Thank you for the great explanation of the different types of stoves and ways to keep the cost down. I agree with you that your stove looks great... all it needs is wheels and Stephenson would be proud!
Looking forward to the indoor upgrade on this stove. Thinking this is my best choice as I don't have a good collection of tools yet. Thanks for your efforts and sharing 👍🇬🇧
Robert thank you so much for answering all of my questions. Great video btw. At the time we (my family ) were living on 5 acres in the US. Natural Gas was not available to our area. So we used to have a wood burning stove in the living room area, , The primary heating system for the house was outrageously expensive. It was electric baseboard heating. Therefore we used the wood stove for the entire house. The 2 main drawbacks to a wood burning stove is the incredible amount of work involved especially cleaning out the ash, and the cost of fuel. Not all types of wood are created equal ? i.e. Soft woods like PINE burned up very fast vs. hard woods like OAK which would last all night with a single log.. All that being said there was definitely a reason why our forefathers continued to search for better burning less labor intensive methods of heating their home such as natural gas forced air furnaces! 😀😀😀
It's always great. To see the two of you doing this stuff together, really good fun especially with the norms behind you trying to figure out what Old Ben and that Skywalker kid are up to now.
You guys are the best. I love the combination of fun, and offering up solutions that may well be profoundly helpful for a lot of people this coming hard winter. Good stuff.
You are the Fred Dibnah of science. Absolutely fantastic, great to watch, turn your hand to anything, super entertaining and sooooo clever! Thank you for another great UA-cam video
Was born near benghazi in Tripoli were my dad served in the army in 1965, found a benghazi burner at an old TA centre in Yorkshire it was simple large metal upbend tube submerged in a dustbin filled with water, had an oil dripfeed can on the top of the ubend , it was lite with a small peace of cotton used as a wick tossed into the bottom of the tube. Got incredibly hot! Use it once but couldn't find it on Internet, seen it used for water heating and soup cooking in the 1954 film Zulu. I live in Germany now and build some of your devices, love to see it used on your show or a modern take!
The escalating events in the background were hilarious! Back to the stove: I'm all for replacing the cap with a sterling engine to power up some USB battery packs ;D
@@ThinkingandTinkering u can also use the Stirling principle to make a gas recycling system (Stirling engine on top to re feed unburned gasses back into the combustion chamber) altho u will need an external housing so the gasses do not escape so easily, same principle as a diesel EGR system
Hi re video 1744. Thank you thank you thank you. I was just considering buying an old cook woodstove and was about to let my dream go when we came across your video and You had mentioned the silicate putty now I will be on the road to pick up my new woodstove old antique actually because of your information God bless you man❤
Great build Rob! I love these types of videos. And you talk about interference. People in the background, sirens, and cars driving through. I couldn't help myself but to laugh
Thank you for clarifying what "quid" means. I've heard it enough to wonder exactly what it is but not enough to actually google it. As an American, I've never actually needed to know but now I do! Also, this series on rocket stoves has really gotten me inspired to make my own. I have a big pile of twigs and branches in my backyard and a stove like that could be really useful.
Thanks for this video. I have some 6-inch square steel profiles I got from a builder who had them left over after building the nextdoors house. I got them and a lot of wood that I turned into firewood for free in exchange for cleaning up his buildsite and saving his apprentice a whole afternoon of work. If I get my migwelder to work I might make myself a couple of K-stoves. Gonna be nifty to have in the backyard for burning those tree-limb-junk that are to thin to bother burning in the indoors fireplace!
It occurs to me that a way cheaper way to do this (for people on a bit if a budget) would be with standard stove pipe instead of plumbing pipe- as all those fittings exist for that just off the shelf anywhere they sell stove stuff (from 4 through 8" diameter). Though the T might be tricky to find. It would not be as long lasting, but it would be a great deal lighter and half or less the price. Good option for an emergency or camp type stove. You could also hybrid that- using the heavy plumbing T for your fire box, and the lightweight stove fittings for the rest of it.
Just encase the metals in a cob so that when the steel burns and/or starts to rust through (as it will), you'll still have a working stove. If you want the cob to be lighter, stronger, and more insulative, instead of sand, use a mixture of fumed silica and diatamaceous earth, and instead of straw/hay use fiberglass clothe or chopped strands. And add some perlite to the mixture as well. The combo of fumed silica, DE, and perlite will make it lighter and more insulative, and the fiberglass clothe or chopped strands will make it stronger. Once everything is fully dried/cured, coat it all with some thinned, high heat silicone to make it more water resistant. (Obviously it won't be a portable camp type stove anymore though. Will be too heavy and/or fragile for that). Another lighter method is to skip the steel part, get some fiberglass clothe, ceramic fiber insulation, and make a 3 part water glass mixture (60% sodium silicate to 30% potassium silicate to 10% lithium silicate), sandwich the ceramic fiber insulation in between two layers of fiberglass clothe, coat the outisde of the fiberglass with the silicate mixture and shape to desired shape and let it fully dry while in that shape. Once fully dried, coat outside in thinned high heat silicone. This will be A LOT lighter than the steel + cob version. To shape it, you can lay it over cardboard and then burn that out later. (why that particular mixture of water glasses? I've read some research that indicates it lasts longer and is stronger than straight up regular water glass [sodium silicate in the states and potassium silicate in Europe]. Makes sense because you have 3 different sized molecules that are in a sense, locking together more closely with each other).
My one is an old gas bottle 9L and a 304 stainless pipe about 4 in. I filled the gas bottle with normal concrete as I did not want it to tip over. I did buy perlite to make the light concrete but it would be too dangerous for the people around so I went a high lime normal concrete. It works on oil but if I drill a few holes it will do wood. The main air inflow is about 15 deg so unburnt oil will drip out. I will put a stainless steel scourer in. We used to burn it in place before the lorries took it away. Love the vids been watching for years. I used to be a chemo AND YOU ARE DRAGGING ME BACK. wITH OUR THOUGHTS WE CREATE THE wORLD. mIGHT BE FROM mONKEY MAGIC BUT IT IS TRUE ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
It's convenient to cut notches into the cross of metal, so that the end of the pipe slots into the notches. Saves you having to attach a ring of metal to sleeve over the pipe.
