500 lb Rocket Stove

Ok it didn't weigh 500 lbs, but it is to date the largest stove I've made.
A friend of my dropped off this old boiler and asked if I could turn it into
something that could boil 30 liters of water in under an hour.
Challenge excepted. The 300 degree C paint never stood a chance.

[@ngavigan]

Anyone else just plainly jealous over not finding a piece of scrap like that?

[@insAneTunA]

No, because it is the wrong material for the inside of the stove. I know that because I have a big steel rocket stove that I have build myself 10 years ago. Therefore it is not practical in use.

[@AlteredCarbons]

spent 5 years looking for one. ending up getting it. put it outside in my back yard sorta in the open. i mean damn thing was like 250-300lbs. and someone stole it lol... i haven't found one since.

[@Comm0ut]

@@insAneTunA "Wrong" for what specific reasons?

[@insAneTunA]

@@Comm0ut ooops my bad hahahahaha wrong answer at the wrong conversation hahahahahaha You must be thinking WTH???? I thought that I was responding to a whole different conversation. Now I see that it is about a stove hahahahahahaha

[@insAneTunA]

@@Comm0ut I must keep reminding myself that I have to put up my reading glasses before I respond to a comment 🤣😂 My apologies for my honest mistake. I hope that you can see the humor of it.

[@controlledchaos8851]

3:32 I almost spit my coffee out . Definitely wasn’t expecting that 😂😂😂

[@xyic0re714]

I had a idea which incorporates a similarly sized rocket stove, and where you put the rock wool I would replace it with wood. Turning the whole thing into a charcoal retort as well as a stove.. obviously allowing for the top to be opened to remove charcoal/replace wood. The other thing I would do is using some pipe from the wood/charcoal zone, plumb it back to the stove burner so that the wood gas helps to fuel the fire.

[@306champion]

I like that idea mate.

[@xyic0re714]

for sure especially now since bunnings charcoal prices have increase 30% over the last year. @@306champion

[@LittleAussieRockets]

I kind of wish I could go back in time and try that.

[@johnh8615]

Problem with the gas given off is it contains water vapour from the wood and lowers the combustion temperature. To complicate it you would need a cyclonic scrubber to remove the moisture

[@gullreefclub]

Interesting idea, I do have two questions the first is would the temperature being created by the stove be too high to make good charcoal? The second is with the idea of feeding the “wood gas” back into the fire box. The first part of this question is would the inherent moisture in the wood gas cause problems with efficiency or the burn in the rocket stove. Years ago when I first read about running automobile on it I built a gasifier to run an old junk car and found out how wet as well as dirty the wood gas was and ended up building a filter separator and then after running it for a while I also discovered that wood in the gasifier had to be agitated periodically to continue to produce gas. The other thing I wonder about is since your concept is to directly inject the gas into the burn chamber is would this need a check valves to prevent a flash back explosion in the charcoal kiln/gasifier. I do think it still is a very interesting idea and worth exploring.

[@doctoredic]

Great work again happy to see the chook helping out too.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks 👍

[@unfi6798]

Great rustic heater for a log house on the hill. Glad to see you're still around. Cheers mate.

[@itsamindgame9198]

Fart sound effect 1, amusing. Fart sound effect 2 - I laughed out loud. Nice piece of steel both before and after. Well done.

[@lateralus411]

Hell yeah, was not expecting that 😂

[@DaveHojo]

The analog sound FX were expertly done.

[@craigsymington5401]

What a beaut! I love the irony. Also, the flange, makes me wanna make things to bolt on... I wonder what of my heritage makes me love this sort of magic? Slumming it with yukky metal, I see you have the same contempt for it that I do... (tho I have tigged some too, its easier than stainless, I found), but usually migger or sticker (if I gave wire or dry sticks). I had a thought about the "Gas" as you pulled out the forgotten OA torch. Pricey stuff these days, Lucky me, I inherited a set of torches yesterday, sadly the hoses are well perished! I also found I had to change the consumables on my plasma torch after playing with more than a little bit of 12mm plate. I had a 15mm thick cylinder that I cut open (old argon bottles) but before I had plasma, and found the 1mm x 125mm disk did it. I never dared to turn the cylinder into a rocket thing, it was just waaaay too much heaviness (boot-crushing stuff) and the scrap value was fairly high 😒so it got sold, along with all the other useful bits in the yard, and sadly the liquidation came a month or so later, last week, so new vistas for me. (Luckily my personal things are all safe, horror stories abound.) Thanks for the create😎, you brightened up a dreary day!

