How to Use a Rocket Mass Heater to Cook & Heat Off-Grid
Learn how to heat and cook off-grid with a rocket mass heater, and why this is an even more energy-efficient solution than a traditional wood stove!
This is a guest post by Sunflower Craig of Permies.com
For many, wood heat and wood burning stoves conjure up nostalgia and cozy feelings. After reading this, next time you think of wood heat, you’ll also think of the words “eco-friendly,” “affordable” and “efficient,” (and maybe even “pizza!”) If you’re searching for a strategy to save money and protect the environment without having to sacrifice luxury, wood heat is the way to go.
A particularly eco-friendly choice, wood heat uses a renewable fuel source. Wood, in contrast to fossil fuels, has the potential to be an endless supply. If we keep forests healthy and keep planting trees, people can use wood for warmth for centuries to come. Despite naysayers and vocal activists, combining good woodland practices and an extremely efficient wood stove could actually have a negative carbon impact.
Wood heat is frequently more cost-effective than other forms of heating, such as gas or electricity. Surprise! Not only can you save the environment, but you can save money by using wood heat to warm your house.
So what is the best way to heat your home with wood? If you’re lucky enough to have a wood-burning fireplace or a wood stove, those are the most well-known and conventional methods for heating your home with wood. But have you ever heard of a rocket mass heater?
A rocket mass heater has one tenth the carbon footprint of a conventional wood stove. Rocket mass heaters allow you to both heat your home and cook in an efficient manner that is good for the environment and that doesn’t rely on the power grid. Not to mention, as energy costs continue to rise, rocket mass heaters offer a more affordable solution to keeping warm.
What is a rocket mass heater?
There are a few variations of rocket heaters and cooking equipment, including rocket stoves, rocket ovens, rocket water heaters and, of course, rocket mass heaters.. The first and most basic version is the rocket stove, which is used primarily for cooking. A rocket stove can be as simple as using a tin can and some stove piping or stacking bricks to make a basic but highly efficient DIY rocket stove. Check out the video below for a step-by-step tutorial on how to build your own DIY brick rocket stove for outdoor or off-grid cooking. Alternatively, you can purchase a rocket stove for a pretty affordable price so you at least have it in case of an emergency.
Rocket mass heaters are the next level up from rocket stoves. They consist of a fire or burn box, an insulated combustion chamber that burns fuel at very high temperatures, and a thermal mass -typically made out of cobb and stone- attached to the exhaust pipe, which snakes through the thermal mass before connecting to the chimney pipe. Due to their highly efficient design, rocket mass heaters are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than other types of wood heat; They burn at a higher temperature, emit practically no smoke at all, and charge the thermal mass around them. Not to mention, rocket mass heaters require much less fuel than conventional wood stoves or fireplaces. Some estimates even say rocket mass heaters can reduce fuel consumption by up to 90 per cent!
In the end, burning just a small amount of fuel for a short amount of time leaves your home nice and toasty for up to a day or more after you’ve heated up your rocket mass heater. Given that they are smokeless, they can also provide a more discrete manner of heating your home. They are especially significant in that you can use whatever wood fuel you’ve got lying around: branches, twigs yard waste and other scrap burnables. You can even burn those astronomical heating bills;);)
After all, there is a heating crisis happening in many parts of the world; and this may well be a problem that will continue over the next few years. Heating costs are skyrocketing, leaving many people choosing between heating their home and buying groceries. But there is hope! You never have to heat your home the same, costly way again. Rocket Mass Heaters offer a solution for maximum efficiency and minimal pollution.
How does a rocket mass heater work?
Rocket mass heaters differ from wood stoves in that wood stoves typically heat up to around 1000ºF, with much of the heat escaping up the chimney along with the smoke. The chimneys on wood stoves are highly insulated to allow for the high temperatures, which are needed to burn off the creosote that builds up in the chimney. Rocket mass heaters, on the other hand, have an insulated fie box and combustion chamber which not only allows the temperature to rise up to 1800ºF, but also combusts all of the creosote as well as all of the smoke before it has a chance to escape through the chimney. The result is a warmer home, less energy waste and less smoke and creosote buildup in your chimney and in the atmosphere.
