In the last couple years, I retired and went back to school to get certified as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner. My hobby projects cover a range and so far include wood working, black smithing, metal casting, and machining.
@@etownandrewghi I am actually working on a setup like this and came up with the idea on my own and found your video after the fact. Great video! Do you think it would still sag if I used Amsteel for my rope that has 0 stretch to it and is super lightweight and strong?
@nicolestockman88 that sounds like it would help. It would also be good to lay in it for a bit and then adjust the rope tension. Certainly having a top line helps give you something to tension.
Thank You very much for this very simple way to have a portable safe hammock stand. Knowing me, I have a hammock but have never used it, yet, but wanting something not requiring trees. So I have been working on the insert hitch stand for the back of my Tahoe for some time now.. This will simplify everything! You have taken my own creative contemplating hours and shortened the hours of working through something like this from months of thought to why didn't I think of that! Good minds need to stick together.
I don't understand what you meant by the rebar at the base. Can you please explain it in detail. This is the simplicity stand I've been looking for. Thanks
There is a steel rebar piece that i pound into the ground at the pole angle. The block and pole have a matching hole and drop over it. The bar keeps the base from slipping. It also loosely holds the pole in place while i get the ropes in place.
@@Detteermiig wooden stakes could work if pounded in far enough into the ground. It is easier to hammer smaller steel stakes. Also note that my stakes are leaned back. Your stakes were positioned so that the ropes could pull them out.
@@etownandrewg yeah, we had to hammer them quite deep. On the first try we actually did lean them backwards, but they went flying. We thought it might be because the soil loosened, when it was leaning backwards. But perhaps we just didn't get them deep enough. To avoid the rope pulling, we might just screw a wooden stud on the side. Next time, I'll try to get some leftover rebars instead. Thank you for all the great advice!
I am really impressed with your mass wood stove. My question for you is the bricks that you got have a bunch of small holes inside them instead of the standard three, why did you choose those type of brick ??? What is the total mass of the stove you have built ?? What would you do different since you built this a few years ago ??? Thanks Andrew.
@@etownandrewg Would using a hybrid half wood stove and half rocket stove make for a more efficient design ??? When you tried the double 55 gallon barrel stove, did you find the wood burn chamber more conducive to capacity holding over the previous stove used ??? Thanks
To raise and lower the gantry.... methinks a belt on a spool ...for your pipe to spin.... Manual crank,.... It should be a quick & easy fix. DIY WOOD FIREPROOFER .... SODIUM SILICATE... TOO EASY.
1200F was the typical high temperature at the top of the insulated riser. 400F was a typical exit temperature going into the chimney. So the masonry bell did what it was supposed to do and captured the heat for a slow release into the house.
Secondary air feed to the back of the combustion box to promote a better burn. For me it mostly cooled the temperature and so I plugged it after a couple weeks of experimenting.
Thanks for the update. I’ve been working on one based a lot on your design so it’s all interesting info. How is it holding up otherwise? Any other issues? Hope it’s going well.
The other thing I am going to be replacing is the all thread tensioner. The basic design is very good but I should have used Acme thread that is meant for a lot of pressure and repeat usage. The area of the thread that I use has deformed over time. It still functions but I placed an order this past weekend for a replacement acme threaded rod and nut.
So the update is that I took out the Batch Rocket Mass heater and put back in my double 55-gallon barrel stove. It had not saved me any wood and did not heat as well in my situation being in the basement. The other option was to rebuild it. I considered adding a 55-gallon barrel heat exchange section and replacing or filling in the holes in the bricks to eliminate the insulation effect of the holes. But it was possible that would not totally fix things. So in view of the uncertainty, I put back in the old stove.
Clearly the most efficient version of this, well done. This will forever be the mental efficient 'forest too heating' in any dreamhouse I'd stay in long term. Efficient wood burning is one of the top environmental heat sources. It's getting as good as you demonstrate that takes research.
Oh... you are moving in right direction... but how come you used those bricks which is not right for the masonry heater? Did you do your home work? I’m sorry for this comment but bricks supposed to be at least solid with no holes. It also should have high density. The brick should make sound like bell if you knock it by a metal hammer. I’m trying to get an info where I can find good bricks, this is how I get here. Unfortunately, the masonry heaters are not widely using in North America, so there is a problem to find right stuff.
You are correct. My local brick yard had both types. The one with holes was half the price and I didn't realize there was such a profound performance difference. Also I should have gotten larger bricks to cut the number of bricks to be laid in half or more. Larger solid bricks would be harder to find but would be worth at least a few calls to ask.
Looking great, how is it doing now a couple of months down the line? What flue temps are you getting at the exit into the flue? Also I assume that the secondary air channel and feed are replaceable and that the angled bricks at the bottom of the firebox are lose so you can easily service the secondary air feed? How often you do fire the rocket mass heater per day, is it big enough that you can get away with a single hot burn per day?
