Burning Bamboo for Rocket Stoves Etc.

I have been looking into moving out of the country and starting a permaculture based communal village for Christians with similar convictions.

I have always lived in Appalachia and have used a wood stove to get through the cold winters, so in researching different climates and burning wood for cooking, I came to realize that rocket stoves will provide some of the most efficient ways to cook, heat water, and (with mass) generate limited amounts of heat if needed for certain spaces (though keeping cool is more likely to be our problem).

So, in thinking about producing or growing lots for fuel, I came to the question of Bamboo. Some of the largest varieties which are also used for construction materials, grow relatively fast, spread quickly, get to be a decent diameter, and densely populate an area as compared to trees and are native to the climate zones i've been investigating.

Now, my question is this, can I use bamboo for use in a rocket stove as a primary heat source?

I have heard that bamboo can pop or explode, but if split in several smaller pieces, reacts much better to being burned.

So, if I had a large variety cut into logs and split, would this not be a very efficient resource for using a rocket stove?

Hi Joshua;
Indeed bamboo puts out a lot of heat fast!  
It does not last long, but it might be perfect with an RMH in a warmer climate!
I would not want to use this up north, so it is good it does not grow up here!

I don't see a reason why not. I have tried a few varieties in western Kentucky and the only one growing well is Incense Bamboo. At about six years or so, I would say it has not spread to a large enough area to heat a house all winter. I have plenty of hardwoods though and have never tried the bamboo.

yeah, we are planning on moving near the equator and it seems like some larger varieties which are popular for construction are native to those areas. I'd image that if its well split such would work.

honestly, in starting a communal village, we would probably use it heavy around mealtimes and if it is simultaneously heating water which is stored external tanks, then people could take advantage of the after-dinner hours to use the shower/bath house etc.

The advantage for bamboo seems to be density, rate of growth, etc. If we were starting on a property from scratch that didn't have enough trees that were able to be cut, it seems a wood lot based on bamboo would be the quickest way.

We live near the equator and we love to get our rocket stove started with bamboo!  It doesn't grow much where we are, but when we have scraps from projects, it makes great kindling (though I still use some lighter material to light that.) I love how fast and hot it burns.  It sort of melts into the mouth of the stove.

Since rocket stoves are often run hot and fast for a short amount of time, bamboo could serve well for the hot and fast heating of a system.  In our case we use the rocket stove a little more like a conventional wood stove, running it off and on all day on chilly days.  

Until recently, our favorite kindling was paper pulp 30-egg trays, but now that our ducks and hens meet our egg needs, we're saving those for reuse.

Joshua Johnson wrote:I'd image that if its well split such would work.

Just to clarify my own experience, we're just using scraps that are 1/4"--1" in diameter.

I have been using bamboo in my rocket stoves for about 5 years...

One word of warning,    use a chop saw and cut up the sections before you add them to your rocket stove....    Otherwise what you have is a container that will explode with the sound of about 3 shotgun shells going off at the same time, especially when it is green :-)

You could split the bamboo in half before you feed it in or the chop saw, but make sure you break the bamboo segments open so there is no explosion.

This is me burning some dried bamboo for to heat my water ->

https://odysee.com/@Marthale7:f/Kelly-solo-stove:b