0:53 I have one for my rocket stove. I put the pot on the top. From your last vid. When the colour dies you can cut off the tube. It is from speedway cars. If the paint does not burn you don't need it.
Make a second L shaped output and attach it just below the upper trivit and facing inwards. and you will have two outputs for cooking. Well done rob, it looks stunning as it stands.
Thank you for showing that this simple design can be used to both keep you warm and heat food! Many thanks for all wonderful and inspiring ideas! 🔥🍵😃🫕🔥
Plumbers use trivets that is sized to perfectly fit their pipes, for cowls. You put the trivet over the end of the pipe, then you place some sort of cap over it which allows air to flow but prevents debris falling into your pipe/flue, and makes it more awkward for birds to get in.
Like Ive mentioned before I like the L type with a flat plate for cooking in the horizontal tube as well as on the stack. The 2 areas cook differently but you can boil water on one and cook bacon on the other. I prefer a grate style plate insode the feed tube so air gets to the fuel.. Ive seen the top of the stack crenulated so it can breath with a pot or pan on top, Ive also seen the top of the stack with holes around it and the grate on top or use a much deeper trivet/grate, at least half again the depth of the one you have
Oh WOW! You have found the holy grail…. A way of building something like this from scratch, for us non welders! I’m very new to the whole rocket stove thing. Can you explain what else would be needed to make this work as a workshop heater? I’m always throwing offcuts of wood away… it would be brilliant to use them as heating! Thankyou 😊
A cheap recommendation, if it's possible, try and source some old water pipes. If there are any industrial or large commercial buildings being worked on, you may be able to get all the needed fittings for free. A local hospital shut down a few decades ago, and got sold recently. For the past 5 years, maybe more, it has been under development as it's being turned into residence. They are still removing old iron pipes that they need to dispose of, they would be happy for me to come and take some away for free. Just make sure it was only used for water. Ya don't want diesel fumes all over your food :p
Great video. The hopper design is the dream for heating. Scaled up and with a fuel hopper for logs and a fan driven convector surround could mean lots of heat for less fuel!
Your the dogs danglees 👍🏻.... I love rocket stoves and have had a few but yours just looks rustic and forever lasting... Its going to colour up really nice...
That was understandable, even for me. There's such a good feeling to know what is needed for basic cooking and heating, thanks a lot. I'll go for vegan bacon tho.
For the damper on the bottom idea, I was thinking of putting some holes after the fuel so that even if you choke off the fuel, the secondary air will burn off all the smoke which might make the unit close to maximum efficiency...
I checked out these fittings and it becomes a quite expensive heater to make. I suggest doing the sums on pricing someone to weld one up for you (if you can't do it yourself), versus the cost of the plumbing bits.
Check out the revers of this - thermal ovens made with wood and celotex. I made one. Slashes fuel costs by about 90%. Been piloting mine all week and I’m blown away by its cooking performance with its own energies. Your viewers would love it!
I did spend some time looking for fittings last night but didn't come up with much in the way of second hand but I will keep my eyes peeled so I can make one on the cheap.
Rocket stoves are my definition of Free Energy. The difference between a campfire and a rocket stove is free, after a small design change, materials and effort. It's a clever upgrade from previously used norms. I could imagine even coal burning clean with more heat.
Could you fit two upright pipes, which would give you two cooking platforms? Or would this lead to too much draw and maybe uneven temps in the two chimneys?
Yep the only thing that was missing was the Chefs ketchup, hey, Robert, Luke you too guys get yourself a very steam punky looking beastie. I like it a lot, right up my alley, I wonder how big I need to build it for my little house.👍 a quick estimate tells me that it probably is gonna weigh about 400+ pounds when I get done with it, should I find some gold to spend on it, Luck willing. This episode in the rocket stove was a nice surprise, I have not been able to catch all of them, lost my mind and decided to go back to school, and got tied up with filing a lawsuit, and dealing with car repairs, and my father almost dying in. Age is catching up on me, but I've been walking again, and not so much in pain, crossing my fingers that it will help me get rid of my projects that I will never be able to complete, as I run out of time🙂 Do you have a great community here, and what you're doing by putting the stuff out it's a great service, and despite what others might think, it's needed.
Somebody noted in the comment section that you can also use the lighter, premade steel and fittings found in like hardware stores, but noted that it will burn out faster. This is what I wrote as additions or alternatives to that: "Just encase the metals in a cob so that when the steel burns and/or starts to rust through (as it will), you'll still have a working stove. If you want the cob to be lighter, stronger, and more insulative, instead of sand, use a mixture of fumed silica and diatamaceous earth, and instead of straw/hay use fiberglass clothe or chopped strands. And add some perlite to the mixture as well. The combo of fumed silica, DE, and perlite will make it lighter and more insulative, and the fiberglass clothe or chopped strands will make it stronger. Once everything is fully dried/cured, coat it all with some thinned, high heat silicone to make it more water resistant. (Obviously it won't be a portable camp type stove anymore though. Will be too heavy and/or fragile for that). Another lighter method is to skip the steel part, get some fiberglass clothe, ceramic fiber insulation, and make a 3 part water glass mixture (60% sodium silicate to 30% potassium silicate to 10% lithium silicate), sandwich the ceramic fiber insulation in between two layers of fiberglass clothe, coat the outisde of the fiberglass with the silicate mixture and shape to desired shape and let it fully dry while in that shape. Once fully dried, coat outside in thinned high heat silicone. This will be A LOT lighter than the steel + cob version. To shape it, you can lay it over cardboard and then burn that out later. (why that particular mixture of water glasses? I've read some research that indicates it lasts longer and is stronger than straight up regular water glass [sodium silicate in the states and potassium silicate in Europe]. Makes sense because you have 3 different sized molecules that are in a sense, locking together more closely with each other).
I am just so impressed with that silicone that goes hard . I must get some to play with . Might add some other Chema like mag oxide to see what happens . Could be used for all sorts of things and just needs heat to set hard ? Intrigue 😊
Controlling intake of air could be quite easily achiueved by simply sitting a plate over the hole. Lean it against the hole, and the angle it is leaning defines how much it restricts the air flow. Or you could lift the plate up and down to partly cover the hole, but that would probably be a little more awkward.
