Peter Chauffeur

If you own land that has a lot of downfall wood, harvest it and split it! Fill up your pickup truck and sell it to the city slickers at a premium, take profit, fill your truck full of fuel and bring home a load of factory made wood pellets.  That is an income generating stream, selling your surplus downfall wood and having someone paying you cash for it!  Paying cash for wood pellets may even demand a slight discount over using a credit card.
That is what I call being 2% smarter!

here is a suggestion to "fall in Love" with wood pellets;

Since you have lots of burnable wood that you can harvest, do it! Harvest the wood and split it. If your harvestable wood is hardwood ... all the better! Fill your pickup truck with said cut and split wood and advertise it for sale to all those who own woodstoves in the city and are more than happy to pay a premium price for a cord of cut and split dry firewood.  Hell, you are going to the big smoke to stock up on something for the farm and that cord of firewood delivered at a premium is cash to fill your truck with fuel and buy wood pellets! limit your deliveries to when you are city bound and finance heating cost with wood you have.

I call this, "Being 2% Smarter" In some places that sell wood pellets, paying cash will give you a discount over using plastic! Cash is King!!!

hi! Check out my version of "Frankenstove Rocket Mass Heaters" I have a thread under the name Peter Chauffeur on Permies and I have showcased the build of six vertical (low footprint) RMHs that may interest you.
They were built to heat a home, shed and even an Aquaponics greenhouse ( which may be the one you're looking for by where you are planning to install one). All my designs use decommissioned propane tanks as I feel that they are thicker than flimsy oil drums, transmit heat safer and take up less than 4 square feet (less than 0.5 m2) My design uses gravity fed wood pellets and ceramic tube core encased in refractory material. Everyone that sees my design working thinks it a still. lol

Check out my thread on Permies (which will show you how I built the 6 similar vertical RMHs ; what went well and what didn't (including autopsies of the first two builds). to find these builds on a single , almost 4 page thread on permies look under rocket mass stoves for "Peter Chauffeur"

hello Fellow Permies!
I have designed and built a total of SIX Rocket Mass Heaters and have posted them on One thread here on the Permies site under the section of Energy, Rocket Mass Heaters under the "Peter Chauffeur" handle. Three designs are in current use in my shed, my home and finally, my greenhouse!  Here is a video of the greenhouse build: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.PinkBuildsIt The picture is the Verticle RMH I have in my home that also heats my hot tub via copper coils but the video on youtube can be seen on my channel where you get to see everything in the "Frankenstove" builds! It uses old propane tanks instead of flimsy oil barrels and 4" ceramic tubes as the riser. Also it uses hardwood pellets that are gravity fed so you know how much calorific value by weight you are entering into your greenhouse.

Be Kind, Stay Safe, Stay Warm
Peter Chauffeur

Thank you Mr. Fox James for your technical support and helping me put this video on the site / thread.
I am grateful that this video has been posted for those who have patiently scrolled through almost 4 pages of one thread to see what can be done when rocket mass heaters are taken to the next level past traditional building methods and materials.
Kudos to you Fox for lending a hand!

Again, Thank you! Much Appreciated!

Be Safe, Bewarm, Be Kind

Hello Fellow Permies!
I attempted to put a video on this thread but I couldn’t do it. (Mainly due to my digital incompetence) so I posted an 8:44 minute video on YouTube.
Here is the link if you wish to see it in action. Thank you for your interest in my version of a more advanced gravity pellet fed vertical Rocket Mass Heater.

https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.PinkBuildsIt

I think my work on this particular thread is over.
I will be making videos of how this was built along with some really interesting side developments that may be useful in your current or future build.

Again, thank you for your views, encouragement during its development from it’ conception of the first “Frankenstove” Mark 1 thru 6. Mark 6 being renamed the Aloha RMH.

It’s been a slice…… Aloha! No pun intended. It’s time to move on!  

Sincerely,

Peter Chauffeur AKA Mr. Pink

Hello Permies!

Warm wishes for a new year for those currently using rocket mass heaters and those interested in building one of their own for sustainability and economy!  

