nick marcinkowski

Glenn... most of the designs I have been looking at have been solid mass chambers. As in the exhaust system is either covered in some sort of insulation (fireclay..vermitculite etc..) I was wondering if anyone has ever seen or works if you do an "open chamber" as in box around the exhaust pipe (lets say a 4 foot chamber around it and create vents on the chamber for the heat to escape (possible even put a vent van inside to pump the heat. I did find for a design the one that zaugstoves.com made which was more modern.

Hey all. My wife and I bought a knew home and my family has heated with wood since well before I was born. I'm looking to put and RMH or rocket stove in our basement to heat the basement which would in turn heat the upstairs floor which over time would rise to gradually heat the upstairs. Now I've seen and watch probably 2 dozen videos and read forums, but I can't find a good drawing with dimensions for a few things.
Now I've seen several of the designs out there. We are looking to do a little edgy/up to date design. So a few outlying questions;

Best size for exhaust pipe 6" 7" 8"??
Has any one done an open chamber around their exhaust instead of solid? If so what kind of heat difference is it and do you lose more BTUs etc..
Anyone have any other designs besides 55gal drums or repurposed material. I have a buddy who's company does rolled steel etc..

I'm putting this in a brand new house in Michigan. My wife of course doesn't want anything that is ugly for simple terms.

So any help would be greatly appreciated.