[@LittleAussieRockets]

thanks mate, I hope it all goes well for you Craig.

[@africanelectron751]

Get new hose

[@Comm0ut]

As gas cylinders are most often filled by exchange I don't need new cylinders, just serviceable ones so I accumulate them buying used (in the US via Facebook Marketplace, shop closing auctions etc) and it doesn't take very long to have MANY full cylinders as I immediately exchange them. I keep LP cutting tips (LP is cheaper than acetylene but uses more oxygen) too and LP has the advantage that bouncing about in a truck doesn't require settling time like acetylene. Moderns seem afraid of torch work (yet cook on grills and use gas stoves) so used quality torch and regulator outfits are easy to find.

[@CondescendingOaf]

If you listen close at 13:12 you can hear him step on a frog.🐸 😂

[@leadbadger9543]

Good looking stove. That iron is going to add a lot of great thermal mass!

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Definitely!

[@craigsymington5401]

Loads of MASS in general, I hope it gets "planted" somewhere safe!

[@Smallathe]

Absolutely a beast! Wonderful build!

[@victoryfirst2878]

I finally got me a tank with one inch wall thickness that was made in the 1940s. This will be a challenge but am willing to make it happen hopefully this year. If not the next will do Aussie Rocket Stoves. You gave me the idea fella too. Thanks vf

[@user-cq9gi2bz4r]

a question, why would you cut off such a massive amount of... well, thermal mass with insolation? Wouldn't it be better to maybe fill it with sand, or cement, or water even? A lot of wasted potential in that one shown in the video, so much iron just sitting there, insolated away, not getting heated up to give off that heat over a long period of time. Shouldn't Rocket stoves be generally... thin-walled? Construction serves only to facilitate a good air intake for the combustion and a way to direct a lot of heat one way, but if you want to use it for heating, why wouldn't you take a copper pipe and wrap it around the chimney, fill it with water and seep the heat from the combustion gasses that way? or maybe even put the copper inside the chimney, if filled with water it shouldn't really melt.

[@jasonburguess]

You can cut thick material with your plasma cutter if you slow your travel speed way down, and increase your air pressure to 100psi.

[@manmeals441]

Watching you weld, cut and bend metal is magic mate!

[@cybercamp2900]

Build with what you have.. excellent trait 🙏🏻 Thanks for sharing

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thank bro

[@Visigoth_]

1:58 😅 damn dude... you're good with that torch.

[@shandor2522]

It’s a joy to watch this expert lay down such beautiful weld beads even on outside corners!

[@rerun578]

Wonderful editing! Thank you!!!

[@davidpaylor5666]

Nice clean work there mate. Thanks for sharing.

[@King_TuTT]

this is one super heavy duty stove! i would be a proud to own this!! good stuff

[@frisbeephil]

Fill it with sand and that would hold the heat through the night from 1 fire.

[@hvacman2009]

That’s my plan sand baytery/ rocket stove

[@kennethjackson7574]

My brother has something similar. Quite a bit smaller, but it didn’t need much modification. Start with a WWII US Navy Mark 9 Model 3 Depth Charge. An inert one.

[@OutDoorsMan1342]

Little John! But don't let the name fool you in real life he's actually pretty big.... lol

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Men in tights, a classic.

[@gysbertvanderwesthuizen8011]

Fantastic Channel Mate! Keep going, you'll get there. Thanks.

[@paulgoodridge7957]

Well done good fabricator and welder mig and tig interesting vid keep up the good work thanks .

[@xanatax1844]

you’ve been busy! very cool build! 😍

[@johncarter17]

Bloody genius, nothing more relaxing than watching a master craftsman create! I’m definitely getting you to build me a rocket stove shortly, thanks for all the great videos.

[@DazFab_Metalworks]

That is a beast, Nice work.

[@Joemama-td2zp]

Very cool great video. Got a good laugh at the end he said must be moisture in that insulation though he put water in with it

[@questionblechoices]

I have a question, since these have better draft out the exhaust could you put a Tesla turbine like halfway through the exhaust to power a generator. For like homesteading or just to charge up the battery for a small cabin.

[@maniachill3069]

Good video, I just SUBSCRIBED. hello from Maine, USA

[@LittleAussieRockets]

G'day mate 👍

[@arcoeco]

Beast! If you put a shroud on the top of the stove so the heat hits the bottom of the water tank and is then forced up the sides of the tank before it exits at the top then the water should boil sooner. Just keep cross sectional area for the exhaust the same. Thanks for posting.

