S. Marshall

The sun pounds our house all day without shade during the summer.  We have cedar panel siding and they get scorched.  I've heard Virginia Creeper could damage siding but haven't found anything suitable as a replacement in our climate.  I'm open to try others, but regardless, I believe it may make sense to install a wall trellis spaced a few inches away from the siding to mitigate possible damage while also providing airflow.  

Has anyone experience how to install it?  Lag bolts into the framing and then tying the cattle panel against it with thick wire?  

Do you think large rock would have a similar feel to brick?  Just exploring ideas - there is a place to build one but it would require a new chimney and chase which i've been told would cost an arm and a leg.  
I loved the thread with your build.  Really incredible stuff.  Why'd you suggest the bigger build at first?  Guessing it heats a larger area because of it's mass?

Thanks.  The idea being that the large bell enclosure does the same work as thermal mass as a piped mass?  I did like the idea of warming my butt on a heated bench, but I guess that's out of fashion?  Is this an efficiency issue?  I do like the batchbox for reasons you've already mentioned.  

I love your cabin!  I'd much prefer that to the poor quality 1990's framed house we have.  Builders didn't even bother to wrap the house in an air barrier.  There's 1/2" gaps between the OSB in places.

I can dig around so no worries if this is too much to explain.  But can you remind me again of the advantages of this type of bell stove vs the rocket mass heaters that popped up here originally?  

That’s a beauty also. I’m sure my wife would love it, but our house is a weird layout.  We could possibly find a spot for something like that but it wouldn’t work where our current stove is.

How heavy do you estimate yours is?  Did you have a concern about the weight on your joists?  

Glen did an amazing job at that.  Looks good too. For my space I’d need to have something with a more gentle look for my wife. Have you seen this woman’s masonry stoves?

https://shko.ca/about/

thanks, I didn't know a 6" pipe would be enough.  

Last year I was in touch with my county and my local FD to see if I could get the ball rolling on any type of approval.  My concern being insurance if my home burns down or something.   They all pretty much thought I was crazy and had no idea what I was talking about.  

My floor joists do run the wrong direction for a heavy thermal mass which is also a negative.  The wife also likes to watch the fire burn in the stove.  So... it's a bit of an uphill battle.

I was going to build a RMH in the basement until I was told I would need class A all the way up to my roof which would cost $15k+ just for that.....

Still, I want to bring in mass around the stove if I can and a bench would be perfect.  I'll be adding XPS insulation to the outside wall for starters.  Without that my mass could be giving some heat the that exterior wall.

I imagine burying an aluminum heat transfer rod/plate into the bench stickout out near the stove may not do much anyhow.  But it got me exciting to think about.  Imagine a repurposed baseboard radiator with a side sticking out near the stove (the majority being inside the bench surrounded by fine sand and then the clay/cob.

I would love to have a rocket mass heater but can’t afford to replace the 6” flue in our existing stove with the complaint options.  My stove does get pipping hot and the wall next to it gets to 175 degrees F.

I was considering building a masonry, clay, cob, or similar bench. I was thinking of using a sheet of aluminum embedded vertically and sticking out next to the wall that gets hits with the heat. (The stove is in a corner. To the left would be the bench. To the right is a door so that side isn’t an option.

The idea being the aluminum would transfer the heat to the bench sorta like a thermal mass. I’m thinking aluminum because it’s cheaper than copper.  The idea of using water or another liquid isn’t appealing because of the added complexity.

Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions?

Beautiful!  Thank you so much for your guidance!

Anne Miller wrote:I feel that Ulla is on the right track about what is happening.

I appreciate your thoughts as well.  Am I correct that I must leave this wrapped throughout winter, seems obviously yes.  And that anything sticking out the top would certainly die until it's large enough to hopefully be protected?

Also, for Elderberry, I'm sure I could leave it a shrub, but at this point there are a bunch of stems.  Should I select one or two for best success otherwise risk overcrowding?