I live in Wisconsin. My zone is 5b. I have a hoop house 100 ft by 30 ft double insulated with plastic. The under layer plastic is 8 feet tall 100 feet long and 30 wide. I want to build two 8 inch batch boxes on each end. On the inside along the wall of the greenhouse, I want to dig a ditch underground and insulate and add mass on top of it. The ground will be flat when I finish and I will build a water tank all around 6 inches off the ground. The tank will be 4W X 2H X 250L, with wood and rubber liner, all around the mass. As the mass is heated, it also heats the tank all around. The 6 inch gap from tank to the to the ground can be vented to control water. This is just an idea not sure what obstacles I will face or if it’s even possible. My biggest issue is insulating the mass so it doesn’t escape into the earth. The other problem I’m thinking is that because the mass is so long and takes a long time to heat, will I even achieve air draft into the chimney. My solution is to use a propane heater to heat the long mass tube and close off the chimney letting the warm gas back into the hoop house. Another solution is to have a small heater and heat the chimney to pull air. Please help. I never build one and yet tackling such a big task but I need this to work!!! This is like one step further to heat efficiency transfer. I just don’t know the basic yet so help!
thomas rubino wrote:Hi, Von, Welcome to Permies!
To start a new thread, choose your forum (Rocket Mass Heaters) and click New Topic.
Name your thread appropriately, perhaps "Help with new Batchbox."
Tell us about your location, what temperatures are expected, and the size of the area you are trying to heat.
What kind of building are you wanting to heat?
This will keep all replies on your topic.
With the information we currently have, I can tell you that not many spaces require an eight-inch Batchbox.
