Our geothermal quote was well over 2x the installed cost for air to air heat pump. Note that it also qualifies for a tax credit.
Theoretical fuel consumption is what the tests will prove or disprove.....To date, it appears as though the unit will operate (fire) on a 20% duty cycle......By that I mean that once up to operating temperature (about 20 minutes) it will be fired for a 15 minute interval then shut down for a 60 minute interval....15/75=.20.....The heat bank located in the rocket unit along with the secondary heat exchanger's mass will give up their stored heat during the "down-time".I don' t think you'd heat much of a space with 1/6 cu.ft. of wood per day.
Edit: there must be some condensation in the flue too?
1/4 cord of oak at 20% MC has about 6 million btu's (or make it 8 million assumed for 145F stack temp compensation). That's 33-45,000 btu's/day over a 6 month period, or 1,400-1,900 btu/hr. And since the stove is designed for any quality/type of wood, for oak reduce that by about 50% for green wood, and if the wood is pine, reduce the dry/green btu's another 40%. That might be enough btu's to heat a single room in a cool/cold climate. Keep in mind that a 1500 watt electric heater (near 100% efficient) provides about 5100 btu/hr, about 3 times the maximum btu's the rocket stove is spec'd to provide. I don't know of anyone who can heat a house with a single 1500 watt electric heater, and the rocket stove design only provides maximum about 1/3 the btu's of the electric heater.Exhaust outlet---145 deg. F avg. *** Unit was designed to burn any quality/type of wood ....Theoretical maximum fuel consumption is 1/4 cord per season (6 months)
Kudos to analyzing the feasibility of a rocket stove type heating system.
But if the stats are intended to represent something close to a final production stove, they just don't add up. 1/4 cord of oak at 20% MC has about 6 million btu's (or make it 8 million assumed for 145F stack temp compensation). That's 33-45,000 btu's/day over a 6 month period, or 1,400-1,900 btu/hr. And since the stove is designed for any quality/type of wood, for oak reduce that by about 50% for green wood, and if the wood is pine, reduce the dry/green btu's another 40%. That might be enough btu's to heat a single room in a cool/cold climate. Keep in mind that a 1500 watt electric heater (near 100% efficient) provides about 5100 btu/hr, about 3 times the maximum btu's the rocket stove is spec'd to provide. I don't know of anyone who can heat a house with a single 1500 watt electric heater, and the rocket stove design only provides maximum about 1/3 the btu's of the electric heater.
Next is stack temp - keeping in mind that the rocket stove is intended to burn any type/quality of wood.. The vaporized water from boiling off water in the wood (seasoned or green) and from combustion has to go somewhere, and that vaporized water at 145F going into any chimney in a cold environment is going to condense to liquid -- a matter of physics, not stove design.
So, interesting concept but at this point I would have to conclude not practical or feasible.
Great -- just what I needed, another poster here who's fabrications skills and facilities I can drool over.Semipro voiced concern about the use of galvanized, single wall duct pipe/fittings for high temperature application....The photo is somewhat deceptive in that respect....The duct pipe/fittings were actually fabricated from 30 gauge, T-316 stainless sheet....Having a completely equipped fabrication/machine shop at my disposal is very advantageous.
LOL, Semipro.....I spent almost 50 years learning the trade disciplines and building up my shop/business.....Still learning more with each passing day.....A few years ago I closed the doors but retained the shop and most of my equipment.....Retirement has allowed me to work behind closed doors without the day-to-day concerns associated with management, help and clientele.....Now I can concentrate my efforts on a few projects that I feel are intrinsically worthwhile....If this heater project bears fruit, I plan to make the design available in the public domain......That way, anyone may feel free to build their own or to improve upon my original design.....To do other at my stage of the game (IMO) would constitute wanton negligence and greed.Great -- just what I needed, another poster here who's fabrications skills and facilities I can drool over.
Seriously though, I'm impressed and love it when this type of stuff is posted.[/quot`
Clyde, What is your heat load on your house?
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