[@thorwaldjohanson2526]

I agree, I think a taller version of the wind shrowd would help A lot. Ideally of a thermally reflective metal like Aluminum. It is a tall pot, so it radiates heat away while heating up too. The shrowd would extract more energy out. Would love to see a test with this stove and the boiling time with and without a shrowd around the pot.

[@Kcducttaper1]

The "ultimate atomic wedgie" at 0:53 was magnificent! 👌

[@rudimatosa506]

Nice work

[@artisansportsman8950]

Great job

[@mikeconnery4652]

Nice build

[@mattytalbot777]

Cool build mate i like it.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks 👍

[@barryhandyman6985]

Hahahahaha! That farting noise added! I laughed my ass off for a full minute. Thanks, I needed that!

[@senval6511]

"Flame cutting noises..." Lol

[@TacoTruck17]

I'm headed to the scrap yard pronto!

[@justinwilliams1333]

Someone’s about to start making moonshine. Lol

[@MarcusFranzen-sn9uu]

Now i will dream over "flame cutting noices"...

[@dogdooish]

I'm surprised you use steel for the burn tube, ours were made with refractory cement as the temps were extraordinary! Steel would only last a couple of seasons!

[@andredejonge5255]

13:13 🙀💪👍😁, greetings from 🇳🇱the netherlands

[@stjimtemyth995]

nice story of little john. ash removal looks like will be a pain?

[@baldyoldfart5828]

your best welds on youtube maybe ;)

[@milesabove5259]

Why you didn’t start with the oxy cutter had me wondering. Plasma is probably more efficient for your consumables though.

[@Ed19601]

What a beast. No sense putting in so many pieces of wood, en entire treetrunk will suffice 🙂

[@wizrom3046]

The green name plate turned black?

[@IN-FINITE_WISDOM]

As far as i can tell, the ratios are off, and its not behaving as a rocket stove... so likely it is not. However, it is a nice build and enjoyable video.

[@dtec30]

well placed fart noises lol

[@keesverhagen9227]

At the bottom of the oversized pan some extra metal stripes woould work as an extra heat exchanger i think.

[@Vikingwerk]

Inpressive!

[@mankihonda983]

Pretty sure the steam was from the water in the sodium silicate solution you poured in there.

[@AyatollahS9430]

(Fart noises) Me:"HA! That deserves a like!" 😂👍

[@LittleAussieRockets]

I'm happy you have a similar sense of humor to me. My wife was not amused 😅🐄💨

[@frasercrone3838]

I just wondered why you did not use the insulation space as a water heater

[@LittleAussieRockets]

I wanted too but just ran out of time. I was also considering making biochar in the space.

[@alexandrevaliquette3883]

13:15 Is it me or this is not, technically, a real rocket stove? I think the opening is way too wide and the air is not fast enough on the ambers.

[@RobertP-zk8vh]

you should do a rocket stove but paint it to look like the apollo rocket!! that be cool lol

[@marktiltins8845]

Ultra sound

[@jtelliso]

Now weld an old turbo on the side of it and let's see what kinda pressure this puppy can really handle/make.

[@carteradams1079]

Huh. Everyone has their style

[@malcolm2587]

A wooden wedge would work just as well that way when it falls in you've got plenty of others

[@subhash7408]

Looking ur video, i made oil burner starting wood stoves battery fan powered stoves, just amazing results, sir.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Nice work!

[@Bozemanjustin]

Little Aussie rockets Next time make yourself a thermic Lance to cut that

[@cdsparksart4440]

yes i want to see you build your other things

[@bigrollinghome2091]

I am making a furnace out of an old 500# propane tank - I went at it with the torch and it wasn't easy - about 3/8" thick and ... I'm not an expert ... what was supposed to be a square opening has no right angles or equal length sides ....

[@dunedune-vv8bp]

thats not realy a rocket stove u need to close off more of the air intake till its like a jet sucking air and lift the fire to the level of the air imput so the fuel has the air fored thru it

[@dogdooish]

If it was, the square steel burn tube would not last 2 seasons! Ours had to be refractory cement 25mm thick!

[@wheelsdan]

​@dogdooish I made mine with 150mm steel box but lined it with ceramic plate works awesome just wish I had used 200mm box !

[@ryborg123456]

Can you explain the "glass water" bit?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Sure, glass water is used in furnaces to harden and preserve the ceramic wool in high temperature applications. In this case I didn't have enough to do all of it so I figured in tipping it down the bottom and putting the ceramic wool on top, it would get where it needed to be.