The exhaust pipes then travel through the thermal mass that’s attached to the rocket heater until finally escaping through the chimney piping. This thermal mass continues to radiate heat for many hours after the initial burn, which heats your home for longer using much less fuel.
In short, rocket mass heaters are more efficient than conventional wood stoves because they keep more heat inside your home.
Here’s a short video that illustrates exactly how this process works:
For a more detailed look into how rocket mass heaters work, Ernie and Erica Wisner, rocket mass heat pioneers, go into far more detail about the fire science involved in rocket mass heaters. They cover the science, but also the making of pocket rockets, the explosive properties of steam, and the most efficient rocket mass heater design of the time. (You can see this in the movie “Better Wood Heat: DIY Rocket Mass Heaters.”)
Other uses for rocket mass heaters
The applications of the rocket mass heater extend far beyond just heating your home.
Rocket mass heaters are versatile for lots of situations, including:
- a cozy place to sleep in a tipi
- a place to warm your butt around the campfire without smoke in your face
- a stove to cook on
- an efficient ways to heat your home
- a source for hot water
- even an oven for baking pie! Mmm, pie…
In the forums of Permies.com, members have created rocket forges, saunas, cooktops and smokers, water heaters and more, and have extended their growing season by using a rocket heater to directly heat their soil, or to heat their greenhouse.
At Wheaton Labs in Montana, rocket technology is pervasive. The folks at the lab have built a pizza oven which rivals even the best wood-fired pizza restaurants. They heat the water for their shower with the rocket water heater and have even figured out how to extend the gardening season with a rocket mass heater!
Australian alternative energy innovator Tim Barker built a stand alone rocket water heater, rocket oven and rocket griddle at the 2015 Rocket Mass Heater Jamboree at Wheaton Labs. Tim is well known for his safe and efficient rocket water heaters and has taught the appropriate technology course at Wheaton Labs in the past and now teaches Appropriate Technology at the Koanga Institute.
But let’s go back to that pie! If having a way to cook off-grid is important to you, our rocket oven DVDs show you in detail how to build your own rocket oven to cook or bake in. You can make your own wood-fired pizza, delicious pie, homemade bread, roasted meat, baked lasagna, cookies, cakes and more with a rocket oven. Learn more right here.
Good food, a nice warm home and clean, cheap, luxuriant heat. And the peace of mind of never having to worry about how to heat your home again.
If you’re ready to take a giant leap toward more energy independence and stop worrying about rising energy costs, power outages, emergencies and other threats to “the grid,” come visit us at Permies.com where we talk about about rocket mass heaters, off-grid living, homesteading, permaculture and more!
And if you’ve ever built or used a rocket mass heater before, be sure to share your thoughts or experience in the comments section below!
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If you haven't checked-in lately, the last week or so, we've sorta been in the trenches of homesteading and life over here. While some make it out to be glamorous all the time there are high's and low's just as there are in life.
With all that's going on, I've been making a point to find my way back into the garden, which is not only needed to feed my family, but also for some personal spiritual nourishment.
I just want to take a minute to love on my favorite veggie today, Broccoli! 🥦 It's one we plant over-and-over and I'm leaning into its abundance this year.
Not only is it one of my favorites, but we've also found it's one of the easiest veggies to grow so if you haven't tried it or added it to your garden yet, there's no better time than the present.
I've got an entire post on How to Grow Broccoli from Seed here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-grow-broccoli-from-seed/ if you're looking for any tips or tricks.
In my "How to" post you'll also find a link to one of my favorite recipes for Cream of Broccoli Leaf Soup!
Can I be honest?
Sometimes you've gotta take a step back and look at the life you've created for yourself and ask yourself "is this truly what I want?"
The other day I shared about losing two of our rabbits this week to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. The stress of losing them comes amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions around here...
From work pressures for Ryan to me trying to run a business and handle a very fussy, colicky 2-month-old (and a very busy 6-year-old), to things ramping up in the garden again and all of the other million things that need to get done (including multiple loads of laundry a day thanks to more spit up than I ever knew a baby was capable of producing), I finally felt like I was ready to crack this week.
