thomas rubino

Yes, this stove was disassembled.
Everyone thought it was beautiful, but it did not work out.
People staying in the cabin where it was located had trouble adjusting to heating with bricks.
They often went to bed cold, then either woke up sweltering three hours later or cold.
Also, the casserole door proved to be unreliable over time; it tended to break.  

Yes, Paul's pebble heater has a wooden box that contains the barrel edges.
However, this is a semi-permanent build in his home; here we are discussing a bomb shelter.

Unfortunately,  the Ukrainian people are forced to spend more time in them than they want to.
You can use anything available to hold and seal those long edges. All you need is to keep them in place. Mud, bricks, and rocks come to mind.
Fox brings up a valid point: the risers need (should) to be insulated; it's very accurate, and without it, performance will suffer.
But does this really matter?

I come back to this.
It is for a temporary Bomb Shelter.
The whole idea is to remain as warm as possible with as little wood as possible.
You don't want or need longevity, efficiency, or looks; you just want people to stay alive until they can stop huddling in bomb shelters and return to their homes if they are still standing.

Edit)
I just read your latest post.
I did not understand your needs, especially regarding the need for an engineer to sign off on the project.

Yes, you can use sheet metal.
When using barrels, they are split lengthwise and the end caps are cut off except for 2" or so at the arch to retain a half-barrel shape.
When using sheet metal without support, I would hesitate to use it as a bench or a bed.  
It might support the weight, and it might not.
You could weld tabs on the inside and use nuts and bolts to place a "stiffener" across the arch when setting it up, and unbolt one side to lay it flat for transport.

Hi Leslie
I am assuming that you know the different size J-Tube dimensions.
If not, we can easily give them to you.
You may find that a K-Tube design works better for you.

As these are temporary stoves to save lives, there is no reason not to quickly weld them up from metal.
The half-barrel stratification chamber is extremely easy to throw together and quickly packed up if you need to vacate.
Mud of any type can be used as well as any large stones, metal items, bricks, or anything else that remains in the area.

Hi Guys
Shorty has a 7 x 7" viewing window.
It also throws a tremendous amount of heat.
Watching Shorty casually devour her meal is a favorite pastime/ napping spot for the kitties.

The only downfall is that the show is limited, as we only burn one batch of wood at a time.
Sure is a good show though, sometimes the cats are forced to share as I want the fireside seat as well!

Excellent Job, Ben!
Can't wait to see it with its finish coat applied.
Looking forward to the build pictures.

Hi Ben;
I looked it up and found that yes, eucalyptus is a hot-burning wood.
However, it absolutely must be below 20% moisture content.
Apparently, it is hard to split when dry, and it is suggested to split green.
If attempting to burn this wood unseasoned, you will have problems.
It puts out a thick white smoke, it sparks and pops, from the oils it releases, and it can cause creosote buildup in the chimney.

So, with a hot burning J-Tube and seasoned wood, it sounds like eucalyptus is a fine choice to clear off her property.

I second what John said!
The trick to successful copper soldering is that every piece must be clean; there really is no overheating unless you are working near other already-connected pieces.
When all is clean and you heat the copper, touching the flux and then the solder, it should immediately suck it into the joint, leaving a smooth line of solder with NO black spots.
A black spot will almost always indicate a leak; if it does, you must start over and sand every piece again.
Crustless bread can be used inside pipes to hold back water while soldering, and that bread will dissolve once under normal water pressure.

If you get completely frustrated with the process, they now sell high-pressure, solderless copper fittings, known as "Shark Bite".

Nice, that is a very early sidewinder design.
Note that it has a Peter channel secondary air tube on top of the firebox.
All newer designs use a lower secondary air channel, which offers a much longer life expectancy.
A very clean build.

Hi Matt;
Gerry did all the welding on the airframe itself.
I built the door while he worked on that.

11-gauge steel plate, 3/8" square stock , 1/2" gasket stuffed tight, 1/2" rod as the handle.
The window glass is 8x8", and the opening is 7x7",  I cut it with a skinny wheel on a side grinder, and a jig saw.