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Montana Masonry Dragon, In My Living Room

 
rocket scientist
Posts: 6343
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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As we grow older, our lives follow a familiar path. We learn how to make things work to ease our lives.
Of course, we become "set" in our ways and are not easily persuaded to make any changes. ( or just flat-out refuse!)
I've always done it this way and it works for me... why change now?

When you are a young adult, it is easy to make changes.
Your life is constantly changing, with relationships, babies, jobs, housing, and the list goes on and on.
When a new idea comes along, you give it a try. Why not? It might be better than how my parents did this.

When you have a life partner, accommodations must be made to keep you both smiling.
A little give and take on choices and decisions is needed to keep peace in the family.

Nowhere is this more true than in the world of RMHs.
At dragontech@blackfoot.net, I often reply to emails asking for parts and advice on how to proceed with a build.
A common theme is, I want this so much but my partner, although not against it, is not into it.
But.... I know they will love it if I can build this on my own, can you please help me accomplish this?
I guide them as best as I can and in each case, the significant other does indeed come to love their new RMH.

At our happy home, we have had RMHs since 2013.
First was an 8" J-Tube in Liz's greenhouse/artist studio, later that was upgraded to a 6" Batchbox.(The Studio Dragon)
Next, I built an 8" J-Tube in my poorly insulated shop with a barrel AND my first brick bell. (The Shop Dragon)
I was told it would not work, but I built it anyway and proved the naysayers wrong. (Always Question Authority)
Later that 8" J-Tube was converted to a 7" Batchbox with double-stacked barrels and the brick bell.
It provides instant radiant heat from the barrels and stores heat in the brick bell to release slowly over time.
It has made my shop completely usable in single-digit temps, not hot, but plenty comfy to work in without your winter jacket on.
Even Liz was impressed that I could have 40F+ with almost no insulation while it is single digits outdoors.
Next, In 2020 I built a brick outdoor kitchen utilizing a Walker Riserless rocket core in a black-and-white oven. (The Smoke Shack)
Today is the Official Turkey Sandwich Day at our home, yesterday, I slowly smoked a 13# Hutterite Turkey for 6hrs, and dinner last night was outstanding, a smoky, juicy delight.
Yesterday was also our first Thanksgiving living with Shorty and we are both grateful that she has consented to share our home.
Who is Shorty?
She is our newest Dragon (The Shorty Core)
Built, in our almost 100-year-old cabin, quite beautiful with a unique clay brick arch.
She is compact compared to the other dragons, but she still takes up a good chunk of space.

Liz was concerned about the changes inside her happy home,
She was certainly a big fan of RMHs but was surely used to the old wood gobbler stove I installed in 1986.
I must admit I was fond of the old Alaska pipeline stove myself.
But I knew how much Shorty would ease our lives and had her reserved acceptance to proceed.
As the build progressed and Shorty started growing, Liz was not happy... that "thing" is gigantic!
I assured her that although she was a big girl we would be happy in the long run that she lived in our living room...

Shorty has been on the job now for almost 6 weeks. Her beautiful brick house always radiates warmth.
With one fire in the morning and one fire in the evening, we need to sleep with the bedroom window cracked open or it would be too warm.

We are Heating with bricks, not wood. And Liz and I are both smiling.
Shorty will always be a big girl, but she fits right in.
Living with a Montana Masonry Heater is a life-changing improvement for sure









 




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master gardener
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I really can't put into words my awe and admiration at the Montana Masonry Dragon. I absolutely love the brick (look at that arch!).

If you could put it even into rough numbers, how much time did you put into constructing this?
 
pollinator
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Thomas -

I have been following your build of the Shorty Core heater.

The compact size certainly opens up some possibilities.  Though I have been scheming on installing a used Hearthstone (soapstone) wood stove in our house in the short term (primarily for backup heat, but also for comfort and ambiance, and to help reduce our use of gas in really cold weather), and then G.E. Aps's contraflow heater with radiator (circa 1938, attached) with some minor modifications in the longer term (the aesthetics of his heater, combined with what should be reasonable efficiency, are a good match for our Arts and Crafts era house), the Shorty Core definitely gives food for thought.  It might even be possible to use a Shorty Core within a more traditional surround like Asp's design.

I'll have to give it some thought.  In the meanwhile, I am planning to build a small Russian mass heater in a shed at our lake lot, as a first, simple masonry heater build.  If I can get my act together, it might even happen over the Christmas break - we'll see.

Thanks for sharing your build.

