Big rocket stove water heater V2

[@PilotMcbride]

Ease your firing rate after initial heat soak. Fired quite a few steam generators and boilers in my time. The insulation is a good step, but now you need to learn to drive it. You need to adjust heat input to match heat loss + heat absorption. Firing at full bore will out pace heat absorption. Had experience on boilers from a few kWs up to 660MW. It is a bloody good job, don’t sell yourself short mate. Here is a plan, as soon as as you are getting water temp rise, throttle your air inlet damper and control your burn rate and ensure water temp continues to rise. In your job you should have an infrared temp gun yes? If not get one you’ll use it every day for pre-weld heating. Bloody good job! Thanks for posting, keep us in the loop. P.S. fire control will vary during usage, but auto damper control could be developed, YOU have the smarts, trust me.

[@PilotMcbride]

One thing I forgot to mention is that you ask the heated water to flow horizontally. An inclined outlet pipe would reduce the outlet pipe resistance and improve out flow efficiency. Another thought, make up water - got a spare toilet cistern? Hang it beside the tank and plumbing it into the holding tank outlet to heater pipe with a flexible hose. Water level in the cistern would correspond to the water level in the tank. If a water pressure supply was available, even an overhead drum could be used to supply automakeup to the system. Bloody brilliant system but the addition of the insulation launched its efficiency, which can now be utilised by burning less fuel. Hope all this makes sense, one finger typing on the iPhone 😂😂, got arthritis in both thumbs (old fart) 😂😂.

[@Teknopottu]

​​@@PilotMcbrideGreat tips, always handy to hear from someone with lots of experience. Also a huge effort to write all that on one finger. You know, you could connect a wireless bluetooth computer keyboard to your phone to make writing long stuff easier. If you use computer then it does not matter.

[@PilotMcbride]

Thank you for your reply@@Teknopottu . Once you start typing a reply you don't stop 😂. I did the reply laying in bed almost dropping off. Don't think the "Boss" would've appreciated it. Our main computer is 14 years old, don't ask about our phones. We are grandparents looking after 4 grandkids, sadly luxuries like BT addons don't make the essentials list. Thanks again. 👋👋👋

[@paullewis252]

Perhaps he could use something similar to how the automatic chokes work on a car (in the good old days) to control the damper.

[@upnorthandpersonal]

This kind of system (at least the principle) is pretty common here in Finland, and also eastern Europe and parts of Germany at least. In my case, I have a 3000L tank, which is coupled to a wood gasification burner. It is pressurized (with an expansion vessel), and the tank is purely a buffer (the hot water for domestic use is taken out with a heat exchanger). The system also drives the underfloor heating.

[@glumpy10]

I have done a fair bit with thermosyphoning and I can see a Limitation in your system straight off. The outlet pipe comes straight out and then goes up. If you had the outlet come straight out and up without the horizontal piece, you would do a lot better. It would strengthen the thermo syphoning and greatly reduce any boiling. This should be able to be done just by removing the horizontal piece out of the stove and going to the riser from the elbow and then either joining or getting a double length piece at the top. Better still, go at a constant angle with NO horizontal Pipe. 45 out the stove straight into the top of the tank. Despite what the safety zealots and clueless will say, you CAN use reinforced Vinyl tube as it is rated for higher than boiling water temp and the vessel is not sealed. That's what I use and despite going a bit soft, it's more than fine. If you wanted to go over the top, use heater hose. This will make the thermosyphon much stronger and easier for any steam in the boiler to escape up and out and greatly reduce and most probably eliminate the boiling which is obviously NOT a good thing. I would also put a header tank at the top where your overflow is. That will attract heat so insulate it. You would only need a 10mm hole in it to vent steam and limit and heat loss. This is done in a lot of industrial boiler systems with a Cistern valve in the tank. The other thing would be to insulate the stove. When you put sand in it you made a lot of surface area for the heat to radiate to atmosphere. This may be OK if you were trying to heat a living space but is wasted if this is outside. I would also suggest leave the internal of the stove empty but wrap insulation around the outside if you don't want that to act like a radiator. I built a House heater with a waste oil burner heating an old gas spa heater heat exchanger. I had that going into an insulated 200L Drum but this year I am upgrading to a 400L hot water heater. The burner heats the water through the HE, a small circ pump transfers the hot water through a 3/4 hose into a radiator in a box with a fan which draws the air though into the house. I did it this way because there is no chance of fire or water coming in the home and frankly, I din't give a rats about any efficency losses, I am happy with the peace of mind trade off. The burner can go up in flames while I'm asleep as I run it all night, the hoses can leak and put 400+ l of water everywhere and I don't give a damn because it's all outside and far enough away not to matter. That said, last 3 years ran perfect. As a matter of interest, the thermal capacity of taking the 200L of water from 23C to 76 gives you 12.3 KWH of stored thermal energy. If you take that capacity and divide it by the time it took to get there, you get the energy input into the water. 30 Min would be 24.6 KW, 1 Hr would be 12.3. bear in mind an average water heater element is 3600W on that sixe heater so you are doing well. If you WEIGH the amount of timber you put in and measure the heat rise till it is burnt or near enough, you could work out the efficiency you are getting. wood is pretty much universal in BTU content by Weight so you could get a near enough measurement. From what I could deduce from the vid, I would say you are doing pretty well. Real nice build and will be great with a little tweaking.

[@andresecharren2949]

Hace una así vemos. Me interesa mucho

[@Yourgolfplace]

Everything you say makes so much sense and I can see you really know what you are talking about which is really refreshing. I've been trying to work out my system for our off grid cabin and using a wetback as our heat source, is there any way you could do a diagram for me of the ideal system for heating hot water and then using it for showering a kitchen etc as I've been searching for a diagram on how to set up my system but to no avail. Ie where would I put a 12v pump if needed although I'm using a gravity fed system and let off valves. My relief valve is simply a copper pipe out of the top bent over in a u-shape of ca. 300mm. I then plan to video the whole system and share it as including how to use excess solar at a later date to heat the water also. Thanks in advance. Cheers mate

[@KieranShort]

Fantastic result. Heating 200L to 75 in 30 mins is very impressive. It's not an exactly fair comparison but 2x 2400W immersion heaters take 30L of 18C water to 75C in about 15 mins in a steel keg on a cold day where I live.

[@Frankie-c5x]

30 litres and 200. That would be six an two thirds. That would take 28,800 watts. At a cost of. Oh and take 1:30 HR. I'd rather this system. And a bit of wood. Looks a great solution. 😊

[@KieranShort]

@@Frankie-c5x that's my point!

