David Wieland

Matthias Hacker wrote:...Maybe I should start exporting them🙈

Bear in mind that the currently wimpy Canadian dollar is worth only about 70% of the US dollar. Also, shipping breakable things requires extra packaging, which increases the cost. The shipping charge in my case was about C$70, from a place only a 4 hour drive away.

thomas rubino wrote:Indeed, Peter does use kiln shelves on all his test builds.
But I believe that on his more permanent builds, he uses slabs.
What size (thickness) shelf did you use to roof your Batchbox?

For the firebox: 12" x 24" x 3/4" (305 mm x 610 mm x 19 mm)  cut down to firebox length, because no 12" x 18" shelf was available
  https://psh.ca/collections/high-alumina-kiln-shelves/products/12-x-24-kiln-shelf-pizza-stone
For the riser top: 12" x 12" x 1/2" (305 mm square x 12.7 mm)
  https://psh.ca/collections/high-alumina-kiln-shelves/products/12-x-12-kiln-shelf-pizza-stone
A firebrick thickness strip cut from the large slab spans the top of the riser outlet.
With taxes and shipping, the two shelves cost me C$174, but they saved a lot of time and didn't require warm curing -- important because the cold weather had already begun

I can't tell that there's been any deterioration so far, and I've run some very hot fires to warm the greenhouse bench on the really cold nights we've had sometimes this winter. It's predicted to drop to -26C tonight, the coldest yet, so I'm really stoking the stove this evening. After the heating season, I'll remove the lid and document the condition.

I've found, as confirmed by Peter, that kiln shelves work for the "roof" slabs -- making them a viable alternative to casting your own from refractory cement. Sourcing kiln shelves can be an issue though. I'm in a rural part of Ottawa, Canada, a city of over a million, but I had to order them from the Toronto area, which added a hefty shipping charge.
I used refractory in an earlier stove and was glad to not have to mess with that again. Knowing that thermal expansion stresses materials, including kiln shelves and other high alumina refractory, I used strips of a Superwool type of ceramic fiber blanket instead of mortar to seal the gaps between the slabs and the sides.

Emmett Ray wrote:exhaustipating

That's a keeper! I'm adding that to my vocabulary now. 👍

L Cho wrote:

Karee Freeland wrote:

Kim Avery wrote:I live in tiny duplex style apartments. I would like to know how to route the exhaust without damaging the wall or ceiling. Board in window with hole?

Kim, depending upon how discreet you'd like it to be, I wonder if it's worth disguising it as a dryer vent?  It might go unnoticed/ignored since dryer vents are commonly seen on the sides of buildings.

...

A real showstopper for using a dryer vent is that seeing smoke coming out of one would likely result in a 911 call and a fire truck showing up.

Joshua Hotz wrote:Was looking through the hardwood section at my local exotic hardwood store and saw they were selling apple for 20$ a board foot.

That price shows that there is a market for apple wood but that it's in very limited supply. I've never seen any apple furniture, probably because it's hard to get suitable boards. As a woodworker, I know it's much easier to work with wood  that has fairly straight grain and no big knots.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:
Have you thought of a polyculture of other timber hardwoods?  I don’t know if black walnut suppresses apple growth but that is another premium wood.  

Black walnut does suppress apple trees. See https://gardenerspath.com/plants/landscape-trees/black-walnut-juglone-toxicity/ for an example and information on juglone-tolerant plants.

thomas rubino wrote:...
The air supply frame is the most technical portion of the build.
...

I'm still finishing my Shorty that's for heating my greenhouse, primarily the bench. My build uses far less masonry, both for cost and because I don't need or want much space heating, but I can definitely confirm that the air supply frame is the most technical and challenging part for someone who does very little metal work. That said, I expect that it will go a long way to avoiding smoke leak when starting the stove, an issue that has really annoyed my wife with my previous RMH designs. And I know that the greenhouse plants won't care if my novice welding isn't pretty.

r ranson wrote:
Maybe a dremmel size disk would be more my style.  I'll have to think about that.

Although this pink stuff seems more available in canada these days.  That could be easier (scissors also hirt arthritis).

Dremel now sells a rechargeable scrubber/buffer (https://www.homedepot.ca/product/dremel-versa-4v-cordless-lithium-ion-power-cleaner-and-scrubber-tool-kit/1001168875) that seems arthritis-friendly. I imagine that wood ash or any suitable paste cleaner can be used with the mesh pad.

No one has mentioned the heat source of the glass/ceramic stove top, but if it's an induction stove then paper toweling works great to both keep the stove clean and avoid scratches. And for any stubborn crud that gets cooked on, regardless of heat source, a single-edge razor blade can lift it off without scratching the surface. I know from personal experience with my cast iron loving son's induction burner.