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Out with the old RMH

 
thomas rubino
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Out with the old RMH, to make way for the new MMH.
Today, I started on a new project.
The complete removal of my original piped mass and the current 6" batchbox.
The 6" batch will be installed in a brand-new double-wall bell to be built later this summer.
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When I started
When I started
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When I stopped
When I stopped
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and it begins
and it begins
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the tension frame
the tension frame
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thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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Demolition continued today. I have almost reached the original concrete floor.
Boy, am I sorry I used a concrete mortar when constructing this.
These bricks will need to be broken up even further to be used in a drainage/ rubble trench behind my smoke shack.
With clay mortar, every brick would have been reusable.
I  did uncover a nice stash of industrial-grade firebricks, including an uncommon 18" x 4.5" x 2.5"
I had salvaged several hundred for free from a local sawmill years ago, and apparently, I used some as fill when converting from a J-tube to a batch box.


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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
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thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
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One thing to note about this core teardown, as well as my shop stove teardown, is the effectiveness of a mortar-less build.
The tension frame was just snug enough to keep the bricks in place, but not tight enough to cause them to crack.
Again, on this extremely hot stove, there is some degradation of the firebrick at the hottest locations.
On the shop stove rebuild, I used a ceramic coating (ITC) to protect the bricks.
When I reassemble the studio stove, I will use my newly found industrial bricks at the hot spots and monitor how they hold up without a coating.
 

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slightly degraded firebrick from a rocket mass heater

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
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thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
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Today, I removed all of the core surround and all of the transition area.
Next comes the 12-foot run of mass.
Other projects will take precedence for a few days, but I should return to this job by mid-week.

I've already got quite a pile of demo bricks, and I still have 12 feet to go!
I also ended up with quite a pile of industrial bricks as well, which will save me a few bucks while building the inner skin.
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Stash of industrial bricks
Stash of industrial bricks
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The rubble pile is growing.
The rubble pile is growing.

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
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Riona Abhainn
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Loving how as you "upgrade" you can use the old parts again for this or other things.

I do Celtic, fantasy, folk and shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, pirate campouts, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
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Mart Hale
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Thank you for taking us along for the upgrade, so you are moving from batch box to ....  what is the next progression?

Good to note what works, and what does not work.

Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
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Hi Mart;
I'm keeping the same 6" batch, but I'm putting it into a double skin stratification chamber (Brick Bell)
I'm done cleaning pipes every summer; the piped mass design is outdated, and having a batchbox feed it was more heat than it knew what to do with.
Shorty has slashed my house's wood consumption. This upgrade will cut the studio's wood use as well.
Perhaps, I could buy a long load of wood every other year...

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
Mart Hale
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thomas rubino wrote:Hi Mart;
I'm keeping the same 6" batch, but I'm putting it into a double skin stratification chamber (Brick Bell)
I'm done cleaning pipes every summer; the piped mass design is outdated, and having a batchbox feed it was more heat than it knew what to do with.
Shorty has slashed my house's wood consumption. This upgrade will cut the studio's wood use as well.
Perhaps, I could buy a long load of wood every other year...



I have been impressed with Matt Walker's Bell design...      I guess with the bell design all of the left over ash never makes it to the chimney...      that sure would be safer...

Life on a farm is a school of patience; you can't hurry the crops or make an ox in two days.
Henri Alain

 
Timothy Norton
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Thank you for sharing your process!

Its impressive to not only see the construction of one of these, but also how they 'wear'.

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April Leithleiter
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I’m curious if dry sand and clay powder could be used as fill instead of bricks?
 
Glenn Herbert
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You could use sand and clay powder, though if they remain dry and loose, they would risk settling and losing support for anything on top of the fill. If you wet or moisten the clay so the fill can solidify, it would work fine.
 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
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I managed to get a few hours of digging in yesterday.
There are so many projects at this time of year that it is hard to stay on just one!
All the fill inside the brick walls must be removed, and unfortunately, the cemented brick wall must also be removed.
After that, I pour concrete to have a complete slab.
Then, I can start laying out our new double bell batchbox.
20250522_075914.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250522_075914.jpg]

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 4 months ago
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Hi April, Welcome to Permies!

As Glenn explained, although labor-intensive, a wet clay sand mix (Mortar) is a fine building material.
However, the heat-holding ability can be increased by adding extra bricks, large stones, and heavy metal.
They have a higher density than a straight cob mortar.

In my case, I had hundreds of industrial firebricks that I salvaged for free.
Using them as fill was expedient at the time.
Making mortar in large quantities is hard work, so adding larger, higher-density items suddenly sounds like a great idea!

Now I'm glad I unearthed them, so they can be used as initially intended and save me money!

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 4 months ago
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A little more exposed each day.
You can see the cob lasagna creating a solid mass.
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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 4 months ago
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Half way there
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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 4 months ago
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I can see the end is near.
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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
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posted 4 months ago
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This mass was built in the summer of 2013.
It was hard work, and I never thought I would be removing it!
Most of the  8'' pipes were HVAC pipe (very thin).
I was meticulous about being sure I had completely covered the pipes with cob.
Ernie & Erica said the metal pipe would eventually disintegrate, and you wanted a cob tunnel after it did.
After 12 years, the metal portion of the pipe was almost non-existent, but the 8" clay tunnel was perfect!

I am removing this mass as it is old technology, although it has been a learning experience.
The J-Tube design will always be an RMH standard. Running it into a hollow stratification chamber rather than the piped mass is now the builder's choice.
First-generation Batchboxes, the DSR variants, and the newest Shorty core design all work best when used with a stratification chamber.








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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
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It hit 80F this afternoon for the first time, thank goodness, the humidity is a whopping 30%.
Still a bit too hot for me to finish up this afternoon, it will wait until morning.
Almost finished!
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The waste brick pile
The waste brick pile
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some of the stone removed from the mass
some of the stone removed from the mass

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
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Today, I removed the last of the mass, and the ground was leveled to pour concrete.
I ended up with 56 perfect firebricks, a couple of 6"ers, and the one 18".
I also have a bunch of half-firebricks and broken ones of random length.

Next, is pouring concrete to bring it up to grade.
Then it all sits while I collect the last supplies, and coordinate with Gerry when he is free to help with the new build.


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Ready to pour
Ready to pour
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Recovered Industrial Firebricks
Recovered Industrial Firebricks
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840 new clay bricks
840 new clay bricks

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
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Concrete pour is complete.
98% of the needed materials are now on site.
Next, I have decided to move the roof chimney jack from its current location to one bay further east.
This will allow for a straight exit from the bell.
I am currently hoping to start bell construction in late September or early October.



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gone but not forgotten
gone but not forgotten
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Some of the material
Some of the material

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
thomas rubino
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6799
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3702
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 2 months ago
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Today, we got the roof jack moved and the double-wall pipe installed!
I need to install some metal roofing, a proper cap, and flashing.
Now that I have a location for the exit, I can lay out the bell.
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For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
I agree. Here's the link: http://stoves2.com
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