you need to insulate the burn tunnel and riser, hint - insulative materials are usually very light in weight.....do a search for papercrete/paperclay ceramics or insulative refractory....
From the picture i notice that you have a short exhaust? Notice that in a rocket mass heater a lot of the heat is taken out through a long exhaust tube, the barel is not all the heat transfer surface. For trying it, it is ok.
Why is your dog always so ... moist? Check this tiny ad for some sort of cure:
