Fixing Problems With My Mini K-Type Rocket Stove

[@GregsGarage]

I love that you're incorporating all the ideas from your subscribers into the design of the rocket stove.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you, Greg. And thank you for the welding tips.

[@davidthegood]

The crowdsourcing of design is great. You're going to catch me soon. And I WILL STILL BE YOUR PATRON!

[@GreenShortzDIY]

David! Great to see you in the comments! I’m sure you saw your name in the video. Thank you for the support. I hope to hop on a DTG live stream soon. Been catching up on the new Florida content. Welcome back.

[@radagast6682]

I like the fact that you try to be as green as possible. And that you are willing to listen to your viewers. I don't know what the thinking behind the holes in the chimney are. This reduces the air used for combustion. Close those holes. My other advice is, change one thing at a time. Doing multiple changes won't tell you what helped, or hurt. Keep Green, and God Bless. :)

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you, Terry. I think the holes in the chimney mostly pull air in, unless I’m using the bellows. Agree that changing one thing at a time is a better way. I like being able to incorporate multiple ideas from the comments. :-) Less scientific, but more fun. Lol. Thank you for for the blessing. I’m guessing we are of the same mind. :-) Thank you for watching.

[@sleeptyper]

I built a rocket stove from old fire extinguisher. It had a very clear line where the burning stopped and flames turned to smoke. I marked this line and added a row of holes thru the entire circumference half an inch below the line. Combustion continued until just shy of the top level where the tube ends, so i drilled some more holes. Now the burn continues all the way up to the pot/kettle bottom and the stove burns very clean after initial fire starting.

[@akbychoice]

I have an old cast iron table saw top I’m going to use like you gave. Great reuse. With each change test before the next change. Maybe start with the new curve and basket and no holes. If holes are added start small, test, adjust and retest.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Awesome. It’s been a great welding table. Thank you for the suggestions. Thank you for watching.

[@2000weapons]

Love the cut g. Keep up the great work.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for the encouragement. Thank you for watching.

[@ministermanoutdoors6179]

Your burn chamber will block as pellet ash drop through. Add an ash pan/secondary burn chamber to allow the pellets to drop through and allow air to continue flowing.

[@beau4170]

Rocket Man. Try circular sections instead of Square hollow sections. You have sorted the air flow in one plane only. Seem to be deviating from the basic concepts of a rocket stove. It's great to watch. Thank you

[@GreenShortzDIY]

I am a deviant. :-) Thank you for the feedback. I will try a round stove soon. I’ve got some salvaged pipe waiting for glory. Thank you for the feedback.

[@beau4170]

@@GreenShortzDIY I'm trying to get a throttle to accelerate the flames up the chimney. I also want to fed hot air in this throttle, by way of suitably placed holes to increase the burn.

[@robshamel3210]

I got my dad some crank bellows at restoration hardware about 10+ years ago, he still loves them, I tried to get those, but couldn't find them.....need to find you an upgrade....Thx for the video....

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank Cuz! I dub the the CAO of GreenShortz DIY. Chief Airflow Officer. :-)

[@bhaisahebinamdar5840]

Love from India,u explain in very nice way..I love your cap also!

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you. The cap is part of my uniform. :-)

[@juliehenderson1672]

Congrats with your channel. 100k Will come soon.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you!

[@pyrotechnic1o1]

so i made one with 3inch square tube and the feed is set at a less then 45 angle so the feed is closer to the air inlet and no smoke comes out and it burns well.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Cool! Thank you for sharing your success. Thank you for watching.

[@juliehenderson1672]

Wrap your rotors with copper coil to produce hot water.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Ooh! Good idea. Thank you, Julie. Thank you for watching.

[@GordieGii]

Insulate first. Need to increase the draw. Have to get that working before messing with add-ons.

[@johnnyg6380]

There's some great build tutorials on KZbin for these. My tip is to start again mate.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Ha. Yeah. This one was a miss, but I got two videos out of the process of figuring that out...and some welding practice. Sometime content creation is about the journey. Thank you for the feedback.

