I think it's raining. Sigh.
Yesterday, I bought a bag of perlite to make a rocket mass heater core. I have harvested my first clay harvest to mix with the perlite. 1:1, with as much fireclay:lay as one can afford. The video said he has used as little as 0% fireclay, and it worked. That is also unfortunately, the percentage I can afford.
I need to read
this thread a few more times, then do some experiments. Would a 1":1' scale model be functional? Yes, I'd need really small twigs instead of larger branches for test runs.
Then there is still sourcing lime. Powdered dolomite limestone and bone meal is available here in garden supply centers like Lowe's. I didn't have funds yesterday to get more than the perlite yesterday. Sigh. Maybe I'll have funds to get two $5 bags next month.
I have added a hugelkultur type bed to my plans. I am getting plenty of roots from my dig site between two trees. Add pruned branches, plenty of fallen leaves and soil and I will have a nice bed. Not certain whether I want to dig down one shovel (~8") deep or build the bed on the ground surface. Heavy clay soil just does not drain well. In rainy years, the yards are swamps. In drought years, soil can have inch wide cracks. Most years are in between with the brief swamp after a heavy rain.
Which means a sump in my studio. Would a loop siphon lift and drain water into my pond? Or would I need a small pump? I plan to separate the ceiling fan light into the light and the ceiling fan. Reinstall the light and convert the ceiling fan into a wind turbine. Would it generate AC or DC? A solar panel would, of course, need a 12V battery bank.
Ah, so much to think about and do! But it's definitely raining. Which means miserable and unsafe levels of chill outside. Which has me wondering about 1 inch to 1 foot scale models and research on the internet. And using leaves instead of grass with clay to seal ponds. Hmmm... We have cardboard boxes to build models on. Maybe, maybe not.
A quick sketch, 1 sq = 3 inches.