. Its sister organization, Aprovecho Research Center, develops efficient cook stoves for use in developing countries.Wikipedia