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The Rocket Mass Heater Builder's Guide

Complete Step-by-Step Construction, Maintenance and Troubleshooting
By Erica Wisner and Ernie Wisner
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4.23 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Rocket Mass Heater Builder's Guide offers comprehensive instructions for constructing earthen masonry heating systems that burn wood efficiently and cleanly, using 70 to 90 percent less fuel than traditional woodstoves. The book features detailed design plans, brick-by-brick layouts, photographs, and up-to-date building codes to assist both natural and conventional builders. With these rocket mass heaters, users can enjoy steady warmth for many hours and benefit from a thermal mass that cools their homes in summer.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for environmentally conscious homesteaders, do-it-yourself enthusiasts, and builders interested in sustainable, efficient heating technologies who want to reduce fuel consumption and enhance home comfort.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A rocket mass heater is an earthen masonry heating system which provides clean, and efficient warmth for your home, while using 70-90% less fuel than a woodstove. Fully illustrated, The Rocket Mass Heater Builder's Guide combines comprehensive design, construction and installation instructions with maintenance and troubleshooting advice.

  • Features offered to Mother Earth News, Permaculture Activist, Green Building
  • Excerpts offered to Fine Homebuilding, Home Power Magazine, GRIT
  • Advertising in Green Builder, on-line natural building sites
  • Promotion with Permies.com
  • Promotions targeting natural building organizations, permaculture organizations, green building organizations
  • Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the authors' speaking engagements
  • Galleys on Edelweiss

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Heating with wood is often considered a natural and economical alternative to electricity or fossil fuels. However, even with a fairly new and efficient woodstove, many cords of wood are required for burning over the course of a single winter, and incomplete combustion can contribute to poor air quality. A rocket mass heater is an earthen masonry heating system that provides clean, safe, and efficient warmth for your home, all while using 70 to 90 percent less fuel than a traditional woodstove.

These unique and beautiful installations provide luxurious comfort year-round. In cold weather, a few hours of clean, hot burning can provide twenty or more hours of steady warmth, while the unit's large thermal mass acts as a heat sink, cooling your home on sizzling summer days. Packed with hard-to-find information, The Rocket Mass Heater Builder's Guide includes:

Comprehensive design, construction, and installation instructions combined with detailed maintenance and troubleshooting advice.

Brick-by-brick layouts, diagrams, and architectural plans augmented with detailed parts drawings and photographs for clarity.

Relevant and up-to-date code information and standards to help you navigate the approval process with local building departments.

Earthen masonry heating systems are well-suited for natural and conventional builders alike. A super-efficient, wood-burning, rocket mass heater can help you dramatically reduce your energy costs while enhancing the beauty, value, and comfort of your home.

Erica Wisner and Ernie Wisner have built over seven hundred super-efficient, clean-burning masonry stoves. They are dedicated to the search for sustainable solutions and the hands-on teaching of creative, ecological, and practical skills.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Paul Wheaton praises the book as a long-awaited, comprehensive guide that clarifies rocket mass heater construction and dispels common misconceptions, making it an essential resource. Toby Hemenway highlights its rich detail and clear illustrations, noting its value to homesteaders and builders seeking a clean-burning, fuel-efficient home heating system. The book is acclaimed for saving readers time and effort while promoting sustainable heating solutions.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780865718234

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 June 2016

Country: United States

Imprint: New Society Publishers

Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 203.0mm

Height: 254.0mm

Weight: 986g

Pages: 288

Collections

Education & Reference Engineering, Technology & Agriculture Erica Wisner Ernie Wisner Non-Fiction

About the Author

Erica Wisner is a skilled educator and project coordinator, with over 25 years' experience building teamwork and facilitating hands-on learning. She loves making things from scratch - anything from blueberry scones to the oven they were baked in. Erica is the author of The Ultimate Girls' Guide to Science and The Art of Fire and she has also created instructional materials and rocket mass heater resources for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, The City Repair Project, Handprint Press and others. Together with her husband Ernie, she has built over 700 super-efficient, clean-burning masonry stoves and led over 50 workshops across North America.

Ernie Wisner is a jack of all trades - his rich and varied background includes fishing and maritime work, firefighting, botany, natural building, hydraulics, and plumbing maintenance. Extreme conditions and high-risk work focused Ernie's attention on survival skills and emergency preparedness. After witnessing hard evidence of global climate change, Ernie's search for sustainable solutions led him to Cob Cottage Company, where he built his first rocket mass heaters while serving on the research team for Ianto Evans and Leslie Jackson's pioneering Rocket Mass Heaters . Together with his wife Erica, he has built over 700 super-efficient, clean-burning masonry stoves and led over 50 workshops across North America.

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