I added a thermocouple to the top of the riser and at the stove pipe exit. The exit generally runs between 300F and 400F+. Both thermocouples go to a display made for two thermocouple inputs. Of course, when I first light the stove the exit may be the same temp as the ambient air if it has been long enough to cool down all the way. I like being able to check the temps. The normal high temp at the top of the riser is 1200F. When that temp drops to 800F or less I either add more wood or close the door. Yes, all of the secondary air feed is replaceable. All of the bricks are replaceable. I used fire clay mixed with sand as mortar and so that makes it relatively easy to replace any part. I have a 5,500 SF house including the basement and two main floors so this is not a small house. We fire it about six times a day. So you have to be around to do this. If I need to leave early for work it may only get one load of wood and then I shut the door before leaving. So I have my propane furnace set to kick in if the temp drops too low.
Burning a 100 pounds of seasoned firewood a day is a lot of heat (say 700,000 BTU)... unless that heat is truly stored (only 0.2 BTU/lb masonry) and moved into your living space the majority of that heat will be lost through poorly insulated walls and ceiling or up the exhaust. I dare say your home requires 15,000 BTU plus per hour (requires a calculation) to just reach thermal equilibrium - how much heat does your living box leak per hour? Unless you can release more heat above the leakage (thermal loss) you will not be warmed. Simple math of how much wood you put in must be efficiently transferred and distributed else its not a heater... just a burner of little significant purpose. Input = Output. First simple law of energy. What you do with that heat is what really counts. A Rocket Mass Heater does not burn firewood more efficiently than a wood stove or pellet stove in and of itself to justify the RMH DIY build... its how efficient YOU transfer the heat into a thermal storage battery then on demand can move said heat into a designated living space. A wood stove or pellet stove etc can burn the biomass... YOUR challenge is how to improve on the efficiency to make it worth while... first, insulate your home, second, minimize heat lost up the exhaust, third, decide on the best heat store for your situation - remember water stores 4+ times more heat than masonry - what are the benefits vs costs vs system handlings etc... last and not least... supply of primary energy - wood is not free - neither is electricity, propane or diesel... so be sure to do a step-by-step, cradle to grave, system analysis... young and strong today but older tomorrow vs retired makes a difference... means working smarter not harder as life throws you curve balls... don't forget regulatory permits be it federal, state or local zoning etc... including insurance... coverage could be void for a DIY fire stove/heater. Ask lots of questions and put everything down into a notebook before you make a decision... then go see what others have done... show me the results... ask yourself - WHY DID A DIY RMH WORK BETTER THAN A HEAT PUMP? I doubt it can... the bottom line... heat pump system win - hands down... no electricity? What are your alternatives? Good luck!
And a rocket mass heater will ALWAYS be better than a heat pump OR a pellet stove if we can obtain firewood cheaply or free... and ESPECIALLY if the power goes out.
@@orcoastgreenman Ignorance is a hard mountain to climb when you limit thinking to combusting fuels rather than innovation to move thermal energy by pumping it... good luck in carrying your water buckets from the creek... while you think it is free you once again appear stuck in the ignorance of nescience failing to grasp the 200 to 500% efficiency of heat pumps while thinking wood burning is good enough... Your choice... Andrew is a talented DIYer who chooses to combust 100 pounds of wood a day... it's not free - even if harvest on his own property... his system requires vast overhaul and very likely his home insulation too... but its his choice to continue under his nescience for the environment pollution... especially PM2.5 pollution to his children too. He will likely be making changes come Spring/Summer for next winter... PPPPP ... Good luck!
Douglas Pohl - you obviously know ZERO about the type of wood combustion device he has built, if you think that it does not exceed the cleanliness of the most stringent PM2.5 pollution standards... and you have proven yourself a pompous ASS! Lol! Are you a heat pump salesman or installer? If not, then you are a pompous ASS purely for your own entertainment, and not for profit, or educational value to anyone else!
It's connected directly to the concrete slab which is likely to be none insulated at the footers and it's what looks like a basement so it will constantly dissipate through the ground temperature surrounding the basement. I would insulate the basement walls, reducing concrete floor slab dispersal will be impossible. A better place for it would have been your first floor as it would radiate heat downstairs to the basement through the flooring, but most would be inside your home.
I don’t necessarily think that will see such a huge improvement... The bottom of the bell has the LEAST heat stored and radiated , as that is the function of a bell... An easy solution to that would be to throw a 12” thick layer of rock wool in the bottom of the bell (except any place it would block the exhaust) This will keep more of the heat in the upper mass away from the floor. Since return air is coming in the part of the basement outside the panels, that WILL be cooled by the ground temp basement walls and floor, so insulating those walls and floor could be beneficial, but I think the amount that insulating UNDER the bell would benefit, is minimal, by comparison.