[@GPL1968]

I would say that the sand option would be better than an empty chamber as the thermal mass would heat the room long after the fire is out. As for steam locking, have you considered increasing the pipe diameter to allow a greater flow through the heat exchanger. Most old heating systems I've come across that heat the water cylinder by gravity alone use a fairly large diameter pipe (28mm). Also mounting the header tank as high as possible may help a bit.

[@alaricsnellpym]

Yeah, I think the sand setup needs a longer test to truly shine!

[@totherarf]

With the sand (acting as a battery) you are getting two effects. 1. It will limit the heat going into the water And it will continue to heat the water after the fire is out. 2. It will cause the room it is in to be heated for longer! My experience with gravity fed water heating is not new (1960's domestic coal fires with back boiler) but they were always fed with a larger bore pipe And that pipe always went uphill to the tank / radiator! We would have an "expansion pipe" running from a "T" in the hot going right up to the header tank in the loft (just run looping in to feed the top of the open tank. There would also be a pipe running from the bottom of the header tank to the pipe feeding into the hot water tank. W hen you got the fire on full blast for a few hours you could hear the water boiling and feeding the steam into the header tank. Stories are told of when those pipes blocked up (or weren't installed in the first place) ...... usually involving demolition of an unsafe house after an explosion! ....... Oh the fun we used to have ;o) Back when I was a Scout we had a strange device for water heating. It was a double walled funnel that we filled up with water and put over a wood fire. the flames went up the inside and out of the top and it heated the water extremely quickly. This is just a much more evolved version, and I have to say I'm liking it, I'm liking it a lot! Also the best 3 letters ever used here T. B. C. ;o)

[@frankenstein3163]

I thought the sand was to fine. Bigger grains hold air maybe dual layered sand from fin on the out side and larger grain on inside or even the concept he said with insulation and a sand combo.

[@camaro6810]

First guy I have seen that mentions an "open" system, so many people use wood stoves to heat water tanks and it makes me nervous as they dont take into consideration they are potentially building a bomb. I work in an industry dealing with high pressure boilers daily in an industrial setting. We have controlled water levels and redundant pressure relief options with both automatic and manual controls. Without it being an open system you MUST control water level and you must control pressure constantly.

[@masoudsultani905]

I remember the MythBusters episode about water heaters being a potential bomb. I have a question for you, if you would be so kind to take the time and reply. I'm building something similar with a wood stove (I've shared a diagram of my project, link below). In my case, the water tank is right next to the stove, about two feet above the top of the stove with the heat exchanger coil inside the stove. The tank is not a water heater. I had to custom build a cubic/rectangular tall tank built with 0.7 Millimeter steel sheet which I'm planning to enclose with 1-2 inches wood panels by the way as to avoid the tank bulging out of shape or potentially bursting. I have the cold water inlet running through a 100 ft regular garden hose coming from a faucet in my bathroom (which is on the same floor) where the shower is. The hot water outlet is at the top of the tank and is going the same distance back to the shower head. I use a flexible currogated stainless steel pipes for that. both cold and hot water pipes are running on the floor. The shower head is obviously about 7 ft above the ground and so the hot water has to work its way up that height to the shower head. IT'S AN OPEN SYSTEM. The hot water end, the shower head, is alway open and the cold water faucet will push water into the tank to force the hot water coming off the top of the tank. Will something like this work or is it a safety hazard? photos.app.goo.gl/jAw8iDQvG5mMijuB8

[@camaro6810]

@@masoudsultani905 So you have a continuous flow of water from the garden hose to the shower head? That seems inefficient? If it is an open system and you truly never have potential to build pressure then you shouldn't have an issue, however if you have hard water etc and calcium buildup blocks or impedes flow there is potential to build pressure. Looking at your diagram I would at least still install a pressure relief valve on your water tank, they are cheap and quick/easy to install, just drill a hole in the tank and thread if needed and install. Do some reading on boilers and notice all the components that are necessary and use that as a guide. I cant give advice here to make sure you are safe but on normal boilers you have a method to ensure that there is always water to supply and always a method to relieve pressure, those two items are vitally important, in mythbusters, the issue is that the pressure relief valve on water heaters (which need to be checked regularly for function by lifting the small valve and allowing to discharge, in an industrial setting this is supposed to be done each shift) get blocked or plugged, the element continues to heat up until you reach the max pressure of the enclosure and it ruptures through the bottom, it is building pressure without an escape path until the escape path is the bottom of the vessel and it rockets/blows up. You should install a pressure relief valve at least on the water supply tank and make sure that there is no way to block in the garden hose or block in the shower head, either actions will cause serious problems. On a commercial boiler it would have a constant water supply piped in and a device similar to a toilet fill valve that will open when water level drops below a predetermined height in the tank. This would also allow he water to get hotter than if it is a direct flow through the tank, into the stove, and out the showerhead, if your piping into the stove is not sized correctly that can also be an issue, as the woods stove could heat the water and remove level faster than the hose can supply, effectively starving the system of water and creating issues. You also may have an issue with the water supply tank, hot water outlet to the shower head, that position can be an issue. I would do more google searches and see other systems and read the boiler code which is available free online. There is a lot to designing a safe reliable boiler system, just dont want you to create something that is dangerous. There is more to it but it is a lot to discuss and type out. Thermodynamics and thermal syphon seems simple but supply lines need to be sized correctly, water source needs to be reliable, pressure has to be regulated and allowed to escape if it exceeds design pressure, there is a reason that there are explosions from water heaters and pressure canners, look up how much water expands when changing state to from liquid to steam and you will see the power we are talking about. Good luck

[@masoudsultani905]

