Hi Phil,
Thanks for your response.
Well, Mangoes would
be nice… We have a couple of dwarf lemon trees we’d love to keep in bloom but that may be a little ambitious for our conditions. We’re about 90 minutes from Bend and about 1200 feet higher in elevation.
Yes, perlite mixed with fireclay. In my test burn (in the pictures), I was not able to get the riser even a little warm to touch. I am confident that it is well insulated.
I have not relished the idea of starting over but if that’s what I need to do, I think I have proven to myself that this is feasible.
Do you think I can mix the existing rock into my cob? The rock seems to hold the heat nicely but it has enough air-space that it doesn’t seem to give it up. If I rake back a couple of inches of rock, it exudes heat. Is it expected that it should take a few days of heating for the mass to come up to temperature?
Thanks again,
Craig