Gerry Parent

Most welders have a chart that gives recommendations for wire speed and amps for the thickness of the metal your working with.
Other than that, watching some videos and experimenting on a scrap piece will teach you lots.

Thanks for the update Matthias.
Always good to hear back on an experiment.....good or bad.
In your case, I'd call it a success.
Nice stove by the way.  

kees ijpelaar wrote:I did test the rocket with wood, it did blow back, and was not without smell.

I did test it without a shimney so I think I do need really a shimney to let it
word properly, wind blows into the connection now.

is this the problem with smoke is visible.

https://youtu.be/GIhaeVGO5pA

regards

Hi Kees,

Although the stove will operate without a chimney, it will definitely improve with one. Smoke and smell will go away and the fire should blaze much stronger with the added draft.
Side note: If you were to remove the barrel covering the heat riser, the same thing would happen. This proves that its not the stove core that's burning inefficiently, but rather the change in direction of the exhaust that put friction on the gas flow and slowing the combustion to not achieve clean burning rocket speeds.  

Getting back into the swing of laying bricks took a bit of time to remember some of the tricks I learned on the first go in Toms house but this time, having a laser line to help guide the placement has been a big help. Not having to pick up the level so often has been nice.

Creating the gap between the two brick walls was at first a bit concerning since I have never done a double skin before and was wondering if too much mortar would fall and partially refill the gap I was trying to maintain. Using a spacer inbetween for me kept getting in the way so I just learned to do it freehand and didn't worry about it.
Turns out, not enough fell to really matter. After the 4th double row, I feel like I'll just keep up with the same  technique unless something else presents itself to try.
Tomorrow things should go a bit faster as Tom and I get back into the swing of slinging bricks and mortar.

Takes a lot of 'friends' to keep you warm all winter long  but each one will pull its weight in gold when its below 0.

Cerbu Ulea wrote:I am sure the design is good , the tests to run the heater I look forward to. Newish town for me here, hardly know anyone. It is quite solid ,bent from a single piece of cut pipe , except the the small piece above the inlet , that could indeed fall if the tape fails. Should l just make small curing burns and monitor the temperatures, or just wait to weld it myself?

I'd say this is the perfect opportunity to get to know the local welder and introduce him (and others) to masonry heaters.  
Also, you know that you can operate the shorty core for testing purposes without a door right?
Light that baby up and let her roar!

Fox James wrote:Thank you Peter, unfortunately I cant personally open those links on my apple but, I will past on what you have posted.

After downloading the 2 .skp files that Peter linked, go to  SKP Viewer

 
  and click on "open a file" button and select one of the 2 files. You should be able to view them here.  Hopefully this helps Fox.  

Adding chunks of dense materials (like rocks, broken bricks etc) that are all hidden away between the cob will save you a fair amount of time making it and will allow more structure to build higher each day.
Like the clay tiles your using, these dense materials of various shapes can also provide a formwork to support the wet cob and produce shapes that would otherwise be more difficult (and slow) to do with just cob.

Jamey
To keep the stray fire and smoke from coming out the feed tube (as Thomas suggested) try to keep your wood length at or lower than it's height. Also, a brick can be placed horizontally to partially cover the feed tube which increases the velocity and draw the fire will have.

Being an accomplice in this endeavor, I must confess that the muddy water was mostly my fault.

Over the many days of brick laying Shorty, she never showed any signs of being dull or drab until a day or so after she was lit and the bricks were able to start drying out. - This was when she showed us her true colours. It was like watching her age right before our eyes. All the beauty treatments given to her just weren't cutting it..... But she's just a young girl! How could this be?
This made me deeply ponder my own life. Like all of us, as we age, there are certain things we can only control to a certain point before we just give in and accept our impermanence.
We'll just learn to love her as she is and let her beauty be more than skin deep.
After all,  keeping Tom & Liz warm and cozy 24/7 is a beautiful thing.

However, as you already know, Thomas (with Liz's help) has found the fountain of youth and has demonstrated the power of their magic elixir with wonderous results.
Nice recovery Thomas!
My hands have been washed clean so to speak.
Guess now (in this case), beauty can be enjoyed both inswardly and outwardly with great pleasure.