Rocket Mass Heater Analysis and Design (draft eBook)

This is a 191 page draft.  The price is high to dissuade you from buying it in this rough form.  But I suppose some people wanna part with coin anyway.  Oh well.  

We were gonna wait until all the chapters at least had something in it.  But a couple of weeks ago we picked a date and said "whatever we have on that date is gonna be the draft version!"

by Paul Wheaton and Uncle Mud (aka Chris McClellan)

Honestly Paul this is the piece I was looking forward to the most. After building my first Rocket a couple years ago as just a test, I couldn't believe the efficiency of function.

I have a dream to build and install these for people in my area. This helps immensely.

Thanks so much for all you do my friend.

I like to think that there is a ton of stuff in this book that simply is not covered anywhere else.  

We are also hoping that this will be a book that has a dozen contributors in time.

Looking forward to the finished version!

Thanks very much for this e-book. I will eventually be building a rocket mass heater in a workshop which is a roofed-over space between two shipping containers and I am just gathering information for now. I'd like my RMH be taller than wide to minimise the floor space it takes up, so it will have up-and-down vertical flues although I might incorporate a place where I can sit and lean back in comfort. We have no surface clay here for the making of cob, only glacial till overlaying more sandy stuff. I think local well diggers encounter clay further down so I may be able to get hold of a load, which would enable me to finish the RMH off nicely. Even though it doesn't really have to look "pretty", I'd rather it did, with nice "organic" flowing lines and curves.

Any idea yet as to when the book might be finished? Will it be a future Kickstarter to produce a print version? Count me in if it is!

Mud and have had two meetings a week to work on this book.  In january we will probably be bumping that up to four meetings a week.  

As you read the book, you can see that there are chapters written by me, and chapters written by mud.  And a few chapters yet to be written.   The idea is that once *I* feel like I am all done with a chapter, then it is ready for mud and I to go over together.  At that time he might convince me to change a few things or he might write his own sidebar or two.   When the whole book has been processed this way, we intend to open it up to a dozen other rocket mass heater bigs to write any sidebars they might want to write.  

Jim Webb wrote:Any idea yet as to when the book might be finished?

With our more intensive schedule, I hope that it might be september when the final draft is done. (then, of course, we go into illustrations, reviews, editing, layout, etc.)

Will it be a future Kickstarter to produce a print version?

Printing is expensive, so probably.  We do think this book will warrant printing, so therefore we need to know how many to print.  And if you are gonna print it, you need to pay for layout and editing and illustrations and stuff.  So kickstarter sounds like the smart way to go.  

Count me in if this goes to a Kickstarter.  

Thanks very much, Paul,  for taking on this project and for everything else you do. Changing the world takes a lot of hard work but we'll "get 'er done"!!!

Jim Webb wrote:Thanks very much, Paul,  for taking on this project and for everything else you do. Changing the world takes a lot of hard work but we'll "get 'er done"!!!

Yes! Many times echoed here on my end. You gentlemen are an inspiration. Very happy to be around this movement, learning from all of you. I can't wait until I have the resources to be able to contribute to the dream.

paul wheaton wrote:I like to think that there is a ton of stuff in this book that simply is not covered anywhere else.  

We are also hoping that this will be a book that has a dozen contributors in time.

After reading through the first few pages I can only agree. It's practical and well put down. I know of at least 6 people that would jump at the opportunity to fund this, myself included.

Thank you so much! This looks great! Started reading immediately. Can't wait til the finished book is ready! I'll donate to another Kickstarter also!

thanks Paul,
what kind of feedback are you looking for/would be helpful?

paul wheaton wrote:

The primary goal of the book is to get past a lot of misinformation about rocket mass heaters.  After that to get into designs and even lay out some future stuff.  

First thing that would be lovely for feedback:  when somebody has read the whole book - is the general framework sound?

After that, what is some misinformation that still needs to be addressed?