It looks like a nice clean burn on the video so you probably don't need to change anything, but in my reading on wood gasifiers it seems that the down-draft types (like that basically is) use a taper at the bottom of the fuel hopper to force the heavier gasses given off by the wood to pass through the hot charcoal at the bottom and break up in to H2 and CO before being used, or in your case, burned. I wonder if that's a concept you might like to play with. Do you have plans to build a gasifier and run an engine off it? That seems like the next logical step.
I have built gasifiers before mate so I get what you are saying - it is unlikely I will change this as the whole design ethos here is simplicity of build
I love the simplicity of this stove heater. Question? What about the size variable for any indoor heater type stove. What are the parameters of such a stove & performance values?
Clever, I love it! At the risk of asking you to do more work, could you test that to see if it can burn coal, if started with something else, like wood or charcoal? I gather coal's hard to burn, lacking forced air, but maybe the rocket draw might be enough?
And a Fun time was had by All! I especially liked Luke's delicate hold on his bacon sandwich. And all with no Catsup!.. Keep up the laughs it's the best fuel
Hi Robert, I'm happy that I found your channel! I like your ideas and your step by step explanations. I have a challenge for you. I like how you made the rocket stove out of the plumbing pipe. I also like the rocket stove that is welded together in your previous videos. What I would like to see is how to make an equivalent one with the same internal dimensions, and same venting at the bottom of the stack, but just made out of red brick. This is the cheapest way possible and in a survival situation, or a apocalyptic scenario, something that you can scrounge together. Please experiment and make a video on this...
After building smaller, steel can versions, I found that the measurements aren't too critical. The proportions(chimney pipe length to burn chamber) are more desirable, and you will get a good idea for the right sizes and lengths as you build a few. I still prefer a basic wood gassifier stove- just don't touch it until you cool it with WATER!
You guys are making me hungry! LOL. Question though: If your fuel feed tube is smaller, wouldn't that negate the need for a cap on it if it is angled? The idea is that you want more air draw through your burn chamber, so no cap would also draw in more air and also make it cheaper. A lot of diesel farm equipment have exhaust pieces that would work for a build as well. Source from a scrapyard for little to nothing. Don't get me wrong, your build is beautiful, just trying to wrap my head around a cheaper solution for people that would want to build it. Bon appetite!
@@ThinkingandTinkering What you are doing is invaluable to many millions if they care to watch and learn. Thank you so much for your contribution to humanity, Robert! Christina from Birmingham, Al USA
Could put that in an old filing cabinet (laying on its back). Then fill the cabinet with some fire resistant material, and have a place for a heat chamber to rest on. Course it wouldn't be as pretty.
Hey @Robert Murray-Smith , really enjoying the content recently. Thanks for demystifying the rocket stove / mass stove and some of the basic concepts. Tell me, is there any benefit to a rocket stove over a well made cast iron log burner ? As you said in the video, the efficiency is gained from capturing the wood gasses and burning them rather than being lost to the wind so what's the difference?
The DEFRA smokeless rated log burners are very similar as they recirculate the exhaust back through the front of the fire before exiting. The difference is the thermal mass of the stove and insulation and length of chimney before exiting the room (through wall or up traditional chimney) but will require more fuel as the burn chamber is so much larger
Presumably the size of the burn chamber just constrains how much material can be combusted at any one time and therefore the power output? If the heater is matched to the size of the room then surely a larger burn chamber is going to be desirable in order to produce enough heat to overcome the thermal losses and bring the room up to temp in a sensible time frame. I would have thought that heating a larger space with a stove as small as the one in this video would take rather a long time comparatively and would have to be refuelled several times over before a desirable temperature was reached.
You could extend the horizontal pipe and cover it with cob(A mixture of clay sand aggregate and Straw) this would create thermal mass which would absorb some of the heat from the cast-iron pipe it within radiator heat out slowly over time it could be used indoors or outdoors and even extend it to make a seat or used to warm a greenhouse in the winter
You could cut a hole at the bottom and make a hinged or removable flap with a catch, then you could empty the ash without having to pick the stove up and tip it out.
Thank you for posting such great videos and sharing your extensive knowledge and expertise. How would it be if you were to use a metal plate in place of the cap, to heat a small saucepan or at least keep it warm, whilst simultaneously using the other pan on the chimney (with the trivet) as shown in your video. Thus getting the maximum benefit from the fuel, and of course permitting the second cup of tea with with the bacon butty. Thanks again.
3:30 my Chimea I bought for $80 in 2008 and it is still out in the rain. You have to know how to do the fuel to make a good roast but it is always there and still going today. It is a bit fragile but it will still cook food. I cooked a lot of food and burnt a lot of rubbish. Yeah burn rubbish don't die in the cold. It is not wrong if you live.
Curious: I'm making some assumptions that the looming energy issue is driving interest in small utility heaters/cookers. I'm also assuming that urban citizens would have a greater interest in such a unit... While several fuel types have been discussed, will Rocket Stove wood-fuel be readily available to the vast majority of UK citizens in urban areas?
I believe these rocket stoves use very little wood when compared to your regular wood burner and I have seen figures as low as 10% in comparison when the Rocket Stove is paired with some form of Thermal Mass, Heat Retention and Release such as a Masonry heater or sand battery which is then used to heat an area over a long period of time sometimes for days, Look up Masonry Heaters as these have been used for hundreds of years throughout Russia and Scandinavia etc.
Yes a 55 gallon drum full of high temp paraffin. But with redundant safety built in of course. Water would work as well as long as it's not sealed to tight and we'll insulated so the heat does not escape to quickly. Water is one of the best at conducting heat but also at releasing heat so we'll insulated is a must so the heat is released slowly.
Crazy idea for next video: "Can you put a "5 m long piece of wood" into your rocket stove as something like an automatic feeding? Would be great if this could burn all night/day long for heating.
you should be able to screw in a handle from a rolling pin into that brass piece to keep it and allow you to take off the feed cap. Sorry I forgot to comment this last night.
