Rocket stove mass heater

[TheJeff]

Anybody have any input on these mass heaters?
According to this site there "better" then a convential wood stove.
I have no experience with these thats why I ask.

https://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

 

[blades]

they burn through fuel supply fairly quickly generating massive heat, The key to these is the long Horizontal flue out of materials that will absorb the heat from the exhaust gasses. and slowly release it into the living area. Somewhat similar to those massive rumford fireplaces. Therefore the living space must be designed around the heat source. Presently there are 3 rocket principal stoves on the market . The Wiseway looks like staircase) (designed by a guy on the west coast who then sold the rights to the present co.) Same guy has a new version out now( sorta looks like an old time wood cook stove) and one out of Ohio ( which can be run on pellets as well firewood). These are more traditional looking and do not require the tons of material as depicted in those vids. The basic principal was developed for third world countries primarily as a cooking source which would run on almost anything combustible and dirt cheap to construct and required very little fuel to accomplish the cooking tasks. I have been watching these for almost 20 years now. Non of these have been used in conjunction with phase shift materials ( water being the most common phase shift material ). Phase shift materials is another wood chuck hole to get lost in.

 

[stoveliker]

Masonry (mass) heaters can be efficient. Unlikely to be significantly more efficient than a modern (tax credit qualifying) wood stove.

But making one is expensive. More expensive than a wood stove.

They have their appeal, but advantages are often over blown. Can't get more energy out of the fuel that what is in there..

 

[blades]

It is the extremely high heat produced from the fuel in a bast furnace configuration that gives them a very high efficiency. Down side is fuel consumption is fairly high hence the need for the mass of phase shift material to capture the heat that would other wise just go up the flue. Can 't do long low burn rates in these, contrary to the design purpose. More of a batch burn system- ideal for say a hot water heat system rather than the current wood boiler units out there. Pellet system could be designed and already exits in a fashion if you look a pellet furnaces or sawdust furnaces. Sawdust furnace operation very similar to an oil furnace by spraying the saw dust in to the combustion chamber with the proper air fuel ratio. Europe is way ahead of the states in that respect. Most of what I have seen along these lines are geared to industrial applications and are fairly complex.

 

[begreen]

The subject comes up every few years.

Thoughts on rocket mass heaters

I know I’m really late to the game here, and I know rocket mass heaters have been discussed before, but after just getting off the rocket mass heater train not so long ago I thought I’d give my opinion on them. I was fascinated with rocket mass heaters for a while and thought wow why isn’t...

www.hearth.com

Rocket Mass Heaters and Masonry Heaters

So! Here's a new thread to pick up from where we left off on the masonry heater thread... I'm looking forward to hearing more from Q on that thread, as he builds his home & stove. :) It's been mentioned that the efficiency numbers for RMH's are notoriously over-estimated. Has anyone done an...

www.hearth.com

 

[Todd]

Insurance can be a problem with these. They are pretty cool though. I think I’d opt for a regular masonry heater like a Tulikivi over a RMH.