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Post by treebased on Dec 26, 2021 12:34:35 GMT -8
Added a 2" lip around the top plate to accommodate a grid of copper pipe embedded into some form of medium, possibly cobb, in an attempt to add an element of water heating to the system. Welded some 1" tubing to the bottom to help mitigate the deflection during heating, then shot the underside of the plate with 2000 degree paint
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Post by treebased on Jan 5, 2022 18:18:34 GMT -8
Installed a stumbling block in flush with the front of the divider in the top chamber using the dimensions from the updated vortex stove to keep the gasses close to the glass to keep soot to a minimum. Welded a 2" lip around the top plate to facilitate a grid of copper pipe and insulation for a drainback water heating scheme. Formed and poured the top of the bell on an angle to allow for drainback. Running like the proverbial top. Top plate getting near 400F, can't get my hand close enough to the top box to get a good pic of the vortex, chimney running near 150 max. It draws so good that I can build a new fire in the morning on coals from last night and have it start right back up. Right on time for some awful weather. Thanks for the great info here!
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Post by treebased on Jan 12, 2022 9:57:32 GMT -8
Remade the V-shape floor/ash tray. Added some baffles front and back to keep the ashes in the tray and fire box cleaning to a minimum. The top chamber is holding up well, staying really clean after 2 burns daily for the last week or so. Playing around with the air intake, I find it interesting finding the correct air fuel ratio at different stages of the burn.
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Post by hof on Jan 12, 2022 13:27:20 GMT -8
Nice ash bin!
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Post by treebased on Jan 12, 2022 13:49:31 GMT -8
Thanks! Here it is after the first run. It caught the majority and nothing came out of the front. I was having an issue with coals falling on the floor out of the rather large air intake and didn't want to resort to an external tray to catch it or wire mesh or screen to keep it in which I also view as potentially problematic. I also like that I can take it out and dump the coals/ashes versus it being an integral part of the assembly.
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Post by treebased on Jan 19, 2022 16:53:07 GMT -8
What test equipment is good? Does it help "dial in" a stove? I'm trying to "dial in" my air intake
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Post by Vortex on Jan 20, 2022 2:12:15 GMT -8
Testo 330 analyser, solid fuel adapter kit & Easyheat software, but you dont need it, the vortex can tell you everything you need to know. What is the stove doing wrong?
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Post by treebased on Sept 21, 2023 18:17:21 GMT -8
Rebuilding the engine after heating my well insulated 1800fT2 house for 2 years. I heat my house with a solar water heating array and a rocket mass heater with a water heating element, both feeding in slab radiant heat. I use 2 "ricks" or face cords per year which I get from my land, usually from blown down trees or sawmill projects.
In the first build, the top section was built from mostly soft insulating fire brick slabs which began to form cracks and crumbled to unusable pieces upon disassembly. I made the new main box from regular fire brick, kiln shelves for the top of the fire box and the top of the upper section. The industrial furnace tile used for the fire box bottom plate and the divider between the afterburner and the top chamber seem to be holding up well. I used 1:2 clay sand mix for the mortar. I kept the mix thin and made my joints as tight as I could. The "parged" refractory cement interior of the bell seems fine under a bit of creosote. The 1/4" steel braced top of the bell held up with no troubles, stayed more or less flat, and heats 240 gallons of water 10-15 degrees F in a single burn off of a 3'x3' plate, ~34,000BTU captured minus the power to run a microamp circulator pump (I have a home brew 4'x32' rooftop solar water heating array that does most of the work). Maybe pulling the heat out of it using a grid of copper pipe with diffusers helps it to not warp violently.
I changed the door swing, welded the door frame solid and added a 1/4" angle return around the metal frame containing the doors for a lip to better hold the 5/8" round gasket tight to the bell in an attempt to reduce smoke back. I put a wind vane topper on the chimney to take advantage of the draw from the ambient air currents.
I finished the bell with a "parge coat" consisting of 1:2 portland cement/sand dyed with sakrete mix in black dye at the recommended amount of 1 container/80# and rounded all corners. It turned out dark gray, I don't hate it.
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Post by treebased on Sept 23, 2023 7:33:43 GMT -8
Doors and glass back together and installed. Final masonry work done, just wetting it with a sponge periodically to let it cure slowly. Here's some pics of the doors and metal framework containing the engine. It seems to be a handy thing to be able to pull the engine from the bell for maintenance/tuning.
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Post by treebased on Sept 27, 2023 10:47:37 GMT -8
I remade the primary air flap to tip out from the top to block any coals from falling out. The original primary air flap allowed too much air in top, sides, and bottom and had little in the way of control. The new version uses the same large opening at the bottom of the door (13x2.5") but allows control of the opening in 10% CSA increments from 0 to 50%. Instead of complicated hinges which tend to leave a gap upon opening, I used a 1/4"angle as the pivot. I closed the sides of the opening with 1" angle and made it unable to open more than 50% csa with a 1/4x20 bolt catch on the inside frame. The entire piece is easily removable and works with gravity. This design should largely eliminate unwanted air infiltration around the primary air flap. For control I made a lever with notches cut in it to hold the door at 0-50% CSA in 10% intervals. I will likely add a small spring handle to pretty it up.
I modified my removable ash tray/v shaped floor to have the front of it closed to encourage air flow over the tray and through the fire rather than under the tray and up the sides/back.
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Post by martyn on Sept 28, 2023 7:54:50 GMT -8
Well done so far, please keep the pictures coming.
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Post by treebased on Sept 29, 2023 17:29:00 GMT -8
Got the engine back into the bell. It's quite a bit heavier now with the hard fire brick upper section. Put two layers of 5/8" round gasket between the metal frame and the bell. It's all held in place by weight, I gave the corners a tap with a dead blow hammer to seat it well/squish the gasket. I will paint the top with 2000 degree exhaust manifold paint and install the rest of the chimney soon. It's still reaching 80F here, no danger of needing heat soon.
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Post by treebased on Sept 30, 2023 7:38:03 GMT -8
Done for now. Just waiting on the cold.
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Post by peterberg on Sept 30, 2023 7:41:54 GMT -8
Nice!
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Post by treebased on Sept 30, 2023 16:38:39 GMT -8
A little bit more. I seal my doors mostly through close tolerance fabrication but with the low initial draw inherent to these stoves a gasket becomes necessary to avoid smoke back. I use 1/8" or 3/16" fiberglass rope gaskets to better seal the doors. I drill a 13/64" hole and feed enough rope through to pull it tight and tie a knot in the front of the door to hold it in place. It doesn't rely on adhesives which tend to fail at high temps and is easy to replace.
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