tony uljee

the hempcrete binder is a mix of hydrated lime and hydraulic lime ,sometimes an extra dash of wood ash , this mix sets up a lot quicker than just the hydrated lime by its self , might help in the process---as was the suggestion of some portland cement to be added.

hello ,took me awhile to find your build ,--- my search method is like a drunk blindfolded man stumbling around a coal mine , hope you found a solution for the flue ---if not --you could weld up a solution ---perhaps make up your own sections---the pipe layouts are on the net , any progress on your doors , the layout pics looked good, did the cast iron top work out, still working around my stove ---making the 2nd cast concrete worktop at the moment

Jean Pain s motive i dont think was to just create hot water and use the methane from his mounds ---these were the side effects /extras/bonus of the process---he wanted  to reduce the annual fires through the section of forest he managed and change the old methods of the past , the forest was thinned out and trimmed ,firebreaks maintained and this material was usually heaped up to be burnt or just left on the ground---he thought that instead it should be composted down --on a large scale and the end result returned back onto the forest floor ---improve the soil and retain moisture ---reduce fire risk at the same time---section by section of course ---a lifetimes of work for anyone--but it was to hopefully introduce a new practice of forest management for the future----being frugal and not wanting to waste or ignore the mounds other potential plus his ability to tinker and homebrew engineer led on to the hot water and methane---check out his methane gas powered citroen 2cv van --a compresser was used to fill a welding gas "bottle"---diy style ----and strapped to roof----madman genius

matt opens the hives at the bottom to harvest some honey in combs  but not a lot or often seems to be his method, i have watched a few ways of hollowing out the logs with a chainsaw attached to a jig , matts way  using fire and the longhandle chisel blade ---which you learn to make ---as part of his course he offered------ is to make a person appreciate the hard work a bee and the hive go through to make honey i think , a great man and his approach to how they should be kept influenced my hive build totally.

i dont believe any one could make and run a jean pain system work other than the man himself, he unfortunately passed before his vast amount of experience could be recorded and explained better , there are better sources of information , of his work and translations of a book ,some home film footage ,interviews of himself and some decades later of his brother still working the garden he created.

ask Matt if his outdoor water boiler could be scaled up , for a bigger firebox and flue size, can t cook on of course and maybe not bake in it because of dioxin issues---but give you a huge amount of hot water

sorry i can t be much help on this , my stove build followed a set of plans from Matt Walker Stoves and these  are built very different to what you are trying out ,  i have no experience with other stove builds , i think your build is closer to the batch box style  ,perhaps advise from reading up on Peter v/d Berg s site or if you log into the Vortex type stoves from the donkey 32 site ,were they build experimental masonry stoves and its members would have tried out many more ideas ---they would have more valid experience and comments to offer, goodluck with the build.

Last year the hive slowly died out , two big swarms left ,and the rest just never recovered in numbers and by feb/march of this year there was no activity-----but i had noticed a change over from the small dark bee in the first couple of years to a yellow and black honeybee type ---i was going to lift the hive down from its position ---i had dismantled the ladder access around it earlier on in april---- as i have fenced off the small field beneath it ---for my mucovy ducks---did nt want them using that as a roost ---then yesterday ---these arrived ---filled the air around us with humming to announce their coming in---we stood under the hive and watched them ---again the odd few landing on us ---no aggression from them ----but they are hybrids and mostly yellow and blacks again ---i suspect them to have come from a set up of about 20 hives  about 2 kilometers from me.

just an idea that could be copied /borrowed ---certainly would not buy it  at that price ---

hope to install the oven side of the stove ---soon as some warmer dry weather returns --then i will be able to update some more running experiences of it ---till then ---heres another stove build picture ----from japan ---very nice build---and his permaculture documentry film ---Life at Kuras Hinone