john trujillo

Thanks for the thought out replies fellas.

I would have insulated it if i knew.....according to the book insulation on the bottom is optional.

I guess i will take it apart tonight when I get home.

Alot of my research was done watching youtube videos and looking at RMH images on google. Apparently there is alot of bad info out there. I should have started a thread here first with my plans and questions. before attempting to build it.

Barrel is 3" above the top of the heat riser.

I have a bunch of urbanite chunks left over from a flagstone style patio i built earlier this year. I plan to use as much of that as possible using cob only to fill in the gaps.

Just cob, but I have another big bag of perlite i can use to re do it.

Regarding the J tube. Im ok with removing the blocks and insulating the sides but to remove the entire combustion unit to insulate underneath would be tough. It is all stuck together with refractory cement and extremely heavy.

Thanks Byron,

The horizontal pipe is sitting on about 4" of cob. it is not directly on the concrete.

The bottom of the J-tube is firebrick but no insulation past that.

Allen Lumley: I already removed the paint. I burned the paint off then sanded it down. What you see in the picture is a dark blue hue from the intense heat it was subjected to.....outside of course.

what if i take the clay out of the blocks and fill with perlite?

Yes there was more charcoal than i would like. I am hoping it has to do with the fact that the wood was wet, the cob was wet and the mass was still very cold.

I did not insulate under the burner base. I read that it was not necessary if building on a slab.

what issues do you see with the thermal mass?

update:

RMH is alive! Fired it up to test and everything is working, fire burns sideways!

I could feel cold air coming down the chimney before lit it so I used a propane torch in the cleanout to start the draft.....



here is a video of the fire...is this rockety enough? I am assuming that it will get better as the cob dries and everything is warmed. Unfortunately all the wood I had was damp since it rained yesterday.



Here is the manifold area.



burning:


unfinished bench....still need to set the blocks permanently:

forgot to mention, I am trying to supplement heat in a 2200 sq ft house.

Thanks again Al, no worried about the floor or wall at all. I will take care of that. My biggest concern is building the right size system. I do have the book already.

I have seen some posts suggesting that you could adapt a larger system to a smaller flue, but couldn't find anything definitive.

If i wanted to keep the 8" system would a longer bench help to get rid of the 30 ft tall chimney?

Thanks Al,

I have actually done exactly what you said in regards to turning the chamber clockwise in order to add a cleanout....unfortunately my local hardware store didn't have 8" t's. still trying to find those. I will be adding a second cleanout at the end of the bench as well

The slate wall was built for a traditional wood stove and has the proper backing behind it already....with the barrel being re positioned i will only need to add backing and one row of tile.


So is and 8" system to big for the size of bench I'm using? if so i could easily return the 8" pipe for 6".

Building on a slab and cutting out the laminate floor from the build area....no need to worry there.....just not cutting until i am sure about where its going to sit.

Hi everyone,

Just started laying my first RMH. I was very confident going into this but I am starting to lose it haha. This is mostly due to the manifold/ash pit area.

The build.

Firebrick combustion chamber.
Firebrick heat riser insulated with an old water heater then stuffing with perlite and clay
about 10 feet of 8" hvac pipe....wish i could go longer.
55 gallon drum with removable lid.....this may be inverted so that the lid is stationary and the barrel is removable.

questions:

Does the horizontal pipe need to be higher than the bottom of the ash pit? If so, by how much?
How big should the ash pit be?
The flue on my old wood stove is 6" can i go from my 8" into the 6" vertical pipe?......im guessing no.

THANKS!!!

Her are some pics


ash pit