vortex/dsr3/sksshel build

[treebased]

Hey folks, thought I'd share some progress on my build. So far I have what seems to be a good running engine based on designs seen here. I am working on the mass bell portion of the build largely copying sksskel's design with refractory cement in lieu of geopolymer over a layer of 1/4" trowelled thinset over standard 4" block poured solid with concrete. I have been gifted some refractory materials from foreign contractors who had left overs from an industrial enamel baking furnace build at my workplace. Due to the language barrier, some of the materials are known to me only by my novice usage in this particular experiment and I have no further information other than how they have behaved in my build.

[treebased]

I started by building the engine outside largely based on dimensions from the Vortex stove. The burn chamber is hard fire brick, the upper is from insulating fire brick slabs about 20"x9"x2" all held together with a 1:3 clay sand mix.

[treebased]

This configuration ran fairly well but I decided to make the center plate of the burn tunnel out of a different material which I can only describe as a 1" thick ceramic tile. The thinner material increased the capacity of the upper chamber and allowed me to bring the gasses closer to the glass to keep it from sooting up.

Before:

After:

[treebased]

The engine runs well outside with no bell or chimney other than some 2" cfb slabs to keep any wind out of the final port. No visible smoke other than initial start up, glass stays clear throughout, even with wood that needs more drying time

[treebased]

The bell is as yet ongoing. I used full blocks as much as possible, have built 3 layers at a time, lined with unmodified thinset troweled 1/4" thick, and spread Blakite refractory cement 3/8 thick.

[treebased]

View of the burn tunnel with the door open. The corners are eased with an unknown to me refractory material which starts out the consistency of sticky, easily spread wet paper pulp and fires to a ceramic consistency. Not sure what it is but it behaves better than clay sand in the upper chambers by a mile

[Dan (Upstate NY, USA)]

Nice, I wonder if the triangle pieces in the vortex chamber will stay there for the long run?

[Dan (Upstate NY, USA)]

Wow I just noticed the army of puppies in the background

[treebased]

Nov 21, 2021 15:24:51 GMT -8 Dan (Upstate NY, USA) said:

Nice, I wonder if the triangle pieces in the vortex chamber will stay there for the long run?

It seems very stable, I have 33kgs left to test with

[Vortex]

Hey, nice build, well done

That's the best way to do the air supply, I recently changed mine to the same, a lot of the problems some people have are actually the stove gasping for air. The larger air makes it really stable.

Your afterburner looks a little to low in height, the vortex looks slightly squashed vertically. Mine is 114mm / 4-1/2" high, 230mm / 9" wide. The triangular corners dont give any improvement in the combustion and without them you get cool little reverse vortices in the corners.

When you put it on your mass it will change how it behaves. The vortex is a balance between the push of the fire and the pull of the chimney. You can re-balance it by changing the shape and size of the top chamber. A low wide 1 CSA channel around 280mm x 65mm seems to work the best I've found. That shape has a lot more surface area to volume ratio, which creates the back pressure to hold the vortex nicely in the afterburner, without restricting the gas flow through the system too much, which would reduce the amount of air getting to the fire and cause it to overfuel.

Have you tried a V-shaped floor in it?

[treebased]

The top box is separate from the inner structure, the entire burn chamber can be easily reconfigured without pulling the whole engine. I will likely need to make adjustments after the engine is installed the mass. I was planning on making a v shape metal insert for the burn box, it would definitely be a benefit I think. Thanks for the advice and all the great documentation, I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.

[treebased]

70.5" tall 28.5" x 28.5" inside dimension poured solid with concrete and rebar reinforcement at corners and centers. I have a whole new respect for masons. I've never laid a block before, it is not easy or simple

[treebased]

Nov 22, 2021 3:54:05 GMT -8 Vortex said:

Your afterburner looks a little to low in height, the vortex looks slightly squashed vertically. Mine is 114mm / 4-1/2" high, 230mm / 9" wide. The triangular corners dont give any improvement in the combustion and without them you get cool little reverse vortices in the corners.

I did some measuring, after the redo my vortex chamber is only 3.5" x 9". I will likely need to make it taller

[treebased]

I didn't plan for the bell height to exactly match the existing tile work, but it did

[treebased]

Installed the engine in the bell with a 5/8" round fireplace gasket between the frame overhang and the masonry. Waiting on the 3'x3' 1/4" steel top plate.