Foxfire7893 Hatfield

Your right seeing the big operations can be scarry, but look at these guys systems closely. It is all home spun. Yes they had some money to get it started but you in no way need to start big. Start with what you can afford and manage. Remember to do what you can to take care of family first and go from there.  It wont be hard to end up in excess to sell. Remember, you can use the rocket stove, slab stove, and or compost inside the green house to keep it worm during the winter, and the CO2 from the exhaust will stimulate growth and keep the bugs away as well, so don't be afraid to fire up the stoves from time to time in the spring and summer.  I wish you well and do keep us posted.

Glad to see your on the right track. The BSFL are incredible. If you haven't done that yet, you will have lots of fun with that. I have been able to feed my birds pretty good on them. I take the bigger larve and set them aside to let them hatch out and feed the smaller ones. Absolutely incredible food source. With the worms, I would suggest the red wigglers as the reproduce the fastest and are a good size for the fish. Don't mix the two if you can help it. The BSFL can quickly populate to the point that they over take the worms. I am hoping to fill the freezer this next year to be able to just about totally supplement the birds diets in the winter with the BSFL. That and kitchen scraps. Let us all know how this goes.

Hey Lundi, will the blue gill eat the same things as the talapia? Are they meat eaters or veggies? One nice thing about the talapia is that you can grow their food in the same system.
I like the idea of them handling the bigger temp swing. I know a lot of people are starting to add the rocket mass heaters to their green houses and regular houses as they are very efficient and retain heat for a very long time.

Good for you. I hope it all works out. Here are some additional resources that may help out. Some are more expensive than others but still great for ideas.
1. http://www.greenhousedesigns.info/ - You can feed a family of 4 - 5 out of this little unit. The website is a good read.
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV9CCxdkOng - This guy feeds a small city off of 3 acres.
3. Check out the concepts and helpful info at www.WellFedNeighbor.com

All 3 of these have been a wealth of information as well as knowledgeable people to help out.

Hmm, this is all very interesting and you all make some great points. Thanks so much for sharing. What about running the black pipe up and down the length of the barrel or incorporate it to run the length of the exhaust pipe either on the outside up against it or plumb it on the inside of the exhaust pipe. Also having the hot side of the water on a rise will always give you a natural movement although it might be a bit slow. Interesting to hear your results.

I'd like to hear some thoughts on tying in a steam engine into your rocket stove. There is a guy last name Brown out of Ozark, MO I believe. He has written some books and has a very efficient steam engine designed to be hooked up to a generator or alternator. I am thinking that the rocket stove would be a great dual source if not just a primary source to power such a thing. I believe it is a closed loop steam engine. I am sorry, I don't have his contact info handy.

yeah, I will have to agree with that. The going back to 8" for a bit of a run I believe would balance the draw out between the two pipes. Of course, you could always run one pipe all the way down and then back again and then all the way back down making a little wider bench to sit on or to lay on. This would give you a continual run.

I was thinking of two different things along this line. 1. A metal oven insert with a conventional oven door. Doesn't have to be this way but with the insert, it could be placed into the system as some point where it warms up along with everything else but not directly tied into the exhaust.
2. is incorporating a face at the burn pit with a glass fireplace or wood stove door. Still loading the wood from the top but having the glass for a nice look at the fire and it would double as an ash clean out. Never have to worry about cleaning the nasty smoke off the glass because it is all drawn the other direction.

What you have to be careful of in a split is to be sure that both exhaust pipes are both exhausting. By joining them back together near the end I think would ensure this happening.  I think your design will work but not sure on the math with the step down. If it were me, I would probably go from 8" to 6". I don't think that you can go wrong with bigger exhaust.
Hope this helps.