Greetings from a Newbie in NEPA

[Vince Runza]

Hi, Vince Runza here, posting from friendly, historic Scranton, PA. I found my way here very indirectly, after looking up a Dakota Fire Hole via Google around March 10th. That led me to Rocket Stoves, Rocket Mass Heaters and a shedload of YouTube videos, discussion forums and the like.

Since I'm a freelance writer, I allowed myself the time to totally immerse myself in this stuff, because I honestly feel it's a game-changer! The problem I found is that there's little about the subject that is mainstream. Most folks interested in this are DIY types, Permaculture advocates, rocket scientists (!) and tinkerers.

After weeding out the I-did-this-based-on-a-YouTube-video-I-saw-once stuff (made of metal, which is DOOMED) and It-ain't-authentic-RMH-technology-if-the-RMH-and-you-aren't-covered-in-cob-made-of-locally-sourced-clay-sand-and-horse's-shit, I landed on this discussion forum. Finally, I found the folks who are turning this into a reality for the rest of us.

You guys are brilliant! The open sharing of builds, from proof-of-concept to mature tweaks shows the full arc of revolution to evolution. Naturally, there's still a lot to be learned, but it seems to me that there is enough proven technology for this stuff to go mainstream if:

• The information gets codified
• The process of getting permits to build these things spreads beyond Oregon in the US market
• The EPA tests and approves the technology
• Somebody explains this stuff in a way that would reach an intelligent, motivated 8 year old.

This last part is most important. It's easy, if you're preaching to the choir, to talk about J-tubes, batch boxes, thermal batteries and the like. If, however, somebody who knows nothing about this is exposed to the current information (including Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson's work, which I have), they're stuck with a DIY mindset which is, sadly, not for most people.

That's the thing: for this stuff to really take off the way it deserves, it needs to be understood, accepted, permitted and EPA approved. That takes money.

Here's an idea – let some brilliant writer create a free report on this that marketers could distribute to their email lists. In it will be affiliate links to books and products commercially available right now. Say, for instance, Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build (and snuggle up to) by Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson (yes, Donkey, that's your affiliate link), Dragon Heaters, Walker Stoves and the like.

The publishers and manufacturers will (possibly) make enough money to fund the expensive R&D that's needed to move this from built-on-the-sly to mainstream acceptance. The word-of-mouth buzz could become sufficiently powerful enough to spark positive legislation for hyper-efficient biomass burning heaters.

Thoughts?

[Vince Runza]

I've attached a first draft, very rough, that demonstrates what I mean. See the attached PDF text below.

Rocket Mass Heater

The Rocket Mass Heater is a game changer. Somebody needs to spread the word!

Introduction

There's a big buzz among those who burn wood for heating living/working spaces, making hot water for washing and reducing the amount of wood burned. That buzz is about the Rocket Mass Heater (RMH). Combining several technologies from the distant past to very recent innovations in efficient burning of biomass and capturing the heat produced before it goes up the chimney, the RMH is a tour de force of simple, elegant and practical design and engineering.

So, what is a Rocket Mass Heater? It's a stove – no, wait, it's a masonry heater – uh, it's a self-feeding burner – check that, it's a controlled chimney fire apparatus... Frankly, it's all of that and more. The best place to begin is in the middle, with the Rocket Stove.

The Rocket Stove

A Rocket Stove is a hyper-efficient stove, designed to burn up all the volatile gases produced when you make a fire with biomass. By creating an insulated flue that is of sufficient height, the smoke, volatile gases, creosote, etc. get heated to the point where they combust. In plain English, all that stuff that was going to waste up the chimney of a typical stove now gets burned almost completely.

This means the output of a properly made and properly used rocket stove is air, water vapor, carbon dioxide and a bit of CO (carbon monoxide). A well-made rocket stove used correctly puts out less carbon monoxide than being in the same room with a tobacco smoker!

While the Rocket Stove is a boon to Third World countries that have serious challenges with lung disease from open fires, limited biomass to burn for cooking, etc., it's not really made for home heating. Yes, it does put out a lot of heat, but the design itself is primarily for cooking food.

Enter the Rocket Mass Heater

The Rocket Mass Heater takes the output of a Rocket Stove-like device and uses it to heat up a big hunk of mass (a thermal battery) that re-radiates that heat over time. That mass is usually COB (adobe-like clay, straw and other materials mixed to produce a sculpted mass), earth, masonry, water, etc.

Wood or other burnable material is fed into a vertical feed, rather than the horizontal feed of a Rocket Stove ('J' tube). That makes it self-feeding. The strong draft created by the heated riser pulls air through the fuel, preventing it from burning 'up' and concentrating the fire at the lowest end of the fuel. The fire burns horizontally, along a burn tunnel. An even newer design burns larger batches of wood horizontally.

From there, the flames and unburned gases make a 90° turn up the insulated heat riser, where they turbulently mix and burn up most (if not all) of the unburned gases. The insulated heat riser is surrounded by a 'bell', which captures and redirects the (now cooling) exhaust gas downwards, outside the heat riser.

This exhaust is captured and used to heat a thermal battery, which gradually heats up. That heat is radiated out over time. It's not uncommon for a well-made thermal mass to keep a room warm 24-36 hours after the last 'burn' of fuel.

Since the folks that began tinkering with this were doing it on the cheap, the 'bell' part was often a reclaimed 55 gallon steel drum; the thermal mass was local clay, straw and the like. All these prototypes were hand crafted, homemade and simple. Many, if not most of them, were made without a building permit, for one simple reason. This design is neither fish nor fowl – not a wood stove, not a masonry heater, nor any other type of wood burning appliance that could be easily pigeonholed.

Some folks actually built them on the sly, using a clothing dryer duct to disguise the exhaust! A properly made RMH that is burning cleanly has no visible smoke coming out of the chimney/exhaust, just some visible water vapor if it's cold enough outside.

Why, then, would people invest time, money and take the risk of making something that could get them into trouble? Because it works, it's safe when made correctly, it saves on fuel and is kind to the environment. Most importantly, it's massively cool (for a heat source, that is)!

This idea went viral in the DIY community all over the world. The actual 'builds' tend to be rough, ready and 'organic'. Yep, it's hippie-looking, if that's all you find online.

Advantages:

1. Clean burning, minimal CO.
2. Extremely efficient.
3. Burns crap wood and biomass unsuitable for fireplaces and regular stoves – pine cones, acorns, rotted wood & twigs, construction scraps, junk mail (!), etc.
4. Can supply radiant heat for many hours after the fire is out.
5. Can also be used for cooking, hot water heater, greenhouse bed warmer, etc.

Disadvantages:

1. New technology may not be up to building codes.
2. Still in infancy – “The future is here, it's just not widely distributed”.
3. It's easy and cheap to DIY. No big manufacturer who can ship a pre-made one.
4. By-guess-and-by-God construction/experimentation by those who don't know what they're doing (and why) may be dangerous, unlawful and stupid.