Nathaniel Rogers

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since Apr 03, 2014
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Hillsborough NC
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Recent posts by Nathaniel Rogers

Hi Anabella,

I'd be interested in the information on how to make a corn husk mattress. Will you post that information here or do you prefer to email it individually? Thanks.
10 years ago
Hi Mike,

Thanks for all of the input and information. I'll have to spend some time doing research into bell designs and factoring that into my decision. I am similarly more inclined towards a masonry heater for the aesthetics and decreased need for frequent burns. The cost was putting me off, but your info has changed that factor. Down in NC I do have less of an issue with more frequent burns as I wouldn't be running the heater as many days, or for as many hours a day as you would in Michigan. I also have to look into what my local building office will allow me to get a permit for. I look forward to your future posts about your project on Permies.

Satamax,

That Lopez Labs page is awesome. That is some fantastic data on various configurations.
10 years ago
Hi Mike,

No need to reply about how you are making the CEBs. I found your thread about the homemade CEB press. Pretty cool.
10 years ago
Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info. Are you making the CEB's yourself with a hydraulic press or something, or are you able to rent one of those fancy CEB machines that you can see in youtube videos? The CEB seems pretty damn cool; basically rammed earth blocks with potential for adding cement or other component for stabilization.

I wasn't meaning to say that adobe/cob wouldn't work well as a heat storage mass, just that they aren't as optimal as other options. Do you know how CEBs compare to brick? I would have to imagine that they would be very similar to brick given their density. Definitely an interesting option. If I won the lottery, I'd have a gorgeous Tulikivi soapstone masonry heater installed in my house, but that isn't tooo likely.

Leaning back towards my original question -- did you ever consider a RMH over a masonry heater and if so, what lead you to go with the masonry heater?
10 years ago
Mike,

Just one more question (for now), where are you sourcing your hardware (doors)? Thanks.
10 years ago
Hi Cindy,

I took a look at your dragonheaters.com website. Those are interesting designs and systems. One thing that I do like about the RMH is that the metal drum does give you that immediate heat response, but I also like the idea of a system that can be burned less often and can store a larger percentage of the heat in a mass buffering system.

Hi Mike,

The $3K - $4K estimate comes from two sources. The first being a design manual for a Finnish masonry heater from MaineWoodHeat.com (https://mainewoodheat.com/shop-maine-wood-heat/publications-manuals/the-finnish-fireplace-construction-manual-%C2%A91984-with-a-2006-update/
). Its part list comes to $3K 20 years ago and I can only imagine that it is at least $4K now. The second was from a blog about a guy who built a masonry heater and the materials cost him $3K. Both are flue type masonry heaters.

I read "Masonry Heaters" by Ken Matesz a few years back. I can't remember if his designs were more flue or bell based. At the time I liked the idea of designing my own heater, but I've since grown towards the idea of building a tested design which is why I got the Finnish Fireplace manual.

Did you design this heater yourself or are you working from an existing design? Do you have links for the masonry heater Peter Van Den Berg's firebox? I googled him and found links for a number of stoves, especially rocket stoves. I need to look back at the Matesz book, but do you have any preferred resources for bell masonry heater designs? Also, what size space is your heater going to be heating? I am looking to heat about 1500 sq ft.

If you are using homemade adobes for the outside walls/thermal mass, is there much benefit of this system to a RMH as they will have a similar thermal delay in the mass storage due to the cob/adobe's fairly low thermal responsiveness? If I build a masonry heater I would lean towards refractory materials for the core and brick for the exterior and mass. Brick isn't as responsive as stone and especially soapstone, but it is a fair bit more responsive than adobe/cob (if I am remembering right). Do you feel that homemade adobe bricks will hold up to the thermal stresses of a masonry heater? Also what is a CEB?
10 years ago
I would just like to throw in a personal experience and a word of warning with buckwheat hull mattresses. About 15 years ago I made a queen size buckwheat hull mattress. I had read about the wonders of the buckwheat hull pillow, and so I made a couple of those. I liked them so much that I decided to make a mattress. It was a simple pillow design where there were two chambers separated down the middle of the mattress to keep each person's hulls on their side. I filled it with enough bulls to reach a depth of about 5 inches. It cost around $300 in buckwheat hulls and fabric.

It was very comfortable and worked great for about 2 years. Near the end of that time I started to wake up with difficulty breathing, as if my airways were partially closed. It took me a while to realize that the buckwheat hulls were partially being ground down into a very fine dust that was coming out of the mattress when I moved around at night. My breathing issues started getting bad at night, and even adding a dust/allergen cover only partially helped reduce the issue. I loved that mattress but it had to go. I have since found on two occasions that I am significantly allergic to buckwheat flour since this episode. Before making this mattress I had no issues with buckwheat pancakes.

I think that buckwheat hull pillows will likely not be an issue, but your body will likely grind down hulls in a mattress application. In my opinion, buckwheat hulls aren't cheap enough or readily available enough just to replace them every two years.
10 years ago
I just wanted to chime in with some additional questions on this front.

In the next year or two I am looking at building a mass heater for my house near Hillsborough NC. For many years I have been contemplating building a masonry heater, but I've also done a lot of research on the RMH (including Ernie and Erica's DVD set -- which was great!). I am now leaning towards the RMH, but I want to ask why someone would have a masonry heater over a RMH?

Here are Pros and Cons that I can think of for both: (please correct anything that is considered inaccurate)

Both are going to be good at burning efficiently and storing heat in mass. Both are beautiful in their own ways, but I would guess that a masonry heater would be more commonly accepted as beautiful without a lot of explanation

Rocket Mass Heater
PRO: relative cheap, technically easier to build, can use a lot of local materials, easier to repair, easy to have a heated bench/day bed
CON: shorter life span (15 -25 years before rebuilding the burn tunnel or replacing the barrel), needs to be burned more often (is this accurate?), cob is a less efficient material for heating quickly, large hot metal cylinder that babies can burn hands on (same as a metal wood stove), more difficult for re-sale (anyone have experience otherwise?)

Masonry Stove
PRO: can be burned 1 - 2 x a day to maintain even temperature, can radiate heat more quickly (especially if made with stone), fairly low surface temperature (not likely to burn hands), very long life span if built well, more likely to be commonly appreciated as attractive and likely an easier point for home re-sale, has potential for easily adding a baking oven door
CON: EXPENSIVE (even for a skilled DIY person, you'll likely spend $3K-$4K to build one of these things; MUCH, MUCH more if someone else builds it for you), technically difficult to build correctly, difficult to repair if/when needed

Did I miss anything and/or get anything wrong? I am willing to put the money and effort into building a masonry heater if it is really that much better than a RMH. However, I am having doubts that it is so much better to warrant the cost. I could use a little discussion to get my mind solidly around one of these two options.
10 years ago
Hello,

I just registered an account and my email address matches the email for kickstarter. Please add me to "inner circle" forum. Thanks.

Nathaniel from Hillsborough NC