thomas rubino

Hi Tom;
I spent my time in Ripton and Middlebury, also mid-state.

The Wisner's book is excellent; it will give you a solid background in RMH information.
However, it will only tell you about J-Tube construction and piped masses.
RMH technology has moved on.
Most new builds are now Batchboxes utilizing a brick bell. (Stratification chamber)
Easier to build with significantly less labor than making cob.
You can learn quite a bit simply by reading threads in the Rocket Mass Heater forum.

I also offer books for sale.
You might be interested in my Batchbox core construction book, which is available at  https://dragontechrmh.com/

There are folks in New England who have RMHs; perhaps one will reply who lives nearby you.

Hi Tom;
Welcome to Permies!
I spent quite a bit of time in rural Vermont as a teenager before moving to Montana.
What part of the state are you in? Other than a few large towns, it's all pretty rural

What would you like to know about RMHs?
I suggest a batchbox design in a stratifying bell.
You may prefer a J-Tube design to begin with for ease of construction.
I recommend a stratifying chamber over pipes through a mass.

Ahh Jay;
We have glorious sun ourselves!  
Unfortunately, that clear sky will send it down to single-digit temperatures tonight.
No dry mud here, only frozen!

While building Shorty, we presoaked our bricks in warm water before mortaring them; after all, it was November!
We made the mistake of also using that bucket of warm water to rinse our hands. Heck, it was nice warm water.
There is no shortage of hot water here... we could have / should have just had a second bucket for rinsing hands...  
But there's no sense in worrying about it after the fact. Live and learn, but don't do it again.

Shorty is beautiful no matter what dress she is wearing.
But Liz and I really wanted her a deep brick-red.
I sat with a scrubby sponge and hot, soapy water, trying to get the grey to lift out from the brick... it helped a little bit.
I tried steel brushes, steel wool, hand sanding, and I finally brought in a 4" grinder with a sanding wheel...
I was allowed one brick sanded before Liz put the kibosh on trashing her house!  Enough of that Shit, is how I heard it...
It did work, but... not in this house, mister.
I suggested maybe a two-person team, with one using the sander and the other running the vacuum cleaner... A raised eyebrow with the "look" told me that it wasn't flying...
I resigned myself to continuing with soap and water.

When Liz stands up from her spot on the couch, she reaches out and places her hand on the top corner brick.
She joked at how her fingerprints were getting embedded in the brick.
And then I looked at that brick, I admit that I was checking to see if the clay mortar was going to crack...
Nope, appropriately done, clay mortar holds just fine unless you hit it.

But I did see that the oil from her hand had turned the brick a beautiful deep brick red!!!
OH MY, this is just what we wanted... now how do we get Liz to touch every brick???
Hmm, I may as well ask about how to get my piggies to fly...
After some time spent pondering the dilemma, I came up with a plan... OH NO
Here, hold my Yerba mate tea and watch this!

I brought a small bowl with a bit of olive oil in it, and a microfiber towel.
I started with a brick on the backside. The bricks were apx 100-140F at the time.
Oh Yeah, with hardly any liquid, I barely touch the brick, and it transforms from a dull grey-reddish color to the deep brick red I wanted!
I leave it to sit overnight, nothing changes!   It still has the color I want, and there is no oiliness or smell.
I move to a visible section of brick and slowly apply the oil-damped microfiber. You want no liquid at all, or it will run right off the brick and soak into the clay mortar!
Luckily, it is clay mortar, with a bit of fingernail scratching, and it is as good as new again.
I'm also avoiding any excess oil at all, as getting a rancid smell was also a concern.

I slowly applied the oil over several days, watching for any detrimental effects.
After a week, I had completed the entire visible portions of her bell.
Several more weeks have gone by now, and I am very happy to report 100% complete success!!!
No color loss at all!
No smell at all!
No oily surface
A beautiful, rich, deep red brick color remains!

As I worked, it was a magical transformation!
Shorty changed from her grey potato sack and put on a Red Party Dress!
Wow, she looked great before and is now the Miss USA of the Dragon crowd!




 

Hey Rico;
My battle about Shorty living in our home was not with the insurance company (they did not care how we heated with wood) but with my wife.
A very slow three-year push convinced her to let me build Shorty.
She remained skeptical throughout the build, and only after enjoying heating our home with bricks did she admit that this was indeed a better way!  

So, Yes, you could utilize that stove body, building a core inside, insulating it from the metal portion, and then venting it into a bell.
But only if you really like that stove. Otherwise, my choice would be to build a core; it really is easy.
Then build a brick bell around it.  I'm pretty sure Georgia has plenty of clay bricks available.

You will be blown away by radiant heat.
The hottest spot will be at the metal door, but the heat radiating from the bell is beyond belief.
Other than hand-pouring three refractory slabs and building the airframe, Shorty core herself is simple to build.
The first-generation Batchbox cores are even easier to build.

Just imagine NOT having to keep the stove burning, never needing to worry about creosote or a chimney fire, and not damping a stove down.
This is not heating with wood it is heating with bricks, and once you try it, you will never go back.

What about military surplus ammo cans?
They come in multiple sizes, and all have a gasket.

My comfrey patch quickly grows 3-5' tall, and I prune it daily to feed the piggies.
Expect massive self-propagation if you plant 40 plants this year, you will have 60 in just a few years.
One year the pigs got into the fenced-off area where the comfrey grows.
They were only in there a few hours but managed to chow down all the above-ground plants.
They did not have enough time to go root hunting.
Within a few pig-free weeks, all plants were growing like crazy again.
I expect that even with time to root, they would not have wiped out the plant, they are extremely prolific.

EDIT)  They are under several feet of snow here  in zone 6A

Hi Trace;
This year might be tough if you are working and get a long, deep freeze.
I light the studio dragon off from 7 to 10 a.m., depending on the outside temperature. It usually is in the low 50s or upper 40s when I light it.
It is burned every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Liz loads it between 8 and 11 for the last load of the evening.
We do not coal it out and shut the intake like we do with Shorty.
We burn more than the average bear...
As this is really just an artist's studio, Liz likes to be warm. It is not uncommon for it to be 80 degrees inside and 20 degrees outside.

Hey Trace;
Our greenhouse/ studio is 12'x24' with 15' peaked roof.
One 8" J-Tube did the job, but required tending once an hour.
Now a 6" Batchbox heats it easily, feeding every 2.5 hrs.
We go below zero each winter but not nearly as long as you do in the upper mid west.
One 6"-8" batchbox with a large bell, would do the job in your greenhouse.

Liz has been buying as many supplies as possible.
We will see what the future holds when it arrives.
It may not be as traumatic as we hear.
But, until then we are keeping the barn door closed.