Steve Evans

I think some folks over at the Rocket Stoves Experimenters Corner have tried something similar to this with mass heaters.

Take a look at the posts on casting using cardboard forms, building the internals using DIY refractory bricks and using wood ash.

Synergy wrote:
Thank you for the links, exactly how do you get them, I could not figure it out.

Try this...

[li]Register on the site[/li]
[li]Login to your account[/li]
[li]Go to the free ebooks page[/li]
[li]Add the books you want to your basket[/li]
[li]Go to the checkout, there will be a zero bill[/li]
[li]On confirmation of your order you'll be taken to your free ebook download links[/li]

Hope that helps.

Hello Robert,

Interesting idea. How much ice were you able to make?

Presumably you just loaded up the solar oven with a low pot of cool water, closed the lid, attached the collector, aimed away from the rising sun and then collected your ice next morning?

glockman1727ak47 wrote:
Has any one Tried the equisetum/horsetail Tea? what are your results please post pictures if you can of your plants.  If you dont have pictures just tell us about it thanks! please share.

Is there an recipe. say one part horsetail one part water. light boil for 20 minutes mix in 5 gallons of water. How much do we really need?

I'd love to hear about experiences and see a recipe for this too. If anyone can provide either (preferably both) that would be greatly appreciated.

paul wheaton wrote:

To me the answer is obvious:  smoke leaving the house of a 90% efficient stove is really hot.  Usually 300 to 600 degrees.  It has to be to get the smoke out.   Exhaust leaving a well built rocket mass heater is leaving the house at 70 to 100 degrees.   

That's it.   

Am I overlooking anything?

Hi Paul,

pretty new around the forums but I think you got it.

My short answer...
90% stove: good at burning but poor at utilizing heat => burn a lot.
RMH: good at burning and good at utilizing heat => burn less.

My long answer...
I suspect the 90% figure is talking about how efficient the stove is at converting the theoretical max energy in the wood into heat in the combustion chamber. The stove will probably then dump most of that heat outside the target heating space via the exhaust unlike RMHs which recover a large fraction of the heat from the exhaust.

BTW, there's an interesting link to a low-mass rocket heater project at http://www.iwilltry.org/b/build-a-rocket-stove-for-home-heating/ in case you've not seen it before.

Thank you for running a great forum!

Robert Ray wrote:
Reuters today:
    Article about using human excreta for food security.  Sorry can't get the link to work.

The original report, by the Soil Association, can be downloaded from the following webpage...

http://www.soilassociation.org/Default.aspx?TabId=1259

Use the "Download the full report now" link near the bottom of the article to get the pdf.

Hi pbhj,

another thought, not co-housing as such, but you might also find the De Hoxar's place worth a visit. Not only is it in a really great setting for some time away in its own right, they've structured things in a very efficient way regarding having interns (just in case your community should ever decide to do so). If you do decide to go, try to go when the proprietors are around. A chat with Robert about their setup may be worth while.

http://www.fathershousebala.org/ is the website.

Hi pbhj,

Try out the house of the open door ...

http://www.houseoftheopendoor.org/

...perhaps they can help you firm up some of your ideas. I'm sure there are others but it's the only place I've visited.