VICTORY ( New Design )

[peterberg]

Forgot to mention... My Testo apparatus also calculates the condensation point. So far, it varied between 95 F and 113 F.

It looks like it's possible to avoid condensation altogether by keeping the flue exit temp slightly above 100 F.

[larsmith]

Would there be an advantage to me encasing this whole unit in :

1) cob ?

or

2) Stucco ?

or

3) Red Brick

[peterberg]

Dec 24, 2008 10:41:11 GMT -8 larsmith said:

Would there be an advantage to me encasing this whole unit in :
1) cob ?
or
2) Stucco ?
or
3) Red Brick

Either of them could be done. However, the thermal stress of the unit as it stands is not small. And the surface temp is not very high. You could try red brick on its side, with a small gap between the fire brick and the red brick. That would make the whole contraption slower in warming up and cooling down. Red brick used in the normal way is probably too much mass.

In order to make sure the outer shell isn't touching the core you could wrap the whole thing into ordinary cardboard, and laying the bricks against it. When the whole thing is capped off, the cardboard will turn into very flimsy charcoal without burning because of the absence of oxygen.

In short, whatever you use for beefing the thing up, it is important not to make permanent contact with the core. All this to avoid major cracks in whatever shell you are going to use.

[larsmith]

Incredibly valuable and timely info re: anything touching the core !! I was certainly fixin to do just that ... coat the heater either with cob/stucco or red brick.

TY TY for your time / information.

[larsmith]

As a result of all the inquiries I've gotten re: my design of the Rocket Mass Heater, I've posted a series of videos related to my heater, including how easy it is to get it started up.

Enjoy :

www.youtube.com/user/LarsMith217

If there's other things you'd like to see in the video ... or perhaps have suggestions of how to improve any of the videos, please let me know.