We finally decided to go ahead and rebuild our second rocket stove (the one in the living room). My primary wishes were to rebuild the core (better) and to convert the relatively useless mass into a (small) bench. Iulia decided to make it a workshop and … 3 interested people showed up. During the first […]
Category Archives: Rocket Stoves
2018 Rocket Stove workshop
Our rocket-stoves journey We have a journey of rocket stove building at Bhudeva… first it was the first rocket stove (bedroom, 2011), then fixing it (2012) then the second one (living room, 2012) and rebuilding the first one (2014). We cook food and bake on both rockets most of the winter time. It’s time to try […]
The Rocket Mass Heater Builder’s Guide
This kickstarter was originally planned for last year … its finally arrived. Until now there has really only been one book on Rocket Mass Heaters by Ianto Evans, but having read it and built rocket stoves guided by it, I feel it is out of date (though I haven’t seen the latest edition). There has […]
Cooking on a Rocket Mass Heater (Rocket Stove)
As winter set it and the rocket stoves started burning regularly I thought about using them for baking bread … which I do regularly and I thought would be great if I could do without having to use the electric oven. The stoves can be used for cooking but it takes them a long time […]
Split wood with a tire
I saw this video probably a couple of years ago. This year I ordered a new batch of wood and decided to give it a try … and all I can say is WOW! It doesn’t always go smoothly (depends on the size of the wood and tire, knots in the wood, etc.) … but […]
The Second First Rocket Stove
It was on my mind for many months … rebuilding the first rocket stove. It worked good – though not great. There were some design errors and compromises and during the last winter there were more smokeback events that I could not explain. I wasn’t keen on taking apart something that (kinda) worked and embarking […]
Village Video DVD: How to Build Rocket Mass Heaters with Ernie and Erica
When I started playing with rocket stoves the main resource available was the Rocket Stove book. Though I still consider it a must read for anyone heading into Rocket Stove territory, I do not consider it sufficient. It left me with many questions, it has some outdated information and some things that, knowing what I […]
Rocket (stoves) here, rockets there, rockets rockets everywhere
We’ve built two sort-of rocket stoves (red and bell) so far … and they (though far from optimal efficiency) have been magical, pleasant and a godsend to our quality of life (being warm and comfortable in winter). Rocket stoves are simple (but not idiot-proof) technology, built from common and available materials, they are super efficient […]
Fixing Our First Rocket Stove
Our first (bedroom) rocket stove worked really well … it literally saved us during our first winter here. We did not have enough wood prepared … and it’s super efficient burn-and-battery kept us warm. However there was one recurring problem. The top surface was made of metal. It was intended to both radiate heat quickly […]
Our Second Rocket Stove
It is almost the end of December and winter is well upon us. It arrived much earlier then last year (we are now experiencing snow and temperatures that arrived in late January last year). I am relieved that we got the second rocket stove done in time … it means this year we can enjoy […]