Rocket Stove Mini Mass Heater

[DevilsBrew]

I'm pretty anti-cob and this guy deserves major kudos. This is by far the best looking rocket stove that I have seen yet. The purists will dismiss the productivity aspects of this, but man, it looks good and fits his needs perfectly.

I'm so glad he posted the door video. That rocks.

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[BrianK]

There are at least two companies now manufacturing whole rocket mass heater stoves or parts for them:
http://www.zaugstoves.com/wordpress/
(broken link removed to http://www.dragonheaters.com/dragon-burners-rocket-heater-cores/)

The problem with Bricks

Traditional rocket heater combustion chambers are built with antique red bricks or fire bricks. To have a clean and efficient burn, the combustion chamber (burn tunnel) should be as hot as possible. In other words, the burn tunnel should be constructed of insulating material. Heat retention materials, such as fire bricks or red bricks pull heat from the combustion process. Fire bricks are suggested because they are readily available and withstand the very hot temperatures of a burn tunnel, but they unfortunately rob the combustion process of heat, making it inherently less efficient. The Dragon burner is made from special insulative cast refractory material which will hold up to the high temperatures without robbing the combustion process of heat.

Burn Tunnel Shape



This burn tunnel, developed by Peter Van den Berg has a number of unique elements that make its performace superior to plain brick tunnels. (You can read more about its development here.)

When combustion begins and the gases travel down the burn tunnel they are invariably slowed down from friction along the side walls (called laminar flow). To address this issue the Dragon Burner has a series of specially designed wedges which disrupt laminar flow and push gases back into the combustion flow, insuring that all gases are properly mixed and combusted.

In addition to these wedges, there are a pair of vortex spiral shapes at the end of the burn tunnel to create further turbulence and better gas mixing and combustion, without the use of electricity.

And here's a nice simple mini rocket mass heater build:

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[DevilsBrew]

I'm aware of those companies and others in the Rocket stove/heater world. Personally, I wouldn't pay that much. I'm also not into financially supporting those that take free info and then charge for it but that is another topic entirely. There are so many free designs and ideas out on the web. Heck, a fin search brought me here! What I would use a home built metal stove for would be a greenhouse or shed (chick cave). I realize that others are looking for the best, so yeah, they will want those parts or cores or whatever.

That video you posted is from Zero Fossil Fuel. He has a fabulous fin concept that I posted on another thread somewhere around here. In that thread I was curious to know if the fins would really work on any metal stove. I think he is stopping that video series. I wish he would do more.

 

[BrianK]

I'm aware of those companies and others in the Rocket stove/heater world. Personally, I wouldn't pay that much. I'm also not into financially supporting those that take free info and then charge for it but that is another topic entirely. There are so many free designs and ideas out on the web.

There are a lot of failed home brew rocket mass heaters out there too but you don't hear as much about them.

And The problem with home made rocket stoves is that most building codes and home insurance companies won't permit their use.

Do you have links to other rocket mass heater manufacturers?

 

[begreen]

 

[DevilsBrew]

I'm sorry, Brian, but you are on your own. I really wanted this thread to be about that particular stove. Again, I have a moral issue with those that start or are mods on open information websites that encourage the sharing of ideas and then start producing products for sale. It is a huge conflict of interest to me.

Realize that problems may arise from insurance and building codes with manufactured parts. For instance, I was lucky to get my old metal stove grandfathered in under the building codes, otherwise one wasn't allowed. There is no way in heck I would ever get a rocket heater approved.

The last I saw, Dragonburner only had the cores for sale. So you are still going to have to put some work in to it.

Sorry I couldn't help you more. Good luck.

 

[DevilsBrew]

View attachment 100801

Lol. That top would be awesome for a grilled cheese sandwich.

 

[BrianK]

View attachment 100801

I'm sorry, Brian, but you are on your own. I really wanted this thread to be about that particular stove. Again, I have a moral issue with those that start or are mods on open information websites that encourage the sharing of ideas and then start producing products for sale. It is a huge conflict of interest to me.