[@zedmeinhardt3404]

I think the side holes are slowing the the natural draw from the chimney forcing air through the air intake. There is too much air getting to the chimney but it's not running through the fuel.

[@GordieGii]

@Motosport 88 He should do three things to improve the combustion. 1. Increase the height of the riser. 2. Extend the burn basket so it goes all the way to the back of the riser. 3. Shorten and/or bell-mouth the intake, like a velocity stack, as you suggested, to decrease resistance to flow. (like the curve at the corner) He could also insulate the riser but I don't think it would make as much difference as the height. I think it would also help to cover the holes in the side of the riser with a window, at least until he gets a good self sustaining burn, then gradually open them to increase the efficiency of burn.

[@josemonroigdonate6997]

Hello from Puerto Rico

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for watching, Jose.

[@melissahoffman4687]

Drill another four holes on the other side of the neck of the stove for more airflow improvement.

[@motosport8851]

Great video and thank you. My two cents. To speed up the air that is coming in you need to restrict the intake size as it gets closer to the pellets. Think of a velocity stack on a car. The smaller you make the intake the faster the air will move so if you reduce the size of the intake as it gets closer to the fire the air will speed up. You could add a flat piece of metal like you did to hold the pellets but in the intake. It should be at the top of the intake then be at a downward angel as it gets closer to the fire. If you make the flat piece of metal longer than the intake by an inch or so and bend it up on the end to form a L. You can then hold the piece of flat metal by the L part sticking out and tilt it down cutting off part of the air flow of the intake to experiment with how much restriction it takes to help it draw correct. I would also experiment with how deep you put the restriction in I would think it would need to open back up to full size before the fire a half inch to an inch. You could pull the flat bar out or move it in the intake to determine this.

[@GordieGii]

Need to increase the draw before restricting the oxygen. Need a taller, insulated riser. And make those holes in the side smaller. They steal the draw.

[@motosport8851]

@@GordieGii When using the blower he got it to work pretty good, Which shows it need more oxygen pulled through the intake. I Was not saying to restrict the oxygen like a damper would do. I was saying change the size and shape of the inlet to increase the air speed of the inlet. By speeding the air flow up it would get more oxygen maybe not as much as when he was using the blower but better then when not using it. Which would also help the draw out of the exhaust the riser. I do not disagree that the riser could use some tuning also to help air speed and oxygen intake. You need to have a fast air flow to make the fire hot. If the intake is to big it can not move the air fast enough to small and it does not get enough air. The intake and the riser have to be the proper shape and size for the fire box, if either are wrong it is not going to work very good. I was only pointing out the intake side you are pointing out the exhaust side. I am not saying that you could not change the riser to make the intake work. I was pointing out what should be done to the intake side to make it work better with the exhaust (riser) he is using.

[@GordieGii]

@@motosport8851 You literally said "...you need to restrict the intake size..." That is not what a velocity stack does. A velocity stack increases the smoothness of the air intake by starting larger than the carb and curving down to the same size as the carb's intake to reduce turbulence. Getting the fuel more into the path of the air plenty of acceleration of the air as it passes between the pellets instead of around them.

[@GordieGii]

@@motosport8851 "If the intake is to big it can not move the air fast enough to small and it does not get enough air." The intake doesn't move the air. The air moves because of the draw/suction/convection/buoyancy caused by the hot gas in the riser. The intake only restricts the air from getting at the fuel. Its purpose is to keep coals and ash from falling on the floor. You can see in his concrete stove videos, when the firebox is wide open it burns terrific. As soon as he starts building an intake around it, it starts having problems getting enough air. You are right that the size, shape, proportions, etc are important, but they should all be designed to maximize flow. It's the volume of oxygen that matters not the speed. (just ask a candle) Getting the fuel into the path of the air will create plenty of speed between the pellets where it matters. The reason the bellows helped was that it was forcing air up into the hopper (you can see the smoke coming out the top of the hopper) igniting more fuel, but as soon as he stopped the fuel burning inside the hopper was starved and only the fuel that was still in the flow path continued to burn.

