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First flights of the Studio Dragon

 
thomas rubino
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We finished the Studio Dragon yesterday afternoon.
We gave her about an hour of burn time, and then let her go out for the  night.
For a first firing of a soaking wet / cold masonry build it did outstanding.
A few small smoke leaks and plenty of steam rising (that looks like smoke).

This morning at first light I went out and the chimney still had steam rising from it!  That means moisture has been venting all night!!
Today, she took right off, better/ faster than last night.
We have kept a smaller continuous burn going all day to dry her out.
We are up to 155F on the chimney.  
After about 10 hours, the outer skin of the bell is finally heating, almost up to 100F near the top but still 55 down on the floor.
The bricks are glistening  with water droplets, and the studio feels like a sauna!
There is a puddle on the floor by the outlet box.

Tomorrow I will light her off early, but then I will be gone all day returning Gerry home.
On Monday I will be home all day , and she will continue to dry out and heat up.
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blowing steam
blowing steam
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The core is dry and hot
The core is dry and hot
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This will dry up and go away in a few days
This will dry up and go away in a few days
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155F already
155F already

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thomas rubino
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This  morning I lit her off early and then left town.
This evening upon returning I gave her a new load.
When I returned home I found the outer bricks starting to change color.
It  may take a week or two but a sure sign the drying process is well on the way.
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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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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posted 1 month ago
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This morning when I checked the room temperature in the uninsulated studio, it had only gone down three degrees overnight!  
To facilitate drying I have been leaving the intakes open all night.
This morning the static draft temperature in the chimney pipe was 140F,  very nice.
This stove is still wet and will be for a while, holding 140F as a draft temperature is a good indicator on how things are doing inside the bell.
Outside the bell things are also looking good, the mortar is drying, there are NO smoke leaks, and the bricks are turning white!
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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
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posted 4 weeks ago
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It has been almost a week now.
A good portion of the moisture is gone.
I am getting chimney temps of 200-230F.
The second skin bricks are 160F -125F top to bottom and they stay that temp for  a long time.
There are no more puddles or wet concrete at the outlet box.
Shutting off air intakes makes a significant difference in how much heat vents out of your mass when not actively burning.
Tonight they dropped from 229F to 165F in just a few minutes.
I removed the superwool piece to snap a photo, and the exhaust temp was 176F and rising in less than a minute!
A few moments later it returned to 165F after closing the secondary tube.
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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!

 
Opal-Lia Palmer
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So cool! glad its done and working for you guys <3

thomas rubino wrote:This  morning I lit her off early and then left town.
This evening upon returning I gave her a new load.
When I returned home I found the outer bricks starting to change color.
It  may take a week or two but a sure sign the drying process is well on the way.

 
thomas rubino
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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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posted 3 weeks ago
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With the bricks drying out, now comes the work to clean her up and make her pretty.

First comes a soapy water wash  to remove built up clay.
This looks really good until... it dries, and then it is grey again, but minus the extra clay.
Next a microfiber towel is used with small amounts of cooking oil.
Care must be taken to not allow the oil to drip onto the mortar joints or they will stain.
Each brick is "painted" with the towel to leave it a beautiful brick red.
It will take some time, but once I finish she will be a looker.
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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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3814
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posted 3 weeks ago
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Got a bit more accomplished today
Slow going, but it sure looks good at the end of the day.
The 4" pipe cap I ordered arrived, and I was able to get it started without removing any of the duct tape.
This stove has been drawing so well since the first fire that the bypass pipe is just not needed.
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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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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posted 2 weeks ago
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Today, I finished the south wall and got three rows on the east wall done.
Each brick gets carefully washed and hand-dried.
Then, a careful application of cooking oil is applied to the face of each brick.
Care must be taken to avoid staining the mortar with the oil.

As this is a first coat, as soon as I finish, it will be time to start over and apply a second coat.
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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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3814
I like...
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posted 2 weeks ago
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Almost done with the first coat!
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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!

 
Benjamin Dinkel
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Hey Thomas, your Dragon is gorgeous! And getting prettier by the day.
May I ask why you’re avoiding the joints? Will they look terrible if oiled?
What oil are you using?
And how many layers do you apply?

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thomas rubino
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Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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Hi Ben,  Thank You!
I am using a vegetable cooking oil.
On Shorty, I used olive oil, but I tried out the lower-cost oil, and it did the same job.
I will give it two coats this season, and next summer I will freshen it up if needed.

I could oil the mortar joints; it wouldn't hurt them, but then my nice white mortar would look ugly and brown.


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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3814
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 2 weeks ago
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Today I finished the first coat!
And then I got a second coat on the section that faces Liz's work station.
Late this afternoon, the metal art she ordered arrived.
Tomorrow I will epoxy magnets and get it hung.

You may have noticed that the bricks appear to be darker near the top of the bell.
They were leftover bricks from my Shorty core build.
Being stacked at the bottom of my brick stash, they ended up on top.
A completely different shade of brick red.
We did notice, and Gerry held them in reserve to keep them all together.
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20251102_155002.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20251102_155002.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: 6871
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3814
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 2 weeks ago
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Last night I epoxied magnets in place on the bell.
This morning I mounted Liz's new "Bling for the Bell".
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Cat Lady Art
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[Thumbnail for 20251104_063028.jpg]
Cat Lady Art

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!

 
Tyler Grace
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Very neat masonry job. I like it.

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