pics of my first two RMHs, and questions about next project
Jan 24, 2018 23:50:43 GMT -8
wiscojames likes this
Post by whazzatt on Jan 24, 2018 23:50:43 GMT -8
First post from me. Thank you to all the people who have made it so pleasant to get happily lost in the archives here.
Also, hello from South Africa.
I ask three questions at the end of the thread. Some background:
I have cooked on a small rocket stove (ecozoom versa) for 6 years. Completed 2 simple thermal mass heater projects as well, and now pondering a third.
First project - thermal mass heater in a cabin of 12 square meters; worked a treat for 4 years (I have subsequently moved out of the cabin and off that property):
Second project, a rustic steam room. I will be making another one of these soon, but I will reserve questions about the next heater unit for a different thread. Pics of trial structure and heater:
I thought I had done really well to create efficient wood burning heaters until I started doing the research, where I saw the barrel approach and then found this forum (where I have lurked for a good while). The barrel RMHs are obviously incomparably more efficient than my two projects because in mine a lot of heat is escaping through the steel pipe chimneys.
The thing is, both heaters work/worked extremely well. The one in the cabin had hot bricks for 5 hours after the fire died; the room was warm within 30 minutes - my thinking is that the several 90 degree bends in the pipe slowed down the burn and heat could emanate nicely from the pipe. The steam room unit is also ideal for my purposes.
Now I find myself in a new cottage in the mountains, where it is colder and wetter than where the first 2 units were built. I have bought the fire bricks and refractory cement and some steel tubing. This is the small area where I will do project number 3:
Now that is one useless fireplace - the heat just disappears upwards. Anyhow, I was about to angle-grind the flu halfway up its length to simply make another of the 'cabin units' when I erred on the side of research into the barrel. Obviously the barrel is more efficient, but I do not have much space to work with.
So FIRST QUESTION: what do you think about a barrel RMH but where the chimney pipe does not run through a thermal mass bench, but rather does a 90 degree bend straight up and out of the bottom thermal mass on which the barrel will rest? Surely this would be way more efficient than my cabin unit.
SECOND QUESTION: If I go with the barrel approach, does a fire-brick heat-riser have to be surrounded with metal and insulated? Acquiring the correct material for this is going to be a bit difficult in my current situation. If insulation over the riser must be present, what other approaches could I take? Links to other threads would be appreciated here.
THIRD QUESTION: considering that I had a lot of good use out of my cabin unit, do you think it is worth continuing the relatively simple approach, or rather go out of my way and learn the barrel approach? I know that the barrel approach is much more efficient, but my first project was extremely simple and can be repeated in some rural villages in my area with considerable ease, eliminating the additional materials needed for the heat riser insulation and extra piping. In some of the villages surrounding the mountain town in which I now live, some local people simply burn wood in open fire places for heating. My cabin unit would be far more efficient.
Any thoughts welcome.
david
Also, hello from South Africa.
I ask three questions at the end of the thread. Some background:
I have cooked on a small rocket stove (ecozoom versa) for 6 years. Completed 2 simple thermal mass heater projects as well, and now pondering a third.
First project - thermal mass heater in a cabin of 12 square meters; worked a treat for 4 years (I have subsequently moved out of the cabin and off that property):
Second project, a rustic steam room. I will be making another one of these soon, but I will reserve questions about the next heater unit for a different thread. Pics of trial structure and heater:
I thought I had done really well to create efficient wood burning heaters until I started doing the research, where I saw the barrel approach and then found this forum (where I have lurked for a good while). The barrel RMHs are obviously incomparably more efficient than my two projects because in mine a lot of heat is escaping through the steel pipe chimneys.
The thing is, both heaters work/worked extremely well. The one in the cabin had hot bricks for 5 hours after the fire died; the room was warm within 30 minutes - my thinking is that the several 90 degree bends in the pipe slowed down the burn and heat could emanate nicely from the pipe. The steam room unit is also ideal for my purposes.
Now I find myself in a new cottage in the mountains, where it is colder and wetter than where the first 2 units were built. I have bought the fire bricks and refractory cement and some steel tubing. This is the small area where I will do project number 3:
Now that is one useless fireplace - the heat just disappears upwards. Anyhow, I was about to angle-grind the flu halfway up its length to simply make another of the 'cabin units' when I erred on the side of research into the barrel. Obviously the barrel is more efficient, but I do not have much space to work with.
So FIRST QUESTION: what do you think about a barrel RMH but where the chimney pipe does not run through a thermal mass bench, but rather does a 90 degree bend straight up and out of the bottom thermal mass on which the barrel will rest? Surely this would be way more efficient than my cabin unit.
SECOND QUESTION: If I go with the barrel approach, does a fire-brick heat-riser have to be surrounded with metal and insulated? Acquiring the correct material for this is going to be a bit difficult in my current situation. If insulation over the riser must be present, what other approaches could I take? Links to other threads would be appreciated here.
THIRD QUESTION: considering that I had a lot of good use out of my cabin unit, do you think it is worth continuing the relatively simple approach, or rather go out of my way and learn the barrel approach? I know that the barrel approach is much more efficient, but my first project was extremely simple and can be repeated in some rural villages in my area with considerable ease, eliminating the additional materials needed for the heat riser insulation and extra piping. In some of the villages surrounding the mountain town in which I now live, some local people simply burn wood in open fire places for heating. My cabin unit would be far more efficient.
Any thoughts welcome.
david
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