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Rocket wood stove heater for shtf little or no smoke / no smell wood stove

4K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Brettny 
#1 · (Edited)
Here are some videos of the stove I build and currently have installed in an insulated semi trailer.

Describes my design and how it works/how a rocket stove works in general
https://youtu.be/p_OctZ3fYts

Build video also with a bunch of burn and test footage with links in the description to relevant parts in the video.
https://youtu.be/XBIiz4V26yI

Why I think this or something like it could be a very nice addition to a bug out location is;

1. It takes substantially less wood to heat the same area as a regular wood stove because of how much more efficient rocket stoves are. Thus your spending less time collecting wood/processing wood and have more time to do other things like hunting for food etc.

2. When built properly/working properly a rocket stove gives off no visible smoke, and because of the close to complete combustion it gives of no wood smoke smell.

3. If you design it right you can not only use it for heating but also for cooking "Mine may work for cooking once I replace the cover with a flat cover but right now the cover on it is to bumpy to transfer heat properly"

4.You can build them fairly easily and cheaply even with scrounged materials.

So let me know what you guys think have any of you considered using a rocket mass heater or rocket heater like mine to heat there bug out location? Or even just a rocket stove to cook on, there are a lot of companies that make small portable 5 gallon pail sized units for cooking and there also simple to make. I have one I purchased a while back and really like if your interested I did make a few videos about it,
https://youtu.be/qoWlGFQc8YU

https://youtu.be/jERWAp2phQo
 
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#2 ·
Look up rocket mass stoves. You can run your exhaust tubing horizontally through moulded sand (which is then plastered over, possibly into shapes as seating) which heats up and holds temps for up to 12 hours. You can heat a larger space, even a house.

I love these ideas. When I finally get my greenhouse I plan to use this tech for heating in it.
 
#3 ·
Generally they use Cobb to run the exhaust through, and create a bench with it. As I recall cobb is basically clay and sand mixed together, it creates a cement like surface once dry/ hardened. The idea is you run about 20 feet of exhaust pipe from the RMH "Rocket stove" through the bench and then outside so by the time the exhaust reaches outside you have trapped most if not all of the heat in the bench or mass as it were which gives out heat during the day you just run the stove a few hours each day to store the heat.

That is why they call them rocket mass heaters, my design is just the stove portion basically without the added bench/mass the original install in my shed I had 20-30 feet of stove pipe exhaust most of which was inside the building by the time it exited the building the temp on the pipe was down to around 100 degrees if I recall correctly, but this was a straight run in RMH's they generally go 10 feet or less then double back on themselves.

But even in my current design the lid of the barrel where the rocket is hitting gets up to 600-700 degrees before the exhaust travels down the inside of the barrel to the exhaust chimney pipe then about 4 feet outside and is already down to I think it was 250 degrees before going outside. That is a ton of heat being expelled in the building, it heats up that semi trailer very quickly the other night when I tested it it got the end where the stove was from 35-72f in about 20 minutes the other end was a bit cooler but I did not have the fan running until the end when it started getting to hot by the stove to stand it :)
 
#7 ·
I have never used one, I have read there a bit of a pain having to replace the cat regularly for them to continue to function properly. But I have no personal experience. My stove weights under 50 or 100 pounds "I can lift it pretty easily myself haven't put it on a scale" it takes up maybe 4 square feet in the trailer how I have it installed so I can pretty much walk all the way around it but I like to keep an air space around it, I like to keep combustibles far away from a hot stove/chimney pipe even though there not that hot.
 
#8 ·
I dont know why more people are not that interested in the rocket stoves. They are extremely efficient and dont require much if any maintenance if properly built. They are ideal for an extended emergency situation when heat and cooking are needed especially when there is limited wood available to burn.
 
#9 ·
You don't want the exhaust gas too cool before it is vented otherwise the creosote will start to condense out of it and stick to the walls of the chimney
No big deal. I run my stove through 30 feet of pipe before it leaves my house. Exhaust is down to 80-100º most of the time. I just clean my chimney a couple times a winter. All that lost head is lost inside my house, making it vastly more efficient than short run chimneys.

I dont know why more people are not that interested in the rocket stoves
Because most people want a fire you can set and will hold a fire overnight. Unless its a rocket mass stove your either constantly feeding it or starting new fires all the time. When its cold I may start one fire and keep it burning for two or three months continuously. Since wood is several times cheaper than other methods its connivence that people care about in wood stoves more than efficiency. For instance, I would take a 50% decrease in efficiency if I could double the time between feedings on my stove....and that would only cost me a couple hundred dollars a year.

And the mass stoves require the space and a house designed for them so aren't an option for most people, even if you only have to make a couple fires a day. As a high maintenance, short term emergency or cooking stove they would be fine but I as someone who as heated elusively with wood for 30 years I wouldn't tolerate the work to keep them going.
 
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