Okay, here’s my blog post about building a rocket stove with bricks, written from my personal experience, with simple formatting, and in a conversational tone:
So, I’ve been wanting to try building one of these rocket stoves I’ve seen all over the internet. They look super efficient, and I love that you can make one with just stuff you might have lying around. Today, I finally gave it a shot. Here’s how it went.
Gathering My Supplies
First, I needed bricks. I found a bunch of old ones stacked behind my shed. These things were covered in dirt and cobwebs, but that’s okay, they’re just bricks! I think I had around 20, but you might need more or less depending on how big you make it.
I also used:
- Some spare Metal sheet to make the burning area.
- Some work gloves (because, you know, rough bricks).
- A small trowel to adjust the groud level.
Building the Base
I started by finding a flattish spot in my backyard. I didn’t want to set the grass on fire or anything! I cleared away some leaves and sticks, then laid down a few bricks to make a solid base. Make sure the bricks are touching each other to create a solid base, you may try serveral times before you get it done.
Creating the “L” Shape
This is where the “rocket” part starts to happen. I built up the walls of the stove in an “L” shape. The short part of the “L” is where you feed in the fuel (sticks and stuff), and the tall part is the chimney where the heat and smoke go up.
I just stacked the bricks, making sure to overlap them like you would when building a regular wall. This makes it more stable. I didn’t use any mortar or anything, just dry-stacked them. I kept checking to make sure the inner channel (the “L”) was clear so the air could flow.
Making the Fuel Shelf
Then, I place the metal sheet in the short part of the “L” to create a shelf for buring the fuel.
Testing It Out!
Once I had it all built, it was time for the fun part. I stuffed some small, dry twigs and leaves into the fuel chamber (the short part of the “L”). It took a little bit of coaxing to get it lit, but once it caught, wow! The flames started shooting up the chimney like, well, a rocket!
I was actually surprised how little smoke there was once it got going. The heat was intense, coming straight up the chimney. I even boiled a small pot of water on top just to see if it would work, and it did! Super fast, too.
My Thoughts
Honestly, this was way easier than I thought it would be. And it’s pretty cool to think you can cook something using just a few bricks and some sticks. I’m definitely going to experiment with this more. Maybe I’ll try a bigger version next time!
I made a simple rocket stove with serveral bicks, and it works well. I can boil water, cook food with it. Next time I may try to use some clay to seal the bricks to find out whether it can be better.
