Category Archives: Design

Shredding foam

The piece of foam I shredded was 5″ thick by 4′ long by 10″ wide.  It took about 4 minutes, much of that time spent flipping the piece over as it was thicker than the available shredding surface of my … Continue reading

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“Chipped” foam

I finally got to rescreening the wood chipper to use it as an EPS grinder.  It looks like it will work okay.  The foam pieces have to be small enough to fit in the hopper, but once introduced to the … Continue reading

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To slant or not to slant

I’ve been reading stuff passive solar. I have to do something heartening. It’s cold and wet out and we’ve got family members on the way to add to our pet cemetary.  Katie will go to rest next to Koa, Stacy, … Continue reading

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Playing with house plans

Every couple of months I research new house plans. One of the site I love cruising through, even though not much changes there, is The Natural Home. I love the feel of those houses, though I can tell from the … Continue reading

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You know you’re not alone when . . .

I occasionally do mad spates of research.  This morning I was trying to find a comfortable and supportive desk chair solution.  I spend hours at a time sitting at my desk and finding a chair that supports me properly is … Continue reading

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Test fire

The day before yesterday Wadly and I test fired the sawdust stove out in the yard.  It really does work exactly as acclaimed.  We used fairly damp cedar sawdust (it’s what we had).  I had a little trouble getting it … Continue reading

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Sawdust stove parts

I took my concept for the bottom workings of the sawdust stove to our local sheet metal shop and they did a brilliant job of turning my concept into solid objects.  All this perfection (not the vent adapter which I … Continue reading

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Plans for staying warm

It’s going to be a while before I get the sun porch done and we can get our rocket mass heater built.  In the interim, I must have a less expensive (and quieter) way to stay warm.  Toward that end, … Continue reading

Posted in Design, Planning, Rocket Stove Construction | 9 Comments

RMH Workshop

Last weekend I attended a rocket mass heater workshop put on by Ernie Wisner and Erica Ritter.  I learned SO much!  You cannot imagine!  I’m going to try and cover a very small portion of what I learned. I learned … Continue reading

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Thermopane Lives!

I got my first thermopane window done. My technique needs work. It’s been so long since I’ve done any glass cutting I wasted a bit of glass getting my skills back. I don’t think the vinyl is going to be … Continue reading

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