Our First Rocket Mass Heater Build!

Our dream came true (well, almost): we experimented with building of the Rocket Mass Heater.

Long story short: this amazing style of wood burning stove/heater is efficient, economical and supposedly easy to build. To find it out we created an experiment on the open air (with the view) and invited some friends.

This is the beginning: firebricks and ingenuity (and some physics).

Children are working on the chimney pipe, it should tolerate temperatures of 1000-2000 F. Filling it with clay and perlite mix supposedly might help.

Cutting and burning metal drums.

More drum cutting and installing on top of the bricks.

How many engineers we need… Just kidding, we need all helpful hands and heads!

Bricks, barrels and pipes in place, Ready, Set, Fire!

Oh, and I forgot to mention making Cob! Of course it is super important and universal material that is harvested locally, mixed manually, keeps things together even while still raw and also easy to undo when the experiment proved successful and we feel confident to build it again in the Barnominium as a heater.

Thank you so much to all helpers on both days (creating and talking apart)! It was fun and great learning experience!

Natalya on behalf of the village.