Greetings!
I am new to permies. I came here via Rocket Mass Heater research. I was wondering if I could seek some sage advice from the ether concerning RMHs.
My husband and I are in the process of building a timber-frame house. It is approx. 1500 sq. ft. of active living space (1000ft downstairs, and 500 tucked into the gable peak upstairs). We will also have a 416 sq. ft. half basement. We're on a hill so it'll be a walk out basement on one side of the house, and a slab-on-grade on the other. Eventually we're going to have radiant heat in the slab (we're putting the PEX in when we pour), but we don't have the funds to set it up immediately. The floor plan of the main living areas is completely open. The house is set up passive solar with all of these living areas on the south side. The house is going to be well insulated (rigid sheets of extruded polystyrene).
My question is, will a RMH with a 40inch riser with a standard 55gallon drum top and 8 inch exhaust ducts running approx. 20ft heat a space this big? The bench I have designed is 28" deep by 18"tall by approx 20ft. Plus, the RMH is planned to be entirely on the slab-on-grade.
I've posted my RMH core design into Google Sketchup's model library if anyone wants more specifics.
Thanks ya'll!
