Hi friends! I built a little rocket stove to heat a portable sauna this summer, and I thought I'd leave a note on this forum, since this is where I learned how to do this.
I have photos of the construction here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vQwPaKAftlDLMZxS2.
I've also done a little write-up of the whole build here:
https://igor.moomers.org/my-projects-belden-spa.
I think I have some more detailed schematics of the stove (with dimensions) that can post if there's interest. Happy to answer any questions. The stove performs great, it gets my 8' by 8' by 7' sauna warm in about 10 minutes and steaming hot in about 30 minutes, assuming I'm there to feed it and pour water on it. I'm watching it carefully for signs of failure, but nothing obvious yet. I've vacuumed out the inside a few times, but no ash collects inside the "barrel". The feed tube gets pretty creosotey -- if I reach in to fiddle with the wood placement, I inevitably get some black gunk on my hands -- but I haven't noticed any buildup inside the burn chamber or chimney pieces. Burning nothing but heartwood caused very high temperatures, but also visible black soot in the exhaust. Now that I'm burning actual hardwood, I don't see or smell any smoke from the chimney.
Well, that's about it, thanks so much for this forum!
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