Rocket Mass Heater SmartSplitter

[mccartherable]

Great for dispatching chickens too?



[dalehodgins]

I'm probably three times as fast using a hatchet but I still wouldn't bother since construction scraps and other little bits of wood are free all over this planet. If you're having to constantly feed the small bits into the bottom of the stove to build some sort of ash bed then you're working with an inferior designed stove. Many people use just the larger sticks once the fire is established.

[LarsMith217]

@dalehodgins The above video was made within the 1st few months of getting to know the heater. The small pieces were used to quickly build up the 'ember bed" first thing off in the morning. Not long after recording it, I stopped using the small pieces. I make full-length kindling now, to start the heater and have found it does a great job at establishing an ember bed. We're still feeding the heater ( once every 45-60 minutes ) small amounts of wood. It does a great job.

[ozzirt]

I think a simple small tomahawk would be quicker and easier.

[notoriouslizw]

Really cool! Keep it up! I'm working on a simple heat exchanger for my water heater, I'm going to use my paint can "gasifier" as the heat source. Rocket stoves look cool. One day I'll try to build one of those! That SmartSplitter is smart!

[kenfo0]

cmon....that's just silly. let alone, why am I going to say you sent me? are they going to give me a cookie? You never explained why.

[uhvuhvuhv]

Yeah you should be so accurate that you can get the right size. Otherwise the fire would not burn properly. One recommendation: you should buy a tripod to fix the camera while you are shooting; and maybe you can buy a machine to put those small pieces into the fire. The rocket stove is nice, but your explanation about the small pieces and the high-tech machine sucks.

[Sherri119]

That is one handy dandy wood splitter! I can't split wood, just don't have enough upper body strength. Quick question...how good is this kind of heater for 2,200 sq. ft? We're working on going off the grid, so I'm always on the lookout for more efficient ways to do things.

[Douglas11265]

Do you need to sit there all day dropping those small pieces in your heater? Also, seems a small hatchet would be a lot quicker to split those little pieces, other that a saw of some sort.

[LarsMith217]

OhMuhGoodness, no !! The small pieces are supplemental, just to QUICKLY build up the ash bed there at the bottom of the feed tube. Once it's built up, I don't need many small pieces. My thumb/fingers have had their fill of my bad aim with a hatchet. Using BOTH hands, nothing compares in speed to using this SmartSplitter, whether for large wood or this small stuff. I should have someone else hold the cam and demo how fast / smooth / accurate it is !!