@@camaro6810 Thank you so much for taking the time. Couple of points that you've mentioned that I want to clarify: • you: "So you have a continuous flow of water from the garden hose to the shower head? That seems inefficient?" • me: If you mean the water is constantly flowing through the system, then the answer is No. cold water is coming from a faucet that I will open whenever I need to use the shower. The cold water will go through the garden hose and into the tank to push hot water out of the top of the tank. The heat exchanger coil will take water from the buttom of the tank, and the natural convection will push it back to the tank. so the water coming from the cold faucet and going back to the shower will go through the tank and NOT the heat exchanger, i.e there will always be water inside the tank. The heat exchanger is also a closed loop and cold water outlet and hot water inlet of the heat exchanger on the tank are both below the water level as to prevent getting steam instead of hot water inside the tank. • you: "if you have hard water etc and calcium buildup blocks or impedes flow there is potential to build pressure" • me: I've considered that. Fortunately I don't have hard water and I always chech the piping system in my house for scale buildup inside pipes. For this project, I will also make sure that the pipes don't get blocked. • you: "I would at least still install a pressure relief valve on your water tank, they are cheap and quick/easy to install, just drill a hole in the tank and thread if needed and install" • me: I've also considered installing a PRV in cold water inlet on the tank coming from the cold water faucet. QUESTION: I was considering installing a redundant PRV on another port on the tank just in case the main PRV fails. Will this work? or there just needs to be one PRV? • you: "You also may have an issue with the water supply tank, hot water outlet to the shower head, that position can be an issue." • me: I would appreciate if you could elaborate on that or at least nudge me into the right direction as to where I can get some information. But getting advice from someone with experience such as yourself is obviously much better. Don't worry I will do my own homework and take your advice with a grain of salt. • you: " Thermodynamics and thermal syphon seems simple but supply lines need to be sized correctly, water source needs to be reliable, pressure has to be regulated and allowed to escape if it exceeds design pressure, there is a reason that there are explosions from water heaters and pressure canners, look up how much water expands when changing state to from liquid to steam and you will see the power we are talking about" • me: Considering the above point, do I still need to worry about the pressure building up?! Another question I have is, if the water inside the tank reaches the boiling point, what would happen inside the tank? will the water expansion be able to escape through the shower head? what about steam? The tank is completely filled with water and there is no empty space at the top of the tank for steam to get trapped. I will make sure of that by tilting the tank a little to the side so the side with hot water outlet towards the shower head is always an inch or two higher than the other side.

[@camaro6810]

@@masoudsultani905 There will be no issues installing additional PRVs, I would rather have redundancy than a potential failure. If you think there is a spot for an additional PRV I would add it, its cheap insurance. I would make sure if you only do one, it is at least for sure on the water supply tank, that is essentially your HWH and rather than a heating element you are using a stove, check it regularly, on a HWH you pipe the PRV down to a drain so that if it relieves it doesnt discharge super hot water all over your mechanical room/shed or wherever you will have this device. Hot water outlet piping to shower head, my point is, it has to be positioned correctly so that you arent essentially short circuiting the heating, you could potentially be sending water to the shower head that has not had the opportunity to warm sufficiently, I cant tell from your drawing how it will actually be installed in the house/shed/shop etc. But its something to consider when you build it, heights, head pressure etc. You want the water to enter the holding tank, have enough time to adequately heat the water via thermal syphon, but not boil and then travel the length to your shower head and exit. Just something to consider. Also obviously your harden hose should supply a higher GPM than your shower head...that should be obvious and most places do, but I have a cabin with well that is 60ft deep, it is sufficient but is not nearly as much as a city water supply, I may be pulling 5-6gpm from my pump, most shower heads are like 1.5gpm or thereabouts, my point is (and you should be fine) you dont want to starve the system because your shower head is a copper tube or something homemade that has a higher GPM than your supply. Again, should be obvious but I'm just trying to make sure you are considering everything and I dont know exactly what your setup is, it could be totally homemade for all I know. The potential pressure build up in the water holding tank is why you want a PRV there for sure. My point for your consideration regarding the water holding tank is that you have to supply the tank with adequate water from the garden hose, and consider the size/flow from the garden hose, the size of the tubing going to the stove for heat up and the supply line size to your shower head. Also the distance comes into play. If your piping size from the harden hose is too small, and your heat source too hot, and your water supply tank too small, you could potentially boil off your water and lose level in the water supply tank, then if you reintroduced water to a scalding hot water tank or tubing in the stove it would flash and could cause an explosion, or crack your tubing in the stove and leak all over everything. There are two things that are most important in boilers, you always have one or multiple PRV that are functional (checked regularly) and you ALWAYS HAVE A WATER SUPPLY THAT IS RELIABLE. If you always ensure those two things you avoid 90% of problems. IN addition to that I dont know what you are making the water holding tank out of, what gauge it is, size, dimensions etc. Always keep the tubes full of water, never introduce water to already hot stove coils, it will take time for the water to heat up and the thermal syphon to start to work, it will sputter at first as a mix of steam and hot water burps back to the holding tank and depending on how large the tank is, it will take time to heat it up enough to take a shower, also the temp of the water coming in, how hard it has to work to heat up say 60gal holding tank for instance, and then how long you take a shower and how many gpm your shower head is, there is a reason people run out of hot water by the time the 3rd kid takes a shower. You can experiment with your system, like said always have PRV, check it regularly, make sure if it does discharge it is to someplace safe, and make sure you always have a reliable water supply, make sure you when you are not taking a shower and the shower head is closed, that if you still run the stove for heat, that you arent boiling off the water in the tank because you also have the garden hose off, dont introduce water to an already scalding hot water tank and stove tubing, that is why most boilers have a water supply that is regulated to maintain a level in the drum, similar to a toilet shut off valve for the toilet tank (that principle). The rest will come down to how you have it installed in the house/cabin etc. and that can be tweaked to increase efficiency, but to be safe the main focus should be PRV and water supply always available so you dont boil off and starve the supply tank. Also as to scale from water, in the winter sometimes since its dry we are on municipal city water in town and if we boil a pot of water on the stove for a day to increase humidity in the house, you can still see slight scale form on the bottom of the pot, and that is from city supply, so it is always there, just something to consider. . Also consider a drain at the lowest point of the heating coils to drain when stove is off and service if need be. All just late night rambling thinking off the top of my head, like I said, cover your bases for the basics and safety, tweak if needed a bit depending on your actual layout design in place and that cant be seen on your schematic.

[@masoudsultani905]

​​@@camaro6810 UPDATE: disregard previous comments. I've modified my system and built exactly the same thing in the video. The only difference is that I've hooked up the hot water outlet at the top to a pipe that goes towards a shower head (which is always open, so it's a open system). Should I be worried about the water inside the water heater tank reaching boiling temperature and continue boiling?! Will it be able to escape from the shower head?! I've added two PRV to the tank too. Is my set up safe if the water boils inside the tank?! Thanks.

[@jeffsmith5084]

Loved the build and the test. In my view the dampness in the sand has kinda spoiled that part of the test. Heating it will try to boil off the water first and restrict sand temp to 100 C or less until its dry. I think it will be worth trying properly dry sand if you want the thermal battery effect. Good to see chooks and family still included 🙂

[@Tony-op6xf]

You’ve done a great service to humanity with your experiment / creation. Bravo!!