Oh, not to mention we're doing this all on next to no sleep thanks again to our sweet boy.
I know this is all part of what we signed up for, but when it all happens at once, it can feel completely overwhelming. And when I'm completely overwhelmed and stressed out, that's exactly when I get sick too, which is exactly what happened a couple days ago.
Then yesterday (Saturday) I woke up feeling awful and decided to scroll Instagam as I nursed Noah. I saw other mothers with 6, 8 or even 10 kids somehow keeping it all together getting three square meals on the table every day while managing to keep a tidy kitchen and find time to Instagram about it.
I saw other homestead bloggers reaching new levels of success in their business that I can only dream about right now. And as I sat there in bed, covered in spit up with a ravenous baby nursing off me as I tried to console him, I felt sad for myself in that moment that I couldn't live up to the folks I was comparing myself to.
Later in the day I had to work, so Ryan took the kids to the beach and I stayed home. And I felt sad once again; Sad that I was missing out on yet another weekend with my family because I had created a life where I now have to work weekends just to keep up.
But the silver lining was that the work I had to do yesterday forced me out into the garden, and it was probably the most soothing thing I could have done for my soul.
(Continued in comments…)
Sometime homesteading looks like homegrown vegetables and freshly laid eggs and sourdough rising on the counter.
And sometimes it looks like tears when you have to bury one of your animals 😔
Ryan went out to feed the bunnies yesterday and Flopsy -our little black and white bunny- was laying dead in the pen. There was no blood, other than a little bit by her mouth. Seems like something internal happened. We’re not sure what.
Evelyn helped lay her to rest yesterday. It was a hard weekend for her. First she stayed with grandma and went with her to put her sick, 17-year-old cat down. Then she came home to the news that Flopsy was gone.
But I believe she’s more resilient because of it. We talked to her about how death is a part of all life, and allowed her to go through the stages of grief and process it however she felt she needed to.
Homesteading isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and snuggly barnyard animals. Homesteading teaches us hard lessons and helps us to become stronger and more resilient by challenging us daily.
Yesterday was a sad, hard day. But I’m glad we got to experience it together as a family.
A few years ago, Forbes published an article titled Dear Homesteaders, Self-Reliance is a Delusion.
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What does self-reliant really mean? Is it actually achievable, or just a pipe dream?
Over on the blog today I'm unpacking all of these thoughts, and the things I do know for sure as a homesteader, mother and member of a strong and self-reliant community.
But I really want to hear from you! Post in the comments below what self-reliance means in modern times, or what steps you're taking to be more self-reliant.
Read the full article here: https://thehouseandhomestead.com/what-is-self-reliance/ or at the link in my bio
The spring issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine is out now!
It’s that time again...
The time when things begin ramping up in the garden, the barnyard and the home.
From trays of seedlings to baskets full of eggs, spring is in the air and I don’t know about you, but I’m here for it!
It’s also time for a brand new issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine, and boy do we have a good one for you…
In the spring issue, we cover a diverse range of topics from how to trade your skills for land to the realities of going off-grid, from seed-starting to what to do with too many eggs, and from the simple joys of a homemade herbal cocktail to the sometimes heavy emotional toll of raising meat animals.
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Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to login to the library and read the spring issue (current subscribers) or subscribe for just $19.99/year to read this issue and gain instant access to our entire library of past issues!
#modernhomesteading #homesteading #selfsufficiency #springonthehomestead
If you grow plants from seed (or if you want to), you’re likely going to want to start a few of them indoors. And if you start your seeds indoors, something that will make your life so much easier (and make your seedlings bigger, stronger and healthier) is an indoor growing stand with grow lights.
I've got a post I'm sharing with you today that will walk you through choosing the best type of lighting for whatever you're growing and then a step-by-step guide of how to make your grow stand, along with product recommendations if you want to make yours just like mine!
Ours can accommodate up to about 200 seedlings, but you can make yours as small or big as needed:)
You can check out the post here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-build-indoor-growing-stand/ or at the link in my bio.
