barney fife

While the dimensions and port location are different it is still a fire box with a secondary hot box on top with secondary air introduced in the area of a port in the ceiling of the batch box roof. I have no doubt that with your scientific approach your variation will be more efficient.

The guy who came up with the Vortex Masonry Stove conceived of it on paper after studying many older masonry stoves and did only one revision after it was built. He wasn't an inveterate tester / improver.
His only real revision was a raising of the height of the upper box roof and found that improved certain of the burn parameters, exactly which one(s) I cannot recall.

I found his contention regarding the stove's alleged ability to slow the burn down, but still gassify the most interesting. He claims that the lack of cross flow over the burning mass, as found in rocket stoves, allows for this slow down. I find his so-called "dead end box" effect and port placement the most interest part of the stove.

However the design is still a double box, secondary fed ceiling port no matter what the semantics used; and I doubt that he was the first to employ it.


The introduction of secondary air on the Vortex while not as refined or as effective as your scientifically refined variation is still secondary air feeding an upper port.

I have no doubt that the Vortex Masonry Stove can be further refined with small dimensional changes with regard to the port size/shape and upper box format to make it that much more efficient.

His design in no way detracts from your own accomplishment where efficiency is concerned.

I like the idea of your core kits. I'd like to see what you're offering on a simple but effectively laid out website however. You should try and get that done first or will you will have a hard time getting around to it later and your "business efficiency" will suffer as a result. You will end up spending way too much time fielding and explaining your "products" without it.

This appears to be a variation on the "Vortex Masonry Stove" which in essence is a double shoebox. The guy that came up with that is in Ireland I believe. I believe he built his 5 or 6 years ago. His design uses a 'dead end box' with the port in the batch box roof at the front of the box which has a glass door. He finds the dead end box/front port design an asset in that the port draws the flame to the front with the flames coming towards the observer. A much nicer look. This also keeps the glass clean. He feeds "secondary air" to the port via the top of the glass door.

He also contends that the "dead end box" contributes to the ability to slow the burn right down after the box has come up to full heat. Which he contends a normal rocket stove is less able to do. He says he gets 4-5 hour slow efficient burns. He cooks on it and in it and it heats his 2000 sq. ft. house. 2 burns per 24 hours.

He seems to very happy with the design. Others have been building to his design as well.

Can't remember which stove forum I followed that design thread on. I suspect some one here knows that. I have a feeling the so-called "double shoe box" has been used in masonry stoves a lot longer than is supposed by some.