I hate to overwhelm you with ideas 💡 so feel free to ignore. If you used a smaller diameter pipe for the wood feed, than the intake and exhaust, it would create a vortex and suck air through the fuel pipe rather than not, which might, I say might lower the fuel storage temp less than 700c. Regardless it will prevent blowback through the fuel tube. Granted it's expensive to build another but for the sake of science lol and curiosity. So perhaps air intake 12", feed tube 10" and 12" elbow up the stack. Ideally >12" stack will increase flow due not only to existing dynamics but assisted by lower pressures in the stack due to larger sizing. In the end, I suspect the venture will 1 lower fuel temp with vacuum, 2. Prevent blowback gasses, increase forward flow of hot air through the system due to laws of fluid dynamics. But that probably goes beyond what your trying to do, cheap and easy. Lol. However if you where to make one out of clay as one piece, that is how I would design it. You could use a paper me shay and chicken wire to shape it, or soft styrofoam to shape it, pack it in a square box of clay and Wala a home made 1 peace custom engineered rocket stove!
It really is a pretty thing you've made, i am wondering if a BSP threaded stainless strainer would be pellet burner addition/lifter for the fuel burner, have to go have a play in the plumbing department!
Because you mentioned the price of the plumbing parts here, I copied my comments I put on your first film, as it would make a difference.... Right up my street. 10/10 from me I did notice how you correctly used un-galvanised (NOT galvanised = poisonous) pipe fittings. If you know a plumber, show him this brilliant video. If he smiles, give him a clear order list, he could buy them (with all the rest of his stuff) as he gets 25-40% off the price because he is in the trade.... You rembourse him... You could go further and make a deal..... He orders twice the number of parts, and you put one together for him as a thanks...
Thanks for the update. How about a stove made from the heaviest gauge HVAC venting pipe (c-vent pipe) which also comes in the same shapes and sizes, and larger size diameters , as the black plumbing pipe you used in this video. There are thick gauged single walled pipes and fittings such as 22 gauge, 20 gauge, 18 gauge, 16 gauge, etc. Maybe using stove pipe and fittings. Thank you for giving us fantastic ideas and examples of what we all can do.
What about capturing the exhaust (post frying pan of course) and distilling biodiesel? If it's such an effective burner I assume lots of organic gases coming off to grab.
Great explanation ! Though , it is a curious thing , that you haven't mention a really accessible material for building one of this things - bricks . It can be made out of ordinary bricks , or building blocks , or (if someone wants to be more "fancy") , out of elements for chimney - even out of appropriate size of patio concrete plates. I don't know the prices , but I imagine that those aren't very expensive and one doesn't need many tools . It can be , also , made as combination of materials (scrap piece of metal pipe for riser , inserted into blocks/bricks ) .
Great video and like the idea that @Gary hand added. One thought after watching the Liberator rocket stove which had a ceramic lining in the chimney, would there be any benefit if the silion that was used for the joins was used to create a ceramic lining in the chimney?
So because these stoves get so hot and are so efficient. If a piece of painted/stained wood got put into the chamber. Would it burn the toxic-ness up? Or just be dangerous.
What a great video as always, I was wondering if you could get a small rocket mass heater in the unit where you work I was shocked to hear that one piece of wood from a pallet can last you an hour maybe instead of using clay and for the mass you could use 55 gallon drums of water and salt say about 5 of them with a small fan blowing the hot air over the drums at your work bench. Keep up the good work ..cheers
Thank you for the great explanation of the different types of stoves and ways to keep the cost down. I agree with you that your stove looks great... all it needs is wheels and Stephenson would be proud!
lol - nice
Looking forward to the indoor upgrade on this stove. Thinking this is my best choice as I don't have a good collection of tools yet.
Thanks for your efforts and sharing 👍🇬🇧
cheers mate
Robert thank you so much for answering all of my questions. Great video btw. At the time we (my family ) were living on 5 acres in the US. Natural Gas was not available to our area.
So we used to have a wood burning stove in the living room area, , The primary heating system for the house was outrageously expensive. It was electric baseboard heating. Therefore we used the wood stove for the entire house. The 2 main drawbacks to a wood burning stove is the incredible amount of work involved especially cleaning out the ash, and the cost of fuel. Not all types of wood are created equal ? i.e. Soft woods like PINE burned up very fast vs. hard woods like OAK which would last all night with a single log.. All that being said there was definitely a reason why our forefathers continued to search for better burning less labor intensive methods of heating their home such as natural gas forced air furnaces! 😀😀😀
It's always great. To see the two of you doing this stuff together, really good fun especially with the norms behind you trying to figure out what Old Ben and that Skywalker kid are up to now.
free advertising for them, too.
You guys are the best. I love the combination of fun, and offering up solutions that may well be profoundly helpful for a lot of people this coming hard winter. Good stuff.
You are the Fred Dibnah of science. Absolutely fantastic, great to watch, turn your hand to anything, super entertaining and sooooo clever! Thank you for another great UA-cam video
I just love the look of that stove Steam Punk looks great!!
me too! cheers mate
Was born near benghazi in Tripoli were my dad served in the army in 1965, found a benghazi burner at an old TA centre in Yorkshire it was simple large metal upbend tube submerged in a dustbin filled with water, had an oil dripfeed can on the top of the ubend , it was lite with a small peace of cotton used as a wick tossed into the bottom of the tube. Got incredibly hot! Use it once but couldn't find it on Internet, seen it used for water heating and soup cooking in the 1954 film Zulu. I live in Germany now and build some of your devices, love to see it used on your show or a modern take!
The escalating events in the background were hilarious!
Back to the stove: I'm all for replacing the cap with a sterling engine to power up some USB battery packs ;D
I like that idea!
@@ThinkingandTinkering u can also use the Stirling principle to make a gas recycling system (Stirling engine on top to re feed unburned gasses back into the combustion chamber) altho u will need an external housing so the gasses do not escape so easily, same principle as a diesel EGR system
Where do you plan to get the Stirling engine? I'm looking for one myself for several projects I want to start on.
Without doubt the most entertaining and informative channel on UA-cam 👍
So happy to see someone in UK crazy about rocket stoves .
Hi re video 1744. Thank you thank you thank you. I was just considering buying an old cook woodstove and was about to let my dream go when we came across your video and You had mentioned the silicate putty now I will be on the road to pick up my new woodstove old antique actually because of your information God bless you man❤
Great build Rob! I love these types of videos.
