Cinder block stove

[Seraphim]

Thought someone might be interested in constructing a stove from cinder blocks.
Easy to take down or put together...

http://www.castandblastmontana.com/diy-cinder-block-rocket-stove/

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

That's one of the best stoves I've seen in a while. Beats paying 100 bucks and more for one, especially if you are going to be somewhere a long time.

 

[ccbreder]

these are cement blocks. I don't think they even make cinder blocks any more. But cinder or cement, they are not suitable for the high heat of a fire. Would work for short time if no water absorbed into the block. Too big and heavy for van living, but ok if S&B.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Done that;

Works pretty good!

 

[Seraphim]

That's one of the best stoves I've seen in a while. Beats paying 100 bucks and more for one, especially if you are going to be somewhere a long time.

That's kind of the key, I think. Takes a lot of space for someone moving around a lot, unless they have a bumper rack, or somesuch. Still, I just thought it was kind of neat. Always looking for ways to repurpose items, or have one item perform several functions.

What's on your agenda, dragonfly? Hadn't heard back from the email, so I figured you were on the move...

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Oh geez, Luis. Plank cooked salmon! Got any leftovers lol?

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these are cement blocks. I don't think they even make cinder blocks any more. But cinder or cement, they are not suitable for the high heat of a fire. Would work for short time if no water absorbed into the block. Too big and heavy for van living, but ok if S&B.

Hey they both start with 'c', so that's good enough for me! *grin*

 

[ccbreder]

need 5

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I couldn't figure it out from the pictures in the link. This video shows it better:

[video=youtube]

 

[Seraphim]

You're right - video helps.

Wouldn't use it as a cooking tutorial, though lol

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Wouldn't use it as a cooking tutorial, though lol

Yeah, the grilled cheese sandwich was a bit of a cinder itself. But, watching that, I was thinking one could adjust the flame by either blocking the air intake, or perhaps moving a block to change the cross sectional area to limit the air flow.

 

[Luisafernandes]

You can limit the flame size by the amount of wood you put in, as I did.

 

[Seraphim]

You can limit the flame size by the amount of wood you put in, as I did.

That's what the narrator in the other video said - he used too much wood.

I gotta try this - beats the heck out of splitting wood for a campfire. Looks like you'd need less wood, as well.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Yes, I used very little. It burns very hot and efficient with almost no ash. It did crack the cinder block, but didn't seem to have any affect.

 

[highdesertranger]

well I see not many have experience with this. this is a bad idea right from the get go. these blocks can explode if heated to hot. they will send shards of concrete flying at super sonic speed, same thing with rocks around a fire. I have seen it with the blocks and with rocks. plus you don't know what's the make up, you could be heating up something that produces hazardous or deadly fumes. think cinnabar, galena, bauxite, asbestos, and many more. fire brick and fire rated cement should only be used to enclose a fire. be safe. highdesertranger

 

[Seraphim]

Thanks for the warning. Did a search on the dangers of these stoves, and found there's a little more to the construction of a good stove: tin cans are used to line the inside, it seems, and sand fills in as insulation. One contributor to the link below stated the blocks get warm to the touch.

One design used only two blocks - one smaller


http://www.permies.com/t/1468/wood-burning-stoves/lot-rocket-cook-stoves

But I'd still keep HDR's warning in mind.

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They also mention a fox stove, dug into the ground. That one may take a bit of practice...

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Just read the entire thread - some interesting ideas.

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Wikipedia on rocket stoves for many uses - cooking, heating water, heating a home...
Shows metal constructions, not the cider blocks.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

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gsfish - probably with any heat source, rocks could be heated and used as warmers - even a bed warmer if properly insulated. I'll bet there are historical sites which talk about possibilities.

 

[Seraphim]

Getting off topic a bit, but an article on what type rocks to heat, without them cracking:


http://stoneageskills.com/articles/boilingwithhotstones.html

Makes me wonder about wet cinder - I mean, CEMENT (lol) - blocks