rocket mass heaters

[jacob]

Article on the blog, right sidebar.

[George the original one]

I was contemplating one for my insulated workshop. Turns out that, since I'm really interested in heating for only a few hours, that this is the wrong application and a honking big woodstove is a better solution.
I wonder if heating a greenhouse is the right application for heating a greenhouse. The thermal mass is appropriate for getting you through the night, but you'd have to be around to feed the stove during the day. I suspect a propane or kerosene heater directly warming a bed of rocks might be a more appropriate solution for a greenhouse, especially if you could automate the ignition and shutdown.

[clarkai]

The reason why we were thinking the mass heater (and we are still considering it), is that our climate sticks around 30 for night time lows in winter, and for about a week gets down to 5 degrees. So it would probably only need to be used for a very brief time each year.
The green house is going to be literally 5 feet from the back door, and I'm self employed at home, so feeding it through the day shouldn't be a problem. I will look into the propane heater; I hadn't thought of that. I like the fact that wood is free.

[George the original one]

Yeah, I hear ya. Really hate to be dependent on someone else delivering fuel.

[Rob A.]

Could work for you- I have the book and was excited to try it on a naturally built house that never got built (yet?). I spoke with someone who built one (was featured in the second edition of Ianto Evans book), and it didn't astound him. Also this guy: http://small-scale.net/yearofmud/category/rocket-stove/ has built a small cob house at Dancing Rabbit EcoVillage, and installed a rocket stove that he ultimately uninstalled. You can read about it here. The person I know who helped found that ecovillage and I were talking, and he's heard some mixed things about rocket stoves. In theory, they seem fantastic- basically a low cost, labor- rather than resource- intensive alternative to masonry stoves, with greater adaptability. In practice, it's kind of a new technology and all the capacities and limits are not fully established.
I think in many contexts, a small Jotul or other such stove will be more durable and functional. But I'm glad folks are experimenting, and I hope a better sense emerges about best applications and construction.

[disconnected]

Here is a link to a Rocket Mass Heater that I built a while back. With proper planning you can implement one of these and have great results.
http://streetjesus.blogspot.com/2010/12 ... oject.html
Definitely consult with your local building codes, fire inspectors etc before embarking on such a project.

[sshawnn]

I have acquired enough tools to start some metal fabrication.

http://www.iwilltry.org/b/build-a-rocke ... e-heating/

Now on the look out for a busted water heater