[@pendarischneider]

Full marks. I was worried for a while this device would not be properly agricultural, but you got there with the tie wires! Full fencing wire is the gold standard but some wire is good enough. ✅ Suggestion: in the full install with the cold water reservoir at height as proposed you can run the pressure relief pipe so it drains into the top of that reservoir (not needed really but a lot neater); and, on the question of insulation, there is a potential sweat spot with partial insulation. The steam locking may be less of a problem with insulation on the outside of the cavity, or just the top half. Also, just like @PU-hi6tg, you could consider putting a one way valve in the return line at the bottom so steam has less ability to push back. From my perspective the system should be optimised to heat the water (i.e., insulation around the heating section), there is plenty of heat radiating from the rest of the unit to keep the shed warm.

[@geremywinters8186]

Steve, could you fit a much longer feed chute so one could load longer sticks ? ie. pallet wood. This would mean fewer reloads... Great work, its an awesome product!

[@MelbLastboyscout]

I thought of this as well, but you also run the risk of creating a second chimney.

[@royevetts4900]

as a plumber that used to work on open and closed hw systems, you've done a good job. If you intend to raise your cold feed tank, you will need to raise the open vent up and over the cold feed tank, the hot water off take would normally be taken off the vent, but as you technically do not have any temperature control on your heat source...I wouldn't do that. The cold feed will become the expansion for the storage tank. You will need to raise the open vent at least 600mm above the cold feed tank because as you know water expands as it heats. You will learn about parasitic circulation as you put your pipework into practice. Just a thought, check out back boilers...if you intend putting sand around your fire box.....you could put your circs at the rear and use 25mm primary circs for your thermosiphon.

[@jasonburguess]

You have to run both the input line from the tank and the output line at the bottom of opposite sides, the coldest water will be most dense, so make the output from the stove aprox 2.5 cm above the input drain. The hot water will rise through yhe water column and heat the surrounding water. Keep the sand as this will improve efficiency, but only over longer time scales, run a hot fire for 6-8rs as if you were heating in the arctic, and the water and sand will reach an equilibrium temperature and then hold it for a longer period of time. Also, if you utilize an up to down to up organization of the exhaust side of the rocket stove, the reversal in direction will allow for more surface area for sand, and thus hold a higher temperature of sand and therefore water. Add an oil drip function for burning waste vegetable oil and motor oil as a fuel, and you will have a machine that would be worth 10k$ in alaska. Great work and thanks for your videos

[@troythebikeguy925]

All I can say is OUTSTANDING. Outstanding welding, outstanding explanation of what your doing and your an outstanding Aussie having a red hot go. I'm keen to see a version 3 as I can tell your not 100% happy and when you sell them put my name down (seriously). I have a little property north of Newcastle and plenty of timber lol.

[@gonsalomon]

I just love how you go for "well, getting married was probably the best thing that happened to me" and make this so relatable (got married like 5 months ago)

[@gonsalomon]

By the way, heating a first fraction of water first works like flux in soldering, sorta. Makes it easier to heat the big chunk in the tank

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Congrats 🎉

[@mrpants8976]

if you used a thermal sync like filling it with sand, would it make it be a smoother for the transition of the heat so you dont have the steam issue you are talking about? you could possibly then have a larger pipe run that can absorb the heat, if i am not totally wrong

[@emceh]

I think you use wrong piping - for gravity assisted warming pipes should be sized 1" or more (I use 1.25" fittings) - this would let you go back to bigger heat exchanger without generating steam. This would lead to less wood usage and maybe even shorten tank heating up.

[@babaluto]

With regards to insulating the riser, consider using a polished finish on the inside surface of the cover while leaving the space empty. You seem to have a perfect scenario for an infrared barrier. Would be keen on purchasing a set of plans for this one. Am currently building an off-grid home. It has a thermally insulated slab with radiant pipes for the main sink amongst other buffers. Great work! Cheers!

[@markcollins457]

I have been in the boiler business for over 40yrs here in the US and the higher stack temperature is needed to facilitate a good draft. Ideally a lower stack temperature is efficient when using a power burner running on oil or gas. As a stand alone atmospheric wood boiler this is a great system and the sand as a thermal battery is good idea.

[@terrym1293]

Really nice. Plan on building one to heat my pool. Definitely will put into use what I have learned here. Thanks a bunch.

[@bigdaddy741098]

30 minutes to heat from cold and you still have hot water the next day? Wow that's awesome.

[@LimitedGunnerGM]

13:32 I made a traditional rocket heater that recycled the exhaust back down and around the burn chamber then out. This created a problem: it pulled too much heat out and then condensation. I needed the extra heat to maintain the draft. It always made a puddle at the junction between the rocket heater and the chimney. You are spot on about the extra heat needed on the exhaust.

[@LimitedGunnerGM]

30:24 have you tried elevating the reservoir and having the hot side circulate in at the bottom and out at the top. This may create a thermosiphon and keep the water constantly circulating. Thus preventing the “steam lock”.

[@ArosIrwin]

Could you increase the diameter of the water pipes to fix the steam lock problem? More cold water = more heat needed to boil it to steam = you can keep the insulation and convert the wood into hot water more efficiently. Would the increased volume of water slow down the initial warming to the point where the efficiency gains of the insulation were cancelled out?

[@deangray430]

Hi, been watching your builds for a while now, your workmanship is next level. I build a hot tub heater because there very expensive to heat on electric. I used stainless steel pipe due to chlorine in the water. It’s a fully pumped system with flow control valves. I can heat the hot tub to 40c in around 3 hours using old wood as fuel❤

[@jds653q]

Thanks for putting in all the work and time! I learn a lot with every video.

[@PU-hi6tg]

Good ! Try using a check valve

[@pappyman179]

Came for the rocket stuff, love the family interaction in your videos.

[@cameronsheeran7472]

Fantastic design and work,in my system I have the tank at a height above your rocket heater outlet this forces thermal syphon. My 90 litre closed system boils in about an hour on red box chips. Still loving your vids and awesome engineering.

[@mikeconnery4652]

Outstanding build and the sand battery sounds like a great idea.

[@itsamindgame9198]

We used to have a Crown wood burning oven with water jackets and a 600L tank plumbed in. It was also an open system by the top pipe extended about 9 feet up with a 45 degree bend near the top. When we heard VERY isolated rain on the roof we knew the tank was boiling. Damp sand can soak up and store an incredible amount of energy. One issue is that the heat in the sand will still escape through the outside wall (hence you could feel it was hot) whereas the insulation doesn't let the heat out, but also doesn't store any energy to keep the heating going after the fire goes out. Sand in the cavity, insulation wrapped around the outside - that is the configuration that would probably get the most out of it. It wouldn't look as nice, though.

