Posted on 08/03/2012 10:10:54 AM PDT by Kartographer
Sorry I am so late on posting this, but I promised a review on how well my Ammo Can Rocket Stove work and so here it is
*bump* prep stove
Keep hard, dry corn kernels dry. Cold (not necessarily freezing) storage in a dry barrel/tub is best. I have some seed from “Indian” corn. Most of it is non-hybrid, and is all very edible. Just plant like regular corn. This is a good time of year to buy the decorative ears. After Thanksgiving, simply strip the ears and save the seed.
As a rule, I believe sugar and honey are more or less resistant to pests. (Unless you have small boys looking for a sweet treat.) Keep cool, dry, and stored in airtight containers (even add a moisture-absorbing packet if you have some).
As a rule, I believe sugar and honey are more or less resistant to pests. (Unless you have small boys looking for a sweet treat.) Keep cool, dry, and stored in airtight containers (even add a moisture-absorbing packet if you have some).
Is there any sort of consensus on what diameter flue pipe to use?
Also, is there any reason you have to operate with the lid on? Can you just run the pipe up to the top of the can, take the lid off entirely, and put something like a BBQ grill on top of it?
I wonder if filling the can with refractory cement might work better than vermiculite...
I may need to try this. I need some more refractory for my new forge pan anyway... ;-)
I was wondering about fiberglass insulation.
I would think it would make it heavy and it needs heat to cure it so after build it you have to fire it up long enough to cure the cement.
4 in is what I usual see used. You would have to be careful using it as a grill as you are channeling the heat of a 36” Grill in a 4” pipe.
A box full of vermiculite is lighter?
The stuff weights less than feathers! ;-)
I’m not talking about using the rocket-stove as a grill - I’m referring to using the grate from a BBQ (or an oven rack) in place of the 3/8” threaded-rod segments you have over the stovepipe.
Yes that should work. I was think of looking around for a gas stove burner grate from a used stove, just didn’t get around to it.
Yet another question - If I were to fabricate the parts associated with combustion, prop them up somehow, and fire it up, would you expect that would be representative of how it would actually burn when mounted in the ammo can?
You are not taking in account what makes the rocket stove so effective and efficient the insulation that concentrates the heat. I see no benefit from doing so.
If you have any kind of stove which can use wood or trash, then you are going to be much better off than many.
However, the value of a rocket stove is in its efficiency and versatility. It can burn almost anything and takes very little fuel because the fire is kept small and hot. If you think you will never be short of fuel, then the fireplace may be just fine. In a real crunch, you might find that you are expending energy collecting fuel that might be better spent elsewhere.
In a real breakdown, there will be many chores to do. If you can limit the fuel gathering, there will be more time available to haul water, tend a garden, scrounge wild edibles, or barter some skill you have to others for food and supplies. Standing guard will take up a lot of people's time if they have resources that others might take.
I could make a stove if I had to, but decided to buy one. We have power outages which make cooking an immediate problem. Until recently we owned a camper with a two-burner propane stove and a refrigerator. We sold it.
Now the rocket stove will be called upon sooner rather than later if we are without power.
http://stovetecstore.net/
Rocket stoves work, because you are burning the smoke in the chimney - you are deliberately creating a chimney fire. In order to do that, the chimney has to be hot. Without insulation, you will only have the small fire in the firebox, and not the smoke fire in the chimney.
In other words, it would not work.
BTW, that is why it uses so little fuel - you are gasifying the wood, and then burning the gas.
The post by me in 2012 was before I bought a rocket stove - now, I have one as the ultimate in having a stove. There will always be twigs around to use for fuel.
Wow! That looks great, and burns so efficiently! Terrific job.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.