first video was just a cobbled together pile of fire bricks from the Lowe’s… This video was from fully molded setup seen on the rocket stove forum link above. I lost a lot pics to Dropbox due to inactivity. https://youtube.com/shorts/0F2zNoanptU?si=ktsLuiSsMchlMIBy This flame wasn’t visible until dark had settled in…
I did most of it. Quite a process all this molding and gluing together of pieces. I could feel your frustration at having pieces crack because of latent moisture or perhaps too quick thermal expansion. I guess I will stick to metal as I know it better. I think I saw your thread in the past because I said that I intended to have rocket mass heaters as well as conventional stoves in my huge Montana mountain lodge! That would, of course, be the Lodge in my mind!
All painted up with 1200* paint. Hope that's high enough. Rustoleum also makes a 2000* rattle can ceramic paint but almost twice as expensive. I will play with this stove a little more for fun then move on to some other projects. Still have to replace that post on the wood shed!
Decided to make a smaller stove out of 4"X 1/8" box tube. Basically the same design but the feed tube is raised up 2 " so the center does exactly meet the intersection of the chimney and draft tubes. Seems to work fine but I will probably lower the feed tube on the next one because I believe it may enhance the burn slightly . I have a 10" dutch oven that fits nicely on the cook grid. This unit is a heck of a lot lighter that the 6" stove!!
I have a small collection of outdoor wood burning grills made out of funky metal (scrap) that is fun to eat off of. Even a measly hotdog can be delicious cooked over real wood. Then there's a "discada" that I made around an old disc (farm junk) for the bowl. More outdoor cooking fun. It's like a giant wok, great for tacos and other similarly cooked food. I think I put pictures on the "what's in the smoker" thread here but I had no luck with a search.
I think a wok would work great on a rocket stove. Perched on the tabs of the pot support, the heat would disperse and follow the curve of the wok and provide an even heat all the way up. I must confess a weakness for those funky metal cookers you talk about. I guess a guy could have less productive hobbies. My Wif now says that she expects a meal cooked by me on every stove or utensil I make!