Tim Kelley

hi Sean,

I'm new to this site, and have been studying the rocket mass heater with all the cob work involved. i live near Oneonta, and was wondering if you would not mind a visit or email to discuss cob. (Cob to me as a fleeting abstraction to me so far) I have been in the construction industry for 25 years, and can do nearly anything... I have even made adobe bricks 30 years ago, but need to know more about cob and feel comfortable beginning with it.

I'm wondering how much clay is in the local soil here, how I find out, and how to decide how much sand to add to the soil that I dig, etc.

it sure would be kind of you if you would consider dropping me a line to perhaps begin a line of conversations about COB COB COB COB.... (I feel like I'm driving across Iowa again)...

Tim

ACK ACK!

and if using firebricks for the underside of the J tube and all that, the firebricks in my outdoor wood boiler break down yearly... if you are building the bricks into a MASS (cob) how do you prevent the bricks from disintegrating with time and having to tear the whole thing apart?

ACK! and I forgot to ask:

if I want to put a large bench/bed mass across my hardwood floor, should I put something like dura rock down first to build on? or tar paper? Could I frame this bench out in WOOD?

thanks again.

OK, I'm am SOOOO stoked about this! that said, i have read tons voraciously, and at all hours of the night trying to learn everything that I can on the subject.

I will have tons of more questions, I'm sure, but here are my immediate ones:

1.) I love the idea of using recycled materials (ie steel barrel) but have seen many things that don't make sense to me. I have read that these Rocket Mass Heaters can last 20 years... well, if the heat riser (I hope that is the term for the insulated stack inside the barrel) made from wood stove piping. I realize that there will be far less creosote and that sort of thing, but how long can that thin metal last with such high heat? Wouldn't this riser be best made out of a good, sturdy piece of scrap PIPE?

2.) Does the top of the 55 gallon drum last long? or does that extreme heat make that rust out fast?

3.) and what are the benefits of size variables? (I can get a 55 gallon drum as easily as the smaller sizes.) what should i opt for?

4.) what is the relationship between the heat riser/stack and the container (barrel)? does it matter if I put an 8" heat stack in a 55 gallon drum? (what would leave LOTS of space around the stack)

5.) and I have heard many things about about how high the stack should rise inside in relation to the top of the barrel... 1.5 inches, 2 inches, 3 inches... does this ONLY effect the SPEED with which the mechanism heats up?

SO: those were most of my immediate METAL questions... I THINK

now here are my COB questions:

A.) I live in upstate NY. how the heck do I know what percentage of my soil here has clay in it? is this a very general product, or should i try to be precise in clay/sand/straw proportions?

B.) what the heck IS cob? (is it supposed to harden like plaster after drying? -- and of course add insulation and heat retention?)

C.) what is COB's heat retention properties compared to filling horizontal barrels with water and heating the water in the mass?

D.) can I get someone else to do the cob work for me please? ( ha. that's just a joke)

E.) if I design a Rocket Mass Heater for a large room (850 s/f with 12 foot ceilings) how long of a run can I make the exhaust *(mass heater) run? As long as I want? if I make it extra long (say 30 feet) do I need PRIMING vents for the expanse of the run to get the air moving?

F.) and if I use 6 inch galvanized stove pipe for heating the mass, and the "exhaust is mostly CO2 and water, does it rust out right away? (alright... that was a metal question)



and lastly:

with the rocket effect, (I presume it pushes the exhaust out faster than a standard woodstove? right?) how much do winter gusts effect the exhaust flow to the outside? will it blow smoke back into the house, and push flames up into my living space through the J loading system?

If anyone lives in central NY state, near Oneonta, NY, I'd love to stop by to visit and chew the fat about this (if typing is just too burdensome)

thanks for everything, and what a delight to have found this site!