[@stjimtemyth995]

you can make your own water glass from crystal kitty litter (silica beads)and draino(lye,caustic soda)@@LittleAussieRockets

[@Nonsheep1]

LoL You had me at "Oh Nuts" lol...

[@Nathan-cc4gy]

I guess its another good video idea to use cardboard as fuel and to see how it works instead of wood.

[@russellfreeburn6284]

This is Sparta😂😂😂😂

[@adamiam7556]

Subbed coz of the fart jokes 😂

[@LittleAussieRockets]

🐄💨😅

[@nathandean1687]

look into aquiring thermal electric generators to make dc power.

[@richardmccann4815]

From this build, it is not obvious that you have built rocket stoves before. The air intake is above the fire! The output is bigger than the intake, but not by much.

[@hvacman2009]

Not a rocket stove, more like a wasted burn barrel… whats the point of insulation , maybe heat directed

[@bk7278]

There is no reason to insulate it just shortens the life span of the metal

[@concernedaussie1330]

So if this was John or little John , that means there’s a place for Saturn V ????

[@rogerpullin8997]

I would devise a method to regulate air intake

[@RallyeRacin9]

Just a stove. NOT a rocket stove.

[@itsamindgame9198]

No, definitely a rocket stove. Fuel feed from the side, oxygen flow from underneath, chimney for flame/heat.

[@RallyeRacin9]

The feature of a rocket stove is that it burns the exhaust gases and thus burns particularly efficiently and hot. That is not the case here.

[@ozwogman]

Just a comment, NOT a good comment!

[@RallyeRacin9]

@@ozwogman I didn't judge if it is a good or a "not good" stove. Only stated that it is not as it is specified. So if your comment relates to your comment, you're right!

[@itsamindgame9198]

@@RallyeRacin9 Ah, you are more thinking of a gasifier, maybe. This beast is a rocket stove - slow to get going properly but when it did, it burned quite cleanly. Rocket stove.

[@goldenegg1063]

13:12 😅 lol

[@mik-pi4di]

How can I DM you ?

[@Haleskinn]

try the rocket stove with wood briquette and see how far you can push it :D

[@ironclay3939]

I heat 30Lts of wash in my still and it takes 45 minutes on the Gas to start

[@bobmcgee7]

This is great. Now turbocharge it. Stick a turbocharger on that little jhon and it will become big bill

[@johnpauly5524]

You put water into the stove before you put the insulation in…that could be the source for the steam

[@DerekWoolverton]

First thought, wow, you put the Nozzle on your MIG gun finally. Second realization: you're actually welding with gas. Hurrah. Now go refill your acetylene tank.

[@anthonycolbourne4206]

A build for Ned Kelly?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Yeah the metal is thick enough

[@africanelectron751]

Darling a hole at the starting point might help you cut through.

[@01mustang05]

I wouldn't call that a Rocket Stove at all. I see a basic stove with a really insulated chimney.

[@buckaroundandfindout]

I'd rather see longer videos of yours. Loved the vortex stove you are awesome.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks 👍

[@multyryex1761]

Theres a bid of video in your ad

[@LittleAussieRockets]

I'm afraid without the ads I couldn't afford to make videos so it's just how it is. Best thing i ever did was by KZbin premium. Solve the ads problem.

[@Lucysdad66]

I had a huge rocket stove in the house. I bought after 1 year i tore it out with a sledgehammer and put in a wood burning stove piece of c***

[@germangodoy4317]

13:11 se mandó un eructo en el video?😂😂😂

[@pugnugger4600]

So when does the rocket stove end & the holy $hit its a furnace from hell begin? Seriously? Why? Because you can? Dude, build a log splitter or a Lazer death machine or something.

[@boikebeagle]

An Aussie talking imperial?

[@catgynt9148]

Good day Steve, With all of the interesting designs that you have shared with us, I thought you might enjoy the following video. It uses a thermal siphon action to capture heat twice and produce boiling water in addition to cooking and heating the room. (kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKLZn2mbYs6nZqcsi=9_322Lcl6TpdYJsP) Enjoy the video and ponder the possibilities for heating your shop. Wishing you and your family a blessed week filled with gentle seasonally appropriate weather and restful evenings together. Peace brother.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks for sharing that I really enjoyed the build, that extra water chamber on the flu was a great addition.

[@tylerrinek8862]

Fart at 3 33. I fart when I lift too

[@aarondavidson6409]

500 lbs... 30 litres.. aussie accent... much confused

[@militaryman9638]

thats not a rocket stove