Andrew, I know it hasn't been long since your video release, but I was wondering if you have beginning "real world" comparison data yet as to the amount of wood you are burning. I have a heater I constructed earlier this year and am very much impressed with its heat retention. I don't believe I have reached its peak efficiency yet as I still have smoke and a small amount of creosote build-up within my "bell". I have found I have one burn when temperatures are above 40F, two burns above 20-25F and I have three when temps were down to -10F already this year. At 7-10lb of mix of poplar and maple I find I burn perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 less wood this year so far with a batch-style rocket heater with perhaps 1500lb of mass. AND I'm not cold in the mornings as I was with our old stove. My wife loves being able to be away all day to come home to a warm house 8 hours after a 1.5 hour fire has gone out.
I am not as pleased as I could be with the performance. I didn't include a metal bell for the quick heat and am missing that more than anticipated. So much that I will probably rebuilt it this summer to add that. A full load is about four, 4 to 5 inch size split logs. In the morning I put in a couple loads and go to work. My wife will put in two to three loads during the day. Then in the evening I will put in a couple loads. This assumes it is in the 30-40F range outside.
I use a table saw to cut my circles. I modified my cross cut slide, drill a pilot hole in my square board cut all the corners off till I can spin the board against the saw blade, very little sanding after
I believe that I covered that in my build video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h0gyYvx_SiU.html In general, I balanced them at the center on small bearings and kept drilling holes until the heavy side of the wheel stopped falling to the bottom.
i was thinkin' webb straps instead of rope. maybe less stretch more stability. could use grommets and stuff too. and colapseable poles (i camp on a harley, so gotta be compact, heavy is no problem)
That is a good idea. I did not take any video of the making but I did take lots of pictures. I could create a video where I show the pictures and talk about the whole build. It would not be hard to do. The hardest part would be sorting through all my pictures to pick out the good ones.
Thank you for the suggestion. See the following link for the build video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h0gyYvx_SiU.html&lc=z12jhp4bvn2fsfeqg04chjo5uuijd5mougk
I spent months drawing different versions until I finally settled on what is shown in the videos. However, I did not take the drawings to the final step of adding lots of notes, part information and formatting them for use by anyone other than me. I detailed out the parts and then made them but there are no explanations. I'm a full-time mechanical designer so I am aware of what a drawing set should look like. So I don't have plans that I can share.
I'm looking forward to taking this hammock and tarp on the Appalachian trail this fall for a week long section hike. I'll leave the posts at home and count on finding trees to use.
This looks like it is exactly what we need. Do you have a setup video? This may sound silly but how do you measure out where to put the posts and achieve the correct angle when at a campground, etc?
Good question. I can see that a set-up video would be useful. I drew this out on a free drafting program called Draftsight to work it out. I did end up taking a tape measure camping to space the posts so that I hammered the stake into the ground at the proper point. The post stakes are 6'-4" apart. Stakes are hammered in at about 60 degrees to the ground. See further comments below on determining the angle. So after hammering in the post stakes I slide the post and it's base over the stake. The top rope that goes from post top to post top is 12'-10" from end of rope eye to end of rope eye. This is based on my tarp being 12'-6" long. The ropes from the post top out are about 12' long. I try to tie them to a post with the rope measured from the post top at 11' long. I generally eyeball this and don't measure it. When setting up I check the angle with my smartphone. There are a number of free aps that will tell you the angle the phone is at. The posts are 60 degrees to the ground. So after getting it initially set I go around and check the post angles and may likely go back to a couple of the tie-out ropes to loosen or tighten a little if needed. Now after having said all that the set-up does not require extreme precision but if one post ends up at a different angle from the other I do adjust the tension some to get them closer to the same angle. I have a favorite 3 pound engineers hammer that I take with me to pound stakes that I got at Harbor Freight. I also use it to removed the stakes by knocking them on each side at ground level to loosen them up enough so that they can be pulled out by hand.
Nicely built, wish I could make something like this, one thing I would recommend is that you build a shed and put it underneath, rain would obviously cause warping/swelling on the frame and wheels and that could make it quite dangerous IMO.
I did build a shed from rough lumber and cedar siding that I had cut to shelter drying lumber from the rain. I roll the bandsaw into my garage basement for storage when not in use.
Great video, I had the same issue with sap. if you can heat the wood to 80 degrees Celsius, you will set the resin.I made my own dehumidifier kiln from 100 gallon steel drums. with a small dehumidifier and 3kw heater.it was cheap and it works really well.
Good to know. I made four outdoor benches from air dried pine and they are currently unusable because the sap has come to the surface and would stick to anyone who sat on them.
