Eloise Rock

Thanks so much Julian and Thomas. This is just what I was looking for.

Would either of you be able to comment on ease of use for each of them? Let’s say for instance you were going to be out of town for a week and asked a neighbor to come start a fire in your house to keep things from freezing. How much explanation would each kind require to ensure he could do the job problem free? Assuming he knows how to build a fire and maybe has a typical box stove he’s used to running?

r ranson wrote:wool insulation has two main things.
1. the structure (aka, air trapped in the individual fibre core) of the fibre itself
2. the air between the fibres.

For 2, this is why squishy wool (has more crimp) makes warmer sweaters.

Then there is how the insulation settles over time.  Felt or fabric would probably settle less where as loose fibre would settle most.  Carded would be somewhere between.

With this knowledge, we can choose the fibre - squishy/down/high crimp for more insulation, then choose the style of how it's held together to match our needs.  

Unfortunately, this is where things get complicated as the felting or fabric structure dramatically influences how much air is trapped in the cloth.  But tradition tells us that a woolen spun, down breed wool, knitted in a looser gage is one of the most insulating sweaters.  However, it doesn't block the wind, so it's often combined with a worsted spun, tightly woven, highly fulled (like felting but for cloth) outer layer.  

Thanks for taking time to respond r ranson! I think I’m following what you are saying, but it seems I don’t have the basic knowledge of fiberous things to grasp it fully. If you’re willing, I’d love to have a few things clarified.

1. You said squishy wool has more crimp. Could you define crimp? Is that descriptive of each fiber or of how the fibers sit together (air space between)? Is it related to the species the wool comes from or the processing method or both?

2. You said, “ tradition tells us that a woolen spun, down breed wool, knitted in a looser gage is one of the most insulating sweaters.” What is woolen spun? Down breed wool?

Thanks so much for your time!

Hi there,

I am hoping/planing to build an RMH someday… hopefully soon. Maybe this summer or fall. I have matt walkers plans and feel decently confident I can figure it out. But I am also realizing there is just a lot I don’t know.

This is a super basic question, but could one of the rocket scientists here give an easy to understand explanation of each of the styles of RMH? What are the distinctions of a j-tube, batch box, dsr, dsr2, shoebox (anything else I’m missing)? What are the pros and cons of each? I’ll be honest, I’m not super nerdy on this stuff. I just need to know the basic distinctions to evaluate if Matt’s plans are what’s best for our situation. I can find lots of threads regarding specific builds, or intense details and data from experimentation happening within one of those categories, but it would be nice for me (and I expect others) to have a simple description of each. If someone had time to do a summary of each type that would be super helpful. Thank you!!

Wondering if the book includes how to properly size the core for the size of the stove? Or the stove for the size of the core, however you go about it. And any other factors relating to the core integrating into the whole project? Thanks!

Hello,
I’m wondering how the insulation values of different types of wool compare to one another? As in wool batting vs felted wool vs knit or woven materials? I just made myself a parka liner from a felted wool blanket (Swiss link) and it’s working well. I have a young friend who loves to mush dogs but is always cold and was thinking of making something similar for her but I’d love it if it could be warmer and lighter weight. I got to thinking that wool batting may give a better insulation value for its weight, but I really don’t know. Does anyone have insight into how different wool preparations compare in insulation value? Also if anyone has any other suggestions for a light weight natural insulation I’m all ears. Down is obviously fantastic but I’m a little bit bewildered by how to construct a down garment at home… but maybe I just need to research that more.

Thanks for your help!

Eloise

My husband has done this a few times. His recipe may have been different but did use turpentine and it reeked. It takes about 2 weeks of airing out to get rid of the smell. But then it’s good to go. Over that time the appearance also improves. His always looked super patchy but as the turpentine evaporates it really evens out. Hope that helps.

Is there anyone in Alaska growing grapes? I am in south central Alaska and am interested in trying. The little bit of research I’ve done it looks like Valiant may be a good variety to try. Although Valiant is hardy to zone 3, (I am zone 4) I am a bit worried about getting it to fruit and ripen, since we have such a short, cool growing season compared to many zone 4 areas. Where I grew up in WI is also zone 4, but gets much warmer, and the ground is workable much earlier, even if frost is still a threat. I only know one person who tried grapes in my area of Alaska (but that doesn’t mean there’s not others!) and they got prolific leaves but no fruit. I don’t know the variety they tried or if they did anything to extend growing season. I don’t have a green house so I’m limited in what I can do for season extension anyway. If there is anyone in AK who has done it, I want to hear from you!

I’ve just been using loppers to cut back the bushes around them as close to the base as possible. Hopefully this doesn’t make them come back more vigorously in the spring… I don’t know what else to do. Is there any way that raspberries or cranberries can be pruned in fall to produce better the following summer? I’d like to give them the best shot at out competing the other bushes. The other bushes seem very good at strangling, and are very thick. The berries tend to be only one or two stalks. I’d love to help them bush out more next year. But I don’t have any experience pruning berries.

I have quite a few wild raspberries and high bush cranberries on our property. They are mostly intertwined with some other very thick shrubby non food producing bushes. I would like the berries to thrive and the non-food bushes to… not. I started cutting back the bushes around the berries. I am wondering the best way to keep the unwanted bushes at bay and the berries thriving? Any input?

Thanks guys, this info is super helpful. Its been a while since I've had my head in the RMH stuff. Our building plans have taken many turns and delays, so my head has been other places for a while. We are getting back to the project on our land, and I'm having to refresh. I had remembered that the stove body temperatures were relatively low (at least compared to a box stove), along with bench and exhaust temps being even lower. So 36" just seemed like over kill to me. 4" seems a lot more reasonable. I figure if its not unsafe for a person to sit on the bench, it should be alright for it to be pretty close to combustables! Not sure if an insurance adjuster would agree with me on that, but I'm not stressing about that for this build.

I also contacted Matt Walker and his recommendation was in line with yours, Thomas. 4" from combustables, reduced to 2" if you use a heat screen like you described. Since the heat screen is itself 1" or more thick (made from 1xs), the heat screen is really only gaining you an inch.. so I think I'll just plan for 4" allowance all around. That is certainly obtainable!

Thanks again for your guy's input! Its really nice to be able to post something and get some reliable feedback quickly! Really appreciate it.