Thomas Burgess

I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I have 2 sheds. One is 16x16 and this one is 12x20. I am leaning towards finishing this one like a small cabin (full insulation, walls,ceiling, etc) and turning it into a leather working shop/bedroom/man cave. If I go thus route, a mass heater would be welcome because I'll have a bed in there anyways. Might as well make the bed sit on top of the mass.

Thanks. That sounds great. I have a lot of time before next winter so I can build a few j tubes to test Outdoors.

Would it be acceptable to make a base of normal landscaping bricks then build the j tube from fire bricks and make the riser from fireclay/perlite mixed topped with a 30 gallon drum? I want the system to last for years if possible.

I just saw a craigslist posting for firebrick the other day. Only problem was they are all odd shapes and sizes according to the user. I do have 3 drums. How well do the casting methods hold up? I was thinking of using the 16 gallon drum along with a 6 inch pipe to cast the riser. I see a lot of folks using perlite and refractory concrete. Does this hold up well?

I'm wondering what the most durable material is for constructing my riser. (At least something I can reasonably construct). I see a lot of different designs. I gather that anything metal will eventually burn out due to the high temperatures involved which seems to leave fire bricks or some concoction of refractory cement and perlite. Is there other options?

I Thanks. I appreciate your patience and advice. I just learned of these heater last night when I was looking into the option of installing a cast iron wood stove. I was looking at the cost of the stove and didn't consider the hidden costs of proper stove pipe and chimney. The efficiency and low temp exhaust are extremely attractive. I've been scrounging all kinds of materials to do this shed. I intend to make it a workshop for my leather working hobby and a living space as well.

I understand. I just figured that the barrel worked for "quick" heat and it's such a small space. I mean it's 240 square feet. 12x20. i mean my idea was that the barrel would keep the shop warm while I was there feeding the fire and the thermal mass would have a nice bed on it that would keep my butt warm when I slept. But again I haven't ever built one. I plan to do a lot of research and testing.

So I have a question: I've been told by a few people that a rocket stove without the thermal mass would be more than enough to heat my shed, it would just burn a little more wood and wouldn't keep the shed hot for hours. Why would the bench on the short side not keep the entire shed at a decent comfortable temperature. I'm going to be insulating it really well. I'm sorry, I don't want to be annoying. I know I don't understand everything yet. I've seen several videos of people heating greenhouses with rocket mass heater. They are very long greenhouses but the stove is on the short side.

OK. That was my original plan (running along the back wall). I am still very far from being able to build it and I'm really still in the planning stages. I haven't even finished the inside yet. I'm just collecting materials and trying to savage as much as possible. Thanks again for the suggestions. I was actually just about to ask about removing cob once it had dried (if I needed to inspect it).

Also, is there anything wrong with looping the exhaust pipe down the wall, back then down again before coming up for the chimney?