Jack Barton

+ Follow
since Sep 23, 2016
Merit badge: bb list bbv list
For More
Apples and Likes
Apples
Total received
In last 30 days
0
Forums and Threads

Recent posts by Jack Barton

If you want bum friendly cycling then get a decent seat post spring like Suntour, and not just bums, I have a bad ankle which was being aggravated by having to constantly lift myself off my seat to take the rough and the potholes, so I got a mid range sprung seat post, which has transformed the machine from bone shaker to a smooth ride.
More advice… learn how replace brake pads, clean and bleed the brakes, and make sure you use the correct brake oil as there are 2 main types; mineral oil or a dot number (apparently it makes a difference)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41d6w0LyrAL._AC_SY879_.jpg
3 years ago
That's good news.  New Zealand could do with some more fire knowledge like this.  I just hope that the coding catches up the progress being made with these better ways of burning wood.
8 years ago
Hi Max thanks for your reply there's good info in it.
I'm now leaning towards a 8inch batch mass heater in the garden.
Lots of reading first.  I will post results on a new thread when I've got something to show.  That may be a wee while as I'm waiting for back surgery.

Jack
8 years ago
Hi Russell, I'm way down south near Dunedin.

Thanks for sharing your set up, I like it so far.  It looks hot enough!

I'm leaning towards a 8inch/200mm batch type mass heater too.  I'll make one outside.  If all goes well I'll then build a poly tunnel over it.

Here's hoping NZ coding comes round to excepting these things.

8 years ago
Hi Aimee I do bokashi and here's what I do and why.

So the idea of bokashi, as I see it,  is a way to process all kitchen waste (including cooked food and meat scraps) so vermin don't become attracted to it.  
Some dig it into a vegy patch.  Hard earth can mean it's not dug deep enough sometimes.
I bury it in my soft, worm rich compost.  I try to make this part of the compost turning process to do two jobs at once.  I have a linear heap, so I dig a trench into the heap, empty the bokashi bucket in it, then use a fork to break the bokashi brick up and mix it just a bit with the half composted matter.  Then I cover with a foot thick layer of what came out of the trench.  
If, when I dig the next one in, I happen appon the one buried 6weeks ago, I see great knots of earth worms feeding on the last of the scraps....so yes worms love it if it's mixed a bit.

That's what I do but if you have a worm farm maybe you don't need the bokashi.  Just putting all food scraps directly to the worms daily might work for you if your worm farm is of a good size.  Disclosure....I may have many thousands of worms in my compost but I've never run a worm farm.

There are many variables to fast compost, many out of your control but two variables you can control;
moisture...with bucket of water during a hot day. Got to keep those worms alive.
Oxygen.....turn it over with a fork.  Daily is too much, yearly is too little.
Good luck with your compost.


8 years ago
Thanks for the reply Antone

I completely understand with the cost issue and yes I too like the look of a batch rocket.

What I most liked about the dragon was the insulation around the fire tunnel.  That must bring it up to working temperature faster than a clay brick j tube.  But there again if a clay brick design breaks I can fix it myself...


Here is where I'm at; I have a pile of old clay bricks (enough for the j tube + a few), a bag of fire clay, a bigger bag of perlite, an oil drum (now without top, burnt out and cleaned up) and a few lengths of 6 inch stainless flue pipe I salvaged.  I have good volcanic clay a spade's depth into my garden, so I think all I need now is sand and straw. I'd like to build the rocket mass heater in my workshop which is under my house.  As my workshop has concrete floor and walls this should work safely. The trouble I'm having is with the other half.  She's worried about the insurance cover with an unpermited stove.  So with plans on hold it might end up in a poly tunnel, sigh.
8 years ago
Hi I'm new here.  I bought your book a few years ago but I am stumped by the regulations here in New Zealand,  looks like the green house is the only place I can legally build a rocket mass heater.  But I digress, the reason I post is that I came across  this manufacturer of rocket cores.

http://www.dragonheaters.com/rocket-mass-heater-shippable-core/

What do you think?

They say...

Why use a Dragon Heater Shippable Core in your Rocket Mass Heater?
Using a Dragon Heater Shippable Core for your rocket mass heater makes construction faster, easier, and your heater's performance will be superior to what you can achieve using traditional approaches. A Dragon Burner will outperform a traditional rocket heater, because it is made of superior materials, has an optimized (patent pending) burn tunnel, and utilizes secondary air channels for complete combustion.

Pre-Engineered Rocket Mass Heater
Countless people of have put days of labor into their rocket heater project only to have it fail. This happens because the rules for sizing the various parts in relation to each other have been difficult to understand and unsuitable materials have been substituted for the proper ones. By using a Dragon Heater, you are assured the engineering is right and it will last. You don’t want a heater to fail when you need it most.



I realy like some of the features in the casting
http://cdn1.bigcommerce.com/server4100/lmpge/product_images/uploaded_images/03-12-6in-insidecompressed.jpg
8 years ago