The rocket stove: a super efficient stove with recovered materials

The rocket stove or rocket-effect stove is a high-efficiency stove designed by Dr Larry Winiarski at the Canadian Aprovecho Research Center. He designed it to improve the conditions of life of the populations of poor countries.
The source of inspiration was a floor heating system used in the spa by the ancient Romans called “hypocaustum“. We can use it both as a cooking surface and as a heating element for homes.

Some benefits of the rocket mass heater:

• It is easy to build even with commonly available recovery materials.
• It uses from 40 to 90% less wood than a traditional stove for the same heat output.
• Uses thin diameter woods, allowing you to feed it with twigs instead of using larger pieces of wood (no need to fell trees: the branches are a major source)
• It’s renewable and available with less work.
• Low pollution: it emits practically only CO2 and water vapour instead of the dense smoke of one traditional stove, and at a much lower temperature (the heat produced is not lost underneath form of hot fumes).
• Can burn for a long time without needing to be continuously fed (the “J” shape)

Two forms of building

There are two basic forms of building a rocket stove, but the principle that makes them work it’s the same:

1. (The)”L” shape is easier to build and requires fewer materials but needs more attention in feeding it: it is used mainly as a kitchen.
2. “J” shape is a little more complex and suitable for fixed installations but is fed with less frequency: this form is used mainly for the purpose of heating rooms, but nothing prevents them to use it also for cooking.

The following volunteer projects might give you the opportunity to learn how to build a rocket mass heater.