If I would want to encapsulate the barrel of a regular rocket with a normal brick bell, what would be the safe distance between barrel and bell wall? The reasons I would want to do that is to increase mass for the same footprint, and also for aesthetic appealing. Any objection, advice?
The first thought after seeing the site up and running was to write to you and offer to translate it into Albanian. I dropped the idea thinking, what the hell, I might be the only Albanian interested on rocket stoves and I want to translate stuff on that, for whom? There are all those people from other languages who do RMHs and batch boxes and there is no translation of them (later on I saw the other flags). That being said, you have to know that it's better to search for some Slavic guy if you want to target Balkans, it's Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, who might understand Slavic languages (any). More probabilities to reach people. In other words, if a Serb does it in Serbian, or a Croat in Croatian, all the above-mentioned can at least understand. Not the case with Albanian language. Only Albanians would understand and I don't know anybody who deals with this kind of stove (not that I've searched, though).
However, now that you asked I'm on board and will do it if you like. I like these kind of projects, and I like fire, and I like RMHs and batch boxes. Though, I have some issues.
I have worked in the past as a professional translator but not anymore. With age, comes laziness, and if I have difficulties managing the task I might quit. The text refuses me. That's a problem because I don't quit if I undertake something. The difficulties in question being the English text written by e non-English person. If you remember, I "lamented" about this in one of my posts. However, If you are willing to be forgiving regarding time, to let me do it slowly, I'm OK.
Also there is the level of my professionalism in building in general and the stoves in particular. I like the idea, built two of them and plan to do more, but I have also to earn my living by doing other stuff. This regards terms about building materials and concepts. I'm speaking as a translator. I know English and I can do anything that I understand more or less, but there is a big problem if you want to localize the text for somebody who does not understand English. You don't have to convey just the meaning, but also details so that stuff is perfectly clear to the reader. For example, cob is problematic to translate, perlite and vermiculite are not sold here (i've searched the market both for stoves and gardening). However, that's the reason why I like doing this stuff, because by delving in translation I learn better about the process itself and so on.
To sum it up, I am willing to give it a try. Just let me know.
Ernie and Erica are busy somewhere with no web access. That's the last Kickstarter message of them when Erica said to expect total radio silence, I don't remember the break of it. Just to let you know.
Seriously, I understand because it's almost one year that I read daily (literally) about rockets, have done two of them and plan doing more. Also, having a long experience as a professional English translator helps. But even then, the batch box has a complicated jargon that even I cannot figure out completely or immediately (the only resources being donkey's forum). That's why I got excited by you doing this website.
You can't understand this, because it's just like the writer who goes over an error and doesn't spot it. Even if the error is shouting out there: "here I am!", the writer is thinking with his mind (which is correct).
Imagine it this way: if you are unable to write and dictate to somebody who doesn't know jack about rocket stoves and batch boxes, but is serious enough about thinking and writing. This person would stop you, ask for clarifications, and present to the world a very enjoyable text.
I've translated texts from literary theory, and there is the concept of the reading pleasure. About every text, if it doesn't give you pleasure reading it, it hardly sticks its meaning into you, it pushes you away. So, if you are a bee-keeper and read a very valuable book but the language is bad, unconsciously you refuse the text.
Back to the batch box site: it will be a crucial point of reference and I think what I'm saying is important for the propagation of the idea. You have tons of info about the J-tube, presented by everybody, at every corner of the internet, you have text, pictures, animated gifs, videos. Everybody can make a J-tube in a few minutes. The batch box is another beast and the main, fundamental, crucial presentation of it should be very logical, nice to read, well-illustrated. Let the rest of the world do the rest, but the main resource should be crystal-clear.
I don't want to be seen as a pain in the ass, just as somebody who wants to polish something so that it fully shines. The old habit of trying to make the world a better place...
However, I would say an native English-speaking editor is needed to check the texts. I understand pretty well everything written there, but if the site is to propagate the idea among the laymen, it has to be more simplistic, the reading more logical.
In other words, there is no warmth for the reader (reading pleasure, if you will) that is reading for the fist time in his life about such a thing.
I just pledged $35 (+4), but my eye catched July 2016 as delivery date. Now, I don't know exactly when will my sister depart the US for Albania, I will ask her today, but there would be no point if her departure is earlier than the arrival of the book. Now, do you have an exact date for when the book would eventually arrive in Las Vegas (you know the details of the printing process, I guess, and would be able to have an estimate)?
I will not renege on my pledge, but if the above is the case, though I hate having an e-book because I love normal books, I will have to change it and receive a digital copy.
Please let me know as soon as possible. I have about 60 hours to decide.
My sister is coming in person this summer, so I will redirect the book to her and she'll bring it to me. If you want, you can do the same and I'll let you know the shipping charges AL-SL.
I can't promise anything, but I'm planning a "beach-going" spree with my family this summer (if The Boss agrees , the kids are already on board) in both Adriatic and Ionian see rivieras. If so, I'll bring it to you in person for free in Slovenia.
@Erica or somebody familiar with kickstarter
I want to select the $35 reward, should I buy it under my name and select shipping to the US, and then provide the address of my sister living in Las Vegas? Never done kickstarter, so I would need advice.