[@jamesspry3294]

Mate, I'm impressed! You've come up with a good practical user-friendly design. I want one! I've got a spare electric HWS storage unit, just like yours, and I've been trying to figure out how to have hot showers at my camping area. (We live on a farm...) You've solved my problems! All I need to do is work out how to stop the cows from scratching their bums on it... 🤔

[@Charles-bj7qu]

Thank you for your mindset. I try to figure out what is best for the day or the situation. Keep up the great thinking process. You got it going on.

[@ramnereds]

Older buildings, especially farm houses here in Sweden often have old water heating systems. The rule for dimensions is 2 inch pipe between the stove and the tank and 1 inch pipe from the tank to the radiators. No electricity or pump needed. Open system just like yours. Maybe the pipes are a bit thin? Nice build, this one and other. 🙂

[@hillfurnishings]

I was wondering if a significantly larger diameter pipe on the cold side inlet would help…. More volume would be harder to steam so quickly ?…

[@Khitiara_]

fun fact a lot of electric water heaters heat the top mainly, and then once the water at the top is hot they start heating the bottom! doesnt matter if youre only heating the water at the top if thats where your tap is after all

[@andyl3361]

A lot of large electric element hot water heaters have two elements especially if it is an twin tariff (off peak electricity) storage heater. one mounted high up (top third of the heater) and that is called the boost element, the second element is mounted at the bottom of the tank. The element that is used most of the time is the bottom off peak element and heats the whole tank, it only comes on during off peak electricity hours. The boost element will come on only if you run out of hot water during peak electricity hours and only heats up the top third of the heater.

[@RogerKeulen]

@@andyl3361 Or with combination of solar. Tank will be heated fully with to mutch solar. When water is needed and not hot enough the upper element is used. Most of the times they have even a heat exchanger in it for drinking water.

[@julienvailles2986]

Very nice design, thanks! I want to have a similar build but I'll use it to heat my existing open-vented central heating system. I have a 60L tank which is heating up by an oil Sorrn, similar to Aga, Irish version. I would need a pump to circulate the water. Do you think it's a good idea? Thanks!

[@Smallathe]

Awesome project and very impressive work done. I hope you get to sell many of these :) As a biologist - side note on your "killing bacteria temperature comment": Bacteria start dying at 42C, but proteins loose their structure at 72C and above (which is why we drop items hotter than 72C by reflex) so yes, you are right - 72C is the goal. That being said - give it some extra heat if possible. Get it to 85C and you will be safer. Even at 85C - just reaching it is not enough - it takes time to kill ALL the bacteria. So you need to run it for 15-30minutes to be sure (that is, your bottom container water temperature needs to get there for that amount of time). That's why boiling at ~100C is ideal for this reason (the higher the temperature, the less time is needed to make sure they are dead). Hope this makes sense...

[@LittleAussieRockets]

That is some great insight thank you so much.

[@ballenf]

Awesome! Would a spinning flow indicator in the bottom pipe be helpful? Help you see how fast the water is siphoning.

[@hillfurnishings]

Awesome mate. I’m playing with rocket stoves too and trying to generate hot water. Very interesting seeing how you’re doing it and really nice fabrication too. I wish someone could see mine and give me tips how I could improve it..

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

Those FIVE holes on the side of the burn chamber are allowing "secondary air" to enter, increasing the combustion efficiency. Good on you!

[@paullewis252]

A very interesting and informative video. One question regarding transferring the water to the shower/sink. If it's an open system, how do you get the water to the destination and mix it to a suitable temperature? I am thinking about doing a project like this, but my system is (electric) mains pressure, but I'm not keen on relying on my battery storage to power the HWS. I do take on board your warning about connecting this to a pressured system though. Keep up the great work!

[@UncleTroll85]

I think if it was in a cabin or something like that, you'd run it for room heating too. In that case the sand would be the go because it'd have plenty of time to build up the heat in the mass and hold it for overnight room heating, much like the traditional rocket mass heaters do without causing the steam lock issue that happened with the insulation.

[@samrolfe2563]

Used to have this system on our farm 50 years ago now - now power or water. Only change I would make is put this heater in my house so I don't have to go outside and it heats the room - olden days are back. We used to cook on it as well.

[@Leo99929]

The insulation worked better than the sand because the sand is more thermally conductive, so it effectively increases the surface area available to radiate that heat from, where as the insulation reduces it. You would need to insulate the outside of the sand to get the benefit from it, but if it's not getting above water temp then it's no better than the same volume of water would have been. Water has about three times the energy storage capacity per unit volume up until over 100°C.

[@philthy5690]

What I was gonna say. Without insulating the sand you're losing heat to radiation. But if you're looking for heating speed, directly insulating the riser is idea, but if you want it to hold the heat you *do* get for longer, sand + exterior insulation.

[@Leo99929]

@@philthy5690 True, and then water has more specific heat capacity than sand up until the sand reaches 316°C, which might steam lock your heat exchanger. Bigger pipes with fewer bends would help with flow rate and reduce the flash boiling issue.

[@nicholasthon973]

Is that a heated space? If not: Do you fear the pipe freezing when not in use?

[@Siouxperman]

Yes sand holds thermal heat ridiculously long. It’s great, also look up Dakota Style fires. Your wood feed looks almost like it. If you were to modify it a tad bit more, the water heater would heat up in half the time.

[@brouwerification]

U could install an over pressure valve in combination with an expansion barrel to be able to pressurise. I’m looking to combine multiple systems including floor heating which will need a bit of pressure. Thoughts?

[@brouwerification]

Nevermind ure not even using a pump or spiral Amazing

[@brouwerification]

The exit needs to be minimum 70 degrees Celsius cause of draft and buildup of the bad stuff on the inside of your pipes

[@Palinkat]

Baby got big!!!!, great to see you back!!!

[@wadebrewer7212]

I bet....insulation with a lowered draft....this would solve a few problems if it worked right. Improved thermal to water....and less fuel consumption. Would be interesting to see it as an experiment. Thank you for sharing and yes...superb welds my friend. Some of us could only dream of fabricating like that. Well done.

