Are you familiar with rocket mass heater design?

AI Thread Summary
Rocket mass heaters are efficient wood-burning heating systems that utilize a unique design featuring a J-shaped combustion chamber and a thermal mass for heat retention. They are popular in natural building and permaculture designs, often built as DIY projects. The system operates by gravity-feeding wood into the combustion chamber, where hot gases are directed through an insulated secondary chamber, allowing for a high-temperature burn. Although effective, these heaters are not universally recognized by building codes, which can limit their acceptance in some areas. Overall, they provide an innovative and sustainable heating solution for those interested in alternative energy methods.
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Is anyone familiar with the so called rocket mass heaters - a popular DIY project? Has anyone ever studied design or uses?
 
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enosis_ said:
Is anyone familiar with the so called rocket mass heaters - a popular DIY project? Has anyone ever studied design or uses?

I hadn't heard of them before, and the term sounds kind of scary (!), so I did a quick search. Much more benign than I had pictured at first...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_mass_heater

Wikipedia said:
A rocket stove mass heater or rocket mass heater, is a space heating system developed from the https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Rocket_stove , a type of efficient wood-burning stove and the https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Masonry_heater . Wood is gravity fed into a "J-shaped" combustion chamber, from where the hot gases enter a heavily insulated metal or fire-brick vertical secondary combustion chamber, the exhaust from which then passes along horizontal metal https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Duct_(industrial_exhaust) embedded within a massive https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Cob_(material) https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Thermal_energy_storage . The thermal store is large enough to retain heat for many hours and typically forms part of the structure of the building. They have proved to be popular with https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Natural_building and within https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Permaculture designs; they are normally self-built and are not yet recognized by all https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Building_code which regulate the design and construction of heating systems within buildings.

An internal vertical insulated https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Chimney , the combustion chamber, ensures an efficient high-temperature burn and creates enough draft to push exhaust gases through the rest of the system. https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Flue_gas are cooled to a relatively low temperature within the thermal store, approximately 50 °C (122 °F), and steam within these gases https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Condense into liquid releasing the associated https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Latent_heat of evaporation, which further increases the efficiency in the manner of a https://www.physicsforums.com/wiki/Condensing_boiler .[1]
 
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Also this...
 
...and this...
 
Due to the constant never ending supply of "cool stuff" happening in Aerospace these days I'm creating this thread to consolidate posts every time something new comes along. Please feel free to add random information if its relevant. So to start things off here is the SpaceX Dragon launch coming up shortly, I'll be following up afterwards to see how it all goes. :smile: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/
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