However, I was about to viber out to my sister who lives in US if there is someone coming this summer here, so that I buy the book, send to her and she gives it so this prospective traveller.
If my option is viable, I'll check the reverse thing and I can mail it to you if it's cheaper that your option .
No, I asked the one who created the thread to post my stuff there, but he didn't answer so I didn't follow through. When I have time will do a new thread, or post it here.
Well, the fact that I posted this question and had: 1. one guy thinking exactly like me, 2. another guy pointing me to several links, points to the obvious: there is no "definition" of batch box in the sense I asked.
It's time to remedy this, folks.
I will sift through the links provided (and others as well, mostly at donkey's, where I saw a lot of threads on batch boxes) and extract the information and put it together the way I see it fit. Then, will post it here and wait for critics to show up and work about making it simpler and better.
I'm making a request for myself but also for other people who might approach the RSMH concept and don't understand a thing of it/them. As it happened with me, I didn't understand how a rocket stove works, I studied it for several months and then built it (two, until now). I'm sold to the idea and I'm dedicating a lot of time and efforts to it, but I digress.
For reasons you know too well, a conversion from J-tube to batch box is natural during the process (mine, and other's). But there's a problem, there is no explanatory info here (not at donkey's either) about the batch box, for the J-tube you can find tons of info on the internets (pictures, diagrams, animations, videos, books, papers, etc). I'm referring to simple things such as how do you light it up, how do you start the fire, where?
Can somebody, please, make a full presentation (as short as possible, illustrated possibly) about simple build and operation procedures of the batch box? Put it here and serve as a reference for the future? I tried to make the title of the thread user-friendly for somebody who is interested in the batch box, and when searching the info would be here.
Of course there is information buried in other (important) threads about the batch box, but I deem it important the existence of the short presentation I'm asking for people who want either to build a new batch box, or convert an existing J-tube.
This is where I posted some other pictures of the stove https://permies.com/t/51832/rocket-stoves/RMH-Minimum-Footprint#420686. Well, I have transported it a lot back and forth, of course taking care, and no problems. I think, regarding how I did it, you can throw it off a rock and the core inside the frame will survive. But I won't do this to that little nice beast .
Well, about hanging it or fixing it on the floor, IMHO it is better to hang it from the ceiling than fixing it on the floor. Choosing the lesser evil, the shock from the ceiling is lesser than that from the floor, I guess.
Better yet, springs both in the ceiling and in the floor. Employing my internationally-renown no-peer exceptional and beautiful drawing skills, this would result in this:
This thread has derailed. I would like a discussion of my idea, is it viable, I didn't intend to find the most convenient way to burn wood chips in a rocket. There might be, and of course there are.
I had in mind a solid rocket that burns sticks and this "side-chamber" with wood chips, that you can use if you have chips or just keep it shut if not. You know, kind of a module if you will. The rocket has to work as such, and the module can be added or not, if yes used or not. But I would like to know if it is a good idea in itself. I think there are a lot of people that might have access to free wood chips, and really pass the winter with 1/10 of wood quantity advertised for the RMHs.
I have one of these, but I was wondering about something more professional. To read also ambient temperature, co2 levels and anything related to the rocket performance.
I would like to know what instrument would be good to take simple measurements working with rockets. Nothing fancy and expensive, just to have the options needed.
I searched eBay and the internets but didn't find anything specifically for wood stoves.
I'm attaching a sketch (done with my exceptionally excellent drawing skills) to see if somebody can validate it, improve it, use it, or discard it as a stupid idea.
Basically, this is to help reduce the volume of sticks burning, not to replace them. To use free fuel, if you will.
You create a tunnel on the right (or left) of the traditional burn feed to serve as wood chip hopper and fill it with wood chips in full. There is an airtight cap on top, so no air is allowed in. The cap in the middle has a piston (as engine pistons), that serves to agitate the chips if they stop falling down. The proportion between the tunnel size and wood chips size determines also the amount of attention needed to make this work. Maybe the chips will fall down nicely, maybe not, who knows.
The tunnel is not necessary steel or iron, it can be permanent with refractory, the size also is a variable.
Kevin
Can I hijack your thread? And use this one to post everything on my small RMH? After all, it's in your interest (I'm sounding like the government )
Blendi
It seems that you are the first beneficiary of a post I intended to do about a minimal RMH. I'm not ready yet to do that post, however, I will give you some details and will let you know about the full description that I'll do later, fully illustrated with pictures.
I used firebricks (21.5 x 10.8 x 3 cm). The construction lasted about 3 weeks - 1 month, because it was my first rmh and I took my time. There are about 2 weeks I'm testing it, so take my word for this.
Feeding 10.8 x 5 cm, burn tunnel 10.8 x 7.8 cm, riser diameter 12 cm (+1 cm fire resistant mortar and an enclosing can diameter 14 cm, just to hold the mortar) and 32-33 cm of height (including the 3 cm of the brick, FYI), distance between end of riser-bottom of barrel is 5 cm, barrel diameter 23 cm, flue 12 cm (could have been lower, but I opted this way.
Footprint: 70 x 30 cm (including the elbow).
The result is this beautiful monster (not finished yet as regards aesthetics, but working like a charm).
, the kids are already on board) in both Adriatic and Ionian see rivieras. If so, I'll bring it to you in person for free in Slovenia.