[@calholli]

I think you should just build your tank around the rocket stove.. or build the stove into the tank. Just like a gas water tank works: the fire is at the bottom and the heat escapes through a tube in the center and there's baffles all through it. I think you should just put a rocket stove underneath that setup and let it exhaust the same way. I think it should be strong enough to withstand the fire. That will do away with the need for the pipes. Just design your rocket stove to slip under any gas powered water heater so that it can exhaust up through the middle, just the same.. that's how I would do it. Then your stove design would be so much more useful for people to buy... this is absolutely what I'll be doing in the future. lol thanks for the inspiration

[@banyantree8618]

A thermette design?

[@calholli]

@@banyantree8618 Yep.. exactly like that.

[@pappyman179]

For those that want a forced water system, a peltier device (or four) could use the waste exhaust heat to power a tiny water pump to avoid the steam bubble issue and circulate the water. The delta temp of the stove pipe and ambient would be a couple hundred C at least. A nice side-effect would be that as the thermal delta diminishes (stove is cooling), the pump stops circulating warm water into a cold stove. The resulting current is pretty small, so you'd need a few in parallel to boost the current for a tiny pump. You could also power the pump with batteries, and charge the batteries with the peltier device. The same goes for a super-cap. Edit: Apparently, the normal max temp of a hobby peltier device is around 70 C, so one side on the out-water and the other side using a big heatsink at ambient would be most efficient for that peltier device. If the water approaches boiling, the pump would move the water before it could turn to steam. The TEG (Thermal Electric Generator) type will operate at much higher temps as above.

[@ile84]

I thought you would've chosen glass wool for insulation, but that coconut stuff works too, since it should not get so hot as to burn it, even if it does you would see it get black at first, but I doubt it. Some engineers are especially safety people will demand otherwise :D I was thinking if you were to soak the insulation with lye (calcium oxide/hydroxide solution) water, would it get "concreted" a bit that would bring more fire safety in it are probably some heat retaining properties, albeit miniscule at that.

[@davidliebenberg6412]

Definitely interested in what you do, love how far you've come, keep the content going!

[@jonathanking6546]

Great video. I am going to build a similar water heating system and I will use sand batteries and in floor heat. I like the idea of the open system so it won’t explode. I am going to use your idea of having a tank to feed the system, and I will install a simple water float on the cool side . I want to use solar water heater panels too and heat my greenhouse and try to grow year round. I am also considering heating an area around my trees to hopefully get a little earlier start in spring with excess heat. I don’t know exactly how heating under the trees will work, but I once had a cast iron ball that I was told was used to burn under trees to prevent frost from damaging them. I have never forgotten that idea although I have never heard anyone else mention that. Anyway, I want to be able to live off grid and leave one of my nephews a place where they can live cheap and will have a well equipped shop. I almost have everything I have ever wanted, except a young healthy body to continue to be able to work. Getting old sucks.

[@chookchook5600]

Well done mate, keep it up. love your work and your ethics of life.

[@leifsimmons2464]

Have you thought about using exhaust wrap for insulation?

[@t.h.o.r.]

awesome thumbnail- This vid will go well

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks mate.👍 One of these days I'll get over to New Zealand and say g'day in person.

[@t.h.o.r.]

@@LittleAussieRockets 20K- told you it looked sharp. whats your click through ratio? 5%?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

@t.h.o.r. good guessing it's 5%😅

[@t.h.o.r.]

@@LittleAussieRockets You will not get higher than that without scantlly clad women on the thumbnail. Try a chicken.

[@ToxicMrSmith]

Man seems so happy with his setup. I can't wait until he discovers endless gas hot water. It will probably transcend him to a higher state of being.

[@Teknopottu]

What do you mean? Any links on that?

[@rickryle1555]

They were great until dumb people got a hold of them. All those insta gas showers are now limitted in tempe. Mine gets to 46c and cuts out. We are now in winter and it SUX!!!

[@davidprocter3578]

Would one of those heavy rubber balls you buy at the pet shop for your dog work as a non block pressure relief valve just sitting on top of your pressure/expansion vent. just a thought.. Also by adding a flared out top to your boiler jacket and adding insulation to the outside of the jacket this would give a hot plate for cooking and help lower the extra heat provided by the insulation providing some functional duality

[@eriklondon2946]

LOVED this video. Ok 7 video ideas for you. 2 Business idea. 1. Use a Stirling engine attached to the top of the rocket stove to propel/power a water pump, to not have the boiling water in the stove issue (as you said was an issue with the insulation). 2. With a "J" shaped rocket stove, could you make the exhaust part a large corkscrew? So you would still have the bottom feeding tube be the same, but the corkscrew part would enable more of the heat exchange as the exhaust would be spending more time-sharing its heat with the cold water pipe. Rather than it quickly leaving the top of the stove. I know this isn't easy, just an idea. It may be good to use a car exhaust pipe for this, but maybe not. I'm no expert. Also could you make the Stove taller to give the stove more space to convert the burned wood to usable heat? 3. To have multiple water heaters in succession, say 2-3 of them. As the first one boils over, that water could then go into the 2nd or 3rd one as an overflow so as to not lose the excess hot water. This idea needs some more thinking on how best to do this. 4. Could you put a rocket stove "into" a Water heater and have the exhaust go up the preexisting natural gas exhaust pipe? It would look the same minus the gas pipe and have there be a feeding tube for the wood. It would obviously be a wise idea to build a way to empty out the ashes from the previous day's fire. 5. Get a laser thermometer to measure the waste heat coming out of the top of stove. 6. "Cold exhaust" as you had mentioned is a good idea, as long as you can use it energy from the previous heat to create more 'up suck' by using a momentum or heat based motor like a sterling engine to power a pump or fan that blows out the exhaust. A "roof turbine" commonly used passive system on roofs in North America to exhaust out unwanted attic heat could also be an idea. 7. Do Idea #1 with other bigger channels like *Just Have a Think* as he was an episode about Stirling engines, and I believe is an engineer or *Smarter EveryDay* or *Backyard Scientist* . The collaborations are big wins for both parties. 1+1=3 You each can have your own record of the processes and have your own videos, that invite the viewer to watch the other's channel too. Business Ideas: 1. Once you get some of these ideas worked out better, you should see if you could sell them, as other people find it fun to think through too. 2. Look into Minect, I have used it 1-2x as a way to directly reach out to people who run big shows, and it worked. It is fun for us, and it pays you.

[@recklessroges]

Would it break the lock if the cold pipe arrived from below the heating chamber and went upwards, straight up the top and back to the tank, reducing the internal friction?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

That might help, it certainly worth looking into

[@jasonng6360]

Maybe make an overflow reservoir at the top much like those connected to a car’s radiator, should help keep the setup cleaner and safer.