And you talk about interference. People in the background, sirens, and cars driving through. I couldn't help myself but to laugh
lol - I know mate lol
Thank you for clarifying what "quid" means. I've heard it enough to wonder exactly what it is but not enough to actually google it. As an American, I've never actually needed to know but now I do!
Also, this series on rocket stoves has really gotten me inspired to make my own. I have a big pile of twigs and branches in my backyard and a stove like that could be really useful.
Dollar and buck= pound and quid.
Just figured that our recently. Also from the U.S.
It comes from the Latin, Quid Pro Quo
@@TheDAT9 Ah, I see! I wondered if that might be the case.
Tremendous - where have you two been all my UA-cam life?
Thanks for this video. I have some 6-inch square steel profiles I got from a builder who had them left over after building the nextdoors house. I got them and a lot of wood that I turned into firewood for free in exchange for cleaning up his buildsite and saving his apprentice a whole afternoon of work. If I get my migwelder to work I might make myself a couple of K-stoves. Gonna be nifty to have in the backyard for burning those tree-limb-junk that are to thin to bother burning in the indoors fireplace!
It occurs to me that a way cheaper way to do this (for people on a bit if a budget) would be with standard stove pipe instead of plumbing pipe- as all those fittings exist for that just off the shelf anywhere they sell stove stuff (from 4 through 8" diameter). Though the T might be tricky to find. It would not be as long lasting, but it would be a great deal lighter and half or less the price. Good option for an emergency or camp type stove. You could also hybrid that- using the heavy plumbing T for your fire box, and the lightweight stove fittings for the rest of it.
Just encase the metals in a cob so that when the steel burns and/or starts to rust through (as it will), you'll still have a working stove.
If you want the cob to be lighter, stronger, and more insulative, instead of sand, use a mixture of fumed silica and diatamaceous earth, and instead of straw/hay use fiberglass clothe or chopped strands. And add some perlite to the mixture as well.
The combo of fumed silica, DE, and perlite will make it lighter and more insulative, and the fiberglass clothe or chopped strands will make it stronger.
Once everything is fully dried/cured, coat it all with some thinned, high heat silicone to make it more water resistant.
(Obviously it won't be a portable camp type stove anymore though. Will be too heavy and/or fragile for that).
Another lighter method is to skip the steel part, get some fiberglass clothe, ceramic fiber insulation, and make a 3 part water glass mixture (60% sodium silicate to 30% potassium silicate to 10% lithium silicate), sandwich the ceramic fiber insulation in between two layers of fiberglass clothe, coat the outisde of the fiberglass with the silicate mixture and shape to desired shape and let it fully dry while in that shape. Once fully dried, coat outside in thinned high heat silicone. This will be A LOT lighter than the steel + cob version. To shape it, you can lay it over cardboard and then burn that out later.
(why that particular mixture of water glasses? I've read some research that indicates it lasts longer and is stronger than straight up regular water glass [sodium silicate in the states and potassium silicate in Europe]. Makes sense because you have 3 different sized molecules that are in a sense, locking together more closely with each other).
My one is an old gas bottle 9L and a 304 stainless pipe about 4 in. I filled the gas bottle with normal concrete as I did not want it to tip over. I did buy perlite to make the light concrete but it would be too dangerous for the people around so I went a high lime normal concrete. It works on oil but if I drill a few holes it will do wood. The main air inflow is about 15 deg so unburnt oil will drip out. I will put a stainless steel scourer in. We used to burn it in place before the lorries took it away. Love the vids been watching for years. I used to be a chemo AND YOU ARE DRAGGING ME BACK. wITH OUR THOUGHTS WE CREATE THE wORLD. mIGHT BE FROM mONKEY MAGIC BUT IT IS TRUE ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
It's convenient to cut notches into the cross of metal, so that the end of the pipe slots into the notches. Saves you having to attach a ring of metal to sleeve over the pipe.
Great stove put to good use. Well done boys.
cheers mate
Crikey, imagine being this guy's neighbour and hearing him bark enthusiastically through the wall every day.
I just keep his videos on loop at high volume in a spare room. It keeps the salesmen and the raccoons away. It's quite effective.😂
@@joemelton81 Good idea...thanks for the suggestion!
I have learned so much and had so much fun with this channel. Absolutely outstanding.
Thanks heaps for the boiling water demo, much appreciated. Trust it was a nice warm cuppa. Cheers!
Oh, man, the ketchup! 😂
Awesome review, I didn't know there were so many types of rocket stoves, thanks!
oh yeah = quite a few - and some hybrids too
Thanks my friend. She’s , even kinda
Pretty. :). I have one made out of cement block, great for boiling your
tree sap, for syrup.
Enjoy.
0:53 I have one for my rocket stove. I put the pot on the top. From your last vid. When the colour dies you can cut off the tube. It is from speedway cars. If the paint does not burn you don't need it.
Make a second L shaped output and attach it just below the upper trivit and facing inwards. and you will have two outputs for cooking. Well done rob, it looks stunning as it stands.
Thank you for showing that this simple design can be used to both keep you warm and heat food!
Many thanks for all wonderful and inspiring ideas! 🔥🍵😃🫕🔥
Plumbers use trivets that is sized to perfectly fit their pipes, for cowls. You put the trivet over the end of the pipe, then you place some sort of cap over it which allows air to flow but prevents debris falling into your pipe/flue, and makes it more awkward for birds to get in.
Like Ive mentioned before I like the L type with a flat plate for cooking in the horizontal tube as well as on the stack. The 2 areas cook differently but you can boil water on one and cook bacon on the other. I prefer a grate style plate insode the feed tube so air gets to the fuel.. Ive seen the top of the stack crenulated so it can breath with a pot or pan on top, Ive also seen the top of the stack with holes around it and the grate on top or use a much deeper trivet/grate, at least half again the depth of the one you have
Funny thing about the cost is I shopped this in the USA & the total for this build was nearly $800.00 at 4" dia. Good thing I'm a fair welder.
Your an absolute legend, thanks for all your hard work !
I appreciate that!
That was a really good idea doing a follow up video showing the individual parts, suppliers and ball park prices.
Oh WOW! You have found the holy grail…. A way of building something like this from scratch, for us non welders!
I’m very new to the whole rocket stove thing.
Can you explain what else would be needed to make this work as a workshop heater? I’m always throwing offcuts of wood away… it would be brilliant to use them as heating!
