Rocket Mass Heaters in the UK - anyone built one?

[SteveA]

These have been getting increasingly popular in other countries, especially in the USA and there's been a fair amount of research/ testing of various designs.

 

I want one!

 

Wondering if anyone here on Arbtalk has attempted this, or planning on giving it a go?

 

Here's a picture showing the basic concept....

cheers, steve

 

[Vespasian]

I was gonna build one outside my shed once as an experiment. I decided it would be just so much easier to throw the wood in a fire pit.. cooked the sausages just fine..

[inthewoods]

Have used one similar to this, it rocked!

 

[ame]

[/ame]

[SteveA]

Nice.I needed to boil up some rhubarb leaves (don't ask) and my first attempt was to make a rocket stove out of 3x large tin cans (dog food tins). It made a great rocket sound & boiled the rhubarb in no time.... that was from just using twigs.

 

Although rocket stoves are quite different to rocket mass heaters.... people have tried using metal for the burn chamber and it melts or concrete blocks/ cement mortar, cracks & turns to dust over time.

 

Interesting user review video here:

 

 

Cheers, steve

[Paul Smith]

Seen these ages ago and I do like the idea! Would they be legal in this country? HETAS and part J of building regs probably means they won't be allowed in your dwelling?

[inthewoods]

[quote name=SteveA;

 

 

Cheers' date=' steve[/quote]

 

 

Love it!

 

Get one of these for the barn https://www.kellykettle.com/?gclid=CO7_1oWm9NECFUETGwodcKcHuQ

how's it coming on? Like I said I'll work for beer n bbq :-) unhelpful advice given for free ;-)

[drossi1212]

I've done a few stoves in the past and this is really just a grander scale with an additional few bits. The difficult bit is getting enough flow and heat into it to support a secondary burn. Not impossible but **** me it's hard with a forced air system, fan/hair drier etc. The the raise in air pressure And heat in combustion at primary and secondary, the increase in volumetric efficiency pressure also increases. Just like an engine more fuel air etc more exhaust. Like an egr. But this ****** burns hotter. Not really something that should be tried domestically, EFW sites require additional fuels/additives to get a decent burn on the go and the cokes up badly. What's wrong with a standard log burner? But if you want a rocket stove then consider changing it slightly and use oil, then **** me you'll have a stove and a half. Even without a forced induction it burns hot and pretty much clean. Add a blower to it and you'll be glowing a cast in no time.

[SteveA]

Seen these ages ago and I do like the idea! Would they be legal in this country? HETAS and part J of building regs probably means they won't be allowed in your dwelling?

 

I believe they are legal in the UK and if built properly could satisfy building regs; that is accounting for the weight, ventilation, carbon monoxide alarm, distances from flammable surfaces, etc.

 

A downside is that some insurance companies may not be that happy about it and they may require it to be signed off/ certificated by a professional stove installer.

 

Love it!

 

Get one of these for the barn https://www.kellykettle.com/?gclid=CO7_1oWm9NECFUETGwodcKcHuQ

how's it coming on? Like I said I'll work for beer n bbq :-) unhelpful advice given for free ;-)

 

Yeah, I think they are rather splendid.

The Kelly Kettle design appears to be based on a rocket stove so that is a good example. ....try covering it with cob or insulation and it will probably melt!

I've got more time on my hands hereon so gonna be getting the barn in a much more completed status, but yeah I'll defo give you a shout.

 

I've done a few stoves in the past and this is really just a grander scale with an additional few bits. The difficult bit is getting enough flow and heat into it to support a secondary burn. Not impossible but **** me it's hard with a forced air system, fan/hair drier etc. The the raise in air pressure And heat in combustion at primary and secondary, the increase in volumetric efficiency pressure also increases. Just like an engine more fuel air etc more exhaust. Like an egr. But this ****** burns hotter. Not really something that should be tried domestically, EFW sites require additional fuels/additives to get a decent burn on the go and the cokes up badly. What's wrong with a standard log burner? But if you want a rocket stove then consider changing it slightly and use oil, then **** me you'll have a stove and a half. Even without a forced induction it burns hot and pretty much clean. Add a blower to it and you'll be glowing a cast in no time.

 

Sorry but that makes no sense to me. Providing a rocket mass heater is sized properly there is no need for a fan or to force air ...and no need for adding other fuel sources ...and if it's smoking/ coking up badly there must be a fault in the way it is designed.

 

Are you referring to a rocket stove?.... I'm talking about a rocket mass heater.

 

A standard log burner is good for immediate heat.... but in comparison they are expensive and inefficient.

 

cheers, steve

Edited February 3, 2017 by SteveA

[Paul Smith]

I've done a few stoves in the past and this is really just a grander scale with an additional few bits. The difficult bit is getting enough flow and heat into it to support a secondary burn. Not impossible but **** me it's hard with a forced air system, fan/hair drier etc. The the raise in air pressure And heat in combustion at primary and secondary, the increase in volumetric efficiency pressure also increases. Just like an engine more fuel air etc more exhaust. Like an egr. But this ****** burns hotter. Not really something that should be tried domestically, EFW sites require additional fuels/additives to get a decent burn on the go and the cokes up badly. What's wrong with a standard log burner? But if you want a rocket stove then consider changing it slightly and use oil, then **** me you'll have a stove and a half. Even without a forced induction it burns hot and pretty much clean. Add a blower to it and you'll be glowing a cast in no time.

 

 

Look in the net and you will find the formula for the pipes, pretty simple really and requires no forced air at all.

 

The initial J or U shape chambers have moved on and now the fad is for an open fronted glass stove. 😧

[Ruskins Trees]

We tried to build one, created several prototypes as there are slight variables within the initial chimney.

 

Thought we had cracked it, it worked as advertised only 5% of time, rest it was more akin to a open fire.

 

We tried this around 18 months ago, there were only sketches on the web. No measurements. If someone sells a kit or you can get plans it would be worth it.

 

We now have log burner with massive doors and that is too efficient!