I now have 3 operating units of my own design that currently heat my shed, my house ( and hot tub) and finally my greenhouse.  All of these designs have been massaged thru my experience, trial and error, safety considerations and the occasional “ah—ha! Moments”

Even though there are those on this thread consider these designs to be “ too advanced” and revolutionary from the “by the book mantra” due to straying from the status quo of what a Rocket Mass Heater should look like or be like, I will continue with my stand that there are many people on this site that need to know that rmh’s do not need to be massive constructions and square footage space eaters.

There is no question that these designs challenge the “ mud and straw conventional approach”. This  build also requires the ability to use a welder and some hand tools. I have documented a from the ground-up build on this page so others can follow the process.

Hello Phil,

First, thank you for your poignant definition of “horses for courses”, I now have a new phrase I can use when it comes to a basic design using the bare minimum of materials. The problem with your saying horses for courses” is that horses don’t play with fire!

Second, I misread your “cast riser” as cast iron!  Oops. My first two stoves had metal riser ( high temp 3” muffler pipe) that had a surrounding poured refractory casting surrounding it. The metal pipe suffered thermal destruction and I documented that several times on this thread.

Third, we can agree that an oil drums are the bare minimum for enduring the heat blast exiting the riser and concentrating a lot of heat which caused further distortion and stress on the thin gauge bell that are ubiquitous in conventional rocket mass heaters. These are copies in “by the book” the builders you have suggested and it does have an overlooked safety issue.  As you have described from your experience, the oil can you used needed to be replaced with a 5mm flat steel plate.
Oil drums were made and designed to transport oils and other liquid ingredients at normal earthly temperatures using the oil drums as a “one-off” means of getting to the customers locality in a relatively safe manner. Oil drums were not designed to take heat stress cycling and combustion gasses. So, from a design perspective they are actually a poor choice for Rocket Mass Heaters heat output is far beyond what the oil drums were designed for.
Yes, oil drums work and sometimes right at the envelop of thermal failure like your stove did where you needed 5mm of flat plate steel to modify your “eight year build”.  Just because “ by the book “ builds or “that’s what the authorities did! “ on the subject are using, doesn’t mean there are better alternatives. That is what I’ve done in developing 6 different rmh’s over my years looking at the deficiencies in the designs of others. Every design isn’t perfect but if you don’t look at the designs of others and ask yourself, “ What can I do differently to build mine better?”, then you are not taking the dialogue of building a better more useful RMH for others to ponder on their development for better builds of their own.

Fourth, I understand that rebuilding/ modifying a RMH can be a huge undertaking and usually involves an on-site rebuild /repair and the cost to do it may be prohibiting to the builder that used the cheapest available, but let me ask you to consider this question. If I was given the knowledge that “burn - thru” of oil drums are a possibility and some other builder said, “ Hey! All you amazing people building these rmh’s that you can replace sketchy oil drums with a safer bell made from a 100 lb propane tank that you can get from a junk yard for $20?”  Would you not consider a safer alternative?  I would.

Fifth, I know that my builds aren’t something you build on a weekend with some good old boys and a case of beer!  It took time. It took problem solving. It took documentation to put it on this site so other, open minded researchers and enthusiasts could see that there are other designs out there that have different attributes that may be out there and the road of development is documented along the way! This thread is the culmination of many years of building and operation of my adventures of designing and building gravity wood pellet feed, space conscious, Rocket Mass Heaters that, can be used in house and one to heat an aquaponic greenhouse. I have taken this build thru 6 evolutionary builds; on one single thread so there is continuity that others can see. I refuse to sit on my laurels and admit what I’m doing is, good enough!”  Of course not! RMHs make sense for relatively cheap environmentally sustainable heat for anyone willing to consider them.  However, if you look to push the “mud and straw builds and consider more “appropriate technology” which by my definition means using the best available materials “ you will come to the conclusion that RMHs have to develop from what is to what is MORE possible.

Finally, your design works for you! You do you. I am proud of all my designs; for all that went well. and more importantly for all that didn’t go well.  What I’ve learned and painstakingly tried to guide others in the possibility of their being to undertake a build on my design. My innovative spirit and tenacity to keep building and posting on this thread that has been viewed over 7,000 times is testament that other Permies see the need for innovation on the basic designs on this site. Is my quest for a better RMH over? No. There are many avenues that my designs you have seen on this thread and some I have  kept back pending further review and development. It is because I have built a RMH that can push past the status quo challenging what a person can build with ingenuity and basic tools (drill, grinder,welder( time and patience!))
Stay tuned, I’m still pushing the envelope on what my RMHs can achieve. Enjoy where you are in this journey, my designs have places to go! And I’m certain that there are those that are interested in following!
Thank you for your interest.

