Rocket Stoves - Cool Name, Hot Stove

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 20 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #79 in Green, #7,561 overall

Lift Off In 3...2...1...

No, a rocket stove won't throw anything into orbit, but it will heat a house (or cook a meal) way more efficiently than other wood burning stoves.

So, what is a rocket stove? It's a stove that creates a very hot, smokeless fire. They can be any size from small enough to pack as a camp stove, up to large enough to heat a living area. Large ones are often insulated with cob (mud and straw) to absorb the intense heat and release it slowly over a longer period of time.

Souffle, Anyone? 

Using the rocket stove to cook

Rocket stoves are being promoted as an alternative to cooking indoors over an open fire, such as in a fireplace. They greatly reduce the amount of smoke and gasses released, keeping the indoor air healthier. They are also super efficient, using less wood and creating a more intense fire. If you plan on using a stove inside, be sure that the chimney exits outside the house.

I don't really know if you could make a souffle (that's a baking thing, right?), but I'm sure you could whip up a mean pot of beans. Lentil soup, anyone?

TWP / AHDESA, Honduras, Fuel-efficient stoves

curated content from YouTube

Rocket Cooking Stoves In Use 

Because we're not all fortunate enough to have a six burner gas range.

Rocket stoves are being used all over the world to help families cook using less fuel, saving them time, money and resources.

Cooking with the Standard Pot in Darfur

Aprovecho Research Centre, Southern Africa, Rocket Stoves

Cooking Beans on the SixBricks Rocket Stove in Hut

How to Make a 16 Brick Rocket Stove

Cooking with corn cobs on Cedesol rocket stove
curated content from YouTube

Mmmm, Toasty 

Stoves for warming rooms...and people :)

Rocket stoves are popular in naturally built homes, sometimes replacing a fireplace. They can easily be built with metal drums and fire bricks. Many times they are insulated with cob (a mud and straw mix) to retain heat, then radiate it over a long period of time. A nifty tip: run the flew through a cob bench and have a bum-warming seat!

Check out this video of a couple of rocket stoves in people's homes. For more info on cob (talked about in the video) visit my cob lens.

DRTV: Rocket Stoves

curated content from YouTube

Rocket Stoves In The Real World 

See? I'm not just making this stuff up.

Here are some pics of different types of rocket stoves, made out of everything from earth to saltine cans. Some are beautiful additions to homes and gardens, while are others are, um, well...purely functional.

Rocket Stoves in Njewa by khym54

There stoves are used to make the fortified porridge that the children receive a...

Cocina Cohete hecha en Barro by orgazmika

curated content from Flickr

So, You Want To Build One, Huh? 

I know I sure do!

Rocket stoves can be made from all all sorts of materials, and are pretty easy to put togther. I haven't made one (yet), so I'm probably not the one to try to explain it all to ya. Instead, let me quote from an article I found at wikipedia.

ahem:


"The rocket stove's main components are:

Chimney: a metal box (such as a 5-gallon tin can) or pipe standing vertically and supporting the cooking vessel

Fuel magazine: a short length of steel or ceramic pipe fitted horizontally into the base of a chimney

Fuel shelf: a flat plate to hold the fuel clear of the bottom of the magazine to allow air to flow underneath

Heat exchanger: a tubular metal shield that forces hot gases from the chimney to pass over the sides of the cooking vessel

The chimney and magazine are joined at a right angle, forming the 'rocket elbow', and it is at this junction that primary combustion occurs."





Diagram found here.

Building A Rocket Stove - In Detail 

For when you need more than just an article and a diagram.

Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build

Rocket Mass Heaters: Superefficient Woodstoves YOU Can Build

by: Ianto Evans, Leslie Jackson

Amazon Price: (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $39.99

Rocket Stoves to Heat Cob Buildings: How to Build a Super Efficient Wood Fired Heater

Rocket Stoves to Heat Cob Buildings: How to Build a Super Efficient Wood Fired Heater

Amazon Price: (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now
Used Price: $60.00

Building A Rocket Stove - In Motion! 

A couple of instructional videos

Here are videos showing how to build the two different styles of stoves. The first shows you how to build a one-pot cooking stove. The second shows how to make a large one out of a metal drum.

How to build a Rocket Stove

The principles of a rocket stove and how to build one.
curated content from YouTube

Do You Rocket? 

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Hey, It Works! 

Home made rocket sroves

There are plenty of vids on youtube by people who have made rocket stoves at home. They can be a great source of inspiration...or as a warning of what not to do. If you have to desire to re-create what you see on them, please do so with common sense.

coffee can rocket stove

Runtime: 6:58
46831 views
10 Comments:


Rocket Stove Workshop

Runtime: 3:16
63009 views
10 Comments:


Rocket Stove Evening

Runtime: 1:27
15498 views
10 Comments:


Rocket Stove

Runtime: 2:08
18861 views
10 Comments:


Rocket Stove (pocket)

Runtime: 1:11
7301 views
5 Comments:


Rocket Stove Tea

Runtime: 0:18
4898 views
5 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Comments... 

Got one? Fire away!

Lensmaster

aj2008 wrote...

I had not heard about rocket stoves but I certainly know about them now. Very interesting lens.

ReplyPosted November 04, 2009

Lensmaster

Mike wrote

Rocket stoves are great technology - either for cooking or heating. I'm a bit concerned about the books advertised though. The original author - Ianto Evans sells it as a pdf for $13.00 (hardcopy is available for a little more).

$39.99 for second hand on Amazon is simply scalping

Reply Posted September 11, 2009

Lensmaster

MerryM wrote...

in reply to spirituality What a wonderful birthday present (yup, I'm year older today.) - Thanks!

ReplyPosted June 28, 2009

Lensmaster

spirituality wrote...

Great lens - you've been blessed by a squidoo angel :)

ReplyPosted June 28, 2009

Lensmaster

SemperFidelis wrote...

Blessed by a SquidAngel today!
www.squidoo.com/squid-angel
~ Colleen :o)

ReplyPosted April 17, 2009

view all 24 comments

Other Lenses By Moi 

If you enjoyed this lens, you might like to check out my lenses on natural building techniques.
Build Your Home With Your Own Two Hands!
I've been bitten by the natural building bug, and I've decided to infec...er, um, share what I'm learning with the rest of the world.
Don't Be Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf. Build with Strawbales!
Incorporating straw bales into construction is a relatively new advancement in natural building, though straw has been used as a binder and insulator in mud-based building materials for millinnea.
Build a Cob House - No Corn Needed!
What I did with my summer vacation: spent a week covered up to my knees in mud, built walls out of said mud, had a great time getting to know about fifteen other people working with the mud, and generally fell in love with cob.

by MerryM

Hiya, I'm Merry. I grew up (and still live) in suburbia. I've always been interested in environmentally friendly living, though. During a visit to an... (more)

Explore related pages

Electric Portable Space Heaters
Winter is right around the corner and the cost of heating our homes continues to...
Thermal mass for home heating
Very simply thermal mass refers to any large, heavy construction that is used to...
Organic Wood Fired Flatbreads
Full of Life Flatbreads is along the 101 freeway heading north of Santa Barbara...

Related Topics

Create a Lens!