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November walkthrough of my new system
Tom Helmers
Posts: 5
posted 3 years ago
Here is a link that I made of my new backyard system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-Sif24CV4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
posted 3 years ago
Nice system Tom!
Where are you located?
Will the system stay warm through the winter?
How often do you fire the rocket?
Does the mass go all the way to the other end of the beds?
When you say transplants does that mean you dug them up from an outside garden and transplanted them to the greenhouse?
What do you feed the fish?
Where are you located?
Will the system stay warm through the winter?
How often do you fire the rocket?
Does the mass go all the way to the other end of the beds?
When you say transplants does that mean you dug them up from an outside garden and transplanted them to the greenhouse?
What do you feed the fish?
Tom Helmers
Posts: 5
posted 3 years ago
Thanks. I made a hybrid system of Youtube's Northernmonkeymayhem's system.
Where are you located?
I am located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. We get cold winters.
Will the system stay warm through the winter?
This will be my first winter so I will let you know how it goes. I am modifying the rocket stove with 2 8"x8"x24" clay chimney liner on the intake and will load individual bundles of firewood. After a fire has been started, I will put the clay chute in place and stack the small bundles of wood and cap off the chute so it does not act as a chimney. I have an air intake below the chute. I tested this with a stack of cinder blocks using cut up old tomato stakes and it worked pretty well. It gave me a 3 hour burn. I will be testing the 8x8 chute this weekend.
How often do you fire the rocket?
I have used the stove 5 or six nights so far. If I run a 3 hour fire, I manage to keep the temperature above freezing. We had a week with a few 28 degree nights.
Does the mass go all the way to the other end of the beds?
Yes I have 8" duct along the floor going 25 feet out the other end of the hoop house. I used sand as my thermal mass which was a horrible choice. I plan on moving the RMH to the other side of the hoophouse. I will empty the raft bed and run the 8" exhaust under the plastic liner of the pool. This will heat the water which will then be the thermal mass. I started using an electric 1000 watt electric heater to bring the water temperature up from 50f to 70f. This livened up both the fish and bacteria, however it is costing me money so it needs to go. Further enhancements to the hoophouse will be a ventilated second skin and sheets of 4x8' insulation for the sides of the structure. I am also using an electric air pump which will be replaced with a venturi aeration device. So hopefully the only electric that the system will use will be for the water pump and the electric fans.
When you say transplants does that mean you dug them up from an outside garden and transplanted them to the greenhouse?
Yes, I live in a subdivision and over the years my neighbor's trees have grown to block the sun from my raised bed gardens. So the plants do not grow. I moved some of them to the hoop house a couple of months ago and they have really taken off. They have grown about 25% larger and are actually producing. We have been eating Chard, celery a couple tomatoes and peppers. All of the peppers have small new peppers growing on them. I have about 40 small channel catfish and 36 bluegill so as they get larger the bacteria will be able to feed my plants better. I am also growing some plants from seed and others from just cuttings. It all seems to be working well.
What do you feed the fish?
I feed the fish about a tablespoon of goldfish pellets that I purchased from a local fish hatchery ~$16 for a 2 pound bag. A bag should last a few months. I will start to grow duckweed if I can find some.
Where are you located?
I am located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. We get cold winters.
Will the system stay warm through the winter?
This will be my first winter so I will let you know how it goes. I am modifying the rocket stove with 2 8"x8"x24" clay chimney liner on the intake and will load individual bundles of firewood. After a fire has been started, I will put the clay chute in place and stack the small bundles of wood and cap off the chute so it does not act as a chimney. I have an air intake below the chute. I tested this with a stack of cinder blocks using cut up old tomato stakes and it worked pretty well. It gave me a 3 hour burn. I will be testing the 8x8 chute this weekend.
How often do you fire the rocket?
I have used the stove 5 or six nights so far. If I run a 3 hour fire, I manage to keep the temperature above freezing. We had a week with a few 28 degree nights.
Does the mass go all the way to the other end of the beds?
Yes I have 8" duct along the floor going 25 feet out the other end of the hoop house. I used sand as my thermal mass which was a horrible choice. I plan on moving the RMH to the other side of the hoophouse. I will empty the raft bed and run the 8" exhaust under the plastic liner of the pool. This will heat the water which will then be the thermal mass. I started using an electric 1000 watt electric heater to bring the water temperature up from 50f to 70f. This livened up both the fish and bacteria, however it is costing me money so it needs to go. Further enhancements to the hoophouse will be a ventilated second skin and sheets of 4x8' insulation for the sides of the structure. I am also using an electric air pump which will be replaced with a venturi aeration device. So hopefully the only electric that the system will use will be for the water pump and the electric fans.
When you say transplants does that mean you dug them up from an outside garden and transplanted them to the greenhouse?
Yes, I live in a subdivision and over the years my neighbor's trees have grown to block the sun from my raised bed gardens. So the plants do not grow. I moved some of them to the hoop house a couple of months ago and they have really taken off. They have grown about 25% larger and are actually producing. We have been eating Chard, celery a couple tomatoes and peppers. All of the peppers have small new peppers growing on them. I have about 40 small channel catfish and 36 bluegill so as they get larger the bacteria will be able to feed my plants better. I am also growing some plants from seed and others from just cuttings. It all seems to be working well.
What do you feed the fish?
I feed the fish about a tablespoon of goldfish pellets that I purchased from a local fish hatchery ~$16 for a 2 pound bag. A bag should last a few months. I will start to grow duckweed if I can find some.
Ariel Leger
Posts: 22
posted 3 years ago
Thinking on closing some loops in you system:
seems heating and feeding the fish are both open here. The system provides for neither of these needs without constant addition from energy outside the system. If you live in a suburban area you could most probably get a hold of enough food waste to feed a large worm bin or black soldier fly system which could provide some great protein for the fish. There are also many high protein plants that Catfish love that you might be able to grow in the low light conditions of your raised bed gardens in the summer or find some space for in your hoop house during the winter. I don't know much about what catfish eat in their natural environment but assume that they would like high protein plants. They might even like having some plants growing in a raft in their tank. I know that catfish like to play amongst the roots of aquatic plants in the wild.
where does the power to keep the water flowing come from?
This might be a little more complicated if you don't have the option of using solar power. Wind is kinda expensive to install and depending on your area might not be practical. whatever you choose, It is a good idea to have a back up power source for your system in case the grid goes down for a substantial amount of time. nice to have a back up plan..
Looks like you have a beautiful system going here! It'll be wonderful to have fresh veggies all through the winter that don't come from califorina...
seems heating and feeding the fish are both open here. The system provides for neither of these needs without constant addition from energy outside the system. If you live in a suburban area you could most probably get a hold of enough food waste to feed a large worm bin or black soldier fly system which could provide some great protein for the fish. There are also many high protein plants that Catfish love that you might be able to grow in the low light conditions of your raised bed gardens in the summer or find some space for in your hoop house during the winter. I don't know much about what catfish eat in their natural environment but assume that they would like high protein plants. They might even like having some plants growing in a raft in their tank. I know that catfish like to play amongst the roots of aquatic plants in the wild.
where does the power to keep the water flowing come from?
This might be a little more complicated if you don't have the option of using solar power. Wind is kinda expensive to install and depending on your area might not be practical. whatever you choose, It is a good idea to have a back up power source for your system in case the grid goes down for a substantial amount of time. nice to have a back up plan..
Looks like you have a beautiful system going here! It'll be wonderful to have fresh veggies all through the winter that don't come from califorina...
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