Post by mintcake on Mar 16, 2015 13:15:11 GMT -8
Many thanks to everyone on this site who got me hooked on these things!
Here is the result! Full resolution image is here Tech spec: 125mm (~5") batch box / bell and bench, with the selectable air source/ash tray I wrote about when I was testing. The bell is recycled hand-fired bricks, with the very upper-most layer being half-height firebricks.
The stove pipe is 150mm, because the alternative was 120mm, and I didn't like the idea of restricting the flow. (the chimney is 180mm).
The bench was initially a second bell, but after the chimney stalled a couple of times I decided I needed to reduce
the internal surface area. The bent coat-hanger at the bottom of the stove pipe is a bypass flap, for when the stove is cold.
The finish is not quite how I planned, as I had this brilliant idea of giving the bricks a gloss finish with sodium silicate (waterglass).... don't bother.
It looked reasonably pretty until the first firing, and then I presume humidity from the combustion process made
its way through the bricks and the water glass got absorbed into them, leaving a white (water soluble) crust.
I'm very glad that it's water soluble, since it looked bad on some of the bricks, and needed a bit of a scrub with
a damp cloth to get rid of it (and it needs some more, e.g. around the firebox door).
It starts putting out heat about 20 minutes after lighting, and if I do more than a single load then the bench gets lovely and warm on top.
David
Here is the result! Full resolution image is here Tech spec: 125mm (~5") batch box / bell and bench, with the selectable air source/ash tray I wrote about when I was testing. The bell is recycled hand-fired bricks, with the very upper-most layer being half-height firebricks.
The stove pipe is 150mm, because the alternative was 120mm, and I didn't like the idea of restricting the flow. (the chimney is 180mm).
The bench was initially a second bell, but after the chimney stalled a couple of times I decided I needed to reduce
the internal surface area. The bent coat-hanger at the bottom of the stove pipe is a bypass flap, for when the stove is cold.
The finish is not quite how I planned, as I had this brilliant idea of giving the bricks a gloss finish with sodium silicate (waterglass).... don't bother.
It looked reasonably pretty until the first firing, and then I presume humidity from the combustion process made
its way through the bricks and the water glass got absorbed into them, leaving a white (water soluble) crust.
I'm very glad that it's water soluble, since it looked bad on some of the bricks, and needed a bit of a scrub with
a damp cloth to get rid of it (and it needs some more, e.g. around the firebox door).
It starts putting out heat about 20 minutes after lighting, and if I do more than a single load then the bench gets lovely and warm on top.
David
