ROCKET CHUCK-WAGON - Outdoor Kitchen

I've been looking at permies for years and thought that I'd finally contribute something of my own.

We have a tiny cabin that we visit regularly when we have time off. We cook outside and have been looking for a better set up than a rocket stove on a table. It's still under construction but I'd like to introduce our ROCKET CHUCK-WAGON. It is being fitted up for two rocket stoves and a hand pump for drinking water fed my a tank underneath. Even with the concrete countertop it isn't too heavy to lift with the wheels. The counter top also provides a nice prep surface that's been missing at the Land. This is the basic model and I can customize it from here.

Here's a quick preview clip:

I'll post again following the development. Any thoughts? Ask me anything!

-Ottawa Tinkerer

So I've been working on the heart of the Chuckwagon... the stoves!

Here's quick video of how the burn chambers are roughly put together. Originally I was going to cast them completely in heat stop and perlite but I opted for the firebrick instead. It's a trade off of less mass and more insulation for durability. I went with it because I want this Chuckwagon to last. The burn chambers sit in a box of sheet metal that I repurposed from an old shed and riveted together. The rest of the box is filled with perlite and heat stop for insulation and lower mass. I used a ratio by volume of 1 part heat stop : 5 parts perlite : 1 1/4 parts H20. It's worked for me before.



Oh boy am I ever sold on cracking brick to cut it vs grinding it! So much faster, less messy and less harzadous silica laden dust for me to potentially inhale.

What do you think? Ask me anything. I'll post more as it comes along... can't wait to fire it up!

Ottawa Tinkerer

I brought the Chuckwagon out to the land finally. I didn't size the wheels appropriately so it was a struggle on the grass... but I made it

very neat I like it may have to make me one thanks

I finally had the chance to light up the rocket Chuckwagon today. It weathered well over the winter and worked splendidly once I sorted out the height of the skillet. Check it out!

That is a really cool cookstove. Thanks for posting!

Maybe you can find a metal pan holder from an old stove to place over your chimney and allow the fire to breathe a bit.

Some more data would be helpful.

Height and interior dimensions of the riser tube as well as the burn chamber. Also how you packaged the bricks in insulating mix would be interesting. By the looks of it the tabletop is a poured concrete slab with or without rebar?

Many thanks for any info you care to send.

Ch

I would also love to see dimensions, especially the insulation thickness to protect the wood from the heat. If the fire brick is in contact with the wood anywhere, I'd expect charring problems with extended use. The metal box sounds like a good start on fire protection, but could still transmit heat to the wood if things are tight.

Thanks for sharing - this is a very cool project!

-Erica

Thank you everyone for your positive feedback and questions… here’s a few answers.

Maybe you can find a metal pan holder from an old stove to place over your chimney and allow the fire to breathe a bit.

Great idea Julia, I think I'll try to rig up something like that. Thanks for the pie!

Some more data would be helpful. Height and interior dimensions of the riser tube as well as the burn chamber. Also how you packaged the bricks in insulating mix would be interesting. By the looks of it the tabletop is a poured concrete slab with or without rebar?

Yes Chris it’s a poured concrete countertop. I used remesh instead of rebar for reinforcement… from what I read it is supposed to work better for thin applications (the lips are 2” thick but much of the inner area is more like 1”3/4.) I used the "pour in place method" with a high strength quikrete mix. If I had to do it again I’d probably use a special countertop mix and the "mold and flip" method to get a better finish without grinding.

The burn chamber is made of heavy fire bricks, packed with a vermiculite and Heat Stop 50 mix then sided in a sheet metal box for protection from the elements. The ratio is described in my previous post above. I set the bricks up and poured the mix around them. The bottom of the box is sheet metal as well so sparks escape and ignite the wooden structure.

The fire bricks measure 4” x 9” x 1.25”. This makes the mouth of the stove 4” x 2.75”. The height of the chimney is 11.25”. So the proportions give a taller chimney than the 1 : 1.5 rule of thumb I’ve seen for rocket cook stoves. Overall this stove design works very well few variations that I’ve tried even though it only scores a C (or generous B with a Super Pot) on the Ottawa Rocket Stove Scale.

I would also love to see dimensions, especially the insulation thickness to protect the wood from the heat. If the fire brick is in contact with the wood anywhere, I'd expect charring problems with extended use. The metal box sounds like a good start on fire protection, but could still transmit heat to the wood if things are tight.

Erica, as for charring potential, the sides of the burn chambers are insulated by 2+ inches of the perlite mix. The sides are sheet metal clad with no wood contact. The weak points for charring are the top and bottom. The bottom shelf is only protected by 2 layers of sheet metal and fire brick so there is a charring risk. The top is mostly open but there is a layer of OSB under the concrete that formed the base of the mold. I’m sure the edges of the OSB will char with cooking but it shouldn’t catch fire and the OSB is not structural. This is one of the reasons that I wouldn’t do a cast in place counter top again (the trade off being cast in place was manageable to do alone). And more insulation under the burn chamber could help as well to further protect the shelf that it sits on. We’ll see how it holds up!

More pictures of the fire box build follow. Hope that helps with the questions. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks for the interest!