[@motosport8851]

@@GordieGii Okay have a question for you what makes the draft work better. A lot of slow moving air, or fast moving air? Anything that speeds up the air flow makes it work better. The blower helped because it forced more air (oxygen) into the fire. Which made it burn hotter. You do need the draft and you need the air speed for it to work. The draft is made by the hot gas moving the faster it moves the greater the low pressure on the intake. Another way to increase the lower pressure on the intake is size ratio of the intake to exhaust. If the riser creates a certain amount of lift (volume on air being moved) the smaller the pipe the faster it moves. It does not move less it just moved it faster. You can go too small or too big on both and you can do the same with the firebox. It is physics a volume of air moves faster through a smaller opening than a large one. But if the hole gets too small you can not move that volume of air through it anymore.

[@mikehotshots7607]

Are you using FCAW or MIG? Looks like a MIG setup with a FCAW technique (pushing vs dragging while welding).

[@Laurentziu7691]

Greetings from Romania. I think the supply pipe should be shortened, because I saw that it was emitting smoke there, it is too high, this is one of the reasons why it has no draft. Those holes on the sides are useless, because they are after the burning point, a wider pipe must be installed at the bottom, where it draws air, or two v-shaped ones, which join in the central pipe. Or you can cut a square at the base of the vertical pipe, where you rounded it, and it will have the role of removing the ash, given to make additional draft.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Great tips. Thank you. This was definitely an experiment. I was just in Brasov and Bucharest for a video assignment. Beautiful country. :-)

[@sobreviventealpha1106]

Very Nice Bro

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for watching. :-)

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

This is pretty neat

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you. Thank you for watching.

[@davidthegood]

Awesome.

[@pierrevansusteren1870]

the holes are not good you are putting cold air in to the riser .

[@gebhardt244]

Maybe an a lot longer riser would do the trick

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Hi Johannes. Good to see you here. Thank you for the feedback. I think I’ll try that next. :-) Thank you for watching.

[@chefboyrdanbh]

Gotta insulate that riser

[@anguschau]

You need to keep the burning temperature So the down hole need to close

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for the tip. By the down hole, do you mean where I’m putting the pellets? Thank you for watching.

[@anguschau]

I mean seal the new drill hole bottom one~

[@GreenShortzDIY]

I understand. Thank you. :-)

[@catgynt9148]

@@GreenShortzDIY Tom, that is why I suggested threading the holes and using screws or bolts to close unused holes. Perhaps the bottom hole should be as big as a dime to use it as an Ignition port for lighting fuel and heating chimney to start upward draft. Smoke is exiting feed tube because it is warmer than the chimney.

[@GinaKayLandis]

Pretty cool! Is that grinder a grinder of like a Dremel small saw? I have never seen such intricate work done w a grinder! Impressive! I have a Dremel saw but wow, could play with metals if could use it as a grinder! Going to look that up. Glad the "k" rocket stove build is progressing! Laughed aloud when the smoke rings started - an unexpected benefit! Thanks for another great video!

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Ha! The smoke rings had the same effect on me. I do think you could use your Dremel for some small scale metal work. I’ll have to pull mine out for the next video on this stove. It won’t handle the super beefy bar stock, but it could cut the tubing. I’ll test. Thank you for watching and the support.

[@benv5650]

Cut open the down side and extend it to downward for ash collection, instead of holes make room for secondary burning by expanding the middle portion of the tube and more holes there, put the pellet from the opposite side to the main air intake, add a 45° tube towards the main intake for the excess CO/CO2 to escape.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Good mods, Benny. Thank you.

[@benv5650]

@@GreenShortzDIY I really like to see that in action. Could you please try that.

[@JeffRatliffhome]

I think you've made some good improvements, but overall I think you've proved that this design isn't very efficient. Yes, you get easier feeding of fuel, but the feed tube will always compete with the main chimney. But hey, you're doing good science and making cool stuff.

