Benjamin Dinkel

Hi Christopher, that's interesting. I guess then it should work...

Hi Christopher,
mixing with seltzer is a good way to use it. I agree.

As to your drying/boiling idea: the acid evaporates before the water. i think the boiling point is even lower then alcohol. So boiling it will actually result in having less acidity.

Hi Jen,
I have had quite a few batches go vinegar. But depending on the tea I used I didn't really want to use it for the kitchen, didn't really like the taste.
Also mine is definitely weaker than "normal" vinegar, less acidic. I think I remember reading that too, but forgot where.

I make scoby jerky from the excess scobies, flavored salty and spicy. I don't think my cats would like it...

I had the same idea with the cleaning, and then read that it has less acid than normal vinegar. To make it as strong as distilled vinegar, you would probably have to distill it.

Thanks Tom and Mud.
I'll insulate the core as well as possible and try to find a piece of stovepipe 200 mm diameter to put around the riser.

Hi Fox, thanks for your advice.

I was under the impression that that was not the case for the super wool!? And thought that was one of the upsides of that material.

Or is it just safe to handle before being fired?

And before I continue the build, a question to the experts.
Due to availability I'm using dense firebrick. Which part of the core should definitely be insulated?
The riser is the most important from what I understand, but is fine in this case since it's made from insulation.
Next most important the burn tunnel roof?
Then burn tunnel sides? Lower part of the riser?

My reasoning was to just cob around it, giving the whole heater more thermal mass. Or would that effect the clean burn too much?

Chris McClellan wrote:The 5 minute riser with 1" ceramic wool compressed inside an 8" diameter piece of stovepipe inside the cob mass will be strong, easy to build around, and easy to fix later.

I have another question about the riser. I just revisited the Risers E-Book. The rebar or outer stovepipe is for stability so the wool doesn't sag? When using a stovepipe, I would wrap the wool around my desired diameter stovepipe and then push the whole bundle inside a bigger one, then take out the interior diameter stove pipe?

Nathon Daellenbach wrote:I noticed that your side panels are kind of short. In the sauna rocket plans it says they should match the height of the riser.  

Hey Nathon, I'm also building a cottage rocket after the sauna rocket plans. I will add on to the side panels once I've cobbed up a bit.

Thomas Rubio wrote:I noticed that your core support is cut directly from the barrel bottom.
Bens was cut from a lid and bolted into place. His is flexing, is yours?

I noticed that too. With the ring going all around his solution might be better.



Thank you Mud. The difference between the Sauna and Cottage Rocket sound very logical. The plan I got is called a sauna rocket and features mass. Would be great to add to the description of the plans. And maybe not only call it sauna rocket, but point out that one plan does both and the mass makes the difference.

Great idea!

I would really enjoy a movie about how to manage humanure safely for a beginner crowd.

We have compost toilets set up and talk about it a lot, there seems to be a lack of beginner information out there. Would be great to be like: “oh, and there’s a great, short movie explaining the basics and showing a simple design”.

Also the proper sizing (minimum size) per person would be great to get some knowledge on. How big for example does the collection part need to be for 4 people that stay year around to be able to switch from one to the other and leave it for a whole year?

Or are the willow feeders using barrels?

Hi Thomas,
I somehow thought it needs 2" of super wool, thanks for the clearing that up.
So with 1 layer I need a tube for the outside?
In this case it will all be surrounded by cob. Do you think it will do without an outer shell?

I honestly like stomping the cob. Good massage and peeling for the feet. But I'll keep your technique in mind in case that feeling changes in the future.