Mike Cantrell

thomas rubino wrote:high-temperature silicon was used, which worked very well!

Thank you, Tom - this is useful!

Scott Wienberg wrote:100% was applied with lines of silicon and pressed on, and held for a bit. ( thus the smooth walls needed)

Thank you, Scott, very helpful!
Clarifying question: I read through your build thread. Was it specifically high-temp silicone caulk, or did you happen to find that a typical silicone caulk just happened to be good enough for the surface temps you expected? Do you maybe recall what silicone product it was?

Good evening!

I dream of an ornate kachelofen like this.

It's simply a rectangle, no reason it couldn't be a bell and a shorty core firebox inside.

I've looked around a bit for salvaged kachelofen tiles and not found many. None that are near, cheap, and attractive to my taste. So I'm wondering about "fireplace" tile from a typical tile retailer. They're rated for high heat, but they're not thick and structural like traditional stove tiles are.

Would they be doomed to cracking if I mortared them to the outside of a red-brick bell with refractory mortar? A CMU (cinderblock) bell? Is there some number of expansion joints that would save the day? Perhaps the outside of a double-skinned red-brick bell?

Peter van den Berg wrote:Yes, it's been done quite some time ago, and it worked.

Excellent! Thank you!

Peter van den Berg wrote:And it would be wise to incorporate a cleaning hatch close to the foot of the chimney.

That's exactly what I intend. 👍

Burra Maluca wrote:This is an earlier stage of the build showing the base and the gap (occupied by a dragon) where the coolest gas escapes up the chimney.

Just like that! That's what I was thinking: with the bricks interweaving with the wall itself.

Good morning! Long time, no see!

There's a possibility I'm building a heater this summer, so I'm reading up. It's been a few years, Peter's invented the Shorty, and life is grand. Exciting!


I haven't encountered an answer to this specific question. I see that generally-accepted practice is to attach the metal chimney to the side of the bell.

I understand why we wouldn't run the metal chimney down into the bell- maintenance would be difficult.
I also understand why would wouldn't just attach the chimney to the top of the bell... then it wouldn't be a bell! We've got to exhaust the gases from the cooler bottom, that's the entire point!

But I don't understand why not have a masonry chimney inside the bell and attach the metal chimney to the top of that. Diagram attached; imagine that this is a cutaway view.

Is this fine? Or am I overlooking a problem?


Thanks!
Mike

I have a hardy hi-can (hickory-pecan) from Oikos Tree Crops. It's only a foot tall, long time before it'll have nuts, but I bet you could get seeds from Oikos. They're near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Different type of cold climate than Denver, but still a cold climate.

The owner there has been doing interesting crossing and selecting projects for quite a long time.

https://oikostreecrops.com/

Nicole Alderman wrote:But, I wish I could get something less toxic that wasn't also drinkable...

Hardware stores have "denatured alcohol", which is almost-pure ethanol, with just tiny amounts of additives to make it undrinkable. That also allows it to be sold without drinking-alcohol taxes and therefore MUCH cheaper.

Thanks! I soaked them for two days, and now they're leaning against the north wall of my office, stayng in the shade and getting splashed by the eaves when it rains.

r ranson wrote:This may sound daft, but I don't know if I'm a millennial or not.

Born in 1983, Gen X. Born in 1984, millennial.

Caleb Peretz wrote:There are myriads of them on alibaba but i only want one,

There's a website just for that! When you want it direct from the Chinese manufacturer, but you don't want an order of 100 or 1,000.

www.aliexpress.com

I've ordered batches of little thing five times or so, and it's gone well.

I have one, different brand. Got it after it was recommended here:

http://kk.org/cooltools/clamptite-2/

Maybe I haven't found the right gauge wire yet, but I find it kind of clunky and aggravating. I don't use it nearly as often as I thought I would.