Not another rocket stove thread

[rockweasel]

I lied. It is.

I kept my wooden workshop warm last winter with an electric heater and got even hotter under the collar when my electric bill came in! No chance of making that mistake again this year.

I like the idea of using a rocket stove to heat the place; and there are plenty of examples and designs on here, however I don't fancy an open flame in a wooden structure (unless you can convince me of a safe way to do so). Is there a way to have the stove external to the shed (sheltered from the elements) and somehow get the heat into the building? I'm experimenting with my first stove just using bricks to play about with the design at the moment.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Why open flame? Build a stove with a flue. Rockets can have the flue coming out of the side of the building and you can capture the heat along the way. Perfectly safe.

 

[rockweasel]

Why open flame? Build a stove with a flue. Rockets can have the flue coming out of the side of the building and you can capture the heat along the way. Perfectly safe.

Front of the stove is open (at least in my design.) Yes I would use a flue if it was indoors. I guess if it was unlined it would act as a radiator of sorts.

Having said all that ... we have 2 open (and I mean open) fireplaces in our house which were build before CH. Hearths stop any embers setting the wooden floor alight. I suppose if I built the stove in a corner on flagstones with fireproof material on the walls behind it and a flue taking the fumes away it would be a safe(ish) option. Fire extinguishers at the ready.

Sound reckless?

 

[julianf]

Rocket stoves are often used to 'power' thermal mass heaters.

I know the exhaust would still be through your shop, and it would be no good if you had a timber floor, or lack of space, but routing a long flue through your area, and encasing it in dense material would result in a huge storage capacity, with no exposed flame.

Or just heat water and pipe it to standard rads?

 

[rockweasel]

Rocket stoves are often used to 'power' thermal mass heaters.

I know the exhaust would still be through your shop, and it would be no good if you had a timber floor, or lack of space, but routing a long flue through your area, and encasing it in dense material would result in a huge storage capacity, with no exposed flame.

Or just heat water and pipe it to standard rads?

Tight for space, so no room for a big mass heater. The room is approx. 3.5 x 3.5 x 3m. It's well insulated so I'm hoping that a smallish heat source will warm it up quickly.

 

[julianthegypsy]

Front of the stove is open (at least in my design.) Yes I would use a flue if it was indoors. I guess if it was unlined it would act as a radiator of sorts.

Having said all that ... we have 2 open (and I mean open) fireplaces in our house which were build before CH. Hearths stop any embers setting the wooden floor alight. I suppose if I built the stove in a corner on flagstones with fireproof material on the walls behind it and a flue taking the fumes away it would be a safe(ish) option. Fire extinguishers at the ready.

Sound reckless?

I build small woodburners for a living, and I have put loads in wooden sheds. Properly installed they will heat the place beautifully and safely. I put fireboard skinned with 1mm steel sheet around any adjacent walls and underneath, cut a hole much bigger than the flue in the roof then cover that with steel and punch the flue through that, covering it with a high temp silicon flashing. Job done.

 

[Shedendman]

Rocket stoves need refuelling to often,your be for ever going back to put your wood in etc,wheres a woodburner built right and set to burn good you can leave alone and get on with what your doing,remember,its not what you burn,its how you burn it

 

[julianthegypsy]

Rocket stoves need refuelling to often,your be for ever going back to put your wood in etc,wheres a woodburner built right and set to burn good you can leave alone and get on with what your doing,remember,its not what you burn,its how you burn it

Yep, even a tiny stove will for hours ticking along with decent wood in it, and it's a lovely drying heat too, gets rid of all the condensation a treat.

 

[rockweasel]

Thanks everyone. I'll be warm this winter.