Customized Barrel Stoves??

Wondering about a "customized" barrel stove with some additions to make an oven.
1) Would it get hot enough to actually cook
2) Would the gases/smoke/hot air going up the chimney still be hot enough to avoid creosote buildup?
3) Would it be safe?

Ok.. this is what I'm thinking:
Build a "thermal mass" unit on the bottom consisting of a 30 gallon drum inside of a 55 gallon drum with a layer of sand in between (directions for this are posted here:http://www.endtimesreport.com/thermal_mass_wood.html)

But instead of leaving it at that, top the unit I just described above with a second 55 gallon drum (smoke catcher/heat reclaimer). I'll refer to this as the upper unit. At this point, from the outside it should look like this: http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5VZ-BK50E&source=froogle&kw=5VZ-BK50E (however, remember the inside of the lower unit has been customized).

Ok, so on the upper unit, add another barrel stove door kit, and put another 30 gallon drum inside of the 55 gallon upper unit... possibly resting on fire bricks or even a two or three inch layer of sand. Seal the 30 gallon barrel tightly to the door on the 55 gallon drum to avoid any smoke in the 30 gallon barrel. Add a cooking rack and... Voila!

Ok, that's my idea. I really need input on this. Would it work, safety, etc.

I would hate to have an upper unit that became a creosote trap! I could imagine the fire that could occur.

Thanks all.

Just finished Kiko Denzer's third edition of Earth Oven. He mentions the "Winiarski bread oven" which is a rocket stove oven design. You can find some ideas here http://rocketstoves.org/capturing_heat/pdf/capturing_heat.pdf on pages 31-36

Thanks, I'm not sure about indoor heating with that stove? I use mine for heating, but would like to be able to be able to heat/cook simultaneously. I emailed the Aprovecho people to see if they had any comments regarding the barrel stove idea.

Thanks again!

how much space do you need to cook on? a pocket rocket made from a 55 gal drum gives a pretty big area.

That's enough space for me to cook on!

How efficient are the rocket stoves at heating large areas (my cabin) and maintaining that heat?

I can certainly imagine having a rocket stove as a primary cook source, but I was trying to combine heating with cooking--simultanously without a second stove.

I appreciate your reply, am not familiar with rocket stoves other than what I have read, (although liking what I've read a lot!). So please bear with me on my path through ignorance!

Feral

Help me understand what you need?

You're wanting to combine all your heating needs with baking and stove top cooking?

I would think that cob heating would allow you to do this. However, let me play devil's advocate. If every time you need to eat you have to fire up the cob heater, what happens when it's hot outside and you don't need the heat? Also, to heat up all that mas you would have to fire your heater up hours before you needed to cook.

Maybe a cob oven and cook top in a summer kitchen outside. Also, a cob heater on the inside that can be used in the winter to cook as well as heat.

Just my 2 cents .....

Umm you dont need two stoves depending on how big a cabin you have. 

Pocket rockets are pretty good, better i think than those double drum barrel stoves.
way more efficient on wood and heat from what i have seen.

how big is your cabin?

to speak to the post below yours. so he puts in a bypass so only the barrel is heated and the rest of the heat goes out the chimney. ( not my favorite solution but it works and is an answer to that need.) IME the RMH is still going to use less wood than most anything he's gonna run across. Hmm not to mention that a pocket rocket is a totally different critter than a RMH.

Cabin is about 1100 square feet, drafty.  Live in NE USA, near Canadian border, long winters with several days each winter in the minus 20's.

I want to combine my cooking with my heating (funny the difference in significance when you swap those two around). I don't want to have to heat in order to cook.

I have several solar cookers (experimented with those a bit this summer), I have a haybox (came well before the solar cookers!). I have a couple of fresnel lenses which I've yet to try out with cooking. If worst comes to worst, I do have a coleman camp stove as well as a Camp Chef.

Basically what I'm looking for is a "quick" fix, no extra work during the winter and cool months. 

The barrel thermal mass stove is already in place and I'll be using it at least through this winter. I had the idea of adding to it with the "upper unit" . I should be able to do the entire upper unit construction/addition in 3 or 4 hours. But I wasn't sure about safety.... and risks. Sometimes I miss something that is really obvious to others.

I may try to put together some sort of small rocket stove outdoors so that I can get a bit of experience with them.

Feral

you can build a 55 gal pocket rocket in about an hour if you dont want it smaller.
A design i made for yurts is on third of a 55 gal drum for the bottom and one third for the top crimped so the top fits over. the folks that have built them love them.

if you wish send me an email and i can send you the instructions.
drafty is good by the by makes for much better air flow to the stove.  however i am assuming you are looking for a heater that will keep the cabin warm for the night and thats not what most rockets are for.  I assume you are banking a fire for the night and the only answer i have to that is the RMH with or without a bypass. not a fast project to be sure. however; we are working on a design that lets you use a little franklin stove for the burn tunnel and it seems to be working very well. you might send an e mail to cedar grove farms: foresteward@gmail.com and ask Rick how he likes his.

Thank you so much! Was just watching some great videos on You tube of Rocket stoves. I didn't realize they were that quick to make.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfKHVoCY2so&feature=fvw (Thank you Paul!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIMi0DVDvqw


Not up to heating inside with a rocket stove this winter, but I am liking what I'm seeing a lot!
Could easily replace the Camp Chef stove as well as the smaller propane stove with a rocket stove. Doesn't look like I'd miss them at all, would save me from hassling with propane, as I have rocket fuel all over my property (don't tell NASA!)

Feral

LOL IME a full on rocket mass heater takes about three days to build if you have the help. about 5 days if you are hard working and doing it yourself.  a pocket rocket from a 5 gal bucket takes about 15 min if you are hacking it out and about an hour if you do a nice job.  the other rocket stove is a rocket cook stove, its simple to build and will do its job pretty well. however; its not a heating stove and is best used out doors or below a vent hood.  lots of ways to use the rocket idea but some are not as useful for cold weather as others.  the pocket rocket is just like a regular wood stove in that it puts off radiant heat to the surrounding air. not the best idea man has come up with cause air is hard to heat and is a good insulator. An RMH is a solution to heat storage without the smoldering log in the stove. it heats a large thermal mass that radiates heat over time. the thermal mass is made from a material that allows you to make it in many shapes most of which allow you to heat through conduction (a better way to heat yourself than any other) the bed or bench brings the heat to you. a side effect is that the large thermal mass also heats the air (sort of. I dont know how to describe it but i am sure someone can)

anyways i hope this helped.

This discussion has been a big help to me! When I finally get back on my feet enough to start my dream home plans, a rocket stove now has a place in them.

For now though, I'm in the log cabin for a couple more years (knowing me that means about 5). Thinking I'll go ahead and try the customized stove I described for this winter. I'll need to figure out a way to monitor the creosote buildup in the upper barrel.

Thank you all for your input! Always up for suggestions

Feral