john toyne

Thanks Kate, out of my first pile i dug up I made a small about 1.5 inch diameter ball a left it to dry. The ball now is very hard I have dropped it from about chest height to the coffee table and it has stood up. A small log or snake I had trouble rolling so I just left it at the ball. The dirt I have dug up is pretty dark compared to what I have seen on the internet, although it is a fair amount lighter then our topsoil. My batches the first with just screened soil and the second with screened soil where I have let the sand settle and poured the top mud while leaving the sand in the bucket. My plan is to make maybe an ashtray out of each batch and cook it in the wood stove. Feel the strength then maybe put it back in the fire for a few more heat and cool cycles. Im not sure of any other way to test it for the purpose I need it for.

I will make just straight bricks and let them dry naturally as well I should have enough to make a few test models from each batch. Thanks again for your time and sharing your experience with me. Is there a good size to make these bricks for testing, and what should i do with them after just try to break them or subject them to heat, then heat and cold repeated.

This build is getting more complicated at every step. I am just wondering if there is a good ratio, a ballpark figure. I understand there will be a huge difference in clay throughout the land but I am looking for a sand to clay ratio to begin with. I could put a test brick in my wood stove and see how it turns out. The problem is that the process of removing the rocks, sand etc. from the clay is very time consuming, not to mention having to test each mix. If I had a ballpark ratio of sand to clay I could make that first and test that, then go from there. I guess I am just looking for a short cut since here we are in to the heating season. Also the ground soon will be too tough to dig. Maybe I misunderstood that these things can be built quickly, or I am looking to deeply into these things.

I would like to start my combustion unit asap, I have pretty much all the materials to make this part. The bench/mass can be built after combustion unit and pipes are all tested. I dont have the room to gather everything that will go into this. I will have to get the things as I need them. I am also having trouble finding perlite of vermiculite for my heat riser. The horticulture stuff is easy to find, but have read not to use this. I will just keep looking and researching, I really appreciate all the help being put forth as well.

I've been getting dirty refining some of my dirt from my backyard and in the rocket mass heater book it tells you to add so much sand to your clay to make your mortar for your combustion unit. And add so much for your bench but what if you feel your clay already has a lot of sand in it with some of the tests I have been doing I would say I am pretty close to 50 / 50 for sand to clay.

Should I make some test bricks and let them dry or stick them in my wood stove. I am unsure about getting this mixture right since the clay sand content would vary all over the world. I am also debating just buying potters clay just for my combustion unit to be sure this will hold together well and what ever if is left over if any will go around my pipe joints and such (areas that would be more prone to leaks). Thanks in advance.

Thanks again, you've been very helpful. As for the other forum that is where I have been posting I just had thought that this is more related to the outer structure and building materials for the bench. But you are right that would probably be a better place to post my question since I am trying to get a clay consistency good enough to build a rmh.

I was looking at one process on the net that showed using a clear jar. You mix the clay sand with the water just wait until the sand settles which happens fast then you pour the clay water into another bucket/jar. You can repeat this process to remove more sand.

I just finished running my mud through a screen and have the clay/sand mix settling in some buckets. I already have a bunch of dirt dug up so I couldn't resist. We will see how it turns out.

Now i'm wondering is there a good test I can do to see the quality of the clay, and if it will be good enough for my combustion unit on my rmh. I may just buy clay from a pottery supplier for the combustion unit. I also need strong enough clay to hold up for the mass/bench.

Thanks alot that was very informative. I filled a jar about half full with dirt about 2ft down in my garden mixed it up well and let it sit. the sand settled first then about half hour later there was about four inches of mud then about an inch of almost clear water on the top. I read somewhere that the clay will stay suspended/dissolved in the water for a long period of time. Im sorry if im not making sense but im new to this stuff but very interested. I am sort of in a time crunch now before the frost sets in but have been researching the soil studies in my area and it says we have lay present and is common.

I guess im not sure about how the clay will seprate in the water with the other materials. I will try your technique as soon as im sure i have the right dirt. Thanks again.

Sorry to whom ever read this I should have waited a bit longer before typing. It seems that this i silt causing my soil to pack together I guess I will just dig deeper in the garden and do more research.

Oh ya forgot to mention, I did find small globs of what seemed to be pretty pure clay, very gummy but this would be very tedious to pick out these small pieces. Im hoping someone knows of some kind of filter idea that i can just wash this soil through to collect the clay.

If I could just buy some for cheap that would be great but am having trouble finding anything other then potters clay which is a little outside my price range.

I live in southern ontario canada, we have clay rich soil but I'm not sure if there is enough clay in the soil. I just filled a jar half way with my soil and the rest with water gave it a good shake and a stir and am watching it settle as I type this. I have most of the materials to begin my build just need the clay, vermiculite and the odd piece of pipe.

I am just wondering if anyone can offer some guidance as to what exactly I am looking for. I've read that everything other then the clay will settle in short time, but what if there is too much of everything else is there options. Possibly a way to filter out sand and collect the 'clay water' then add builder sand afterwards. The weather here is steadily reaching below zero (sorry celcius here) so I would like to get this built asap.

Im at about 10 min. into the settle and I see about 1 inch of sand. There is a top layer about a half inch of almost see through water, im thinking there is no clay here oh great....There is about 4 inches of muddy looking water??

I'm excited, rmh is getting closer. Today i got a great deal on 150 brand new fire bricks. I figured I will get enough to make a second rmh, if the first goes well.

My current list of materials

- 55 gal. drum
- 17 gal. drum
- old water heater tank 4 inches smaller diameter then the 55 gal drum
- stainless 6 inch T
- small length of ducting (for now)
- firebrick K23 9" x 4.5" x 2.5"
- 12' of stainless flex line.