Eric Hummel

Fellow Permies:

I am selling two rocket stove cores built according to Walker's design using ceramic fiber board.  

They are 6" cores.  I built them as RD for a boiler I was making.  They have only been fired a few times.  If you are looking to build a RMH, these ceramic cores are incredible.  If you have looked into the cost of ceramic fiber board, you will find that it is very expensive.  I am pricing them to sell.  

I will sell them for $160 each plus shipping.

I live in Southern Wisconsin, so if you want to pick them up you can do that also.  

I have attached a couple photos.  

Similar to what Mr. Walker did, I made an outside skin of aluminum.  The ceramic fiber board is tough against the intense heat but it is very soft and can easily be damaged by getting scratched.  I also wrapped the riser in aluminum foil again as Mr. Walker did.  

These would make fantastic cores for a RMH project.  Ceramic fiber board is incredible material.  

Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Eric
608-897-1313

Friends:

This is a great site. Thanks to the folks that make it happen. And thanks to those experts who admin this forum. We are very excited about RMH and trying to determine if we could use it in conjunction with our upcoming Aquaponics setup.

The basic design idea I have is to build a rocket stove and have the pipe that would normally go into the thermal battery go through a bed of sand that lies beneath a 4' wide 10" deep trough of water. The trough is where the plants will be grown in the system.

We live in southern WI. Think burr for you folks in CA or FL. Think mild for you youpers in the UP and northern MN.

Anyhow, I learned last winter in our test AP system that heat was necessary. Our new system will be housed in a 21' x 75' greenhouse. Well if there is anything less efficient on the plant than a greenhouse with a thin wall of plastic between the inside and outside, I don't believe I have seen it. It seems environmentally unsound to blow heat into the space through the winter with a traditional heater solution. However, if I heat the water which may be in excess of 500 gallons, I believe this is a tremendous battery.

I bought and read a copy of Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson's book on Rocket Mass heaters.

Here are a few questions I have:
- I am thinking of building trough walls with earth tubes about 2' high. Would it be a good mass if after placing the exhaust duct at the bottom of the trough, I fill around it with fine sand?
- I am confused on what type of pipe to use for the exhaust pipe. I get the idea that the combustion chamber should not be galvanized, but can galvanized be used in the exhaust pipe?
- I have not found a definitive answer that the combustion chamber riser could not be class A insulated stainless steel. Can this pipe be used?
- It seems that fire brick is recommended for the riser. Yet, I see some discussion on the use of other bricks. Around my area there are many chimneys that get taken down. Some have what I would guess is a limestone brick. It is not your traditional red soft brick. It is much harder. Are there other bricks that can be used besides fire brick.

thanks in advance for any help or ideas you can offer.