The secret discovered! Ceramic Rocket Stove is Now Possible!

[@Jodd_purrz]

This was exactly the video I was looking for, thanks for the insight

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

@@Jodd_purrz thanks! If you discover any helpful ideas about ceramic stoves please post it here.

[@melristau]

Regarding expansion/shrinkage, why not construct from more sections, not fewer? Feed section, bowl section, chimney insert section of four vertical parts held together somewhat loosely with wire or strap material.

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

Interesting idea. Ill consider that next time I try to make one.

[@shopiee1081]

That’s so cool I want to try to make one!

[@codydunn8768]

Half way through I was about to comment about cutting relief slots but you were on top of it! Another possible solution may be to make the stove bigger in scale to handle the heat, OR cook with a smaller flame base. Either way, that was an engaging video, thank you

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

Ya keeping the fire small is hard so I think I can go back to an big stove with the relief cuts.

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

It just hit me that the more Grog (sand) you have in your clay the less thermal shock should effect it. so, if you try this us a high grog clay if you can.

[@Julioargent]

Very good tests and very nice solution!! Do you use normal clay, maybe it could be better yet with a refractory clay? (I have not experience in pottery or ceramics but I like rocket stoves and ceramic ones seem so useful cookware :D )

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

Cool thanks, ya this is cone 6 clay fired at 2135 degrees in an electric kiln. It can handle the heat but just needs it slowly and evenly to avoid the stress that might crack it. But ya this this way of making them is working.

[@CarolynDallmanDownes]

I saw a ceramic rocket stove that was being made somewhere overseas. It was a single vessel that simply had a wide base without the large chimney shaped addition that you had on your bottom piece. I think this might be one of the problems with your design and why the bottom part continues to crack. So, basically, it had a bulbous bottom (like yours) but it was open on the side. I think they put a metal (or perhaps ceramic) screen about a third of the way from the bottom (bisecting the fuel chamber). This provided the space for the oxygen to get through. Above the screen you would put the fuel. Then the vessel would narrow into a chimney on top of which you put your cooking vessels. I think another problem might be the kind of clay you are using. The Chinese have perfected a kind of ceramic clay that you can heat to high temperatures without it cracking or exploding, but I don’t know what kind of clay this might be. They have been producing a whole range of excellent cookware out of this clay for thousands of years. You can find these pots at most Chinese grocery stores. I have looked and looked for the rocket stove I saw online a few years ago, but I have never seen it since. It was elegant and efficient and was being produced by some kind of charitable NGO somewhere in the Middle East (if memory serves) to be sold at low cost or perhaps distriibuted free in parts of the world where fuel is at a premium.

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

Wow thank you for the long detailed response. Funny I know the video you are talking about. I saw it years ago and tryed to find it again when I began trying to make a rocket stove. I also remember that theirs was much thicker with a smaller hole and sheet metal wrapped around the outside. Well, now I’m working on some nice ceramic pieces for a show I’m hoping to have this spring. So I might play with those ideas next fall. Thanks for your feedback!

[@patrickdunn2231]

Can you cook a burger on it? Cute dog.

[@Jasonsdesignshop]

You bet! If it cooks it’s possible! Could make a funny infomercial.