Jen’s Boot Camp and Allerton Abbey Experience

Regarding the idea of weighing the wood used in cooking:

After talking to Paul, we have decided not to weigh the wood and share that data, for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the rocket cooktop that we are using is not a rocket mass heater and is specifically designed to heat the cooking surface and move the rest of the heat out of the house as quickly as possible, not to heat the house.

Second of all, wood with higher water content would weigh more but heat much worse than drier wood, so the weight of the wood would not meaningfully correlate to its heating potential.

Jennifer Richardson wrote:

One thing we would love to have for the Abbey is a stovetop fan that runs from heat alone, without any batteries/electricity, to help circulate the heat throughout the structure. Here are a couple option under $50:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0IAZZ5/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01M0IAZZ5&pd_rd_w=pDcHf&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=CzZgR&pf_rd_r=XVCRQ26CG0Y4STF066RA&pd_rd_r=cdcca317-f8cb-45f0-a6f4-18bf20939f6f&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVlhWVTlJNlNPRTYyJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDMxMjY3MUozVk5UMVY5UFFDTCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDc1NDY1TjlTMzBVTkZZU1BCJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD2AIV8/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01CD2AIV8&pd_rd_w=FkfcT&pf_rd_p=c83c55b0-5d97-454a-a592-a891098a9709&pd_rd_wg=CzZgR&pf_rd_r=XVCRQ26CG0Y4STF066RA&pd_rd_r=cdcca317-f8cb-45f0-a6f4-18bf20939f6f&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVlhWVTlJNlNPRTYyJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTQwNzMwMlhUQkJSOFg0MFFTRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODQwMDYzMlhJTVJFTlE0UEZOJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsX3RoZW1hdGljJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Hi Jennifer (and Josiah),

Looks like someone sent you the second fan....I will send you the first fan in case you need a backup.

um, just not sure what address to send it to....here's my email to give me a shipping address/instructions:  twobirdstone at gmail dot com

awwww, no wood weights or volume estimates, I knew the topic of moisture content would come up (the person feeding the stove will also notice and could mention "wet loads")...  s'lright, guess I'm just one of those people who gets something for free and then asks for a belly rub too  :)    

Anyways, here's what I'm getting from the data so far:

-at 2F you're 43 degrees warmer inside (so I know I'm not gonna die of hypothermia when the temps drop to 2F ... that is a win!!!);
-the warmest place in the wofati is around 1pm between the Front Wall and the cookstove instead of the bedroom.

...and I suspect the kitchen is the warmest room overall given its relative floor elevation.

I'm seeing a temperature difference between your outside and inside temps of about 28 degrees.   It is alot easier to try to warm air that is 49F than air that is 21F.

When the temps drop below zero, by the currrent data and knowing that the greater delta T, the greater delta Q, I expect your inside walls to drop about 15 to 20 degrees difference relative to the outside temp.....I'd ask if you want to take bets but on second thought, you'd have onsite control of the outcome :)

Next year's data will be better: I think you will find next year just how significant an act having the door open during winter for extended times truly was; additionally the structure will have finished drying which can make about a 5 degree difference.

So tell me, tell me!   is the warmest place by far the kitchen?   is the second warmest place between the front wall and the kitchen stove in the early afternoon?

How many hours does the kitchen cook stove stay warm to your touch after the last flame has gone out?

Is there any surprise facts?  any funky little cool or hot eddies?

Sorry to hear you got sick.....may you fully recover.

O.

Orin Raichart wrote:
Hi Jennifer (and Josiah),

Looks like someone sent you the second fan....I will send you the first fan in case you need a backup.

um, just not sure what address to send it to....  

Orin, you are SO kind!! And big thanks to Kerry Rodgers, too! Wheaton labs uses the same public address as the permies.com daily-ish and "gifts and postcards" can be sent to:

Boots
c/o Paul Wheaton
2120 S Reserve ST #351
Missoula MT 59801

Joshua,


I found the temperature to be pleasant when it did not drop much below 60F. I still didn't want to sit around in skimpy clothes with no blanket, but normal indoor clothing (jeans/leggings and tee shirt) was fine. I think an elderly person with poor circulation might have wanted a jacket or lap blanket, but would not have been miserable. Now that it is hovering around the 50 degree mark or slightly below, I wear most of my outdoor/work clothes (minus heavy outerwear) until it is time to hop into bed. I am definitely cold right before/after getting out of bed and getting dressed. I think it is probably something that mostly only young, healthy people who are not overly attached to physical comfort would want to do currently.

We have been talking a lot about the fact that this year's ATI test will only be indicative, not a full test, since the mass was not able to be charged during the summer. We are brainstorming ways to optimize the test and to make the Abbey more comfortable for the winter, but unfortunately we will not see a real test of the annualized thermal inertia until next year, due to the building still being under construction when the mass should have been charging, although I will still be gathering data throughout the winter.

Thank you so much for the fan, Orin! And thank you Jocelyn for providing the address.