thomas rubino

A thing of beauty, Ben!   Great Job!
Looking forward to seeing it painted.

Gerry and I built the Studio Dragon last fall.
We installed a 4" stovepipe near the top of the bell through both brick skins'
Then, since I didn't have the parts on hand to install a bypass, I capped it off for the winter.
After the smoky first start, she warmed up and never smoked again all winter long!
I thought I wouldn't need a bypass, until... late spring, early summer ( Shoulder Season). No fire for over a month.
We got a wet, windy day, just raw feeling outside; I knew Liz planned on working out there, so... I thought I would warm it up for her...
Nice guy, right???  Wrong, Big mistake; I smoked out the room in no time. When it's warm outside, it can be hard to establish a draft...
Here came Liz, before it had a chance to clear out... Studio Dragon and I were both in the doghouse that day.
I promised her I would install the bypass before this fall.
Today was that day.
The entire job couldn't have gone faster or easier, almost like I'd planned it!
Took about 3-4 hrs, and it works perfectly!
I left it open for about 30 minutes, then shut it to 80 %; 30 minutes later, I had it 100% closed, and Studio Dragon was up and circling the neighborhood.
Like Shorty Core, I used a traditional cast-iron damper sealed with Superwool.
This seems to work better than the blast gates I used before.

Oh, it would be nice to share it with the neighbors, but selling to the power company is a losing proposition.
They pay pennies on the dollar for it and require YOU to purchase transfer equipment to protect linemen working on the transmission lines.
So, use A/C if it's summer and electric heaters in the winter, OR run your wood splitter and your welders.

Hi M
I didn't get to watch Paul and Matt's chat (I'm waiting for the Netflix version), so I'm not sure what was said.
Two of my RMHs are in uninsulated buildings; one is an art studio, and it needs to stay above freezing throughout a northern Montana winter.
My wife works out there every day (almost), so it needs to be warm as well.
The other is in my uninsulated auto shop, and I work out there every day.
I consider them to be Extreme Burning RMHs.  Lit from morning till night, especially the art studio dragon.
Until my recent change in the studio to a full bell double skin first-generation Batchbox, I was using the original removable lid 55-gal mild steel barrel that I bought in 2013 for my first 8" J-Tube.  That barrel is now sitting out behind the art studio, waiting for a new home. Free to the first Permie who stops by and asks for it. I even have an 8" 5-minute riser waiting for a new home as well.
The shop stove is a hybrid using two stacked barrels and a brick bell; it burns all day every winter day.
No issues at all with those barrels either.
In my home, I have a 6" Shorty Core with a single-skin bell; she is only lit once or perhaps twice a day.

I would say 95% of new builds use a shaped stratification chamber.
Of course, there are some folks who are building on a budget; they have pipe, and they have clay mud, and they do not have bricks or barrels.
Pipes covered in cob are expected to fail; your thick cob surround of the metal pipe becomes your new pipe once the metal rots out.
Your strategically placed cleanouts are there for a good reason. That old metal will fall into the gas flow and partially block it. The cleanouts make clearing that possible.
A barrel over your riser is too hot for moisture to stick around long enough to cause rust. Those barrels can last for decades.
With half barrels as a bench, if you do not run your RMH hot enough, moisture will eventually compromise the barrel's structural strength.

From your riser barrel (if used) on, moisture is not your friend.
If building a bench, then I prefer to construct a brick transition area rather than a cut-down barrel, where moisture can do no harm.
If asked, I will always recommend skipping the bench and going with a full-size bell.

Hi Jim
In my opinion, the newest variant, Shorty core, has the smallest footprint.
The DSR variants may be slightly smaller, but I am told they are a more difficult build.
Keep in mind I have never built a DSR core.

Now about sidewinders.
They only exit left or right, or they would not be a sidewinder.
A first-gen Batchbox or a Shorty core can be built as a sidewinder; a DSR, I think, cannot.  (I could be wrong)
I haven't built a Sidewinder myself, but many have, with no complaints.
Here is what Lasse Holmes told me: he designed the very first Batchboxes and built the very first Sidewinder variant.
The Sidewinder was a good design. He had one in his cabin in Homer, Alaska, for over two years.
However, he said it was a fussy starter; once he determined how it liked to be started, he had no trouble with it... But his wife and daughter had nothing but trouble starting it. Eventually, he replaced it with a conventional Batchbox design and all were happier.

I have a 6" Shorty core with a single-skin bell
A 6" first -gen with a double-skin bell.
And a hybred 7" first gen with double barrels and a single-skin bell.
They all work perfectly, I could not be happier with them.

Hey Sam, are you using Clay/sand mortar or refractory?
In my builds, I only use clay mortar.
Refractory is expensive, and you have to chip/grind it off if you want to reuse bricks.
Clay mortar is inexpensive; it pops right off, and you can rehydrate and reuse it!

50-52" are about the tallest risers that I have seen used.
I believe I have read that if it's too tall, it starts losing efficiency.
As far as the top gap between the barrel and riser, I always went with 2.5" to allow for fly ash buildup on the top of the riser.
On the 6" Batchbox stoves, we use 12" as a minimum clearance.
With a J-Tube, a larger top gap would give you a lower barrel temp but a higher mass temp.
You might give 7" a try...

To me, the most important place is the exit chimney.
At home, that is all I look at; really, it's the only one that really matters.
But other locations around the bell or riser are pretty neat to see, too.

Hi Ben;
One for sure in the exit chimney and another at the top of the strat chamber, at the farthest point from the core