ian ballance

Fred ive been thinking about the materials for the mass,i was thinking its going to be damp so cob is probably no good.like you i thought sand and pea gravel with an assortment of urbanite mixed in.I thought a layer of insulation to lay the ducting on (so the heat is deflected up into the mass?) then lay the mix on and around the ducting and kept in place by a retaining wall then topped with paving slabs,Will that work??? ian

I found a site in the uk that does a cut and come again cauli (victorian nursery) You only need a couple of plants but they do get quite large and they last for about 5 years,

Managed to scrounge some 1/4 steel pipe but its wider at the bottom where another pipe slotted in,i have my barrel also. The pipe is longer than the barrel so what i was considering doing was insulating/cobbing around the wider bit of the riser, enough to give the barrel a base to stand on and giving me a 1 1/2 inch gap between the barrel and the top of the riser.Can i cut a 6" hole in the barrel bottom for the riser and another 6" outlet hole?Then insulate the riser again to give 1 1/2 " clearance down the sides within the barrel? Am i missing any potential pitfalls or snags? the barrel i have has a removable lid so cleaning and maintenance is possible
Any input will be appreciated thanks Ian

This site may be worth checking out http://www.keshefoundation.org/en/80-applications/331-kf-applications I would be very interested to know what you make of the science and thinking behind this site.

Good idea A.L. putting all the greenhouse questions in one thread,looking forward to being educated!!!

Thanks once again A.L. Greenhouses seem to require a bit more thought,as you say they are a damp environment so i might have to experiment with a different medium for the thermal battery.Would a sharpsand/peagravel mix work with larger lumps of urbanite embedded then topped with paving slabs? Perhaps a layer of insulation under the ducting to deflect the heat upwards? How have others overcome this problem?

Thanks for the info,
i never considered the effect of the drying cob on the chipboard , i think i might dig a trench to put the burn tunnel in and move it away from the walls,sounds like metal ducting might be the better option for the thermal mass.My main consideration for the rocket in my GH is to extend my growing season (tomatoes at xmas salad greens all year round etc) So basically i want a frost free environment.If i start brewing my beer in there i might even consider a bed
Once again thanks for the input Al

Great site you have here!
This is going to be my first attempt and im just in the planning stages and aquiring materials,ive had to buy a riser(6"enamelled stove pipe) and a 45 gal drum,i was thinking about rigid metal ducting for the mass,though i do have access to plenty of red bricks(victorian) could i build a brick tunnel through the mass?I want to site the burner at one end of the GH and run a straight tunnel through the mass to a chimmney. how far off the chipboard walls should the burner be?Could i line the walls with foil and fill the space with insulation topped off with cob(this will direct the radiated heat into the GH?) the polycarb roof will be 5' above the drum will that be enough of a gap.Im looking to keep the GH at 20oC so how deep should the urbanite and cob layer be above the tunnel ?how long would i need to burn to get enough heat into the mass to last all night?
I am from the uk and no one has heard of this concept,i tell mates the rocket stove was invented by moonshiners because the cops couldnt spot their stills cos there was no smoke I think if my RMH works we will see this' take off' over here among leek growers