• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • r ransom
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Devaka Cooray
  • Leigh Tate
  • paul wheaton
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • M Ljin
  • thomas rubino
  • Megan Palmer

Is there such a thing as a hybrid RMH?

 
Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms
Posts: 6007
Location: Southern Illinois
1844
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
This might be an out-there  question, but please try to hear me out.

Whenever I see RMH designs, they get increasingly better at turning a small pile of stick into a lot of heat that is stored and then gradually released over time.  GREAT!  I love the ever-increasing efficiency--this especially hits me hard as I just find it so difficult to cut down a tree.  An RMH means that I might be able to heat my house with deadfall alone.  And heat is good in the winter!


But there is a real part of me that needs to not just feel the heat from a fire, but also see the flames of a fire.  Watching fire burn (in a fireplace, woodstove, somewhere safe!) is also good for my mental health.  I find the gentle flames licking upwards soothing.  And I can remember how long the Christmas nights were at my grandparents farm in Minnesota.  Seeing fire, listening to fire, feeling its warmth drew people around and we just all talked late into the night.

So with that in mind, is there a way to construct a RMH that could let one actually see the flames?  Maybe it could be adjusted so that it had a "see fire burn" setting and a "maximum efficiency" setting?

I am sure that I am not the first person to ask this question before, but I have seen nothing about its.


Thoughts?



Eric
 
master steward
Posts: 8167
Location: southern Illinois, USA
3127
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig solar wood heat homestead composting
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I am pretty sure Thomas posted a picture of one he built. Though I am not sure how big the window is.   And, I do agree with you. That is why I keep my wood burning fireplace in the LR.
 
Eric Hanson
Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms
Posts: 6007
Location: Southern Illinois
1844
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Yes, fire is a nurturing phenomenon--when done safely of course.  I have a gas fireplace, and while I love the heat, convenience, and especially the way that the slow flames illuminate a dark room during a winter night, it is gas and sometimes I really miss the sound, popping, crackling and gentle smell of a wood fire burning.



Eric
 
steward
Posts: 18332
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4650
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Like these:



https://permies.com/t/71575/Casserole-Door-innovative-door-batch

https://permies.com/t/41957/rocket-mass-heater-glass-flame

https://permies.com/t/40007/Results-batch-box-thingy-Innovators
 
master rocket scientist
Posts: 6980
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3996
cat pig rocket stoves
  • Likes 11
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Guys
Shorty has a 7 x 7" viewing window.
It also throws a tremendous amount of heat.
Watching Shorty casually devour her meal is a favorite pastime/ napping spot for the kitties.

The only downfall is that the show is limited, as we only burn one batch of wood at a time.
Sure is a good show though, sometimes the cats are forced to share as I want the fireside seat as well!

20251113_085625.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20251113_085625.jpg]
20241031_092420.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20241031_092420.jpg]
20251118_071337.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20251118_071337.jpg]
 
pioneer
Posts: 1029
Location: Inter Michigan-Superior Woodland Forest
180
6
transportation gear foraging trees food preservation bike building solar writing woodworking wood heat
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I feel like RMHs where the firebox is enclosed without a window are the exception, not the rule...
 
Rocket Scientist
Posts: 870
Location: Guernsey a small island near France.
358
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Oh yes there are very visual hybrid stoves, I have specialised in building visual stove for quite a few years!
Please look on my youtube channel for lots of ideas that actually work from simple J tubes with amazing vortex displays and lots of glass to the extremely visual vortex stove with hot plate.
 
Eric Hanson
Steward and Man of Many Mushrooms
Posts: 6007
Location: Southern Illinois
1844
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
WOW!  Thanks guys!!  That is exactly what I was looking for........


Anne-was that picture a video capture from a YouTube video?  I am certain that I have seen the casserole lid heater on a YouTube video.  And the lid was the work of genius for its pure simplicity.  Also, I just love the beauty of that stove.


Thomas--Yes exactly!  I love the way you worked a wood stove (especially the glass front) into the overall design of a mass heater.  It looks amazing.

Fox James---You might have produced the single most visually interesting rocket mass heater I have seen on any picture or video.  I love the glass front, but the glass viewport on the top--that is beyond words.  And incorporating a mirror for observation, WOW!  I would love to see that in action on a long, cold winter night.  I bet it is just a wonderful thing to see and feel in action.


Thanks everyone!!

Eric

 
Posts: 22
Location: Italian Alps, USDA 7
6
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
When I was looking for a solution 10 years ago that was a cross between a rocket stove and a masonry heater I stumbled over the vortex stove.
Back then I built v1 (which you can see here:
). It still heats my hut in the alps (where I spend my winters)
But the community around this stove is still developing it. I think they are up to v 4 or something. It probably has the coolest fire window of any stove I've seen + the normal one:
http://donkey32.proboards.com/thread/703/vortex-stove (check the 4th item in the first post for the vortex window)
The community is also very helpful. I based my build (first timer in building a stove) off the free design.
 
Fox James
Rocket Scientist
Posts: 870
Location: Guernsey a small island near France.
358
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Eric, you might like this one too?
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 18332
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4650
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Eric Hanson wrote:Anne-was that picture a video capture from a YouTube video?  I am certain that I have seen the casserole lid heater on a YouTube video.  And the lid was the work of genius for its pure simplicity.  Also, I just love the beauty of that stove.



The picture is from this thread:

https://permies.com/t/71575/Casserole-Door-innovative-door-batch
 
Posts: 829
Location: Sierra Nevada foothills, 350 m, USDA 8b, sunset zone 7
180
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Firebox doors with glass are offered by many European manufacturers. More radiant heat can be felt with pleasant view of fire.
I would only suggest to just call this a "RMH with glass door" instead. "Hybrid RMH" implies some mix of fire devices like heater/oven/smoker/water heater/kiln, or rocket firebox installed within some not RMH dedicated bell/structure.
 
All praise hypno-ad
Learn Permaculture through a little hard work
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic