18 February 2014

Rocket Stoves to Power our Permaculture Kitchen

We have been experimenting with a rudimentary rocket stove that we built from a number of cinder blocks and one we broke pieces off of to form an H-block for the chimneys of the dual burner stove.

A rocket stove uses small diameter wood, burned in a high-temperature combustion chamber containing a vertical chimney and a secondary air supply which ensures almost complete combustion prior to the flames reaching the cooking surface. 




The heat available from a rocket stove is considerably higher than a stove top and lends itself well to cooking with cast iron and, even more appropriate, a carbon steel wok.  This is a new 14 inch wok that we are seasoning over the rocket stove.


Learn how to build a rocket stove from 6 cinder blocks by watching the video below.


A small piece of advice...  When clearing the oxygen pathway in a burning rocket stove, make certain to use a large diameter, long stick so as not to burn all of the hair off of your arm and weld one of your braids to your beard.  


 Fortunately, I have cat-like reflexes and with a bit of trimming, no one seems to be able to notice a change in my visage due to my potentially hazardous indiscretion.

This is how to build a stove like ours: