Customer Reviews

Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A quick google search will get you this book direct from the author for $15+$ shipping. Or online in pdf for $10.

Enjoy!

How can one rightly deduct a star when the book in question performs it's intended purpose and confirms to the reader whether its subject is the right solution for them? Any author can tell you that some particular choice solves all the world's problems, but it is less common to find a book which actually tells the reader the downsides of its subject and how to determine whether it suits your particular need and personality or not. In that regard, then, this book certainly succeeds. It tells the reader exactly what is involved in the construction, what kind of performance to expect, and how much maintenance is realistically involved. That seems worthy of an addition star to me, even if I never build a rocket stove. Would you drop a star from a book about sky diving because you decided you didn't want to jump out of an airplane?

This book does a fine job of explaining the concepts of "rocket" style wood stove design and construction. This 2nd edition also includes reports from individual designers and users, which I tend to find very valuable as it grounds the material in real-world applications. The book covers all important concepts in detail and admirably explains which dimensions are important and which are less so. I found the step-by-step pictures to be invaluable to helping the reader actually build their own stove, but I also found some of the descriptions and associated diagrams to be confusing. A few things that were included in diagrams were not well explained or at least not well understood by this reader without multiple readings. To the authors' credit, however, some of the details are difficult to describe with words. I also found that while the authors do a good job of telling the reader the potential dangers of a positive-pressure flue system, they didn't describe their own methods for sealing metal duct systems.

In short, this book would be extremely valuable to those contemplating a wood heating system of any type, but it is a must for those seeking 90% efficiency from a wood-burning appliance for home heating. Masonry heaters can often match this efficiency (see The Book of Masonry Stoves for more), but they start at about US$10,000 and typically require advanced masonry skills. I have a personal affection for masonry heaters with glass viewing doors and top ovens, but a rocket stove is much more accessible for a do-it-yourselfer and is more versatile to fit both fast radiant and slow mass heating needs. Whole-house masonry heaters can't heat up quickly, which could matter to people that are away from home for long periods. Rocket stoves can heat you up rapidly while still offering substantial heat storage, if you build them to do so. They are certainly worth your consideration and this book is written by the world's foremost fiddlers with Rocket Stoves. This 2nd edition still comes across as a work in progress, but Rocket Stoves already have proven themselves to be long-term, efficient solutions to many heating needs. With this book in hand, virtually anyone can build their own heating solution powered by a renewable resource.

A couple of years ago I was intrigued by the idea of building a rocket stove after reading about them in Ianto Evans' The Hand Sculpted House. When I read the first little rocket stove book I was very impressed. This second edition with a brand new title is even better! The old edition was written in a clear and comfortable way that made a novice like me feel like I could build one competently. This edition has far more text, new applications for the technology, and has excellent color photos and many more illustrations. The details are much clearer. I'm thoroughly enjoying the rocket stove/cob bench now in my office. If you're interested in natural building, saving resources (including money) this book is a must have.

most fun book I have ever bought! ordered the book, had it two days later with a handwritten note from the author. read it 5 or 6 times in 2 days, then built a test stove in the front yard in about an hour. My kids and I were shouting and dancing as it started roaring and shooting clean hot air out the top! COMPLETE COMBUSTION! its was great! We may never build one in the house, but we sure learned a lot about combustion, and heating options. I would highly recomend it, even just as a interesting read!

I read this book cover to cover and it was an excellent read for a DIY'er such as me. I purchased the book based upon my interest in the subject of comfort heating and the title. It was fun to read about the successes and pitfalls of those who have built this type of heater. Unfortunately, where I live in Southern California wood burning in fire places and heaters has been banned by the Air Quality Management District. So clearly something like this would have to be a bootleg project as you couldn't get a building permit for it. But then again some things are worth doing and this project would be one of them. I think it would be great for a future home or a cabin. However, I wouldn't be willing to modify my current home to install on.

The book itself was very informative and I believe it accomplishes its purpose to inform and inspire someone to tackle a project such as this if you have an interest in such things. Some of the drawings were a little quirky and I realize there is no exact science to it yet that can be referred to. However, for those willing to take the time and tinker with the project I think it will work well.

I gotta subtract one star because I had such high hopes for actually building the stove and this stove is not for me.

The book is very informative, has some good photos and easily explains the step-by-step process to build the stove.

This would be a great stove for a person who has no other commitments in his life. I suppose all wood stoves are to some extent labor intensive, but the Rocket Stove seems to require a significant time investment to monitor, stoke and clean. The are significant savings to be had(money and wood used) here if you have the time.

I may build the Rocket Stove hot tub.

The Rocket heater is an interesting concept, fairly well presented in the book.

This type of heater is not for everyone, and the authors describe the pros and cons of this type of heater well enough that one should be able to decide if this type heater is useful for their application.

This is very much a handbook for a work in progress-- a do it yourselfer can typically build one of these heaters, but don't try to hand off construction to the typical hired mason, it is not that type of book.

The illustrations and pictures adequately present the concepts-- one illustration that would be helpful to add is a 3D projection drawing, which would work better than parsing several 2D drawings to get the feel of the in-the-round barrel contra flow of the exhaust smoke traveling up from the inner stack and down the sides.

I'd like to build a Rocket mass heater... but the people I live with don't seem to like a work in progress 55 gallon drum rocket stove for heating a house (the heater installed instead will be a conventional Finnish mass masonry heater, at considerably more expense).

Overall the book is a worthwhile text on a heater option that may work for those who are willing and able to build their own. Even if you don't build one, you learn something new-- always a good thing.

This is an entertaining, well written book, funny in places, and informative. It tells you all about how to build a wood-fired room heater that happens to also be a couch or window seat. It is a little difficult for me to envision how I would integrate this into my current home, but in my case, the same could be said for a conventional woodstove or fireplace. If your brain isn't petrified yet, and you are still building your dreamhouse in your head, or you are just curious about alternative technology, I highly reccommend this book.
Roger

One day, I want to live as free as possible. It's true that no man is an island, but perhaps I can be a limited access peninsula. The less money I shell out for something I need to live comfortably, the better.

The authors deride the idea that your house needs to be uniformly 70 degrees throughout. The idea that people need to be warmed and houses don't is the preferred concept. My problem with that is that I am less comfortable if I have to work to raise the temperature on the opposite end of my house when I move from the bedroom to the living room. I do want my home to have some relatively uniform comfortable temperature all the time.

To that end, I want to have an underground home that doesn't hook up to any utilities beside communication services (which I am perfectly happy to pay for). The rocket mass heater seems to be a good way to raise the temperature of an underground structure from 56 degrees F (my local mean temp) to something more comfortable. The mass of the ground will help retain the heat, so I should not have to burn much wood mass to maintain the temp I want. I wonder if the combustion chamber could be built on the outside of an exterior wall, and connect to the heat barrel and the exhaust system through the wall, and then vent back outside through the wall. That way I wouldn't have to burn anything inside the home. Someday I hope to try it.

The book gives a lot of good information and taught me enough to have questions like the one above. The authors write well, and know their subject. It was well worth the money to me.

I adore this book. I am not some tech geek, and I am really looking forward to creating this heater for my basement in the next 3 months. The book is so informative that even a non-technical person such as myself can understand the theory as well as the practical application and building strategies. This system is so elegant, I wish everyone could read this book and get excited about building one. I know I am!