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Post by Orange on Oct 31, 2017 3:31:04 GMT -8
thanks, i get the idea. Is there a steel plate on top of the bell too?
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Post by esbjornaneer on Oct 31, 2017 5:13:19 GMT -8
No it is a cob, dome on the inside and shaped to a square tower on the outside. The top is flat cob. I have added some insulation (to get the oven warmer) and a steel plate to the top of it to make it more scrape resistant as I superdry kindling on the top there. It only reaches 30C after the insulation has gone on so not much of a fire hazard in my opinion.
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Oct 15, 2018 4:47:45 GMT -8
I didn't realize that this thread was still going. So I've decided to make an update. Also seeing as I made a sketchup drawing for the door and to plate and am almost ready to send these files to my new contact and fabricator  I have updated the photo album with pictures of the construction and final product. The 'bones' were done by me, but I have lost some pictures of the full process and I am quite sad about that. Damn you smartphones! Anyways, the finishing touches were done by a local brick layer and we are super pleased with how it looks. Everywhere except the core is covered in small tile like 'bricks'. The core itself is covered in small heat resistant bricks that are normally used to dress up fireplaces (I don't think they are oven bricks, but more like sturdy decorative bricks). The mortar is a loccal fireproof cement. I tried to convince the builders to find and use clayslip but nobody agreed with me and I had to give in. Both the insulated fire bricks and the aestethic layer are done with that fireproof cement. I really hope it lives up to its reputation, because taking this apart would seriously break my heart... goo.gl/photos/GQMpLKVkdVKwUQws5 |
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Oct 15, 2018 4:53:22 GMT -8
Alright so I figured out that the amount of new pictures might only be obvious to me. This is the first new picture. Pouring a concrete baseplate for the stove to sit on.  Don't you just love using a handsaw to cut IFB's in your shorts and Tevas?   Finished core with dry stacked bypass/chimney. I lost the pictures of the rest of the build.  Finished result. Very happy indeed!  Thanks for the input everyone! |
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Oct 15, 2018 5:00:15 GMT -8
So, my current last step is to get the door and top plate made. For the top plate I am thinking to use 10mm thick steel. The door is also fully working and to scale in sketchup. I will include the sketchup file down below. Top plate with bypass thingamadjing.  Door modeled to the size of our dimensions.  |
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Bram
New Member
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Post by Bram on Oct 15, 2018 5:01:18 GMT -8
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Oct 15, 2018 5:04:54 GMT -8
PS. to avoid confusion: I used to be called Berry on this forum and elsewhere. It was a nickname from my activist days. I have since dropped that and am going by my real name Bram.
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Post by matthewwalker on Oct 15, 2018 7:43:06 GMT -8
Very nice work Bram, thanks for sharing it. It's great to see another riser-less core out there in the wild!
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Dec 8, 2018 10:44:43 GMT -8
Hey hey, so we ran the WRC for the first time yesterday. Even though we ran into some trouble it worked great! It didn't smoke into the room once and heated up nicely. The problem that we ran into was that the 5mm plate we used started bending... Quite a lot. So now we will go for a cast iron plate with trimming around the edges. Also a few bricks in the front that got most hot moved through the expansion and their cement cracked... Especially where they were only two layers thick next to and above the door. Here is a video of our first burn. youtu.be/KhCzAp10mmI |
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Post by Vortex on Dec 8, 2018 13:17:36 GMT -8
That's normal for a 5mm plate, I had exactly the same thing happen to me the first time I fired my original vortex stove. I got around it by welding a 50mm angle steel frame all around the edges, but it's better to use a much thicker piece of steel, 10mm minimum, preferably 15mm.
Expansion plates help as well, so the hottest part of the cooktop can expand without causing the whole top to warp.
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Post by matthewwalker on Dec 9, 2018 15:55:30 GMT -8
Bram, it looks great and it's burning well, even with that big gap all around from the warped cook top.
I recommend using a salvaged ceramic glass top from an old kitchen range, they are an excellent solution in my experience.
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Bram
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Post by Bram on Dec 13, 2018 2:30:48 GMT -8
Α quick update because the family is visiting. Yesterday night I ran the stove again after two days rest. In that time I removed the door, fixed some minor details, painted it again and closed some gaps that had formed due to the frame of the door bending slightly. Yesterday night's burn was a lot less efficient, the fire just didn't seem to want to get fully going, producing a lot of coals and seeming a bit lackluster. I attributed it to my lazy fire-keeping but this morning I noticed there was a lot more coals. A little deductive reasoning later and I realized it must be the silicone closing off previously available airflow. The air ports in the door were under performing and the gaps created by the slight deformation of the door frame gave a better burn the first burns. Right now I am running the stove with the door slightly ajar, tomorrow morning I will remove some of silicone (which turns into a kind of cement). The fire provided itself with the air it needed to burn well  youtu.be/ndLkgl3C0qY |
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Bram
New Member
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Post by Bram on Jun 19, 2019 0:33:13 GMT -8
Its been a while since I updated this thread. The stove ran fine throughout the winter. We haven't added the fans to the air ciculation system yet, this is something I hope to do soon. But first the top plate, which we are going after next. Vortex , matthewwalker : have you tried this particular stove with 15mm steel? I really don't want to run into the same problem again and we are about a week away from ordering it. |
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Post by matthewwalker on Jun 19, 2019 7:16:59 GMT -8
Bram, I have not tried steel. My opinion is that it is always going to cause problems and be difficult to work with regardless of thickness. I highly recommend the ceramic glass tops, I've had great success with them. They don't warp or change size and they bond well with simple clay/sand. My other recommendation is cast iron. An old stove top or a new cast iron griddle. I think either of those are far better choices than steel.
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Post by Vortex on Jun 19, 2019 9:21:43 GMT -8
Bram, If ceramic is good for your design I'd go with that, it's a lot easier to make than a steel cooktop. I used steel because I needed to get as much mass as possible in the small space I have available. There are some pics of how I made my steel cooktop on page 24 of the Vortex Stove thread, (link in my signature below).
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