Thankyou 😊
Excellent sir. Thanks for all you do
thank you for taking the time to say that mate
I love you Robert, such a breath of fresh air x
A cheap recommendation, if it's possible, try and source some old water pipes. If there are any industrial or large commercial buildings being worked on, you may be able to get all the needed fittings for free.
A local hospital shut down a few decades ago, and got sold recently. For the past 5 years, maybe more, it has been under development as it's being turned into residence. They are still removing old iron pipes that they need to dispose of, they would be happy for me to come and take some away for free.
Just make sure it was only used for water. Ya don't want diesel fumes all over your food :p
Awesome....I new there would be a brass knob somewhere. You never disappoint. There is nothing wrong with overkill, if you can afford it.😀
You can find that stuff in house demolition sites and scrap yards. Tractor trailer (Lorry) wrecking yards have a wealth of large pipe.
Great video. The hopper design is the dream for heating. Scaled up and with a fuel hopper for logs and a fan driven convector surround could mean lots of heat for less fuel!
Your the dogs danglees 👍🏻.... I love rocket stoves and have had a few but yours just looks rustic and forever lasting... Its going to colour up really nice...
I'm so glad you mentioned about the minimal ash produced, as who really loves cleaning LOL. Thank you for the inspiration.
I just found your channel, I have been very interested in rocket stoves for 15 years and its still evolving!
That was understandable, even for me. There's such a good feeling to know what is needed for basic cooking and heating, thanks a lot. I'll go for vegan bacon tho.
For the damper on the bottom idea, I was thinking of putting some holes after the fuel so that even if you choke off the fuel, the secondary air will burn off all the smoke which might make the unit close to maximum efficiency...
I checked out these fittings and it becomes a quite expensive heater to make. I suggest doing the sums on pricing someone to weld one up for you (if you can't do it yourself), versus the cost of the plumbing bits.
Luke is a very lucky young fella to associate with someone like Robert! Thanks fellas! 😁
Check out the revers of this - thermal ovens made with wood and celotex. I made one. Slashes fuel costs by about 90%. Been piloting mine all week and I’m blown away by its cooking performance with its own energies. Your viewers would love it!
I jumped over to your channel to see if you had posted - I didn't see it - can you post a vid?
@@ThinkingandTinkering YT just deleted my link i left in here of my work. Nice.
I did spend some time looking for fittings last night but didn't come up with much in the way of second hand but I will keep my eyes peeled so I can make one on the cheap.
you could try the scrap yard mate
5:14 the old exhaust gasket sealant. Can be used for cores in casting. That is another story. In a pinch you can use porridge.
Love the enthusiastic support from your Son - even if he did blot his copybook a tad by forgetting the tomato sauce !
Rocket stoves are my definition of Free Energy. The difference between a campfire and a rocket stove is free, after a small design change, materials and effort. It's a clever upgrade from previously used norms. I could imagine even coal burning clean with more heat.
Could you fit two upright pipes, which would give you two cooking platforms?
Or would this lead to too much draw and maybe uneven temps in the two chimneys?
Yep the only thing that was missing was the Chefs ketchup, hey, Robert, Luke you too guys get yourself a very steam punky looking beastie. I like it a lot, right up my alley, I wonder how big I need to build it for my little house.👍 a quick estimate tells me that it probably is gonna weigh about 400+ pounds when I get done with it, should I find some gold to spend on it, Luck willing.
This episode in the rocket stove was a nice surprise, I have not been able to catch all of them, lost my mind and decided to go back to school, and got tied up with filing a lawsuit, and dealing with car repairs, and my father almost dying in. Age is catching up on me, but I've been walking again, and not so much in pain, crossing my fingers that it will help me get rid of my projects that I will never be able to complete, as I run out of time🙂
Do you have a great community here, and what you're doing by putting the stuff out it's a great service, and despite what others might think, it's needed.
wow - that is a lot on your plate mate - and you are right it is a great community here
Somebody noted in the comment section that you can also use the lighter, premade steel and fittings found in like hardware stores, but noted that it will burn out faster. This is what I wrote as additions or alternatives to that:
"Just encase the metals in a cob so that when the steel burns and/or starts to rust through (as it will), you'll still have a working stove.
If you want the cob to be lighter, stronger, and more insulative, instead of sand, use a mixture of fumed silica and diatamaceous earth, and instead of straw/hay use fiberglass clothe or chopped strands. And add some perlite to the mixture as well.
The combo of fumed silica, DE, and perlite will make it lighter and more insulative, and the fiberglass clothe or chopped strands will make it stronger.
Once everything is fully dried/cured, coat it all with some thinned, high heat silicone to make it more water resistant.
(Obviously it won't be a portable camp type stove anymore though. Will be too heavy and/or fragile for that).
Another lighter method is to skip the steel part, get some fiberglass clothe, ceramic fiber insulation, and make a 3 part water glass mixture (60% sodium silicate to 30% potassium silicate to 10% lithium silicate), sandwich the ceramic fiber insulation in between two layers of fiberglass clothe, coat the outisde of the fiberglass with the silicate mixture and shape to desired shape and let it fully dry while in that shape. Once fully dried, coat outside in thinned high heat silicone. This will be A LOT lighter than the steel + cob version. To shape it, you can lay it over cardboard and then burn that out later.
(why that particular mixture of water glasses? I've read some research that indicates it lasts longer and is stronger than straight up regular water glass [sodium silicate in the states and potassium silicate in Europe]. Makes sense because you have 3 different sized molecules that are in a sense, locking together more closely with each other).
Replacing the vertikal iron pipe with a glass one will provide a great fire show! 😁
I am just so impressed with that silicone that goes hard . I must get some to play with . Might add some other Chema like mag oxide to see what happens . Could be used for all sorts of things and just needs heat to set hard ? Intrigue 😊
have a look at sorrel cements mate - I did a video on them. ages ago
@@ThinkingandTinkering yes I have been playing with them again just recently but I want to add some magnesium oxide to silicone and see what happens
Controlling intake of air could be quite easily achiueved by simply sitting a plate over the hole. Lean it against the hole, and the angle it is leaning defines how much it restricts the air flow.
Or you could lift the plate up and down to partly cover the hole, but that would probably be a little more awkward.