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Theme of the Month: ADIDAS
No, not the textiles brand, it stands for: 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 because it's officially March and we are in full swing around here!
Before you just start throwing seeds in the ground or into red solo cups on your windowsill, it’s important to take some time to read your seed packets and get to know each crop’s specific needs.
Understanding the information on a seed packet is super important when it comes to gardening, especially if you want your plants to get a strong, healthy start and produce an abundance of food for you. And what gardener doesn’t want that?!
Set yourself up for success and take a minute to read through my 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, before your weekend gardening plans begin.
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Happy Planting:) ✨
This all-natural homemade toothpaste recipe is made with just four simple ingredients that are good for both your body and your bank account!
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I know you can feel it too. The transition from winter to spring is truly a special time. It’s when life begins again. It’s the very first taste of all that lies ahead.
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I will walk you through, planning, sowing, containers, watering, lighting and more, and if that's not enough you can download my Seed Starting Cheat Sheet at the end to lay it all out.
I hope you're as excited as I am for the beautiful Spring season that lies ahead:)
You can find the list here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/before-starting-seeds/ or at the link in my bio.
What are you planting this year? Anything new you've never tried before? Share with me in the comments!
Ever thought about growing mushrooms at home??
A great EASY way to get started is with one of these mushroom grow kits from @northsporemushrooms
All you need to do is cut open the pack, spray with a little water (the kits even come with a handy little spray bottle), and then sit back and watch the magic happen!
And seriously, watching mushrooms goes does feel a little like magic because they grow so fast you can practically see them growing, no time lapse necessary!
The mushrooms are ready for harvest in just a few days. No gardening experience or land necessary! Even a newbie homesteader in an apartment in the city can grow these babies!
This is a great way to dip your tow into the much bigger world of mushroom growing and harvesting, and to try out a few new varieties that you probably won’t find anywhere else.
I grew Pink Oyster Mushrooms, Lion’s Mane and Blue Oyster Mushrooms (all pictured here). I’ll be using the Pink Oyster Mushrooms in a rigatoni pasta for dinner tonight. I turned the Lion’s Mane into Lion’s Mane “crab cakes” and the Blue Oyster Mushrooms are delicious as part of a stir fry or sautéed in butter and spooned over sourdough toast.
If this reel intrigues you, you can grab your own mushroom grow kit (along with time of other mushroom related products, including fruiting blocks, outdoor log kits, medicinal tinctures, capsules and more) at northspore.com. Use code HOUSEANDHOMESTEAD for 10% off your order!
And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out my interview with Louis Giller of North Spore Mushrooms in the winter issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine. You can also find my recipe for Lion’s Mane “Crab Cakes,” along with other delicious mushroom recipes and an in-depth feature on medicinal mushrooms including Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps in the winter issue.
Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com to subscribe or login to the library and read the current issue.
Mushrooms really are pure magic, don’t ya think? 🍄 ✨
#mushrooms #mushroomhead #shrooming #eatyourshrooms #mushroomsaremagic #modernhomesteading #urbanhomesteading #homegrown
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Check out my shopping tips, what I do and don't buy, and where and who I like to buy from here at this link https://thehouseandhomestead.com/healthy-grocery-shopping-tips/ or at the link in my bio.
Usually by late February/early March, right about nowish, I’ve pretty much had enough of winter and the thought of enjoying a tropical fruit platter and a cold adult beverage on a sunny beach in *insert tropical vacation destination here* seems to be just about all I can think about...
But with a newborn at home that's about the last thing on our to-do list right now! So this year, I will be visiting my tropical escape via my favorite Low-Sugar Mango Jam recipe.
If you do have tropical vacation plans, have a piña colada for me 🙏🏼, but if you don't then this recipe may be just what you need to "escape" for a few minutes into that tropical paradise:) 🥭🍹
Check out the recipe here https://thehouseandhomestead.com/low-sugar-mango-jam-recipe/ or at the link in my bio.
Let me know how the recipe works for you, and if add in any additional fruits to change it up!
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