I scored some stainless flue liner to act as the thermal mass ducting for my rocket mass heater. This is pricey stuff and I am absolutely delighted I was able to find some free. Now I’m waiting a nod and smile from the rocket mass heater geeks in the forum
I haven’t been posting. My apologies. I screwed up my neck and the result was ugly. I’m getting better. Now that Wadly’s done with his summer job, we’ll work around the weather to get more stuff done.
Terry and I got the posts and foundation in for the south wall of the bedroom. As this is also the north wall of the sun porch, this is progress. Not as much progress as either of us would like, but progress. We also picked up the additional lumber we’ll need for framing in the sun porch. I still have to buy a new bit for the router so I can route in window openings. Most of that I will do on the table saw or in situ with the skill saw, so that purchase can wait until the framing’s complete.
I still haven’t rounded up the 8″ stove pipe I need for the rocket mass heater. I also haven’t worked at it very hard. I can’t do much on that project until the sun porch is in. Wadly is really resistant to the thermal mass run going along the wall so I’m going to wrap it into the corner around the radiating tank. It won’t do quite as good a job heating but it will still be a huge improvement on our little radiant heaters. The catalytic heater stopped functioning properly when we weathered in the break between the airstream and the living room.
We’re currently working on a full length awning over the garden window and door at the west end of the living room to replace the 8′ awning we moved from the slider (making room for the sun porch). This job is a must as without it, that end of the building has no protection and we have no place to stand out of the weather while getting the door opened. The 8′ awning was great but we really need one that spans the full length of the building. We should have that done today. We disassembled the 8′ awning the day before yesterday and got the framework for the new awning up yesterday. Today we’ll get it roofed . . . assuming it doesn’t rain.
I was going to have Wadly cut a 8′ piece of metal roofing in half lengthwise to cover the top 6″ of the awning but I have just had a brighter idea. I’m going to use billboard vinyl. It will let in the light but still protect the garden window and door from glare. Brilliant idea! It will also make a softer transition to the polycarbonate.
One further plan for this winter. We need to move the power from the pump house, which is going to be torn down and rebuilt, to its permanent location on the barn (which is now mostly weathered in and functioning as Wad’s shop). I’d like to get that done before I have to change the power in the living room to make room for the rocket mass heater. Moving the power in the living room is easy, it’s two 4-gang boxes connected by a 6′ length of conduit. I have to move them down the wall quite a bit and swap the power connection from one end to the other. Not a big thing, but it’s got to happen.
Wadly and his brother got the east end of the living room leveled and properly blocked. Next I’ve got to get the 4×6 that runs under the living room just beyond the new blocking set on permanent supports . . . then the next one and the next one and then . . . tada! the other end of the living room. All this is supposed to happen before winter but I’m not holding my breath. Now that Wadly’s working six days out of seven not much will get done. It’s either money or progress, never both.
The goal is to have the south wall of the new bedroom constructed and the sun porch and rocket mass heater in before winter. At the rate we’re going I don’t see that happening, but we may surprise us. Ya never can tell.
I’m having a bit of a difficult time finding an inexpensive solution for my rocket mass heater riser. I stopped in a Moerke well drilling yesterday. They were willing to offer me a piece of well casing at cost, just under $10/ft. That would make the cost of the riser ~$50. Ouch. With the increase in metal prices, an inexpensive riser is a bit like hens teeth. All the scrap is being turned in for recycle. I’ve been haunting the recycle yard with no joy.
I could use round flue liner at ~$15/18″ length. I’d need 4 lengths to get the total height I need. The total $ for flue liner eclipses the cost of the well casing at cost from Moerke. Plus I’d have to figure out how to join then cut the resulting mess to 53 1/2″. Hmmm.
Alternatively, I have the option of pouring the riser using refractory cement. I have all the ingredients. I’m a bit hesitant to do this as I’m already veering quite a bit off the straight and narrow in building this rocket mass heater. I can test fire the constructed riser to ensure it doesn’t explode or disintegrate or . . . well, you get the idea. And if I’m pouring the riser, why am I not pouring the burn chamber . . . You can see if I’m given an inch I’m gonna try for the mile. It’s just the way my brain works.
The weather still sucks. Wad’s off work tomorrow and we’re going to start on the foundation for the sun porch. I hope we have nicer weather. The forecast is for rain both Friday and Saturday. I want to try and get a batch of refractory cement mixed so I can see how it works. I don’t need to mix much for testing . . . a little over a gallon total, I think, just enough to see how it holds up to being toasted. I will need to pack it firmly into whatever I use for a mold. Air pockets are a bit of a guarantee it will end up in bits when fired off.