What woods can be burned in a rocket stove?

hello,
i'm new to the rocket stove idea, but i love and can't wait to built one.
i have at least one question, what woods can i use safely???
if you would like you can e-mail me at revdrmichaelfrederick@gmail.com, it would make make my life easier.
thank you,

michael

I have a lot of weedy staghorn sumac on my property and when Ernie was here I asked him about burning it since I felt it was pretty light weight and worthless. He replied certainly and works fine if you properly dry it first. On the basis of that, I think one might be able to safely say any wood, properly dried.

I think the biggest concern with wood to burn in a RMH, aside from making sure it is fully dry, is the physical shape of the pieces. Very crooked or stubbly sticks will be harder to have reliably slide down as they burn, and risk losing the fire or hanging up and toppling out onto the floor as the bottom burns. Proper cutting (not too long) and feeding (big end down) should take care of most of those issues. If you have only very thin sticks, you may get them breaking down too fast and building up a heap of coals unable to all get oxygen. Larger sticks once the fire is going strongly will feed more reliably and let the coals burn more completely.

Another new member here, I have wondered about using non traditional fuels in a RMH, since I live in SW KS, good firewood can be a challenge at times& I have wondered if a guy could make bundles& get good results burning stalks of Bluestem grass, or dried cat tail stalks, etc. or as my ancestors did, cow pies.
Common woods around here otherwise are Chinese Elm, Willow, Cottonwood (these three are wet woods, smokey and make a lot of ash)
Better woods are mulberry, locust, and hedge (pops& sparks badly, but HOT)

Russel Smith : Welcome to Permies.com, our sister site Richsoil.com and A Big Welcome to the Rocket and Wood Stoves Forums and threads. As a Fellow Member

of the largest Permaculture Group World-wide you can come here 24 / 7 and find someone who wants to talk about what you want to talk about !


You are not the 1st person who will have experimented with bundling up various long fiber materials like the coarser grasses, and there has been much work in trying

to reduce their sizes for further handling into Wood (-ish) Pellets. mostly without success ! That could change tomorrow .

There is an art and a science to proper wood handling and dry storage, Some people -faced with having to use much less firewood find that the wood storage area they

now have guarantees them dry firewood for several years - Others will now become 5 Xs lazier about getting their wood under cover and protected !


Running a Rocket Mass Heater requires the exact same tinder and kindling as any other wood heater but we use more initially to quickly reach the Freaky High Temps

And Great Efficiencies* You will literally learn to do this by ear, listening to Your Rockets Roar, though in a darkened room you can also check the internal temperature

of your Rocket by looking down into your Rockets Burn Tunnel which should be glowing Brite Red !

Back to your original question Stick to well seasoned very dry wood, dry weight is an indicator of BTUs, the heavier the more Heat value. For the Crafts Big AL


* with a clean burn and greatly reduced ash content