thomas rubino

master rocket scientist

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since Apr 14, 2013

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Biography

13 acres in extreme rural Montana 100% off grid since 1983. Solar and micro hydro. Summer time piggy farmer. Restoring 2000-04 Subaru outbacks wagons for fun and a little profit. Not quite old enough to retire YET but closing on it fast... until then I must occasionally leave Paradise "home" and run large construction cranes on union job sites across the inland northwest. I make (Well try) A-2 A-2 cheese, I love cooking with my wood smoker for everything! Would not live anywhere else but rural Montana ! My wife Liz runs "Rocks by liz" a successful Etsy store and we have a summer booth at the Missoula peoples market. We currently breed and raise persian cats but are about to retire all the girls and let them be happy kittys for the remainder of their days.Oh and my biggest thing is... I LOVE MY RMH !

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latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A

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Recent posts by thomas rubino

Outdoor Cookstove with TEN BRICKS

Hey Scott;
Next, try using slimy mud between each brick and then coat the whole outside with mud; it will work even better.
Clay bricks will work fine.
If you try concrete, beware that it will crack or even burst if the wrong materials get superheated.

This is an L-Tube design; you must keep pushing your fuel into the fire.
Play some more with bricks and try out a J-Tube.
After you try that, then get firebricks and try out a Batchbox...
And before you know what hit you, you will have caught the RMH bug...
After that, you may find you are an apprentice Rocket scientist.

2 days ago

wood burning stoves

Heavy Snow, The Smoke Shack takes a direct hit

Check it out, a few blows with an 8# sledge, and the smoke shack is back in place!
The door works, but I still need to repair the Walker chimney before I can fire up the oven.
I will do a real repair on the building later this summer.
Back in business, I cooked lunch for the kids out there today

4 days ago

rocket mass heaters

Heavy Snow, The Smoke Shack takes a direct hit

Oh My Gosh, all sorts of damage or injuries could have happened.
The smoke shack, just sitting back in place, was amazing!
The seriously strong roof with light-gauge tin that was hardly damaged.
Had I built this with rebar, it would have been much worse.

Oh yes, the boys were all bombarded with many thanks.

John, I just do not believe that for a minute:)

5 days ago

rocket mass heaters

Heavy Snow, The Smoke Shack takes a direct hit

The boys showed up this morning, and two hours later, the tree was on the ground!
No problems, and most importantly, no one was hurt, and nothing new was damaged.
Once the tree was off the smoke shack, it moved right back close to where it belongs, with no holes in the tin and only a couple of wrinkles in the metal itself!
Once the weather warms up, I will jack each corner up and add new cement. Perhaps I will add a steel strap at each column for extra strength.

5 days ago

rocket mass heaters

Casting Large refractory Slabs

One bag was not enough.
With two bags, we had enough extra for a 12 x 12 slab.

5 days ago

rocket mass heaters

Please help, does the fireplace look like it was made with heat resistance brick?

Without a closer picture, it is impossible to say if those are Fire Bricks or not.
All clay bricks are Fire Safe; a red concrete brick, however, would not last in a hot environment.

Offhand, I would expect that those are red clay bricks, good to 800F

6 days ago

stone work

Shorty Core + Oven Single Skin Bell Build

Hi William;
I agree Matt did a fine job.
Yes, the bell-top temperatures with a Shorty Core stay well below 800°F, making the use of clay bricks possible.

Yes, using concrete blocks is fine at the lower level, and it cuts back on the overall cost.
In my opinion, bricks look better, but it's all in the eye of the beholder, and in their wallet!
A stone or tile facing would improve the look.

Ommm... Morgan Super wool is a non-ceramic fiber alternative.
Morgan also makes non-ceramic boards as well.

Shorty or any Batch core can sit on a brick plinth.
The metal frame is simple to construct and speeds installation, but there are other options.

6 days ago

rocket mass heaters

Shorty Core + Oven Single Skin Bell Build

So Matt, you have discovered the miracle of Masonry heat!
Isn't it just awesome!
Careful, you do not run yourself out of the house by adding that extra load.
Midwinter is easiest: one fire in the morning and one fire in the evening.
Now that spring temps are here, I find one fire is not enough, but two full loads will have all the windows open.
Now I am burning two half loads; we still have windows open, but just for the cool, fresh air.
Just enough to keep my heat reservoir filled but not overflowing.

Shorty is just a wonderful addition to the awesome first-generation Batchboxes.
Thanks should go to Lasse Holmes from Homer, Alaska, for the original Batchbox design, and of course, Peter Berg for all his work in refining, testing, building, and freely sharing his results with the world!

1 week ago

rocket mass heaters

Dragon Art

Like a lot of things lately, this could be an AI creation.
The article said this was a 570 # beam that was carved in place from a scaffold, took eight months!
If real, it's very cool, I want one!

1 week ago

meaningless drivel

Apple tree photo request

One tree is a volunteer no more than 5-7 years old a soft golden apple.
The other is a nearly 100-year-old Macintosh tree. The bears have broken it several times, part of it now has blister rust, but it still produces apples!
Most of which the piggies get to eat.

1 week ago

meaningless drivel