[@catgynt9148]

Tom, I apologize for “busting” you regarding sandals vs boots. Regarding the addition of an extended fuel basket, would it be easier to construct a fuel basket that can be inserted in the air intake or lowered down the chimney. Perhaps a small basket or grate that is 1/2 the height of the air intake similar to the grate in your ceramic rocket stove that heats the pizza oven. Peace brother.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

No apology needed. I appreciate you caring enough to say something. I was just giving you credit. :-) You are the official CSO of GreenShortz DIY. Chief Safety Officer. Appreciate you, brother.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

The small dimensions of this stove are making it a challenge. I think I probably need a bigger air intake. Or just bigger tubing altogether. It has been a fun experiment. Thank you for the ideas.

[@catgynt9148]

@@GreenShortzDIY Tom, has the derailment been cleared snd the tracks repaired? I thought I heard a bit of train whistle in background... Peace brother.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Yes. Tracks are open. There are still a few cars off to the side to be cut up. Too damaged to put back on the tracks. Trevor got a few photos. I’ll send via Discord.

[@catgynt9148]

@@GreenShortzDIY thanks for the update... perhaps it would be fodder for the patreon posts if others have commented on the train.

[@johnkinnebrew3222]

turn up the heat,move faster ,and use a zigzag ,,,, and in the winter heat your weld area it opens the pours and makes a better weld

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for the great tips. I’m still learning. Also still teachable. :-) Thank you for watching.

[@nie_bać_tüska]

Hi. Maybe problem is with size of pellets. Typical rocket stove is 3 times bigger and for tha size this pellet will be good. But for your stove pellet should be smaller ... I think.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Interesting thought. I think I’d agree with you. Ultimately, I plan to make a bigger pellet stove (with the brake rotors). I’m not sure I can get pellets in a smaller size. Thank you for watching.

[@nmfabrications9264]

When making that basket and welding the tiny rods it might work better to start welding for a tiny bit on the bigger piece to start and move into the super small things to help get ur puddle going. I hope that made sence I love the videos they are super fun to watch

[@KitJBenn]

Hi! Hope you've learned from today's experience!! Ones got to keep ahead of the curve!!😁

[@GreenShortzDIY]

I'm still teachable...even in my advancing years. :-) Thanks for watching.

[@KitJBenn]

@@GreenShortzDIY your doing a great job!! Love your motivation and enthusiasm! Very inspiring!!👍👍

[@jamesquigley8628]

Flue pipe needs to be as tall as practical and still be able to cook. Be Well, J.Q.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you, James. Good feedback.

[@andygeorgiou2846]

Feed tube way too long.

[@baysays6975]

Thank you for you said turkish merhaba. :)

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you for watching.

[@alexrahardjazh]

The chimney should be higher. Then the air draft in Plus some steel rod must be weld to keep the wood not block the air from the bottom pipe. The fuel itself must mot too many. If the rocket stove already hot I think it should be use a bigfer wood stick. Dried one of course. The best is if the rocket stove made of Stainless steel

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Thank you, Alex. I appreciate your suggestions. Thank you for watching.

[@ELHAUKEZ]

Make one part of the exhaust tube from copper and attach a manson engine to it, so heat exchange is provided. Then use the spining of the motor as a fan just under the bottom edge where the fuel cage sits and to blow wasted material off. Just look out for cheap stirling motor and scavenge it 😋 take care for good heat transmission and this thing should burn better the hotter it gets. imgur.com/rojeXGr Just look at the power with so less heat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d53EXoakm9mLp9U

[@GoatZilla]

Not first.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

:-) Thanks for watching.

[@davidlaw233]

Should have started from scratch

[@GreenShortzDIY]

Yeah. This was too small. Thanks for the feedback.

[@justtinkering6713]

I was hoping for success , but this needs more work. Not your fault.

[@GreenShortzDIY]

I think it was just too small. Not enough air volume. A good experiment, if only to know that it won't work. Thank you for the feedback. Thank you for watching.

[@peteroldroyd6935]

bin it and start again !!! this is the worst rocket on u tube