some tools to go with a rocket mass heater

Yes, all of the links in this thread are shameless affiliate links. So if you buy any of this, the empire gets a kickback.

I'm amazed at how many people carry a lighter. So when the times comes to start the fire, they seem to be all over it. And when the time comes that I need to start a fire, I have nothing. Since we have so many fire starting points, I picked up a few things to try. And this is, by far, my favorite. Six bucks and I can point the little blue flame downward to start the rocket mass heater fire. It is supposed to be a mini torch - I can see how. It is about ten times cooler than some stupid lighter or fireplace lighter.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B007A9YSPW/rs12-20



Welding gloves. This particular pair is jumbo size because I have freaky big hands. We tried hot pads and other lame things for moving the bricks on the wood feed. I seem to still get burned, or nearly drop things. But the welding gloves are the RIGHT way to do this. During experimentation when deciding to stop a fire, I have used the welding gloves to grab a burning stick and throw it outside.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B009A4PVTC/rs12-20




We have four rocket mass heaters and a half dozen pocket rockets. I bought this ash vac with the idea of saying "We use this ash vac all the time. here is a link to amazon. Buy it and I get lots of kickback money." Instead, I have to say that while this has been an excellent ash vac, the thing I use the most is the small piece of cardboard and a stainless steel bucket. The ash vac has come in handy a few times while experimenting with cores and the like. We want to stop the fire and move on to the next test, so we throw sand on the fire and the vacuum all the sand out. This thing has lots of metal tubes and super fine filters so you don't end up just blowing ash all over the house like other shop vacs. So it has earned it's keep. Definitely a cool tool.





http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0060EUA32/rs12-20






http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0033PR796/rs12-20




The plan is to bend the handle on this shovel to get ash out of the rocket mass heater. I have used the poker a LOT and erica uses the tongs a lot. When looking for fireplace tools, most are crazy expensive (hundreds of dollars) or have features that won't work for what we are trying to do. This is reasonably priced (forty bucks) and the shovel will bend just right.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000KYO700/rs12-20



We got in six hatchets. This is everybody's favorite by far. We ended up ordering a second one to resolve hatchet preference relocation issues:



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00047F130/rs12-20

et al : - if I am just plan wrong here, just shout me down, as possessor of one of the oldest shop vacs ever made,( I have to get a new motor and one endplate of the motors
frame is a cast aluminum part of the vacuum itself, it came with a two prong ungrounded plug cord ! ) The vacuum's ability to not blow fine Fly ash and sawdust is the result of
a great filter and proper installation, and do a google search for an inline cyclone bucket dust collector, worth the price for anyones home wood shop ! BIG AL !

I have one of those axes and use it every day to create kindling wood. They are all metal and come in different sizes. The top has mushroomed over from hitting it. I just borrowed an infrared digital thermometer from a friend, that's a very handy tool too.

I must confess that I am getting a little too addicted to this propane torch. Talk about easy to start a fire ....



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008ZA0B/rs12-20

Paul: I'll start by saying that I mean no offense or to sound like a know-it-all. As a welder/blacksmith/certified Campfire Tenderer, I have tried both your suggested 20$ gloves and the 11$ Lincoln Electric welding gloves from Home Depot and highly suggest the 11$ gloves from the Despot for all of the above mentioned uses. I think they are a generally a superior product and 1/2 the price so you can get a pair each for both you and your partner, if they have different sized hands, for the same price.

This thread might be dated, but with the expansion of folks who operate RMHs I would be curious if there were any new recommendations?

We're off-grid so we paid for our electricity up front. With that in mind we use electric chain saws and an electric log splitter for firewood processing. The chainsaws are from Stihl and with the exception of really large tasks, the electrics perform fantastic, they're quiet and instant on-off. We still use the gas saw for really large tasks. The Stihl saws are pricy but always perform great. I understand the EGO brand chainsaws are an excellent option and a big savings over the price of a Stihl.

The real surprise and highly recommended is a WEN 6.5 ton electric log splitter. It looks like it would have limited ability but we have processed probably 30-35 cords of wood through this mini-beast over the past 5 years and it has never let us down. Dragon-master Thomas Rubino has one as well and recommended some non-OSHA compliant mods to make the processing even faster with a foot switch and some other changes. This is my wife's favorite power tool on the homestead and is contemplating buying a back-up in the event this one wears out.

I am jokingly sending this, but without my lift and truck, these trees would slip by me.  Here I am about 40' up and still at 3.5' dia,  with a lot above me.  But that is a lot of fire wood, and takes big everything to split up.  If you don't save saw logs out of parts of the tree.  Fun to see things pile up.