Kevin
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thomas rubino
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Hey Tim;
Thank You!
Gerry and I built the core a few months ahead of time, we probably had 3 weeks of casual work to complete it.
Moving her indoors took us ten days from removing the wood gobbler to the first fire.
So, just over a month.
She is beautiful and efficient, and oh-so warm to hang out with, we both love her!
Heating with bricks rather than wood makes much more sense.

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pollinator
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Happy to see no reports of cracking with the all brick (except ceiling) bell!
Funny that you did tile on top of the fire brick roof, that's exactly what I was thinking of doing myself.
Did you use sand/clay mortar of Matt Walker fame, or a purchased refractory mortar?
 
thomas rubino
rocket scientist
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Hi Matt;
No refractory is used here at all anymore.
I tried it, did not like it, spent hours chipping and grinding it off, and lost numerous firebricks that broke during cleaning...
Clay mortar is pleasing to work with, pops right off, rehydrates, and can be used again.

Yes, one scoop of fireclay to 3 scoops of medium-graded sand makes a fine mortar.
In the case of that roof, very little of the firebrick is exposed to high heat.  The 1" of superwool around all the T-bars stops most of it.
So far, the tiles are running around 200F.
When I finish that project, I'll also use a clay mortar.
 
pollinator
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Did you build Shorty on the floor, or cut a hole in the floor and build a foundation for it?  Wondering, because I'd really like to do something similar in my old house, but don't want to have to cut a hole in the floor (and shore up joists, etc.).  
 
thomas rubino
rocket scientist
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Hi Kathleen;
Shorty started on a cement board put down over the original floorboards.
There is no access under the cabin at all.
I debated cutting through the floor to add shoring and decided to risk not doing it.
There is over 2500# in Shorty (A big girl) but it is spread over a 4x4' area, and the original floor is double-layer sitting on cedar logs.
I gambled that it would be fine and it seems, that so far I was correct.
Although that is a lot of weight, it is dispersed quite well.

I always have the option if, in ten years, the floor starts tilting.
I can cut an access hole at that time, and add extra support...
OR better yet the boys who will inherit this property could do so while I sit back and watch...
Yeah, I like that option best!

 
Kathleen Sanderson
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thomas rubino wrote:Hi Kathleen;
Shorty started on a cement board put down over the original floorboards.
There is no access under the cabin at all.
I debated cutting through the floor to add shoring and decided to risk not doing it.
There is over 2500# in Shorty (A big girl) but it is spread over a 4x4' area, and the original floor is double-layer sitting on cedar logs.
I gambled that it would be fine and as far as it seems so far, I was correct.
Although that is a lot of weight, it is dispersed quite well.

I always have the option if, in ten years, the floor starts tilting.
I can cut an access hole at that time, and add extra support...
OR better yet the boys who will inherit this property could do so while I sit back and watch...
Yeah, I like that option best!



LOL!  I'll have to consider this -- and do some measuring to see if I can make a 4' square fit into the space.  Our house is small; the living/dining room is only about 12' square.  But I really, really would like to have a masonry stove in here, instead of the little Vermont Castings Aspen stove I have now.  (Despite it's diminutive size, with the hardwood we burn here in Kentucky, it does hold live coals all night.)  Hmm.  I'm also not sure the underpinnings of this house are as sturdy as yours.  We do have a crawlspace, but I think the floor boards are only one layer thick under a very thin layer of plywood subfloor (1/4").  And the floor joists are standard lumber rather than logs.  

Thanks for the speedy response.
 
thomas rubino
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Hey Kathleen
The room Shorty sits in is 10 x 15... this is why Liz thinks she is Ginormous!

37.5" wide and 47.5" long are Shorty's outside dimensions
It is 47" up to the tile deck and 63" to the top of the arch.
The total footprint is 45" wide by 61" long but the most weight is in a 3' x 4' area.
With your house having a crawl space however small, it might not be a bad idea to drag a concrete pier block or two under and make sure.

Now I'll tell you that my Shorty is a 6" model, but you can also build a 5" model.
A smaller footprint means less weight for a smaller room.

I can't tell how much you will love heating bricks to stay toasty warm, instead of inefficiently burning wood in a metal box!
 
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thomas rubino wrote:Hey Tim;
Thank You!
Gerry and I built the core a few months ahead of time, we probably had 3 weeks of casual work to complete it.
Moving her indoors took us ten days from removing the wood gobbler to the first fire.
So, just over a month.
She is beautiful and efficient, and oh-so warm to hang out with, we both love her!
Heating with bricks rather than wood makes much more sense.


Reminds me of the beastie boys, Paul’s Boutique cover!
 
Every time you till, you lose 30% of your organic matter. But this tiny ad is durable:
A rocket mass heater is the most sustainable way to heat a conventional home
http://woodheat.net
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