Burning out the burn tube and the riser is one of the biggest problems with these stoves. The Dragon product seems to solve that problem. I don't see a problem with basic capitalism where someone identifies a market and a product to fill it, then risks their own capital, blood sweat and tears to try to offer a product to the public that simply is not available commercially.

The Dragon product increases both the safety and the efficiency of the burn tube and riser. Dramatically for the latter, using materials and manufacturing that are simply not available to the average DIYer, at a reasonable price point. I think that is a very good thing. I like capitalism far better than any other current option.

 

[DevilsBrew]

I'm curious, Brian, if you don't mind sharing, what are your future plans?

 

[DevilsBrew]

How ironic. I am recovering from December foot surgery.

I apologize for not being more specific but I am exhausted from a long weekend. What are your plans for the Dragonburner? Are you building the full standard rocket heater?

 

[BrianK]

I apologize for not being more specific but I am exhausted from a long weekend. What are your plans for the Dragonburner? Are you building the full standard rocket heater?

I'm thinking of a very simple small rocket mass heater install in the basement to supplement the heat from my Woodstock Fireview on the first floor. When it gets down into the low teens or single digits my Fireview can't keep up and the natural gas hot water furnace has to kick on. I just want something to take the chill off the basement without kicking on the furnace so the pipes in our first floor rear bathroom don't freeze. I was hoping the cooler temps coming out of the rocket mass heater flue would mean I could get away with using my old masonry chimney without spending the money for a liner. The natural gas furnace uses the same chimney but if I shut down the furnace I should be able to use the chimney in a pinch to vent the rocket mass heater if I only use it when the furnace cannot kick on. Of course that's probably not up to code but I'm really just looking at worst case scenario like power outages.

 

[DevilsBrew]

Will you be using mass? I like that Zero is leaning away from using mass and has found an alternative. But that is me and if I were to heat a space it would be a tiny footprint.

 

[BrianK]

No, if I go that route it will just be a glorified space heater like ZeroFossilFuel's unit. If his flue temps are already that low he has already gotten the vast majority of the BTUs out of the small amount of wood he is burning. I'm not convinced the mass makes that much difference in a mini rocket stove.

 

[DevilsBrew]

A glorified space heater. Same here. Keep me updated on what you are doing and post any new ideas or finds. Cheers!

 

[Dakotas Dad]

What is "anti COB" ?

As far as someone building, and charging, for something most anybody can do for free..

Well, that is how the world works. I could build lots of things, and have, but sometimes, I don't feel like it, or don't want to mess with it, or don't have the time.. so I pay someone. My choice. Nobody makes me.

I am interested in the mass heater world, soon to build one at my hunting property. Have done a lot of research, and bounced a lot of ideas off my hunting buddy who is a mech. engineer.. Many of the designs look to me/us like they will need rebuilding pretty regularly. Not interested in that.

 

[DevilsBrew]

Anti-Cob: I like mechanical decor. I like iron, brass, and being able to see flame. I like streamlined. I collect Railroad memorabilia. I enjoy fantasy but don't want to live like a hobbit. I will be heating a small space so I am not interested in or need a major mass work.

It would be nice to find a way to create a hybrid functional ornamental high performance metal heater without the cob mass. That is my plan. It will probably end up that I buy a tiny used stove but what the heck, I should at least give it a try.

A little more about me: If I was to go with a huge build, then it would be a masonry/russian stove.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Are we talking "steam punk"?

 

[DevilsBrew]

My style could be considered steam punk.

P.S. I would paint the masonry bricks black.

 

[BrianK]

Many of the designs look to me/us like they will need rebuilding pretty regularly. Not interested in that.

Dittos. That's one of the reasons I think the Dragon heater core is an important development. It replaces the parts that fail and makes those parts far more efficient than the DIYer versions.

 

[DevilsBrew]

I can see your point but you don't get to watch the fire. Isn't that some of the fun of heating with wood?

 

[DevilsBrew]

The second half of the Rocket Stove Mini Mass heater

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