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Summary
part 1 of a 3 part podcast
RMH smackdown
Paul and Matt Walker discuss rocket mass heaters and the endless J-tube vs batch box debate.
Paul says the door is the biggest challenge in building a batch box. People often make mistakes in trying to build a hinged door. Matt agrees with Paul about the plug style door which has no need of hinges.
Paul mentions the first ever 8" batch box build by Peter Van den Berg and Matt Walker which was built to heat the workshop as fast as possible. There's a question about how long barrels last: Matt has seen them last 10 years or more.
Paul says you shouldn't leave stuff on top of a mild steel barrel as it can prevent the heat radiating properly, and it could get hot enough to fail.
Paul also mentions the batch rocket heater without a mass. It holds about 5.4 times as much wood as a J tube, so it's great for fast heat in the workshop. Matt comments that when you build a rocket heater you can decide how much radiant heat and how much storage you build into it.
Paul also comments on glass in the door, and maybe it loses some heat, but Matt points out that the door is where the airflow comes into the stove, and thus it's not all that hot at that point.
Paul moves to the red cabin, which has a new J tube RMH which features a new fix for the cold-start issue. Matt comments that Paul has a unique situation where people can arrive and have no experience of RMHs so they have to make them usable by new users. The old RMH in the red cabin had no radiating element, and people would burn it too long in an attempt to warm it up faster. The new stove is balanced between radiating and storage.
They talk about J vs Batch, and Matt agrees that J is easier to build especially for a novice; however, not everyone likes that style. Paul feels a batch box is 2-3 times more complex to build.
Relevant Threads
Rocket Mass Heater Smackdown: J-Tube vs. Batch Box
History and development of Matt Walker's rocket mass heaters
Rocket Mass Heaters forum
Walker Stoves
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This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
Kyle Aster
Sasquatch
Bill Crim
G Cooper
Mehron Kugler
Bill Erickson
Julia Winter, world's slowest mosaic artist
Sean Benedict
Rita Bliden
Brent Lawson
Song Zheng
Dana Martin
David Lucey
Janelle
thomas adams
Clay McGowan
Shay Riggs
Dr. Jackie
Keith Kuhnsman
Cindi Duehmig
Banter Couch
Eric Tolbert
Paul Tipper
Paul F
Gerald Bernard
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