Losing my shop's pellet stove…

After two years of using a 'borrowed' pellet stove (Englander) in my shop, my buddy has moved and is selling the stove to another guy (I didn't have the spare $500.00). So I'm initially going to a 'more alternative form of alternative energy'… a Rocket Mass Heater.

The good news is they are cheap to build and I can do it myself. The bad news is I'll be splitting some 'slab wood' to get the thing going until i can convert it to pellets.

I should be able to heat the shop for $20 - 30.00 worth of wood per month and keep it comfy. I plan on having an outside burn chamber to keep the small chance of igniting any flammable fumes… not really a problem because I seldom have any gasoline in the shop. I DO have a solvent based parts cleaner which is/will be 30' from the stove.

I think I'll build it near the from service door… near the greatest source of heat loss. I'm sure it will go thru a few variations until I get it right.

http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

 

As he jumps back to the dark side out of desperation...I like it.
sorry things turned on you like that.

 

http://www.dragonheaters.com/

http://blog.dragonheaters.com/installing-rocket-heaters-safely/

 

No big deal… it was a real gift to use it for two seasons.

There's a small, local mill that sells a pick-up load of slab wood for $15.00… one cheap chainsaw and a splitting maul (which I have) and I'm good to go.

 

Hoping I can build mine for under $100.00….

 

Cool, please take and post lots of pics.

I've been reading about these for several years, I think they're a great concept. The weakest link is the burn tunnel. If I was going to build one for anything more than occasional or recreational use I would go with a Dragon core. But they ain't cheap.

 

Yes looking around for a used pellet stove is the way to go. I got my shed quad contour for $200. Then I slowly updated as I went along. I put in a new auger motor, an updated new clear control box. Yesterday I put in an upgraded G-A 1.75 amp exhaust blower so this winter it will really smoke!

Pic 1 - GA Blower
Pic 2 - New Green wire goes under ground lug

 

This will be a fun adventure… I like fabricating but I don't do wood working very well… hard to weld on a 2x4 that you cut short.

The major shortfall I see is the durability of the burn chamber and tunnel. I may use firebrick inside a steel tube for the burn chamber… I've seen 1/8" steel burn out from the heat. And I have a 30-40 gallon oil reservoir tank I can modify for the tunnel… heavy steel that was used as the oil reserve for an in ground lift at the Ford store I worked at.

The other thing is sizing the heater to work efficiently. That will be a crap shoot and may need some fine tuning.

I'll start using wood but the pellet deal is what I will be trying to make work.

 

Pick up the Santa Fe and give it a good going over. If you can get it for $400 you may make a few bucks?
See my perk up pics
http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/for...r-with-a-little-acetone-and-stovebright.5624/

 

I like the pellet rocket heater, it seems to work well, but at 12.0 lbs per hour that's over 2 bags in 8 hours! I am sure it would blast out my garage but I really do not need it that hot or need to burn that many pellets! Guess I will stick with my 12 year old used Harman P61 I got for $225 on Craigslist.

 

Good luck with this project and I hope you come up with a good solution. I am subscribing to see what you come up with. @devilsbrew may have interest in this thread as she has been looking into rocket stoves. I think NW Walker has an outdoor mass heater in his patio area and may be a source for some information.

 

Thanks, fishingpol. I missed this thread.

Krooser, I have been researching stoves and building small ones for over 2 years now. I highly recommend speaking with Matt (NW Walker) before you build a permanent structure.

I am not sure what your background is. I would suggest getting outside and building small models to see how they work. This will allow you to understand what type of builds will and will not be successful and what is possible. An RMH is basically a DIY masonry stove. It will be a little different than what you are used to.

The best place for research in my opinion is donkey32.proboards.com.

 

Buying a core is really the safest way to go. I'm a DIY stove junkie but I realize the hazards that most of these stoves possess.

 

BTW, I don't mean to be a downer, I am only overly cautious. Good luck.

 

I've been doing some more research and trying to learn as much as I can. The thing that's nice about the mass heater is you may only have to fire it up a couple times per day and the 'mass' keeps radiating heat for up to 12 hours. My shop is well insulated so that may work pretty good.

What I need to work on is getting the outdoor burn chamber to work… the rest of the stove will be indoors.

Rocket stoves produce a lot of heat from a small amount of fuel… basically a controlled chimney fire and you know how hot those can be.

 

I'd just charge him $500 for "rent" and "storing" the stove and call it even

Looks like a fun project

 

C'mom over and help...