Building or buying (a wood stove)?

Hi fellow permies,

I know rocket stoves are super effective, take up very little space, and are probably less expensive. I have also been looking at some really nifty antique wood stove-ovens (the big heavy cast iron ones that probably take too many people to lift), and my internal debate is going nowhere, so here I am asking you all: what’s the best course of action?

To be clear, I want the capability to utilize one piece of equipment for heating, stovetop, and oven cooking. Indoors, so it must be vented. Has anyone built a rocket stove that can do all of that? I can kind of imagine a cob rocket stove with a pizza oven atop the flue. Am I far off?

A really good stove that may just fit the bill your looking for is the Walker Stove here:  tiny-masonry-cook-stove-plans

Matt sells the plans and gives out a tonne of free consulting. There is also a larger version of this stove as well on his site.

Hi Ell;   Welcome to Permies!
I second Gerry!  Your desires are a description of Matt Walkers stoves.
Either the tiny cook stove or his full size cook stove both fit the ideal you were hoping for.
Matt sells complete plans with material lists and unlimited consultations as you build!

Thanks everyone for your warm welcomes and your kind advice! I’ll do some investigating on the Walker stoves! And it looks like your site covers the equipment, Thomas!