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Post by DCish on Jan 7, 2017 10:04:02 GMT -8
Very cool build! I've been playing with a dry stacked mock-up of virtually the same core in my yard for the past year or so. I've been playing with various flame paths to try to maximize both efficiency and fire viewing, and haven't really come up with anything better than what you have there. I'll be curious to see how that second glass works out for you. Mine tends to get a fog of fine ash built up fairly quickly. Also, it tends to get covered in soot at startup that never quite all burns off. The soot could just be a function of the fact that I don't get to tinker often, and when I do I'm always starting a cold, damp, leaky setup. I'm thinking in the final build to have the second glass in an easy to open door just like the firebox so that I can clean it easily. At any rate, it is really fun to see someone else get basically the same design into a completed state! Kudos, and do keep us up to date on how it works out for you.
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Post by drooster on Jan 9, 2017 9:51:15 GMT -8
OK I know this might not be exactly the right thread but I couldn't quickly find another Walker thread. Look how great a window along the flame path looks!! (from post at Permies) www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXfkVRKKQtUI want that. Matt do you have a breakdown of fitting that side 'glass' panel? |
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Post by matthewwalker on Jan 9, 2017 11:04:53 GMT -8
Hmmm, well....those first Walker Stoves were 6" PvdB batch boxes lined with ceramic fiber board, with integrated secondary air in the fiberboard and refractory layers, and a formed ceramic fiber riser. The window was simply captured between layers of ceramic fiber board. That's it. That window version was an early attempt on a variation of Peter's design, seeking a good window view. I've since learned that in my experience performance is much improved with the steel pre port air delivery, and fire viewing is best done past that point. That's part of the riserless core development story for sure.
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Post by drooster on Jan 9, 2017 12:54:55 GMT -8
... The window was simply captured between layers of ceramic fiber board. That's it. ... ... fire viewing is best done past that point. Thanks Matt. But I really love that side view of the flames, how about a narrow but long window to reduce the amount of cooling in that crucial area? What can I cut up to glean a long narrow piece of ceramic glass? |
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Post by matthewwalker on Jan 9, 2017 14:27:18 GMT -8
I never said cooling was a problem. That has nothing to do with my glass placement choices.
You could cut up a $100 and buy the material you need.
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Post by PNW Dave on Jan 18, 2017 12:14:20 GMT -8
So, when I was typing up this reply a couple weeks ago I got busy and am now just getting back to it. Part of what I was going to say: "Unfortunately I'm pretty dissatisfied with the real reason I built it, to provide heat mainly into the downstairs living space. I think that I need to add the barrels onto the bells like my original drawing to increase the volume allowing the gasses to stratify as well as provide more instant heat. Maybe I should add some additional path/restriction/mass inside the bells before the exit?" But after living with it for a while I am quite happy with it. In the morning the thermostat reads 65-66, it's an Ecobee3 smart thermostat, when it recognizes activity in the morning the furnace comes on and brings it up to 68. We light the fire and keep it going with small loads of scrap wood throughout the day and the furnace does not come on again all day, nice! The best part is the type of heat, I really don't like breathing the warm air from the furnace but the radiant heat from the mass is really nice. I've even opened a living room window to let in fresh air a couple times, not worrying about letting all the heat out. Last month with no wood stove and heating exclusively with the gas furnace my bill was a shocking ~$230, we'll see what this month is with the Walker Stove in use part-time and keeping the Ecobee3 settings the same. Looks awesome Dave! I love the window placement. I've had a couple builders say to me that they liked the stove but wanted more fire watching. I always felt like they could use more imagination as the possibilities with this stove are endless, and offer better fire view than any design I've seen. Thank you for your vision and for sharing. Thanks Matt! Fire watching was one of my top priorities in the design concept. In the videos there is a pretty small amount of wood in the firebox, now that I've put in several hours of burn time and larger loads of wood this thing can get freaky scary raging intense! I really have to restrict the air intake a lot in order to get a reasonable burn. It is easy to get a large pot of water to a full boil and we have enjoyed cooking on it several times. I think it might be more powerful than my relatively new glass top electric stove. I too like the 'fire place' feel of this, however that's a lot of glass in the primary chamber area. I would guess that you will loose a lot of heat in your primary burn chamber to the ambient temps beyond the glass. It's a great design, I like the double bell and the ability to adjust the exit ports. Question about that: Did you calculate for the exit openings being large enough in all configurations? Left open, Right open, Middle setting both the same? I really don't think the glass will cause excessive heat loss, it's so well insulated in there that the heat scares me a bit. I didn't really calculate anything, just went by feel. The bell exits are the size of two red clay bricks plus mortar thickness. Middle setting is both open, then when one side is closed the other is still open. After the fire goes out I have been removing the screw from one side so I can close both shut offs to help prevent the stored heat from escaping out the chimney. Dave the sound is dodgy on this computer : did you explain the large 'glass' front panel? Is it ceramic glass, one piece or two pieces? There were two pieces of glass. I got them off old fireplace doors and they were tempered glass. I knew it wasn't the right material and I knew exactly what would happen when it inevitably broke. The glass on the port/riser side exploded right after I stopped recording the test burn video. I was prepared with the fireplace screen and extra IFB near at hand to cover the hole. I am working on the doors and will order the proper glass once I have exact dimensions. |
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Post by PNW Dave on Jan 18, 2017 12:34:10 GMT -8
Here is another short video. I have IFB stacked in place until I have finished the doors, the draft is good enough to remove bricks from the port side and not get any smoke into the room. In the video the 1/4" cooktop plate is temporarily sitting on top of it's frame and you can see flames through the small gap. The IFB gets hot enough to glow on one side while cool enough to hold on the other-
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Post by matthewwalker on Jan 18, 2017 13:26:39 GMT -8
Awesome Dave, thank you for the update. These make my day. The core requires significant restriction in primary depending on type of fuel and conditions, as you are figuring out. That is the whole point of my secondary and this design in particular. To provide a version of these stoves that provides a platform for metered operation. I believe this is the definition of and where this departs from true Rockets. Rockets like Peter's and J's are set up to be loaded with the proper type and amount of fuel and lit off like a rocket. Any deviation, like subsequent loads, or drier fuel, or wetter fuel, or different atmospheric conditions, or different size fuel, or.....and performance suffers dramatically. So, this one isn't a rocket, but....it's fun to shut down the primary and push that flame tongue downstream, isn't it!
As for your glass, if you could find a stove top, you can cut it with a diamond blade on a wet saw. It is opaque, but might look cool.
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Post by DCish on Jan 18, 2017 16:25:14 GMT -8
Sweet, keep the good stuff coming!
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