[@kennedymuchoki5208]

Impressive. Will use a similar ideology for milk pasteurizer.

[@KieranShort]

One more thing. You need a prototyping version of your arrive with thermowell ports all over it to take real-time template measurements throughout the system. Chamber temp, sand temp, inlet temp, outlet temp, etc etc.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

I only just found this comment. That would be pretty epic actually.

[@KieranShort]

@@LittleAussieRockets cheers... my swipe text on my phone sucks. you probably translated "arrive" to "stove"..

[@robertpoynton9923]

I think I know the answer to this question but would like to hear your answer so I can offer a solution. Why not have everything insulated and have a recirculation pump so that you don't get a steam lock?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

It's the off-grid EMP no electricity proverbial pop hit the fan scenario setup, that requires no electricity.

[@robertpoynton9923]

@@LittleAussieRockets one solution would be a peltier device. It uses heat differential to create electricity. You could use it on the side of the rocket stove and when it gets hot the pump would turn on automatically. No solar, battery required. That way you could have insolation in the unit and it would be super efficient.

[@mrglasecki]

4-8" of sand on the outside will keep the water from lowering the combination temperature

[@Leo99929]

Water has a higher specific heat capacity than sand. Sand thermal batteries work well when they're allowed to get well above the temperatures at which water is no longer a liquid and you have pressure issues to consider.

[@grilsegrils9330]

How much firewood does it take to reach some goal temperature?

[@devjoshi929]

I personally love the family men doing what they love and enjoying the process. Good work man. Your video inspires me to do things which I love. God bless you and family. Be happy and stay healthy. Sincerely Your one online fan.

[@tdimccullough]

to get the best out of the insulated setup a pump thermostatically controlled would be needed

[@Yourgolfplace]

Great video mate, I just couldn't see what you outlet was or where it was going. Is there any chance you could post a diagram of this. Thanks Mate. Cheers

[@darrenvail8726]

Could a water pump help to speed up flow so steam cannot form?

[@sshutupurface8345]

so lifting the tank and creating more pressure on the infeed, won't that stop it boiling because its going in faster

[@henryknox1186]

Have you tried a heat exchanger water tank?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Now I haven't, not sure how common something like that would be in my area

[@waynethomas3638]

Just a tip - when securing with wire or cable ties(if they are long enough) wrap around twice before twitching.

[@johnmarsden7687]

Fascinating stuff. I would like to see you test Sand inside the box (for thermal mass) and insulation around the outside of the box (keep the Thermal mass warm and not a heat sink to the room temp)

[@GeorgeLee85]

how about you swap the inlet and outlet water pipes, so that the bottom water is heated up first? Will that improve the water cycle？

[@brandonhelsley2969]

U r a awesome and amazing welder and engineer love ur videos. Question for u have u ever tried corn cobs or other fuels just wondering

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Thanks mate 🙂 That's a great idea I'm going to try that.

[@Dini-jf5bt]

Very cool video, I’m new to welding and you give me inspiration. Thank you for all you do.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@charvais]

Could the wood feed chamber be longer so that long pieces of wood could be used, that would mean less time replenishing the wood? ?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

It is something that I could experiment with, I'm always wary of making it too long because you end up with a competing riser for hot air to travel in the wrong direction.

[@charvais]

Put the air regulator on the side nearer the bottom maybe? with a solid hinged lid at the top...

[@erjoukyrie2365]

Can you put a basket -or something- whit water over the top of the chimney, just for collect all the heat that you are losing?

[@markcollins457]

The insulation as opposed to the sand really depends what you can use the excess heat for.

[@ksp20199]

Hi was wondering if your rocket stove would work on heating a hot tub as I'm building a wood fired hot tub and would love to use a rocket stove as heats water fast

[@LittleAussieRockets]

This rocket stove is really good when hooked up to an insulated tank because of the low volume of water that circulates through it, I have tried hooking similar stoves up to hot tubs and they just don't have enough power to heat that much water in an uninsulated container. For a hot tub with an open top you really want something that can heat water at a higher flow rate in order to get all of that water through the system.

[@ksp20199]

Could summit be made for that volume

[@danielrichardson1210]

Amazing job, liked your work! The air chamber seem to work better in not transmitting heat out. What about using a super white paint inside the outer skin, for reflection of the IR back to the working part of the system? Barium sulfate, check the "Tech Ingredients" video on the subject

[@luimackjohnson302]

Amazing! I need several of these for our people in the villages in our area Thank you for sharing this video Greetings from Madang Papua New Guinea!

[@rachelledellavecchia4951]

Hey wantok, blessings. I remember many a day with cold showers when living in PNG as a pikinini because the power would go out and it was cold in Mendi. Its been 30 years since then though. I think off grid stuff would go awesome in PNG though. We have a biogas toilet here in WA on our "hobby farm" and in summer we can cook one meal a day.

[@luimackjohnson302]

@@rachelledellavecchia4951 Thenkyu tru wantok, gutpela long save olsem yu ino lus tingting yet long tok pisin. Thenkyu gen na God Bless. Greetings ikam long Madang, Papua New Guinea.

[@luimackjohnson302]

@@rachelledellavecchia4951 Thats great & awesome to use alternate, green technology & off grid systems. The more people using these systems will help keep the world temperature below 1.5 degree and save our mother earth for our children & our grand children. We all need to think globally & act locally! Thank you.

[@rachelledellavecchia4951]

@@luimackjohnson302 me save long tok pisin long harim em. Tasol tokim pisin I no gut. I mostly talked English while in PNG for the almost 3 years in the early 90s. My parents were missionarys, so I went to church where only tok pisin was spoken and was immersed in daily life surrounded by native speakers. I did home-schooling in English but had some native playmates. I understand listening like i understand English as I learnt the language as a child it is hard to described but I struggle to talk as it has been so long. I remember some choruses and hymns in tok pisin and sang them to my youngest when she was a baby. She's the only one fascinated by other languages and music. I would love to got back to PNG to visit, I miss the people and the land. The culture has very much shaped my identity, how I mothered my children, my love of rain water, my deep love of being self sustainable and being connected to the land. God Bless and Peace.

