Jason Learned

Nancy Reading wrote:The coldest we've got in the last 16 years is about -12 Celsius in the winter. My trouble is that it is also cool in the summer.
I'll try and link a chart here to illustrate (and one for Missoula for comparison both from  weatherspark) . It's never really hot, although the humidity can make it pleasantly warm sometimes. It's just as well when my soil is so shallow - it would dry out in no time if it weren't for the frequent rain :)
Because it is so cool it takes longer for the roots to grow - I suspect that the soil biome is rather different because of this too. I'm still learning (as are we all of course) but am hoping that developing landrace crops that tolerate it here better is part of the solution. Windy, acidic soil....we all have different advantages and challenges.

I read in the Westin Price book that they used to used the thatch from the rooves as a mulch and fertilizer for the oats on the islands over there. There were no chimneys so the smoke perforated throughout the thatch and added fertility. He stated that when chimneys came into fashion they directed peat smoke into outbuildings so they would still have smoked thatch to use. It made a difference in the growth rate of the oats. I wonder if there is some way for you to construct some sort of recreation of this and if that can make your land more productive. The thatch was made from oat straw I believe and that would have been the old kind that grew taller than the norm of today.

Nice project and a beautiful island there. I wish I'd spent more time there the only time I went through it.

Judy Bowman wrote:Jason, can you elaborate on the 3 pits?  Location, shape, etc.  Thanks.

The feet of 9 I put in to make it look floating. Bad decision I’ll go back the other way if I make more.

Jason Learned wrote:

Judy Bowman wrote:Jason, can you elaborate on the 3 pits?  Location, shape, etc.  Thanks.

As far as location, they are in Holland, Bohemia, and Hungary. Some go camping and others are in back yards. Many are used for Barbeque.

Judy Bowman wrote:Jason, can you elaborate on the 3 pits?  Location, shape, etc.  Thanks.

As far as location, they are in Holland, Bohemia, and Hungary. Some go camping and others are in back yards. Many are used for Barbeque.

Judy Bowman wrote:Jason, can you elaborate on the 3 pits?  Location, shape, etc.  Thanks.

All three now look similar to the one pictured. The one you see is 8" tall, the body is and the feet are around 3". They have the rings around the top and bottom that hold the three panels in their position. Older ones were cut and welded, but didn't look as nice. The next one is 12" high and the fire doesn't reach as high above the top of the pit, but it produces more heat and less smoke than the shortest. The 16" produces the most heat with almost no smoke, but the fire stays below the rim for most of the time. It will do a tornado sometimes and it is quite pretty. The fire in all of these tends to dance around counter clockwise around and around. It makes for a really pretty fire. So even the tall one has a pretty flame you can enjoy. You have to sit quite far away from the fire pit as it gets really hot. the sides are like radiators. However, a friend of mine has the 8" and his friends sat around in T-shirts in the snow-- so I guess it can kick out a fair amount of heat too, but the 16" just sends out more. I sit about 8-10' away.
All of them need a good load of wood to keep the fire going hot enough to keep the smoke from forming so it is not rocket stove efficient, but I was going for pretty and having clothes that stay clean smelling.

Jason Learned wrote:

https://youtube.com/shorts/q8dkPiI9SA4?si=W-DVTPfGL3SCqXTE

Here is a short of the short one burning

Jason Learned wrote:I suppose I should have posted this a few years ago, but I didn’t realize it would be permies material. I welded them out of steel and started playing with the design in 2017. This is my 8th version. I made it 2’ wide and either 8”,12”, or 16” high. They have three ports an inch wide. The taller the more heat thrown out. If I can keep the coal bed and fuel load very low in the pit it makes a very nice tornado of fire. I made this one with two cranes. Makes a very good goulash.

Sorry I’ve been away. I’ve been rebuilding the family house and it has been a lot of work.

Jason

I suppose I should have posted this a few years ago, but I didn’t realize it would be permies material. I welded them out of steel and started playing with the design in 2017. This is my 8th version. I made it 2’ wide and either 8”,12”, or 16” high. They have three ports an inch wide. The taller the more heat thrown out. If I can keep the coal bed and fuel load very low in the pit it makes a very nice tornado of fire. I made this one with two cranes. Makes a very good goulash.

Sorry I’ve been away. I’ve been rebuilding the family house and it has been a lot of work.

Jason

paul wheaton wrote:here is a podcast i recorded with glenn kangiser - the builder of one of the largest and best documented builds.

https://permies.com/t/18654/Podcast-Glenn-Kangiser-Oehler-Structures

Sad to see that he died last Summer. Was a great podcast and I've used linseed oil to harden cob because of it. Thanks to both of you.

Jason

Tristan Vitali wrote:

Jason Learned wrote:
If anyone has any experience or info about egg plasters, I'm all ears! Or scoria / char as aggregate, for that matter...

I was in a monastery on the river Krk in Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast. They had a cistern to catch rain water because the river water is too hard to drink. It was built in the middle ages and still functions to this day. The mortar they used to seal it and make it waterproof was made with egg whites. Over 500 years and the surface is still smooth be it full or empty. Seems a good reason to give it a go.

Jason

I'm curious if you know about all the materials used (clay, lime, fired bricks, rocks, etc) - could be amazing info for future cistern builds (and maybe bathroom tubs and showers)

The more I learn about natural building, the more I realize how absolutely dumb we, as a global society, have become. So much knowledge has been lost  

I say it's time to revive it all and start trying to do things the right way again!

I can't be certain, but they most likely used sand with grog and lime putty. The lime created is not all equal, the limestone came from different mines and the mineral impurities from some forms of limestone make a better mortar.  Now that is something that would be great to relearn! The opus signinium used calcined terra cotta or misfired tiles crushed. The clay had either phillipsite or analcime as a flux in the clay; this powdered ceramic would be mixed (three parts) with one part lime putty and the calcium would replace the sodium or potassium atoms leaving them as free ions to break and reform silica alumina bonds and create a solid plaster that held water.

I downloaded a bunch of books from the late 1800's about building stuff and some had different concrete and mortar formulae. I really have find it again sometime and write them down.