Suggestions for Making a Fireplace into a Rocket Mass Heater in a mobile home

My husband and I live in Montana. We just bought a 1974 Mobile Home that has a nice stand alone fireplace. We LOVE the Rocket Mass Heater concept and would love to create a hybrid. I saw the one video on it, as well as the purchase plans for the 6" and 8" mass heaters but do you have plans for a hybrid conversion? Thanks for your help!

Nevada T. : Welcome to Permies, It would be helpful to have a link to what you have seen that you liked, plus a picture of your stand alone fireplace !

The first place I am going to ask you to check out is the sister site to Permies - please go to richsoil.com and scroll down to, and click on 'Rocket Stoves'
This is a good place to send anyone that you would want to become a fan of R.M.H.s, all the videos are of R.M.H.s made by professionals or under the
direction of Professionals ! And you avoid a lot of bad You Tube Videos !

Please consider going to ' rocketstoves.com ' to pick up your PDF copy $15.oo of Evans' and Jackson's great book 'Rocket Mass Heaters', there
still is no other source of 'Rocket Stove Family' information in any language ! ( and I don't make a Dime )

One of the very best places to go to to look for information to help you figure out what you want from a R.M.H. / R.M.H. Hybrid, is to go to
ernieanderica.info/arrange-a-workshop/site-planning - the site itself has lots of information and worth a look !

For the Craft ! PYROLOGICALLY Big AL - As always your questions and comments are solicited and are Welcome ! A. L.

Thanks Mr. Allen for the suggestions. I don't have a picture of the stove just yet because we haven't moved in yet...can post that soon. Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMUES-34Ioc It was one with Ernie.

It seems the hybrid is still under research, and since it is in your home I'd probably think about building a standard one. All little wood stoves are different, and you'd probably want to do an incredible amount of research if you were going to go down that road. As a beginner myself, I'd be more comfortable with something tried and true, as opposed to experimenting the first time around. But if you're just in love with the idea, go for it. Though I think it is a standard suggestion that since it will be your first and something of a hybrid first, that you build outside, get the design working, and then reassemble in the home. Monoxide poisoning or burning down the house is something to consider with any poorly designed or operating stove.

Even with a traditional stove, we've done some stupid things.

Jamie H.: Yes, I agree, The first walk through, and test firing should be outdoors, I think that the Thompsons are just at the thinking stage, a R.M.H./Hybrid probably looks
very good to someone moving into a '70s mobile home, If you could due so a heavy, recycled 4X8 sheet of plywood to spread the weight acrost the floor, glue down some
aluminum foil as a heat barrier, then the stove and then the 'Heat Riser' / Interior Chimney followed by a further bell perhaps in the mouth of their freestanding Fireplace !
This is something that if carefully planed out could be put on a mobile home floor. A full R.M.H. in that location will require going under their home removing the insulation
and under-skirting, dealing with wiring, plumbing, and their homes original fossil fuel fired furnaces ductwork. All this before welding in the additional braces that the weight
of a conventional R.M.H.. And then of course putting every thing back the way it was !

Nevada Thompson : Ernie and Erica taught me all I know about R.M.H.s, any mistakes get made from here on out,are mine, not theirs ! I know that sometime we will be look
-ing behind the surface skin of your fireplace to make sure we have the clearances that we think we have. It would be nice to have the paperwork that came with that
fireplace when it was new. The original dealer, or the manufacturer probably had that information, on file but over 20 years is a long time to keep records !

Keep up with your site planing with the help from Ernie and Erica's site and come back here often with your questions , your fellow members will be only to glad to help!

For the Good of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! PYROLOGICAL Big AL - As always your comments/questions are solicited and are Welcome !

Thank you guys for your input. Here is what my current wood stove looks like. I was thinking of (if possible) converting it to RMH and building a bench/couch off to the left of it. Could I completely encompass the stove (except the door) in cob, build a bench box to the left with the tubing inside and cover with cob on the outside of the box?

Nevada and the Thompson family ! W.O.W., I think it might be possible to upgrade the fire brick inside of this model wood stove slightly, decreasing
the total combustion area but improving your existing "Common Wood Stoves C.W.S.s efficiency.
You will have to go online to find 'fire brick' types and then fire brick types in your Area, don't forget to check Crags list, Freecycle, and your local Habitat
for Humanity 'RE-store ! If you have one in your area you should check it out weekly,many businesses dump unwanted but very useful items there for
the guaranteed write off, every day is a bargain but HUGE bargains happen when the re-store manager would rather move an Item than stock it on the
shelves !

Irreguardless we could do something like the 'Hybrid' that you saw on the video that you shared ! It may well require a special barrel combination to create
both the Heat Riser, And The Exterior barrel that will be your radiator ! With luck your present wood stove will set a little more than the width of a standard
55 gal. barrel away from the throat of your standing fireplaces chimney !

How are you coming on your building site plans? If you have not considered what you really want in a R.M.H., you may find yourself bamboozled into some-
thing that your friends think you would want if - only - you - were - as - smart - as - they - were ! - more to follow big AL