Glass on the bell.

Hello all! I was curious why I can't find a single picture or write up or mention of a RMH with viewing glass on the bell. I imagine it must be a huge no-no but I was wondering why?

technical difficulties

Hi, I am not sure what you mean by the bell?
Generally speaking there is not much to see inside a bell!
There are rocket stoves with a viewing window to see the fire though.

I have an access panel on my bell, and drilled a nailhole through it with a view of the top of the riser. When the fire is strong there is a glow and some sparks, but nothing worthy of an actual window.

The spectacular flames seen at the top of the riser of a bare J-tube will be significantly reduced when there is a whole system around it, and that is good - slower airflow means more time in the riser for combustion to complete. Flames out of the top mean combustion did not finish in the riser.

Thank you! I knew there had to be light/flame Still visible in the bell after it left the riser. My guess was that it just wasn't hot enough to keep the glass clean, but it just isn't significant enough to bother looking at, is what it sounds like your saying.

Well I have built a few different designs that include glass but if it is a J tubes style that you are interested in, I built this one….

If you have a bell that can include a window with a view down the riser, that could be worthwhile. A view across the top of the riser is much less likely to be worth having.

I love the use of the spin dryer unit for firewood!!!

Thanks for the advise gentleman. And thanks for the video link Fox! How well of a glow do you get from the glass on the side of your barrel? Do you have any pictures of it at night?

To be honest the front glass  was only really installed as part of ongoing experiments  to see the effects of different riser heights and just how short a riser I can use without the flames leaping out of the top.
I have now replaced the glass with a opening door so we can roast marshmallows.
To answer you question, yes there would be a visible glow but only when the the fire is running full tilt and all the light were out.
Certainly the top glass would offer more of a glow but again only when the fire is roaring away,
I tend to feed small softwood sticks when a lot of heat is required and larger blocks of hardwood to maintain room temperature,
So for the most time, the glass top and front glass would not throw out much light.
That particular rocket stove has been further adapted and no longer has a glass top or front glass but retains the glass fire box.

Thanks for sharing! And good call on the marshmallow door!