Hi Paul,
I've read the Alpha draft. The structure seems fine, although there's a lot of place-marks so difficult to gauge how large those sections will be.
The flow seems logical and the thrust is clear.
Graphics will no doubt make a big difference, but I imagine that would improve rather than detract from the message.
Re 'other misinformation', I'm not at the pointy end of dealing with the naysayers so lack your perspective. I guess it's a bit like being a Doctor; you get to see a lot more sick people than most.
Rather than 'misinformation' the obstacles that I face with installing a RMH are the practical (some of which are addressed in this draft); Size, access to experienced trades, Building Code. The 'wood heater' market has addressed this with their 'plug and play' solution; certified boxes that 'only' require installation with a standard flu and surround, and also appeal to aesthetics- people can watch the flames through the glass door. Even Dragon is far from 'plug'n'play'.

all the best

Steven

paul wheaton wrote:The primary goal of the book is to get past a lot of misinformation about rocket mass heaters.  After that to get into designs and even lay out some future stuff.  

First thing that would be lovely for feedback:  when somebody has read the whole book - is the general framework sound?

After that, what is some misinformation that still needs to be addressed?

Dear Mud,
Re: Page 7
the URL you list here for the Liberator is now at rockectmassheater.com

And the price has gone up (inflation).

https://rocketmassheater.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/UserManualRMH2.pdf

Jim Webb wrote: I'd like my RMH be taller than wide to minimise the floor space it takes up, so it will have up-and-down vertical flues although I might incorporate a place where I can sit and lean back in comfort.

Hey Jim,
maybe this short video of Paul with Matt Walker can help with a more container friendly design.

Excited for the finished book as I am also planning to build a RMH some time next year and wasn't sure which books to go from yet.

Th and you all for the great feedback and encouragement.

Benjamin Dinkel wrote:
maybe this short video of Paul with Matt Walker can help with a more container friendly design.

It could indeed - thanks very much for that. A large hollow space has less surface area to absorb the heat and proportionately less mass so I think I should still go for a large lump of material containing vertical ducts but connect them all in parallel via a hot gas manifold at the top and an exhaust manifold at the bottom. That would mean that I would no longer have to worry about whether the duct joints were gas-tight. I could still place the exhaust/ chimney pipe next to the hot drum to induce gas flow inside it.

I have considered a related idea for my greenhouse, which would be to use a vertical chamber filled with largish rocks, of which, in Merville, we have an inexhaustible supply. I would be careful to choose those of volcanic origin, not sedimentary ones which could explode and would dry them out well. The hot gas from the rocket would be fed in at the top and exhausted at the bottom and the fire would be left to go out when the rocks at the bottom were hot enough. The walls of the chamber would be well insulated to keep as much of the heat in as possible. Air would be blown through the hot mass when heat was required during frosty weather, especially at night, to heat the greenhouse. I don't need it to be warm, I just want to keep the frost out so I might need some sort of bypass or mixing system to "dilute" the hot air down to a lower temperature before distributing it through ducts. I'm still tossing ideas around in my head at this stage.

Hi ! I'm having a really hard time downloading the draft book. I'm hoping someone can help me out.

I do get to the proper download, and it downloads, only when I try to open it it truly is an ad to upgrade a music metronome program. (I've downloaded it 3 times now)

I have an android phone

Now, I'm sure I will get the suggestions to make sure I'm downloading the proper link, and it says even in my downloaded files that it is that file.

If there is a different way to get the download, I'd really appreciate that.

I sent a message to the regular email, and the lovely volunteer gave me all the suggestions that I normally world do.

As we are preparing to build a house, this would be a great draft document to have! Thanks anyone who can offer help.
Kate

Kate,

What is the size of the file you have?

Kate Medland wrote:Hi ! I'm having a really hard time downloading the draft book. I'm hoping someone can help me out.

I do get to the proper download, and it downloads, only when I try to open it it truly is an ad to upgrade a music metronome program. (I've downloaded it 3 times now)

Hi Kate, it seems you clicked on the wrong link. The Rocket Heater link is near the top of the page under the big green graphic that says "BUY THIS AS A GIFT" and the brown button reading "PURCHASE"

There is a blue hyperlink "DOWNLOAD ATTACHMENT" that's the one you want.

