19/10/2015

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WoodBurningHeatersDragonBurners

RocketMassHeaters

HowRocketHeatersWork

HowRocketHeatersWork
Whatcauseswoodsmoke?
Woodreleasesitsvolatilecompoundswhenheated.Mostofthesecompoundsrequireatleast1,300Fto
combust.Theyalsostorebetween50%60%ofthetotalenergycontainedinthewood.Ifthefireisnothot
enough,theenergyfromthevolatilecompoundswillbelostassmokewithit'saccompaningairpollutionand
creosotedanger.
Awoodfiredcombustionzonecanbecooledtobelowtherequiredtemperaturesforcombustingsmokeina
varietyofways.Forexample,toomuchcoldairbeingintroducedinanopenfireplace.Or,usingheat
conductingmaterialssuchascastironinthecombustionchamber.Manybarrelstovesandcastironstove
designsincludethisflaw.Whileitseemslikeagoodideatoharvesttheheatfromthecombustionproces,
thisisactuallycounterproductive,becauseitcoolsthecombustionzone.Acoolercombustionzoneresultsin
smokeandreducedefficiency.
Itfollows,then,thatthehotterthefire,themorecompletethecombustion,thehighertheefficiencyofthe
burn,andthelesswoodyouhavetochop.
Toinsureahotburn,theDragonBurnerprimarycombustionchamber(shownintheillustrationasthe
horizontaltancomponent)iscastfromaninsulatingrefractorymaterial.Sincethischambergetsveryhot,
theexpandinggasesareforcedoutoftheburntunnelpriortocombustionbeingcomplete.Thereforea
secondinsulatedcombustionchamber(theheatriser,showninblue)completesthecombustionprocess.

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19/10/2015

WoodBurningHeatersDragonBurners

Theimportanceofturbulenceinburningwood
Thefireintheburntunnelconsumesthesolidsandreleasesthewood'svolatilecompounds.Inadditiontoan
insulatedcombustionzone,theDragonBurnerincreasesefficiencybyinsuringthatalltheexhaustgasesare
adequatelymixedwithoxygenfromthesupplyairbycreatingturbulence.PetervandenBerg,an
experienceddesignerofmasonryheatersandrocketheaters,developedtheDragonBurnerdesign.Read
moreabouttheturbulencedesignelementshere.....
Thereisnosmokeorpollutionemittingfromyourstovepipebecauseallofthecomponentsofthewoodare
consumed.Thereisalsopracticallynoashbecausethesolidsareconsumedaswell.

BurningSoftwoodsandConifers
Becausethecombustionprocessissocomplete,youcanusepitchywoods,suchaspine,inyourDragon
Heater.Allthecompoundswhichwouldnormallyaccumulateinyourchimneynevergettherebecausethey
areconsumedbytheveryhightemperatures.

Usingtheheat
Oncethecombustionprocessiscompleteandtheexhaustgasesleavetheheatriser,heatextractioncan
begin.Heatextractioncanbeapproachedintwowaysdependingontheheatingrequirementsofthespace.
Thefirstapproachistoputtheheatoutintothespaceimmediately.The"TiledRocketHeater"buildisan
example.Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutitsadvantagesanddisadvantages,referto
Thecastlebuildisanexampleofthesecondapproach,whichattemptstocapturetheheatusingappropriate
materialsforslowreleaseovertime.

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