Post by Donkey on Dec 24, 2010 11:01:36 GMT -8
This just in from Ericha and Ernie!
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This is so exciting!
We are making serious progress on the Rocket Mass Heater building-code guide.
As Ernie and I are leaving for the holidays, I wanted to invite some more friendly reviewers to comment before we return.
(Or wish you a merry and peaceful holiday, and invite you again when we get back ;o)
You can view it at www.ErnieAndErica.info/rocketmassheaterpermitting at the bottom of the page.
Please don't make changes, but send comments "reply-all" to Joshua, Ernie, and/or me.
Ernie tells me I have re-worked this more than enough, and should get it out where other people can critique it with fresh eyes.
So my clever friends:
- Please remember this would not affect non-permitted installations, but might allow good ones to be grandfathered in.
We are trying to basically allow for a reasonable range of reliable, residential RMH designs, while excluding known problems.
Code gives a site inspector or architect (=educated non-expert) a decent chance of knowing what they're looking at, and a builder a decent chance of avoiding known liabilities.
Where design considerations become more complex (like on wood floors, or bigger systems), an engineer's stamp of approval would be needed to get a building permit.
So we are trying to be specific enough that an inspector can be confident that approved systems will work,
- yet leaving as much room for the builder's experience and future refinement.
Where optimal dimensions are not known, or different for different situations, we have tried to give a broad range or a practical minimum, or avoided specifying at all.
We are also fund-raising to do some independent lab tests to confirm the emissions and fuel efficiency that we have observed anecdotally.
Hope this finds you well, enjoying the holidays.
We won't be meeting again before January 5th, and comments any time in January will be welcome.
Thanks and happy Christmas, Solstice, and New Year!
Love,
Ernie and Erica
------------------------------------------------
This is so exciting!
We are making serious progress on the Rocket Mass Heater building-code guide.
As Ernie and I are leaving for the holidays, I wanted to invite some more friendly reviewers to comment before we return.
(Or wish you a merry and peaceful holiday, and invite you again when we get back ;o)
You can view it at www.ErnieAndErica.info/rocketmassheaterpermitting at the bottom of the page.
Please don't make changes, but send comments "reply-all" to Joshua, Ernie, and/or me.
Ernie tells me I have re-worked this more than enough, and should get it out where other people can critique it with fresh eyes.
So my clever friends:
- Please remember this would not affect non-permitted installations, but might allow good ones to be grandfathered in.
We are trying to basically allow for a reasonable range of reliable, residential RMH designs, while excluding known problems.
Code gives a site inspector or architect (=educated non-expert) a decent chance of knowing what they're looking at, and a builder a decent chance of avoiding known liabilities.
Where design considerations become more complex (like on wood floors, or bigger systems), an engineer's stamp of approval would be needed to get a building permit.
So we are trying to be specific enough that an inspector can be confident that approved systems will work,
- yet leaving as much room for the builder's experience and future refinement.
Where optimal dimensions are not known, or different for different situations, we have tried to give a broad range or a practical minimum, or avoided specifying at all.
We are also fund-raising to do some independent lab tests to confirm the emissions and fuel efficiency that we have observed anecdotally.
Hope this finds you well, enjoying the holidays.
We won't be meeting again before January 5th, and comments any time in January will be welcome.
Thanks and happy Christmas, Solstice, and New Year!
Love,
Ernie and Erica