I'm attaching a picture to hopefully help you find it easier. Feel free to PM me if you need further assistance!

Any word on if Tagari is looking to take on any new books?  I hear they have some kind of operations in the US now.

paul wheaton wrote:  So kickstarter sounds like the smart way to go.  

Regarding a polished product, if an alternate route were to be made available for access I would seriously consider taking it. Acknowledging the prospect of increased delay and greater expense.

paul wheaton wrote:The primary goal of the book is to get past a lot of misinformation about rocket mass heaters.  After that to get into designs and even lay out some future stuff.  

First thing that would be lovely for feedback:  when somebody has read the whole book - is the general framework sound?

After that, what is some misinformation that still needs to be addressed?

First, thank you for sharing, Paul & Uncle Mud, I appreciate it.  

My family recently came across some free barrels, and I had been contemplating the value of an RMH build; so I took it as a sign to read the draft.  I scanned the PDF, giving it ~57 minutes.  It took time to learn that an RMH is not right for me.

As far as feedback goes, the title "RMH Analysis and Design" had me expecting the draft's framework and style to be more technical and direct and less colloquial.  I would advocate for more "Yellow" on the purple-yellow spectrum for a technical product like RMH.

The stated goal for the book is to get past misinformation, but I felt that there was anecdotal excess and cutesiness getting in the way of facts and essentials.  When I finally got to Uncle Mud's detailed sections in the middle of the draft I was like "Okay, now we're getting closer.  Give it to me straight!"

In retrospect regarding the framework, I was hoping for something to the tune of:

Standard front matter with a briefer intro and author/historical backgrounds.  
Then some combination of:
-What's an RMH?
-Nice diagram and anatomy of an RMH.
-Basic operational concepts.  
-Is an RMH right for me?  Benefits and Constraints.
-Q&A + Myths about RMH. Short, sweet, plentiful, and debunked.  I bet you could list a hundred myths which could be addressed in rapid fire (pun intended) succession.
-How to Operate.  A step by step guide.  
-Cautions and operational troubleshooting.
-How to Build.  Design pitfalls.
-Art and advanced design stuff.  
-Legal and insurance.
-The future.

Appendix:
-Case studies.
-Glossary.
-Technical diagrams to build an RMH.
-Wood BTU/Joules info.
-Materials availability and resourcing guide.

*Edit to add:
I felt like "Introduction 1" could accidentally alienate some readers.  So it may be helpful to explicitly state who you wrote the book for exactly.  Is the intended reader someone who wants to design and build RMHs for a living (necessitating a kind of RMH Bible?  Is it a government figure or insurance guru who wants to know that RMH is super safe and effective, and therefore needs top-cover support in changing Building Codes and regulations?  Is it someone who knows very little about the heaters and likely has a few misconceptions?  Is it someone who lost faith in RMH after a home-brew system failed?  Is it someone who knows a fair amount about RMH, and is ready to start their first build but wants to avoid screwing things up.   Perhaps someone like me isn't the intended audience?

Just skimmed through this now. I must have got it as a reward in something.

This is good stuff! I will definitely read the draft in full when I have the space of mind to process it, fully. I think this document answers a lot of my questions as it is, I'll try to give useful feedback if there are questions it doesn't answer that it seems like it should.

Dear Paul and Chris,
thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of information. I really enjoyed reading the draft and am excited for the finished product.
I’m guessing that right here is the place for some feedback?

I noticed 2 things:

- page 38 (chapter 2.01) seems to be a repeat of page 36 (chapter 1.24)

- page 57: RMH ratings. Please give them in kW, like gamera does, not in kW/hour. kW is already “per hour”

I enjoyed the style, especially the mix of the 2 styles. Made me laugh at least a couple of times. It was a fast and informative read, learned some new things and gained a lot of perspective. Thanks again!

Two big things:

1, mud and I took a lot of rmh stuff, other stuff, carefully documented all the numbers (and sources) and made this spiffy heat infographic https://permies.com/heat

2, we took one of the chapters out of this book and super spiffed it out, https://permies.com/w/risers-ebook