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Post by medfordhomefarmer on Dec 4, 2008 11:31:18 GMT -8
Hi,
I'm new,
& I'm facscinated with the idea of rocket mass heaters, ( I've ordered I.Evan's book and am trying to be patient while it ships)
I'm thinking about a rocket mass stove for an attached greenhouse.
Anyone trying this? Any suggestions/results? I'd love any and all info.
Thanks!!
Ann in Maine
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Post by Donkey on Dec 5, 2008 9:23:14 GMT -8
Hello!! Welcome to the board.  I have seen a couple greenhouse rockets and heard good things so far. One in particular that impressed me -- A friend of mine buried the heat pipe in his greenhouse beds, under the root system. It appeared to work quite well. The plants over the pipe seemed happy. Sadly, he had to move not long after and the new folks don't understand the setup (and are maybe a bit wary of it) so it doesn't get used. |
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brogh
New Member
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Post by brogh on Jan 1, 2009 5:30:50 GMT -8
hi there, i am beginning to experiment with a heater for my polytunnel- plastic. both with a small solar heater for a tank of water and also with a small masonry stove as a bench in the tunnel. will let you know how i get on.
where we live in cornwall england there are lots of gorse plants which are said to burn as hot as charcoal so it hoepfully should be a good renewable fuel source for producing a tropical atmosphere!
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ernie
New Member
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Post by ernie on Jan 21, 2009 15:21:05 GMT -8
well i can shed some light on this.
1. dont let the stove smoake back into the green house (some plants dont like it)
2. put the exhaust tube at least 10 inches into the soil (the soil is your thermal mass and a warm bed for things like ginger and sweet potatos)
3. figure out what kind of exhaust pipe run you want (I would triple it in a big bed and put it 15 inches deep so it would not burn roots)
4. dont let someone block the chimny (the one donkey referred to is not used because the chimny was blocked and when i lit the stove it smoked back and killed a whole rack of seedlings)
5. remember that when you water the bed it is gaining thermal mass and it is also going to transmit heat faster. take your time to learn how long to fire the stove to harden off the plants for summer.
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Post by broadturn on Jan 25, 2009 8:41:32 GMT -8
I am attempting to build a stove for my seedling greenhouse, not for heating the soil, but a 18 foot germinating table which will also hopefully heat the air space for other seedlings. The greenhouse is a hoop-house structure with poly cover. I have used a simple barrel stove for heating it in the past, and I am hoping to increase burn efficiency, and heat storage. Maybe I won't have to re-fire the stove in the middle of the night! By the way, we are also in Maine, outside of Portland. www.broadturnfarm.com Only at the very beginning of construction, so no experience yet! |
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ernie
New Member
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Post by ernie on Jan 26, 2009 10:53:43 GMT -8
good luck, the thermal mass is important once it is up to heat it will radiate for how ever many hours it can.
Better idea would be to use your animals for heat if you can set it up. several cows or sheep make a good heating unit.
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Post by mizwiz on Sept 4, 2009 19:53:59 GMT -8
and a munching unit. ;-)
We just did another greenhouse rocket stove; Ernie only put the pipes 12" below the surface. Greenhouse hasn't been built yet, so we'll see.
You can also do water in closed barrels/tanks as thermal mass for passive-solar heat, if you get winter sun.
In summer it gets too hot; changing out water for cold is an expensive way to chill things, but you can empty the storage tank/barrel and refill in winter.
-Erica
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