Ken Gabehart wrote:https://youtu.be/z4lfzKNiQcY so I did video and not sure if it worked. i need to mix more sand In mix. going to get fire brick from tractor
supply and line inside of fire box and removing clay from around outside of fire box and using brick. I think my problem with the mass not heating up was I put clay in at two different times and first layer was hard when i put second layer down. I took second layer off there where air gaps between them.so not making full contact with mass.
OK, just watched your video Ken. From what I saw, the cracking of the clay appears to have occurred only around the metal which is a natural thing to happen as clay expands
differently than steel. No matter how many times you try to fill it, its will keep coming back. Perhaps more sand is not needed and your soil (or are you using bagged clay?) already has the right amounts if cracking is not occurring anywhere else.
I think your right about the air gap insulating the next layer. May I suggest you put some more density into your mass like rocks,
concrete chunks, whatever it will hold the heat longer. Use the clay as a mortar rather than the main ingredient... it will also save you time building it.
I would suspect that the weeping (to the degree that your getting) is a sign that condensation is forming in abundance from a hot chimney pipe in direct contact with a cold outside without being insulated. Is this correct?
After a 4 hour burn and the exhaust pipe only being 194F with a short (10 foot? horizontal run) is pretty low. Your mass certainly is not too large.
I can't tell what kind of lid you have over the wood
feed. Is this to control the draft?