Coydon Wallham

I thought this was perfected back in the 70s-

"What's your sign?"

Would an oven like that have some sort of active temperature control?

Alex Howell wrote:I decided to veer away from pebble mass entirely for the reasons you mentioned above + I ran some seismic simulations and pebble mass fared much worse due to all the individual pebbles having their own inertia, which resulted in a lot of stress on the frame/anything it was attached to... In general it seems to be a bad idea in an earthquake prone country (unless you're bringing it around as an outdoor promotional item at fairs, etc.)

Since my last post I have decided that sinking it into the crawl space is  a bit of a recipe for disaster (Soil moisture migration and restricting crawlspace airflow are just a couple of concerns here), so my next steps really are deciding what work needs to be done to make everything earthquake/fire safe for the standard above floor setup.

I'm estimating that is would weigh about 3.5–5 metric tonnes over about 4-6 meters squared, so I'm thinking that it would be best to seismically isolate the heater from the house.New piers or short strip footings, build a new platform concrete rebar slab on top, with an isolation gap between the slab and the house frame (Maybe 10–15 mm filled with rock wool). Other than that, keeping the bench low and spreading the surface area as wide as possible is logical.

The seismic logistics are turning into a bit of a mammoth task, so I'm currently thinking I may build a test unit in my barn as there are solid concrete floors there and I could pipe the flue directly out of the wall. Would give me a much more holistic idea of what I'm dealing with and work out any potential kinks during this initial testing stage, then if necessary calling in someone to help with the foundation work if it feels out of my depth.

I wonder if the obstacles leading you to abandon a sunken design here are insurmountable? If you are going to have a massive object, surely having it constructed roughly two feet shorter (half height?) would make it far less subject to damage from seismic activity?

As for the mass construction, when considering aesthetic finish, a pebble surface would be preferable to sand. Sand is more insulative, the pebbles would allow heat to filter up more freely while still presenting themselves as objects of heat retention. In this application I'd think a cob-rock sleeve or base around a ducted run in the floor would provide the most functional extraction model, with an inch or two of pebbles on the surface for presentation.

If considering maximum efficiency, a granite/stone slab over a stratification chamber would work better while maintaining a hopefully appropriate aesthetic. But the granite will get extremely hot during operation, requiring some sort of insulation on top if being used for walking/sitting. Perhaps a thin layer of pebbles would work for this also, but I don't have a grasp of the seismic forces that need to be accounted for.

As for your mention of using rock wool for insulation/fill to seal edges between mass and floor, Morgan Superwool would be beneficial there if you have access to it or something similar- regular rock wool has hazardous properties in normal handling which Superwool does not, as long as it is kept below furnace temperatures.

John Ludwig wrote:We didn’t get the dreaded half inch of freezing rain to knock out our power but we did get 2 inches of snow covered by two inches of sleet.

They were originally calling for 12-18 inches of snow for us here in central NC

This weekend they are calling for more snow and only snow.

Hopefully not too late for a condescending northerner to send help your way...

Jay Angler wrote:A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Mirriam-Webster's Thesaurus spilled it's cargo leaving Toronto heading down the 401.

Witnesses were stunned, startled aghast, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, surprised, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, confounded, astonished, and numbed.

Just shows how important it is to go with the old stand-by cultural icons. I bought a thesaurus that was generated by an AI. I'm pretty disappointed- not only did it suck, but it kinda sucked.

My girlfriend asked me to take the spider out instead of killing it. So I did. We had drinks. He's a nice guy, works in web development.

Two silk worms decided to have a race.

They ended up in a tie.

Benjamin Dinkel wrote:- classic J-tube with the barrel on the right and exhaust on the left, conserving the chimney. problem: no bypass possible

If there is an exhaust flue exiting low from the mass, couldn't there be a bypass right there, even at the opposite end from the firebox?

This makes me think of a design feature I don't recall encountering discussion of yet- with a stratification chamber, what are the benefits/trade-offs (if any) of the exhaust pipe plunging down into the bell like a straw vs. the pipe exiting the side of the bell down low and running up alongside of it?

Barrel kissing is to help with cold plugs. Part of the creativity around the exhaust could be some sort of bulge to collect the hottest gas with some sort of gate to create a bypass there. [edit: on reflection, there are likely more elegant solutions to a bypass over there.]