It looks like a nice clean burn on the video so you probably don't need to change anything, but in my reading on wood gasifiers it seems that the down-draft types (like that basically is) use a taper at the bottom of the fuel hopper to force the heavier gasses given off by the wood to pass through the hot charcoal at the bottom and break up in to H2 and CO before being used, or in your case, burned. I wonder if that's a concept you might like to play with. Do you have plans to build a gasifier and run an engine off it? That seems like the next logical step.
I have built gasifiers before mate so I get what you are saying - it is unlikely I will change this as the whole design ethos here is simplicity of build
I love the simplicity of this stove heater. Question? What about the size variable for any indoor heater type stove. What are the parameters of such a stove & performance values?
I honestly don't really know - yet!
Clever, I love it! At the risk of asking you to do more work, could you test that to see if it can burn coal, if started with something else, like wood or charcoal? I gather coal's hard to burn, lacking forced air, but maybe the rocket draw might be enough?
Sooo, now Metal4U needs to make a stove-set (or sets for versions) named Robert and they can make it cheaper if its always the same pieces :-)
And a Fun time was had by All!
I especially liked Luke's delicate hold on his bacon sandwich. And all with no Catsup!.. Keep up the laughs it's the best fuel
Hi Robert, I'm happy that I found your channel! I like your ideas and your step by step explanations. I have a challenge for you. I like how you made the rocket stove out of the plumbing pipe. I also like the rocket stove that is welded together in your previous videos. What I would like to see is how to make an equivalent one with the same internal dimensions, and same venting at the bottom of the stack, but just made out of red brick. This is the cheapest way possible and in a survival situation, or a apocalyptic scenario, something that you can scrounge together. Please experiment and make a video on this...
After building smaller, steel can versions, I found that the measurements aren't too critical. The proportions(chimney pipe length to burn chamber) are more desirable, and you will get a good idea for the right sizes and lengths as you build a few.
I still prefer a basic wood gassifier stove- just don't touch it until you cool it with WATER!
You guys are making me hungry! LOL. Question though: If your fuel feed tube is smaller, wouldn't that negate the need for a cap on it if it is angled? The idea is that you want more air draw through your burn chamber, so no cap would also draw in more air and also make it cheaper. A lot of diesel farm equipment have exhaust pieces that would work for a build as well. Source from a scrapyard for little to nothing. Don't get me wrong, your build is beautiful, just trying to wrap my head around a cheaper solution for people that would want to build it. Bon appetite!
Im going to make one, but using stove pipe, which is going to be way cheaper.
Perhaps figure out a way to store that heat should be the next step.
Great rocket stove! Heavy cast iron walls and no welding. I want a small fleet of those.
Could use the holes on the brackets with some nuts and bolts to create basic adjustable feet as well
You can do the same thing out of thin walled stove pipe and no sealer it still works great and cheaper but not as pretty
For indoor use, how can we vent this? And for overnight heat production, how often are we having to add fuel? Thank you!!
i will be doing an adaptation in later video and talk about that then if that's ok - cheers
@@ThinkingandTinkering What you are doing is invaluable to many millions if they care to watch and learn. Thank you so much for your contribution to humanity, Robert! Christina from Birmingham, Al USA
@@ThinkingandTinkering Thank You
@@ThinkingandTinkering Was this indoor adaptation for the 1743 A Rocket Stove Kit ever discussed/shown?
I was/am really looking forward to that!
Could put that in an old filing cabinet (laying on its back). Then fill the cabinet with some fire resistant material, and have a place for a heat chamber to rest on. Course it wouldn't be as pretty.
Given that the burn is so clean would a reflector dome on the top like a patio heater be a good idea?
Hey @Robert Murray-Smith , really enjoying the content recently. Thanks for demystifying the rocket stove / mass stove and some of the basic concepts. Tell me, is there any benefit to a rocket stove over a well made cast iron log burner ? As you said in the video, the efficiency is gained from capturing the wood gasses and burning them rather than being lost to the wind so what's the difference?
The DEFRA smokeless rated log burners are very similar as they recirculate the exhaust back through the front of the fire before exiting. The difference is the thermal mass of the stove and insulation and length of chimney before exiting the room (through wall or up traditional chimney) but will require more fuel as the burn chamber is so much larger
Presumably the size of the burn chamber just constrains how much material can be combusted at any one time and therefore the power output? If the heater is matched to the size of the room then surely a larger burn chamber is going to be desirable in order to produce enough heat to overcome the thermal losses and bring the room up to temp in a sensible time frame. I would have thought that heating a larger space with a stove as small as the one in this video would take rather a long time comparatively and would have to be refuelled several times over before a desirable temperature was reached.
You could extend the horizontal pipe and cover it with cob(A mixture of clay sand aggregate and Straw) this would create thermal mass which would absorb some of the heat from the cast-iron pipe it within radiator heat out slowly over time it could be used indoors or outdoors and even extend it to make a seat or used to warm a greenhouse in the winter
Let converse📤❤😊
I looked ar some prices here in the US and they were outrageous, that "T" was $150-ish in black pipe (cast iron)
You could cut a hole at the bottom and make a hinged or removable flap with a catch, then you could empty the ash without having to pick the stove up and tip it out.
There's so little ash left just prod a hoover hose in when it's cooled down, No need to move the Stove.
@@celtshaun1427 same exact thought I had blow that s*** out real quick.
nice
Thank you for posting such great videos and sharing your extensive knowledge and expertise. How would it be if you were to use a metal plate in place of the cap, to heat a small saucepan or at least keep it warm, whilst simultaneously using the other pan on the chimney (with the trivet) as shown in your video. Thus getting the maximum benefit from the fuel, and of course permitting the second cup of tea with with the bacon butty. Thanks again.
3:30 my Chimea I bought for $80 in 2008 and it is still out in the rain. You have to know how to do the fuel to make a good roast but it is always there and still going today. It is a bit fragile but it will still cook food. I cooked a lot of food and burnt a lot of rubbish. Yeah burn rubbish don't die in the cold. It is not wrong if you live.
Linseed oil is great for castiron.
Hi Robert, have you looked into top down burning to start a fire (kindling on top) until the burn is established?
