Vince Panero

Howdy!
I"m building a rocket sauna in my backyard (pix to follow), and I had a question.
I was hoping to do a lime coat on the outside of the earthern exterior (pretty white coating, strong against the elements, etc.), but
everytime I try to slake the shells (cook them in my fireplace kiln), they come out dark black. I broke the shells down, added water to it, no reaction.
I've watched the 'pet kiln' video, watched other slaking videos, and I'm thinking mussel shells may be the wrong shell to use.
Has anyone used them, slaked them, had them turn white, then used them as a lime putty?
Thank you ahead of time! -V

Thank you Thomas! Actually I was wondering about purchasing (or finding) plans to do a small bell style rocket stove or a 6 inch J tube style rocket stove… I’ve heard of Ernie and Erica’s j-6 plans somewhere on these forums, But I have not heard of another stove plan that is thrifty on wood but also warms up fast. Maybe the cyclone bell rocket is in the running— a stove that was covered in a permies video that I saw a recently.  Is that what you were referring to?  Is there a tried and true trusted plan for a stove like that by chance ?
Lastly, is there a rocket stove version that heats up very quickly?  My sauna is small, will be thoroughly insulated via clay slip or lite straw clay , With 4 to 6 inch wide insulated  roof/walls... should be able to  hold the heat for a couple hours of a sauna session. 150-180° tops target temp in room.

Given the fact the size of the sauna is so small, would a 4inch tunnel design cyclone bell style work? How small could I go ? I feel a 25 gallon barrel would be over kill. Thoughts and opinions welcome 🙏🏼 Thank you all !

I’ve been lurking for over 5(?) years on this forum ...and the time is finally come to post. I’m building an 8sided sauna in my backyard. I was planning originally on having a rocket mass heater inside (with the feeder box outside  , to keep smoke out), running pipes under the benches on the inside. But... I don’t know what size would be optimal. I want a stove that heats quickly and  absorbs  heat well So the heat from the exhaust pipe is cool...but the actual area of my sauna is so small… Could I get away with a j6 inch system?  I don’t want to build a system that burns too hot if I don’t need to.What are your thoughts ?👍🏼🙏🏼😀

Hi all, i'm just about ready for final plaster for my cob oven. I want to aim for 'purple', currently it's reddish gray (1/3 horse manure, the rest appropriate clay/sand/water ratios).
What is a basic, easy to find dye/pigment I can get (wildcraft) for free/cheap in NW? I added some blackberries (on the ground ) into the mix just for fun to see if they would help. No go. worked great for the wooden blast door. this is a double chamber, hard to see smokestack opening on top.

thoughts welcome. Thanks

...cuz I heard that certain rocks explode. --but marble is metamorphic, which is stable.i have 2 pieces of marble I'd love to incorporate into my coming cob oven. I also plan to use fire bricks. Thoughts?