[@luimackjohnson302]

@@rachelledellavecchia4951 Gutpela tru long harim yu gen! Yes, there is more to life than it meets the eyes. Thank you for living sustainably! Thank you for still remembering Papua New Guinea the land you grew up in and thank you for the kind words regarding the country. Yes, like other countries we do have law & order problems but I hope & pray that successive governments will address those issues and also inject more funding into using solar photovoltaic power systems, solar thermal- hydrogen- hybrid power systems & geo- thermal- hydrogen hybrid power systems to supply grid- power to our people across Papua New Guinea. I hope to visit Australia's flow battery factory in Brisbane soon as I believe thats the way in storing energy and storing energy in thermal batteries for grid power and community use. It is green, clean energy and the way to go to support electric proplusion in electric cars, electric boats, electric aircrafts, electric cargo drones & hydrogen propulsion systems. The Almighty God said those who harm the earth will be destroyed! We need t think globally and act locally. You are always welcome to visit Papua New Guinea again. Thank and May God Bless you and Bless your family in Australia. Your wantok.

[@benetra]

9:37 Assuming you did heat all 200l of water from 20°C to 76°C in half an hour would mean your stove transfers 26 kW to the water. Further assuming an efficiency of 50% you should have burned approximately 5kg of wood.

[@briankeithwood]

Larger pipes to move water faster?

[@garymcburnett4570]

good video, have you ever thought of building a rocket stove adapter for and existing wood burner, in other words that would bolt on the side of wood burner ,there are a few you tube videos on this item they would probable sell good,i'm going to build one for myself to burn wood pellets or wood chips gravity feed, jus a thought from sweet home Alabama USA

[@freman]

my sister is going to want this for her pool :D could you instead of having one giant all the way around heating chamber maybe have 2 heating chambers? split the input, heat two portions of water separately and merge the output. Might save you from the steam problem while doubling your heat capture

[@janmittele8213]

stirling engine for powering the pump?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Definitely I'd love to look into a Sterling engine build at some point.

[@janmittele8213]

@@LittleAussieRockets or maybe a steam engine would be much better

[@RogerKeulen]

Still can't understand why you do not want to use a pump. Think a 25 Watt / 12v aquarium pump would make a huge difference. The water just has to move a little bit. Also thicker pipe will give you less surface area compared to the volume of water. As long it runs on a normal car battery for a couple of days you will be fine.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

23:35 FIRE risk? Paper ignites at 451°F and coconut coir can't be much different. Your pipe is full of water (not steam) and will get no hotter than the water. The T&P (temperature & pressure) valve on the tank is a single-use device calibrated to release at 212°F or 180 psig. No fire dangers here!

[@juliussigurorsson3509]

What comes to my mind, in stead of sand and insulation. Water is great thermal mass keeper. So in the same reservoir tank, have second system that feeds water jacket, basically make the camber that did hold the sand, hold water and make lower level heating system. Like you said, only the top part of the large tank is hot, but if you heat the bottom part as secondary heater, more BTUs are brought to the system as an whole? So current system would take hot water from 1/3rd from the bottom and enter at the top, while the water jacket system takes water from the bottom and gives it out 2/3 from the bottom? Or even better, have second tank that is heated by the water jacket, and feed the primary system from the secondary system, so when you use the hot water, and fresh water comes in to the system, it is not cold water, but warm.

[@ElTelBaby]

@ 7:05 U need 2 google search 4 a ... "Thermal Expansion Coefficient At Different Temperature Calculator" Or it... Can B expressed as V = 1/p = V/m V = Specific Volume ( m cube ) p = density m = mass of units Start temperature of 1 litre at 20'C To 60'C Will expand by around 0.01544 (This depends on the hardness of water) It will B way easier than me trying 2 explain it all in full... ... Basically 1 litre of water at a starting Temperature of x will expand x amount when it reaches a target temperature...

[@thomasvnl]

You could add a thermostatic valve with a (high temperature) feeler on the pipe going to the stove, a bit like what the electric thermostat does but with essential difference that it is entirely mechanical based. Just set it to 80 degrees centigrade and it will close off the "cold" water supply, which should prevent the circulation. Just a waste of the heat of the rocket stove of course, not entirely different from what you have now, but with safety built-in.

[@LittleAussieRockets]

That's not a bad idea. Cheers

[@J9_j3]

i wonder, if having a thermal mass (sand) and heating that to it's max and THEN use cold flow-through the stove/sand water (no heated stand by tank at all) as a instant/on-demand water heater. perhaps heat exchanger might need to be changed to be more of a coil type to have more contact with the sand. interesting how long that setup would last, in the sense how much hot water you get out of it from a single firing and single heat charge of sand mass in the stove jacket? Also to make that equation more complicated and possibly more efficient and more off-grid - use solar heater as a separate system to keep supply 'pre-heated' and then send it through the sand mass to bring it up to heat faster. as for your issue with steam lock, i'm thinking it could be solved with larger amount of water per time. if you make larger intake (double or even triple) and then use in-line adjustable valve to control amount of water that being send into the exchanger. that should solve steam lock but also allows you to regulate (lower) out put temp as well as dial in proper flow for different combustion temperatures and fuel variations. great job otherwise!

[@caseyjones1983]

seems with the insulation, the inlet pipe should be further/higher away from the flame as the sand will be able to heat the water and not turn to steam.

[@Charles-bj7qu]

I love the entire video. Yes the best thing you did was to marry that wonderful woman. I'm in the USA and I will buy one. I survived the hurricane here in Western North Carolina. It is horrible. But I am trying to rely on myself. Thank you for your video+ sorry I have to go I am crying.

[@catgynt9148]

Good day Steve, great seeing you and your beautiful wife today. Who was the cute minion on your back? Sand is great for a thermal battery. We are fortunate to have you leading and educating us as your explore this off grid technology. Wishing you and your family a blessed season filled with gentle, seasonally appropriate weather and restful evenings together with your family. Peace brother

[@LittleAussieRockets]

Hi mate, She's our youngest girl Verity who saw an opportunity for a piggyback ride. It was so cute that I decided to leave it in the video.

[@catgynt9148]

@@LittleAussieRockets Your bride and daughter are beautiful. You have a terrific family Steve. Wishing you and them a blessed week. Peace brother

[@rodwliams5514]

That is a good example of a thermosiphon. How do we buy one off you?

[@LittleAussieRockets]

We're working on that, at the moment they'll only be available in Australia though I am considering putting the plans up for sale

[@rickryle1555]

​@@LittleAussieRockets i will be very interested. All the new gas water heaters are garbage with the new safety features fir stupid people. Awesome work. Cant wait to see them for sale.

[@EnGammalAmazon]

it is far easier to wrap a pipe with the Teflon tape if you turn the roll over and apply it. You could pull out the old electric heating elements and install thermometers in both holes to monitor the temperature.

[@beardington3rd]

Thats really cool.......well hot.......