Michael Dimauro

I appreciate your thoughts, Thomas.   Sounds like my idea might be experimental, I wonder if there have been documented attempts?  

I think Thomas is probably correct about a traditional RMH heating the cabin just fine, however its a tall structure (20') with only a small loft so lots of ceiling space.  I'm looking for a way to capture heat down low and would love additional help or resources to help me decide if my concept is experimental, or has been accomplished.  If this idea is experimental, I will probably choose to install a traditional RMH with the exhaust running through an 8" stove pipe or a bell in either a bench or a section of the floor.

       

Nick - thanks for your link and quick response.

Does anyone have any experience or resources for using a RMH as an Ondol or hypocaust system with a cob floor?  It involves running exhaust beneath with the floor, essentially the cob floor would be the top of the exhaust bell.  Should I worry about monoxide poisoning from the exhaust leaking into our modern and somewhat airtight house (compared to the less airtight ancient structures these systems were designed for)?

That's what got me thinking about running the radiant air instead of the exhaust air.  

hey Y'all,   As usual please let me know where I'm being stupid, please and thank you.  I love getting back into rocket stove stuff!  I got thinking this weekend that maybe I could steal the radiant heat from a RMH barrel with a blower and run it through a gravel sub floor to heat a cob floor in a cabin i am designing in the northern USA.  

I was originally researching ways to heat water (maybe using the Walker boiler) and somehow run it in pex tubing through the cob floor.  Then I got the idea that maybe radiant air heated from the barrel could be blown with fans down into the gravel sub floor and vented back into the room (maybe another fan?) on the opposite side after helping heat the cob floor.  Maybe baffles would be needed in the floor for even-heating.  Was thinking I could simply build a thermal wall with bricks 1" or so away from the barrel to capture the radiant air around the barrel and then move it down with a fan into the gravel sub floor.  Does anyone have a good idea of IF this would work, or if it would be practical?  Has it been done before?   It would rely on a power source to run the fans.  

Brilliant or Boneheaded?  Odds are the later....Either way I'm having a blast designing these future projects!  Cheers      

Hi! I haven’t posted in years, but as my life transitions back to homesteading (after saving enough $) my brain is rolling again with bad ideas.  I have almost a year to bring these ideas to creation and would love feedback on this one idea in particular: a hypocaust style rmh to heat a bed.

Firstly, Has anyone heard of this being done?

And secondly, can my rmh be installed below a raised up (4-6 ft) tiny cabin resulting in a rmh that does NOT exhaust downward at any point like a traditional rmh? Essentially, I’m wondering if I can connect the top of the heat riser directly into the bell with the help of a metal worker. I’m aware that it will probably result in a less efficient design due to a faster exhaust flow.  I might be okay with that bc I am planning on reducing radiant heat and directing most (all?) heat directly into a welded metal bell beneath the mass of the bed.  

Which leads me to the third question, has anyone successfully implemented a rmh that does NOT direct heat to a radiant source (I.e. an exposed barrel) but instead directs all heat to a mass instead? I’m a fire snob and I think it’s a bummer to have a radiant heat source in my bedroom without getting the wonderful glow of a fire, and would rather install a small fireplace at the base of a rmh chimney area instead of having a barrel in the room(hence putting it under the building) Additionally, floor space is limited so it would be better to have the firebox and wood splitting mess outdoors, and I think the barrel is ugly(which I know I can address other ways).  

Thoughts? And many thanks to the folks at permies  who have taught me so much over the years!  Best.

Hey everyone. Please let me know what you think of my most recent idea-in-process:

Location: either the northeast(Maine) or Colorado. \

A small 15' diameter, maybe 20' ( how big do you think I can get away with?) domed structure made out of cob (clay dirt, sand, straw(or hemp?). How thick do the structural walls need to be? What are the pros/cons of building a bamboo, hardwood sapling, or rebar skeletal frame for this? Is it necessary?

There will be a RMH exhaust running through a bench,as is traditional, but also will spiral upwards through the walls of the cob dome. How much will the 6" or 8" exhaust pipe affect the structural integrity of the dome?

On the exterior of the dome my idea is to use hemp grown on property (which apparently is legal now in CO with a permit). I was thinking why not figure out an efficient way to either bale it or chop it up and cover the whole dome in a foot or more of this mixed with some clay slip (or lime, which I don know much about yet), or some type of earthen plaster, any recommendations? And if not hemp, then can this be done with a different plant that can be easily grown in quantity, like stinging nettle or evening primrose, or straw, for example. After thorough drying.

The entire structure would be covered with metal roof with large overhang. Can I use cob pillars to support the metal roof to avoid using timber since it may not be available to cut.
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Thank you very much.