Rocket Stove

In January 2018, the heat was out and I built a rocket mass heater from a repurposed water heater. Stick welding 1/4" steel tube into an L-shaped feed tube, then welding it to the combustion chamber and heat riser out in the driveway. I think it was 6 degrees outside and I couldn't get this thing done fast enough.

The L-shape lets you load wood horizontally while the fire burns vertically up into the tank.

The beads are functional, not pretty, but they held.

Once the combustion chamber was welded to the feed tube, I brought it inside and set it up on a brick hearth with a flex pipe running to the chimney.

The principle is simple: wood burns in the feed tube, the fire gets drawn up into the tank where the heat radiates outward, and exhaust exits through the flex pipe. It puts out serious heat from small pieces of scrap wood.

After testing it inside, I painted the whole thing with high-heat black paint to clean it up.

This was a simple but satisfying build. A welded tank, a square feed tube, and some flex pipe — and it heated the house through the winter on scrap wood.