Kitchen bar seating as a mass, can I do it?

Hello everyone!
Okay, so I have a design question on a RMH. My wife and I would like to use our mass as multipurpose seating and have it serve as bench seating along our 7 1/2 ' long bar. But here is the problem, bar seating is 24" tall and that makes for a fairly high mass. So is it possible to run my vent down the length of the bar and then instead of doubling back at the same elevation to vent out, could I instead vent back at a slightly higher elevation. (See image: I tried to illustrate this in the attached image, where the lower elevation run is blue and the higher elevation run is green. Essentially the series of pipes would need to be stacked upon each other with several inches of cob between them. Would this work? The reason I would like to do this is 1st to effectively heat that size of a mass and second we don't really want our mass to be wide, as it will be in the kitchen/living area, if we could go tall and still have it function that would be great. So tell me what I am not seeing or thinking about, and share if anyone has ever seen someone use RMH as seating at a kitchen bar?

Thanks!

im no pro- but looks like a good idea, if you dont mind a rocket in the kitchen . Heat rises so the higher return should work and maybe even help draw better. just make it strong if people are going to sit and lean on it. bricks perhaps?

looks good bro. i like it. put TEE clean outs in it and it should work. i have mine in the kitchen. just think youll be able to cook on it and warm your buts while eating. my bench is concrete and i sit on mine. good idea

It looks quite workable. The main question I would have is what size system you are building, and how long a bench you are planning.

A 6" system is recommended to have around 35' of duct for best heat extraction while leaving enough for chimney draft, minus 5' for every 90 degree bend. Your layout could handle around 20' or 25' of duct, which wouldn't extract as much heat as theoretically possible, but unless the bench is 10-12' long, you won't fit even that much.

I am planning to do brick and cob on this build and also tile the outside with a nice ceramic tile that will match the kitchen. I hope it ends up looking like a nice permanent seating that was intended for the place. So do you think I need a clean out at each level? Like a TEE at each level that I can access to sweep out material? I also would love some advice and perhaps insights on covering part of the 55 gallon drum with cob, partly for protecting the littles from intense heat, partly for aesthetics. Also, I have seen a few builds with what looks like "white cob" is it actually a glaze or a paint job?

The white finish may be lime plaster, stronger than cob or earthen plaster while still being capable of smooth rounded surfaces. Tile does sound more appropriate for bar seating tops. I would give a thought to making the seating surface slightly concave rather than dead flat, as a hard surface has no give to produce comfort.

Good info and good ideas! perhaps we will plan to do a padded top to match the sweet natural curvature of our little bumpers. Also the vent will have to rise about 16' to get out the roof of our great room. hmmmm...

Horizontal ducting is the only part that is limited in length. An exposed interior rise of 16' will radiate more heat if the bench didn't extract enough, and it will improve the draft of your system. You might be able to handle a few feet more of duct because of that.

Thor, when you said bar, i missunderstood and thought about tis one! Bar is a word which sends me bonkers

http://donkey32.proboards.com/thread/609/heated-seating-nyc-restaurant

http://s65.photobucket.com/user/mremine/library/NYC%20Rocket%20Stove%20Build/#/user/mremine/library/NYC%20Rocket%20Stove%20Build?sort=3&page=1&_suid=145586642151508477860786828363