Had a thought but I am simple. To hide the seal, could I use the heat seal on the thread as I assemble the components? Blissful wishes.
Curious: I'm making some assumptions that the looming energy issue is driving interest in small utility heaters/cookers. I'm also assuming that urban citizens would have a greater interest in such a unit...
While several fuel types have been discussed, will Rocket Stove wood-fuel be readily available to the vast majority of UK citizens in urban areas?
I believe these rocket stoves use very little wood when compared to your regular wood burner and I have seen figures as low as 10% in comparison when the Rocket Stove is paired with some form of Thermal Mass, Heat Retention and Release such as a Masonry heater or sand battery which is then used to heat an area over a long period of time sometimes for days, Look up Masonry Heaters as these have been used for hundreds of years throughout Russia and Scandinavia etc.
it's an interesting question mate and Luke is actually looking at this - he should have something up on his channel next week
They'll burn nearly any biomass. Corn cob, twigs, pallet, dung, ect.
@@got2kittys I understand the versatility... simply wondering what is the most likely source and its availability...
Bury it in clay and put half a 35 gallon barrel on top for a mass heater!
Yes a 55 gallon drum full of high temp paraffin. But with redundant safety built in of course. Water would work as well as long as it's not sealed to tight and we'll insulated so the heat does not escape to quickly. Water is one of the best at conducting heat but also at releasing heat so we'll insulated is a must so the heat is released slowly.
cheers mate
Crazy idea for next video: "Can you put a "5 m long piece of wood" into your rocket stove as something like an automatic feeding? Would be great if this could burn all night/day long for heating.
Yes I totally agree, even better a 12" diameter pipe 1 meter long! Oh yeah!
Cool idea
I'm guessing you could use Chimney Flue Parts?. T-piece, 90 Degree Bend, and a straight length of Flue ?
you should be able to screw in a handle from a rolling pin into that brass piece to keep it and allow you to take off the feed cap. Sorry I forgot to comment this last night.
nice suggestion mate - I actually found in use the gloves were enough
I hate to overwhelm you with ideas 💡 so feel free to ignore. If you used a smaller diameter pipe for the wood feed, than the intake and exhaust, it would create a vortex and suck air through the fuel pipe rather than not, which might, I say might lower the fuel storage temp less than 700c. Regardless it will prevent blowback through the fuel tube. Granted it's expensive to build another but for the sake of science lol and curiosity. So perhaps air intake 12", feed tube 10" and 12" elbow up the stack. Ideally >12" stack will increase flow due not only to existing dynamics but assisted by lower pressures in the stack due to larger sizing.
In the end, I suspect the venture will 1 lower fuel temp with vacuum, 2. Prevent blowback gasses, increase forward flow of hot air through the system due to laws of fluid dynamics.
But that probably goes beyond what your trying to do, cheap and easy. Lol.
However if you where to make one out of clay as one piece, that is how I would design it. You could use a paper me shay and chicken wire to shape it, or soft styrofoam to shape it, pack it in a square box of clay and Wala a home made 1 peace custom engineered rocket stove!
I didn't forget the rest of the process of firing clay, but Robert, I know you know the rest of the story. :)
It really is a pretty thing you've made, i am wondering if a BSP threaded stainless strainer would be pellet burner addition/lifter for the fuel burner, have to go have a play in the plumbing department!
Because you mentioned the price of the plumbing parts here, I copied my comments I put on your first film, as it would make a difference....
Right up my street. 10/10 from me
I did notice how you correctly used un-galvanised (NOT galvanised = poisonous) pipe fittings.
If you know a plumber, show him this brilliant video. If he smiles, give him a clear order list, he could buy them (with all the rest of his stuff) as he gets 25-40% off the price because he is in the trade....
You rembourse him...
You could go further and make a deal.....
He orders twice the number of parts, and you put one together for him as a thanks...
Thanks for the update.
How about a stove made from the heaviest gauge HVAC venting pipe (c-vent pipe) which also comes in the same shapes and sizes, and larger size diameters , as the black plumbing pipe you used in this video.
There are thick gauged single walled pipes and fittings such as 22 gauge, 20 gauge, 18 gauge, 16 gauge, etc.
Maybe using stove pipe and fittings.
Thank you for giving us fantastic ideas and examples of what we all can do.
That's a good thought. As I'm searching for 6" diameter iron pipe fittings, I'm finding them prohibitively expensive
What about capturing the exhaust (post frying pan of course) and distilling biodiesel? If it's such an effective burner I assume lots of organic gases coming off to grab.
What a super cool video with great info..Now that is the way to start the working day..
Great explanation ! Though , it is a curious thing , that you haven't mention a really accessible material for building one of this things - bricks . It can be made out of ordinary bricks , or building blocks , or (if someone wants to be more "fancy") , out of elements for chimney - even out of appropriate size of patio concrete plates. I don't know the prices , but I imagine that those aren't very expensive and one doesn't need many tools . It can be , also , made as combination of materials (scrap piece of metal pipe for riser , inserted into blocks/bricks ) .
there is a reason mate - but it will become clear after the next vid I think
We've built one out of old bricks in our garden before and worked a treat. We cooked a nice stir fry for dinner for the whole family on it 🙂
@@boodabest4574 cool 👍 But , in today's video , Rob explained why he didn't mentioned it - considering new UK law...
Thank you sir going to get my family members to get me the parts for Christmas
Great video and like the idea that @Gary hand added. One thought after watching the Liberator rocket stove which had a ceramic lining in the chimney, would there be any benefit if the silion that was used for the joins was used to create a ceramic lining in the chimney?
Let converse📤❤😊
So because these stoves get so hot and are so efficient. If a piece of painted/stained wood got put into the chamber. Would it burn the toxic-ness up? Or just be dangerous.
absolutely in love with this ❤
What a great video as always, I was wondering if you could get a small rocket mass heater in the unit where you work I was shocked to hear that one piece of wood from a pallet can last you an hour maybe instead of using clay and for the mass you could use 55 gallon drums of water and salt say about 5 of them with a small fan blowing the hot air over the drums at your work bench. Keep up the good work ..cheers
cheers mate
Fantastic work boys, but the bacon and the butter were actually the healthy bits of that breakfast.
lol - for sure!
I know how to weld, but I really like that plumbing stove!😎
cheers mate