Rocket Mass Heater for my home

[matt walker]

I read those comments too Byron, and either that person had a terrible system or was just making stuff up or repeating what they had read. I have never experienced that kind of start up time in any heater I've built. It does illustrate the problem with the bricks though, namely that once things have been going for a while the feed is holding so much heat that fuel instantly catches all the way up to the top of the feed instead of just burning the ends. Thus the smoke back and burned hands.

There is almost no start up time for mine, one load of kindling just so I can get it lit, then right into the full sized fuel after they kindling drops to make room. Maybe 10 minutes. The barrel hits normal operating temp about 5 minutes after the heater is lit.

[ByronC]

Excellent. That slow start up stuff just wasn't ringing right. Maybe the dude has a double layer of heavy kiln brick in his burner or something.

[matt walker]

Well, it's a bit overdue, and I really didn't have a whole lot of new info to share, but folks were asking for and update, so.....here you go! I'm really hoping you guys give me some feedback on whether or not I should change out to a batch box for this winter. I need a little push.

[mannytheseacow]

Even though it would be cool to see the batchbox, and I'm sure you've probably got the bug to build it, I'd say be happy with what you've got. If it's working, which it seems to be, just keep it. There's plenty of PVdB batch boxes on the net.

I'd be more stoked to see some Matt Walker solar water heating! A local friend here is going to be tackling solar water this fall and I'm excited to help out with it. I think he's going to try using black pipe instead of PEX and going to mount them horizontally on the wall.

[matt walker]

Timely my friend, in the last three days I've re plumbed the main run from water heater to kitchen, hot and cold. Installed a new filter array in the basement, installed a whole new supply run, and yesterday turned off the AC supply pump and switched over to solar powered 12vdc supply pump. We will see how it goes, I was able to do all of it while keeping the old pump house and pump on line, just valved off, so I can switch back if I don't have enough light this winter to keep it up. So far though, I have better pressure everywhere. I'm so stoked!!! So yeah, phase 6 is putting a tank in my crawlspace and working on the collector. I doubt I'll have the cash or time to build an actual collector like in Gary's plans, but I have all this glazing coming out and am thinking that for now a big coil of black pipe under some glazing on the roof will be a great start. I need to wrap up these other projects first, put in 6 more windows and finish out this water supply system(housing and insulation and such) and that one is next!

I just need to say though, I HATE PLUMBING! Man, I've had a few nasty basement and crawlspace nights this week, I'm ready to be done.



edit: Dangit. Local hardware store circular today is advertising 3/4" black poly, 300' for $60.

[mannytheseacow]

Jeez, Matt. I'm trying not to be envious of how much you get done. I think you called it when you said I'd be spending my summer fencing. Between fencing and figuring out a building to overwinter my animals in, I'm getting g nothing done. Add a bad back to the mix and all I'm really doing is drawing plans.

I have to agree- I totally hate plumbing. PEX has been a godsend for me. Life has been so much better since switching things over. I don't have any experience with the black pipe yet but it looks promising... And as you noted: cheap!

I've seen collectors that are just black pipe mounted to plywood painted black, so if you frame it in and can add glazing I think you'll be ahead of the game. Gary's systems are great but you don't have to invest as much to have it work. And just like stove building, plastic pipe is really forgiving.

It's great to hear how much progress you're making with your plumbing and windows. I can't believe you burned 5 cords last year. Is that including cooking? I'll bet your wood use will be much less once those windows are tightened up.

[matt walker]

Yeah, 5 cords! That was just for the inside stove, I kept my outdoor cooker wood separate. I know, it's a LOT of fuel, but you've seen my place. Big and breezy. And yeah, I expect a big improvement with new windows. Thanks for the encouragement, I think I'm going to cobble something together. I'm starting to think I can make a significant dent in my power bill with just that and the new supply scheme. Worth investigating for sure.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Well Matt, I do not have much to say about heating stoves, all I can say is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,If its not Broke, don't fix it. That is all I can say about that. Is there a better way, maybe, Could you improve what you have, maybe, But if what you have now is working well for you, and you like it, well, that's enough said I think.

[matt walker]

Just a tiny update, sorta related but not really. I'm working my way through installing the new windows. I picked up 5 more on Friday and yesterday put in the first one that was a different size than the opening, so I was finally able to get inside the walls and see what's in there. Nothing. No insulation, and the house is so old that the outer and inner sheeting is just horizontal boards with 1/4" gap spacing. So, it look like from outside to inside it goes cedar siding, pressboard, horizontal board "sheeting", airspace, then inside is sheeted again with boards, then thin paneling, then 3/8" t/g cedar. So, no insulation, no air sealing, huge gaps everywhere, and not any sort of envelope anywhere, just a sieve basically. No wonder I use so much wood.

[DrewInToledo]

Ouch! Dang Matt. Sorry to hear the news. That's gotta be killing you. Maybe you can pop holes in the exterior walls and blow insulation in?