Home made stove.

[karl]

I've been wanting to build a stove, and have been drawing up plans for a inexpensive clean burning stove. I want it to be cheap enough for anybody who can't afford a stove to build one that is safe, clean, and effective.

I haven't said much about it on here because, in the past, most people have really talk down to people who want to build one. Judging from the response from the thread for another homemade stove in here. I thought I would give it a try. Anyway, let me ask a question.

How many of you in here think concrete would be a good material for the stove body?

Here are the advantages I see.

1. It's cheap.

2. It's castable, so there will be much less welding.

3. It should give the gentle heat of a soapstone stove.

4. It can be made to look as good as soapstone.

I'm planning to make it a catalytic stove. So, if a few people with catalytic stoves wouldn't mind answering some questions and taking a few measurements. I would appreciate it greatly.

My goal is to build this stove for less than what it will cost to buy the glass door for it. I'm going to use my Summit door for testing. So under 200 bucks. With the cat costing roughly 100. It's going to be a tough but doable.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Todd]

Can concrete stand up to the constant high temps and expansion/contraction?

 

[rob bennett]

I think you would want to look at the masonry heater forums for the answer to this. I bet you would need to use refractory cement castings to withstand the heat. Thats going to push you over your budget.

 

[karl]

Can concrete stand up to the constant high temps and expansion/contraction?

Thats something that has concerned me. It may prevent me from using any sort of metal reinforcement in the concrete. That's ok as far as strenght is concerned, but doesn't provide a safety measure to hold the thing together in case of crackng.

As for taking the heat. Well, it's still going to use firebrick, so it should only have to withstand as much heat as steal or cast iron.

In Central America they build a cooking stove out of concrete. It burns smoke free without a secondary burn system. It's secret is the whole firebox gets up to 1000 degrees to burn the stove. The goal of several charitable organizations is to build over a million of them a year. It helps people save wood, not burn their hut down, not get hurt from burning, and not having to breath smoke.

(broken link removed)


Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming. I'm looking for some constructive critism.

 

[fattyfat1]

concrete won't work. Too much moisture in it even when fully cured. it will self destruct within the first few fires. ceramic would be a good media, you could make a mold, and make your own tiles. firebrick is realatively cheap, and very easy to work with.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Can concrete stand up to the constant high temps and expansion/contraction?

Thats something that has concerned me. It may prevent me from using any sort of metal reinforcement in the concrete. That's ok as far as strenght is concerned, but doesn't provide a safety measure to hold the thing together in case of crackng.

As for taking the heat. Well, it's still going to use firebrick, so it should only have to withstand as much heat as steal or cast iron.

In Central America they build a cooking stove out of concrete. It burns smoke free without a secondary burn system. It's secret is the whole firebox gets up to 1000 degrees to burn the stove. The goal of several charitable organizations is to build over a million of them a year. It helps people save wood, not burn their hut down, not get hurt from burning, and not having to breath smoke.

(broken link removed)


Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming. I'm looking for some constructive critism.

from your link : Not recommended for placement in temperatures below 30°F/-1°C or above 120°F/49°C.

i woldnt want to use that stuff as a body for a woodstove.

 

[jtb51b]

I am in the refractory business. I can sell you a castable cementless refractory that can withstand the same temperatures as firebrick.. If your interested let me know and I will put you in touch with a salesman.. Be warned however, refractory is NOT cheap by any means..

Jason

 

[begreen]

There is a cast cement stove that was (is) on the market. I've seen them posted occasionally. They look nautical. Sorry, I don't remember who made them.

The idea seems worth investigating a bit further, the premise is a good one. You might want to research the justa and plancha stoves to start.

Here's some shots of cast stoves:
(broken link removed to http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Oneil/Cast) n Mold/CastnMold.html

 

[tickbitty]

I don't know enough about this to help, but I will really be interested to see what you come up with! I had a ceramics teacher in college who experimented mixing Mica in with the clay for a lightweight, but very heat resistant ceramic clay. Kinda cool looking too.

 

[webbie]

Over the years there have been some refractory and ceramic stoves.
Here, for instance, is one:
http://www.earthfire.co.za/

However, I was always under the impression that these cost more to make than a sheet metal stove.

Realistically, much of the price of current stoves is in the PROFIT and the EXTRAS.

At one time I was thinking of buying a stove company which made steel stoves with brass doors and glass. I looked at the business plan and the TOTAL cost of all materials AND labor was $175. Granted, that was 20 years ago! Still, that stove retailed for about $1000 at the time.

If your angle is really to get low cost stoves "to the people"......the main place you can save money is taking out all the profit. Then again, that's no fun!
:cheese:

 

[jtb51b]

I agree completely, there would be a high price on any quality refractory that can be shape cast.. I would imagine there would be more cost per stove in refractory vs steel, and with there being a large portion of people able to weld these days and no at all able to cast shapes with refractory (without some training) steel is the way to go on a diy project... Also, if you consider the fact that it would take a TREMENDOUS amount of heat to warm refractory up (seeing that it is there to protect steel in most cases) you would probably need a fan forced (think forge) fire to get it hot.. Not at all in the comort zone of most chimney manufacturers.. jut my .02..

Jason

 

[kenny chaos]

I've used concrete blocks around fires before. They DO NOT last long at all!

 

[Burn-1]

Fred Seton who developed the Seton wood boiler has made the (broken link removed) from castable refractory for several years. They used to be called the UGLI Stove, guess why. Not pretty but it seems like a solid idea and he has several models for sale. The 7 cu. ft firebox will chomp your woodpile pretty quickly though.

You can probably find out a lot on his site. I think he might even sell a kit.

Edit: He sells the plans for the stoves for $400.

 

[karl]

Can concrete stand up to the constant high temps and expansion/contraction?

Thats something that has concerned me. It may prevent me from using any sort of metal reinforcement in the concrete. That's ok as far as strenght is concerned, but doesn't provide a safety measure to hold the thing together in case of crackng.

As for taking the heat. Well, it's still going to use firebrick, so it should only have to withstand as much heat as steal or cast iron.

In Central America they build a cooking stove out of concrete. It burns smoke free without a secondary burn system. It's secret is the whole firebox gets up to 1000 degrees to burn the stove. The goal of several charitable organizations is to build over a million of them a year. It helps people save wood, not burn their hut down, not get hurt from burning, and not having to breath smoke.

(broken link removed)



LOL the -30 +120 is for pouring it. it will withstand 1800f when cured.

Thanks for the links guys.

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming. I'm looking for some constructive critism.

from your link : Not recommended for placement in temperatures below 30°F/-1°C or above 120°F/49°C.

i woldnt want to use that stuff as a body for a woodstove.