Peter Sedgwick wrote:
Looks like I’m gonna be on snow earlier than expected and the rocket project might have to go on the back burner for a bit.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Satamax Antone wrote:
Peter Sedgwick wrote:
Looks like I’m gonna be on snow earlier than expected and the rocket project might have to go on the back burner for a bit.
Peter, what are you doing on snow?
Myself, i work as a chairlift operator, for Serre Chevalier. And i've been doing that for the past 26 seasons. Attacking my 27th this year!
We've had a dump last night, and, i hope they won't call me early! Still plenty to do for my business!
This morning was snow clearing. The wheels of the red toyota are 31 inches!
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Gerry Parent wrote:Hi Peter, Sorry to hear about your bricks breaking up, but know with your creativity and perseverance, that you will find something that will work.
Liked your DIY paddle mixer. Good job. Would love to have known you as a kid. You probably made your own toys out of bits and bobs of things when others waited til birthdays or Christmas to get uncreative store made stuff.
For me, I always keep about 1/4" of ash on the bottom of the feed tube and partially along the bottom of the burn tunnel to help insulate the bottom bricks. They are only cement patio pavers and have lasted for 6 years but are like yours, all cracked up and spalling but holding together still. One day I'll replace them. Look forward to your findings.
Annie Collins wrote:This thread has been one of the most enjoyable ones I have read on permies.com so far. Between the pictures, the drawings, the dogs, and Mimi, it's been a huge pleasure! And, oh yes, also very educational! Just wanted to give a big thank you for all the sharing, Peter, and also to all the people that contributed their knowledge and advice. What a treasure the whole thing has been!
I'm looking forward to periodic updates. Meanwhile, enjoy the snow and the trees, Peter!
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Peter Sedgwick wrote:Should we think about adding a bit more mass to the top? If so what should we use? Hard to source large thin rocks, so was thinking to use smaller rocks mixed into the same wheat paste earthen plaster.
Any thoughts on where to get more definitive information and details on WOFATI construction? Can we build one that is big enough for the two of us in a few months?
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Satamax Antone wrote:Peter, do you have strawbales available nearby in the summer.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Satamax Antone wrote:Hi Peter,
the old guys used to insulate. Often the attic was a hayloft.
Canadians would berm mud against their walls, up to their windows, to add mass and insulation. Thick, real thick walls were used in most of southern europe. Wood walls with wool, moss etc, in the north.
Gerry Parent wrote:
Peter Sedgwick wrote:Should we think about adding a bit more mass to the top? If so what should we use? Hard to source large thin rocks, so was thinking to use smaller rocks mixed into the same wheat paste earthen plaster.
If you say that your burning all day and your temps are where you would like them to be, then adding more mass would hold heat longer (and take longer to heat up) but they also wouldn't be as high. Really a personal choice at this point and what you would like to achieve.
I've seen whole and pieces of marble counter tops on craigslist and other classifieds online quite frequently. Not sure if you have something like that in your area otherwise your suggestion would work too. Could make an interesting mosaic as your final skin? Tiles would look nice too. It was fun for a while where I made some homemade ones from clay and then fired them in my rocket.
Any thoughts on where to get more definitive information and details on WOFATI construction? Can we build one that is big enough for the two of us in a few months?
I'm sure you've seen the wofati forum. I know they are currently doing temperature tests on it this winter to test the thermal inertia.
I have helped build an underground earthbag structure but was never intended to be lived in. Just for meditation and quiet alone time.
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Peter Sedgwick wrote:
Satamax Antone wrote:Peter, do you have strawbales available nearby in the summer.
Hey Satamax,
Probably not bales per say. Will have to look into it. Do have access to rice straw. Just not sure how much in the spring as the rice cropping season is in the early fall.
Been considering a simple pole frame structure with the timber we have here. Double studded small structure with some sort of stem wall and straw light clay infill on top.
This topic is definitely a conversation for another thread. I’ll start to put some ideas together and make a new topic.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Satamax Antone wrote:What i have done at my place
Well, i am meant to fix and render thoses. But you know how life gets in the way!Peter Sedgwick wrote:
Satamax Antone wrote:What i have done at my place
Cool!
