Rocket mass sofa.
By John Cree
@GinerNut (187)
Barcelona, Spain
December 4, 2016 9:01am CST
The other day I was helping out Jenny and her friend John on Jenny's current project. A rocket mass sofa.
Good hard dirty work lol. Lots of clay, thrown with a satisfactory splat or stuffed into nooks and crannies with mucky fingers.
you can see in the picture the progress made.
Unfortunately I won't be here to see the end result but Jenny will send me a picture I'm sure.
The principle, apart from heating the room is to burn a fraction of the amount of fuel you would use in a traditional fire with the bonus of a clean burn. Only steam comes out the exhaust. You get a little smoke when lighting up but only steam after that.
I daresay there will be some 'tweaking' required before it is finally up and running.
9 people like this
8 responses
@GardenGerty (157903)
• United States
5 Dec 16
I am glad to read the further explanation of the whole project. It does look like hard work but your explanation to @hereandthere lets me see the real potential for this heating element. Something like this would be good for my husband's work shed for sure.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
4 Dec 16
is this for inside or outside the house?
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@GinerNut (187)
• Barcelona, Spain
4 Dec 16
oh this is very much for the inside, you can even cook on the top of it. Thanks for asking 'hereandthere'.
other uses are for sheds and greenhouses, in cold climates like ours you can get a real head start on seedlings and if you have a workshop (I'm a carpenter) you can keep warm burning off scrap cuttings nd old pallets.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
4 Dec 16
@GinerNut it's interesting to see how people in other countries heat and cool their homes.
why is it called rocket mass sofa? because here we call the couch sofa. 
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@GinerNut (187)
• Barcelona, Spain
4 Dec 16
@hereandthere oh, the way the thing works is that the fire goes sideways instead of straight up.
this causes the fire to give off a sound like the afterburner of a rocket.
the internal workings of the stove send the initial burn back to the beginning fire which causes a second burn off of the gases taking the fire from something like 45% efficient to 95% efficient.
Don't quote me on the numbers I'm no scientist lol, but you get the gist, mega more efficiency.
The picture is of the inner workings, the stones and clay will be built up around the pipes you see to a comfortable sitting level and the whole thing finished off with clay, smoothed and decorated to taste. Usually in pastel or earth colours.
when up and running the heat produced is absorbed by the stones and clay (the mass) and released over time to the room. The length of time the heat radiates is of course dependant on the size, shape and the materials used.
I hope this has helped you get and insight into the rocket mass heater. The couch (sofa) will bethe finished part. Thanks for asking about this. Jenny is off to the UK for a holiday so hopefully when she returns and finishes her project I'll get a picture and do a follow up. Cheers.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
4 Dec 16
most fascinatin'! i read through yer further explanations with others'n the responses 'n truly 'ppreciate 'cha goin' 'nto more detail 'bout this. i'm thinkin' perhaps i could talk the hubs into doin' 'kin to this with the greenhouse he started buildin'...yet's ne'er completed.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
6 Dec 16
@GinerNut i'd love to've such. i found some plans fer buildin' one'n put a bug'n the hubs ear. he seemed most interested, time'll tell if'n he tackles such though.
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@GinerNut (187)
• Barcelona, Spain
6 Dec 16
@crazyhorseladycx well at least you have sown the seed, good luck, I hope he does it. Keep us posted 
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@amitkokiladitya (171935)
• Agra, India
4 Dec 16
What is it?? I cannot understand
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@GinerNut (187)
• Barcelona, Spain
4 Dec 16
Hi there Doc, please don't make me type all that out again, my poor finger will go on strike, typing is not one of my better qualities lol.
Instead may I just be lazy and refer you to the response I sent to hereandthere, lol
if it is still unclear by all means quiz me and I shall do my best to clarify things, thanks for the interaction.
Scroll down nd hopefully things will explain themselves. thanks
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