[Stoves] [MHAtech] Re: Top lit updraft combustors

[Ronal W. Larson]

Norbert et al,  adding the stoves list.

	See inserts.


> On Dec 18, 2017, at 1:59 PM, Norbert Senf <norbert.senf at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 3:25 PM, Ronal W. Larson <rongretlarson at comcast.net <mailto:rongretlarson at comcast.net>> wrote:
> (snip)
> 
> 	In your stone masonry work,  I am not suggesting new equipment - just stopping the “burn” when you have stopped burning gases and when you are only burning char.  Anyone ever tried that?
> 
> Yes. That is a traditional method in Austria. Typically, you reload the heater 1x or 2x per day. The heater is small, with a 15 lb - 30 lb load. You always have a bed of coals, and they are burned up in the next fire. Shutting off the fire at the beginning of the charcoal burnout is one way they get their low CO test numbers, since the test is over once you shut the air.
	[RWL1:   Austria is a leader on biochar.   Especially for feeding to cattle, I think.

> 
> The masonry heaters we build here in North America tend to be larger and less airtight. They usually have a sliding flue damper in the chimney to shut off the flow after the coals are burned. We require a 5% leakage area in the damper, to avoid CO. This type of damper is illegal in Austria, due to the carbon monoxide danger.
	[RWL2:   CO with charcoal consuming stoves is a real hazard  (we’ve heard effective for suicides!).  One of the reasons for replacing charcoal using cook stoves with charcoal-making cookstoves.
> 
> I modified our own heater as an experiment, changing it over to the new Austrian eco-labelled air specification, and using airtight hardware to eliminate or reduce the use of the flue damper. Also as an experiment, I have been shutting the air early and harvesting the coals the next morning, putting them into an airtight ashbucket until they are cool. Burning roughly 7,000 lb of 20% moisture hardwood last winter, in 60 lb batches, I made roughly 500lbs or so of biochar. I have not heard of anyone else doing this yet.
	[RWL3:  Not clear yet - is your approach safer?
		If optimized for char-making (and safety), instead of 500/7000  (roughly 10% in energy terms), might you have gotten up (energy terms) to 15 or 20%?
> 
> At a conference a couple of years ago there was a presentation by someone from Whitfield pellet stoves. Dr. Jerry Whitfield is an ex NASA engineer who invented the pellet stove and commercialized it. Currently he is playing around with a lot of interesting things, including making biochar commercially. One vision that was presented for the future of the pellet stove was a biochar producing one, aimed at urban hipsters. The next cool thing, in other words. …………… N
	[RWL4:  Jerry is very well known in this list’s world.  Even more well known is Jock Gill (Vermont I think) - who is associated with Jerry (and maybe made that presentation).  We’re all hoping for an announcement of Whitfield sales soon.

Ron

> 
> -- 
> Norbert Senf
> Masonry Stove Builders
> 25 Brouse Road, RR 5
> Shawville Québec J0X 2Y0
> 819.647.5092
> www.heatkit.com <http://www.heatkit.com/>
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