That mean you just stack bails on the outside of the building and replace them when they rot?
Peter
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Peter Sedgwick wrote:Hey folks...🧵👜🧵
Here’s something that MIMI and I whipped up the other day. Needed a way of moving firewood quickly and easily from one place to another.
...
Working really well for our needs, so I thought I’d share.
Cheers Peter and crew...🌲🧺🌲
Peter Sedgwick wrote:Funny you mention the turbulence. Was thinking of adding a “kick ramp”, out of scrap CFB, at the end of the burn tunnel earlier in the build process, after reading an article Peter V. wrote. (old drawing attached) Noticed that the ash naturally builds up at the end of the burn tunnel kind of in the same way. Maybe leave a bit there to act as a mini quarter pipe ramp for the hot gases to run up?
Peter Sedgwick wrote:Have looked into earthships a bit. Tons of tires at automotive repair shops and construction companies around the area. Not sure if they are “free”, but could ask. My biggest concern after ingesting that route is the number of people saying tiers are an absolute nightmare to pack. Maybe could come up with a system where the tiers are used as a non load bearing stem wall filled this pumice or perlite. Then create a sill for a double pony wall above the tiers so that we could infill with SLC (straw light clay)
Peter Sedgwick wrote:Have all kinds of kooky ideas and things I think might be worth trying in my head. Look forward to sharing in the near future.
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thomas rubino wrote:Peter; I beg to differ... You and Mimi are indeed Rocket scientist's. Your posts no longer are "help me now I don't know what to do next" ... now you are innovating , learning, planning on how to improve things... Indeed You Guys ARE ROCKET SCIENTISTS!
Congratulations... your certificate might show up if you wait long enough... until then please keep posting. I expect in the future to see photos of all the new RMH's that you are consulting on being built!
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Silence is Golden
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Gerry Parent wrote:Peter, Forgot to ask: Your photo "More complete burn with cool blue flames...🔥" shows a pretty nice looking feed tube with no perceivable cracks. Did you repair/ replace them or is it just not visible in the photo?
regards, Peter
Peter van den Berg wrote:Hi Peter, as I see it the mold was leaking quite a bit. So some of the water disappeared during the all-important solidifying phase. Vibration time is depending on the type of refractory castable. Rule of thumb for most of the DIY available kind is this: vibrate until there's water on top with what I would describe as "fat-eyes", like on hot soup. After vibration is done, don't move the mold while hardening, in normal circumstances that would be 8 hours although I always left it overnight. You found out yourself the mix should be quite dry like crumbly, moist earth. Vibrating will take care of compacting it.
Most of my castings since the eighties were done this way, covered with a plastic sheet to hold the all-important water in, the casting will get hot so drying out is a real risk! Submerging the hardened cast into a bucket of water for some hours seems to result in better quality. Drying and curing should be done carefully before ramping up to maximum working temperature.
regards, Peter
Peter Sedgwick wrote:P.S. blue flame is pretty to look at but is that a good sign or bad one?
Peter Sedgwick wrote:When we started the core build portion of this project I consulted with Matt and others here as to weather or not we should insulate the CFB (ceramic fiber board) heat riser. Everyone said that we could, but it was not necessarily.
After burning our stove for a month or so, I have grown curious to know what additional insulation on the heat riser and around the portion of the burn box on the inside of the manifold might do. The core is not taking up very much space relative to the internal surface air of the burn barrel and manifold. Although I haven’t measured for clearances, I imagine we could add a few more centimeters of insulation without interfering with air flow.
Is this curiosity something which might be worth tinkering with and if so any thoughts on insulation materials? (Morgan’s super wool is too expensive and have only found it sold in large rolls here so far)
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Peter Sedgwick wrote:Wow Gerry,
Your link was pretty intense and extremely informative. Almost too much for one sitting. Think I’ll have to read it like 6 time, before I can honestly say that I “read it”.
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