The internet seems to have 3-4 variations on a simple, "stack bricks and cook" rocket stove. My goal is to have a stack of bricks by the shed, and when that horrible earthquake happens, or a multi-day power outage, to be able to go out, stack the bricks according to a simple plan, light a fire and cook/heat water. This will require enough "emergency planning" to have the basic ingredients on hand, but even if we did prebuild it, the shaking would have knocked it down anyway!
First off, I'm going to exclude all the ones that are focused on "cheap" because most of those don't have a tall enough chimney to qualify as a rocket stove, and even in an emergency, I don't want a face full of smoke.
Model A: stack bricks but not secondary air intake.
Like this picture:
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Nicole identified the downsides and made upgrades.
Model B: Stack bricks using a piece of metal mesh to allow air underneath and the wood to sit on the mesh.
Make it taller, and add some sort of a grill to make sure there's airflow out the chimney so the pot doesn't smother things.
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Model C: This one involves you breaking a brick in half (unless you're using salvaged bricks and already have some half bricks. The air intake is on one side, while the wood feed is on a different side. The stacking is a bit more complicated, but not by much - I was able to draw an understandable diagram and I'm not that much of an artist (but maybe someone has a 3D drawing of this they can post?)
This *doesn't* require the metal mesh (which may off-gas some nasty stuff, but that's better than starving or freezing to death).
Again, many of the ones on the web were on the short side.
This design could have the advantage of letting the prevailing wind bring in the air, while sheltering the fire.
Does anyone have a Model D?
Does anyone have input/pros/cons of particularly Model B and C, as I think Nicole has covered the issues with A, which is why things would have to be really bad before I went there!
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