Be Safe, Be warm

Phil Stevens wrote:

Peter Chauffeur wrote:This is not your typical build of the "mud and straw builds" that are ubiquitous on permies and I have a profound dislike of using thin gauge oil barrels as bells for the builds I see on this site.

I'm a big fan of horses for courses...deploying technology that is appropriate to the situation. In my case, I have a glasshouse I need to heat over the winter, but not every night. We only have freezing overnight temps about 20-25 times on average. So I built a 4" J-tube, "by the book" with cast burn tunnel, fireclay+perlite riser, a 30-gallon drum as the radiator (NOT a bell because there is no mass), and a cob bench with the flue piped through it. Materials costs were about $100 for castable refractory mix, fireclay and perlite. The drum was free from the local scrap metal dealer. The cob was free for the digging. I spent about a week or two building it, total labour around 12 hours.

It's been in service for 8 years now and I cut out the warped thin steel from the top of the drum and replaced it with a round piece of 5mm plate. Best griddle ever. I've rebuilt the burn tunnel with firebrick (the cast one disintegrated after three years) and replaced the heavy clay riser with a 5-minute one. So there was an additional material cost, maybe another hundred bucks, and about 3-4 hours to dismantle and rebuild the core. The drum is fine and gets a coating of linseed oil at the end of each season. It does exactly what it needs to do, which is to shed some of the extreme heat after the exhaust leaves the combustion zone, and enhance the system draft via the densification of the cooling and sinking gases. Temps on the cooking surface (did I mention what an awesome griddle this is?) approach 300 C. Readings on the side of the drum usually go from 180 down to 120 from top to bottom. This is not a bell. The thin metal is performing a function quite different from a mass of stone or brick.

The heat storage happens in the cob bench, which warms up to around 35-40 C during a burn and is a really nice place to sit on a cold, rainy night. Someday I might tear it down and replace it with a stratification chamber using barrels cut in half lengthwise, because cleaning out the pipe is not fun and there is a bit of ash in there that is hard to reach from the cleanout ports. But the basic design is performing brilliantly, and the humble RMH should give many more years of service with minor maintenance.

Hi Phil, I have to admit I enjoyed your posts but I have no idea what your reference to horses have to do with rocket mass heaters. As for “building it by the book” I would appreciate you provide information where it suggests a metal riser and the heat specification for your oil drum and where it says to cut off the top and adding 5mm plate. I’m certain that the seam of your oil can will be the next thing to heat fail due to thermal cycling. I think your book needs a re- edit!
I do agree with you that the thickness of oil drum barrels are way too thin to take the massive amounts of heat exiting the riser and there is a need to add a thicker flat plate of steel to prevent your ceiling or home burning down due to a melt thru during operation.
I also agree that a metal riser is a poor decision to use which is why I chose to dole out $100 for the proper ceramic 4” I.D.  Tubes to withstand the heat.
Choosing a 100 lb. Propane cylinder for the bell was the engineering product of choice as their thickness and quality of metal are designed to take massive amounts of heat while containing propane and preventing a rupture leading to a BLEVE (if the pressure valve fails)
I will include a picture of the inside of my ceramic riser shortly after shutdown looking down the 3/4” threaded “scully fitting” that used to hold the brass valve. The glowing red area is where the horizontal burn tunnel hits the vertical ceramic riser.
My design is solid, takes a bit of craftsmanship and safety engineering so I can leave it to heat my home and hot tub while I’m out enjoying riding my horse in the Great Canadian pacific northwest!
Build it right the first time. I strongly suggest you get an empty , devolved 100 lb propane cylinder for and replace you re-engineered oil can for safety’s sake.
Be safe and be warm.

Patience Permies;  all will be revealed.

The ALOHA RMH was specifically built for my greenhouse/ aquaponic garden. The design compact, low footprint and totally manufactured from repurposed, easy to find materials that anyone can get in their hands on. The exception to this statement is the ceramic 4” ID refractory tubes.

Anyone who can operate a drill, grinder and basic welding skills can build this!
Stay tuned patrons of Permies!
Stay safe, be warm, be kind