Rocket pot oven

[PsychDoc]

So it’s been several years and I’m lusting after ovens once again. I don’t claim to be the original rocket powered oven- but after several naysayers told me it would work I am now seeing plans for this idea all over the web. I don’t know if my next venture will be rocket powered but I am convinced it would work.
See you around the fire

[mendozer]

bringing it back to life...psych what do you think about a mild steel 4" square tube as the chimney with various 1x1" tube's welded to the top in a spray pattern? This way it diverts heat and flames to the outer ring of the dome. This would be more like a conventional WFO with heat surrounding the sides and top then refracting down to the hearth instead of heating the bottom part first.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Thanks for the encouraging words Mitch, may I call you Mitch?

That one modification, ie heat entering the back of the dome and up the flue in the fount, would have made the build much more simple and likely worked just as well. Then again heating the floor...

Well thanks, it was fun to do and write about.

And for what it's worth I'm considering a modular as a next step. At some point I have to consider my time...

[Mitchamus]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Just stumbled onto this thread - a great read - thanks for posting.

I have a keen interest in rocket stoves - and one of the things i love about them is that everyone is different and really - the premise of building one is to try something different and share your results.

I have seen a video of a Old french bakery oven fired with a rocket stove. But I'm not sure if it's an intentional rocket stove - or if they just used to build the firebox that way a long time before anyone even thought of a rocket stove.

anyway - in the video, the riser exits on the very edge of the stove so that the flames lick up the dome of the oven, rather than going around the floor. Not sure how this would go for pizza - just sharing the idea.

I'll see if I can find the video and post a link

anyways - well done. loved reading this.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

It has been quite some time since reporting on this idea. It was always an experiment with an intentionally short lifespan. However good information, I believe, was gleaned.
One of the amazing things was the performance of the clay pot. It was easy to modify and endured the heat like a champ.
The inner heat chamber/chimney however did not. I underestimated the destructive nature of the intense heat and wind racing through chamber, the cheap hvac tubes I used eroded quickly. As they did the heat loss the the structure brought it to the place where efficiency suffered.
But, when it was working, it worked well. Brought it up to temp, closed the upper chimney and made wonderful pizza. And a few other breads. Family and friends all enjoyed it.
So the big question might be, would you do it again? Yes and no
With some modification this design could be great, despite what the nay sayers say. The fire box and primary heat chamber need to be more substantial. Perhaps all brick. And that theme carries right up to the cooking surface.
I used thin cheap materials, for speed and thrift. A bit more time and care could produce, I believe, a product that would make a great little oven that would last for years.
Oh, it was too small, not because there was no room to cook, but the proportionally small door was hard to navigate

[madasafish]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Is there any more news on this idea?

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Scotpunk, I would be happy to provide all the information tips and things i would do differently. Ultimate success is but a dream
*** warning***
Tred lightly as you traverse the tasty trail. Not everyone is completely convinced of this unconventional method. If you have any latent daddy issues you may consider a moderate course of psychodynamic therapy. I can provide a referral if you would like.
However... If you have good ego strength, a pioneers spirit, thick skin, and the ability to color outside the lines then stay tuned.

It sounds like you have the general idea but I will attempt to fill in some of the detail.
The rocket stove does fire under the brick. There is a "deflector" designed to separate the bottom of the bricks from a direct blast and hopefully provide a more uniform heat. I used a flower pot saucer. I think brick may be better in that place since you could be assured of its ability to last long term. Also my thoughts of being able to make reapers in the burn chamber by removing the dome needs some more thought or more assurance that repairs will be unnecessary.
The cooking surface is resting on a cheap pizza pan. It warps slightly when heated. The exhausts are full circle around the cook surface, it sort of 'floats' in the stream of hot exhaust. I believe that with some skillful layout, the entire cook surface and heat deflector system can be made with fire brick.
The flower pot dome mates with a saucer of the same diameter. Lip to lip so to speak. I gave the rim a flat with the angle grinder to help them mate better. I might ditch the saucer in the future. A ring if firebrick splits would be better i think.
The whole thing has a thin layer of vermiculite concrete. I experimented with a couple layers of foil and found a real boost with just a little insulation. If you have the room for a couple inches of pearlvermicucrete it helps a bunch.
And no, I'm not concerned about my brick work. I figure at this point I'm a well skilled mason and might change careers. But seriously... The bricks get warm but not hot. I think the rocket stove could be built from more durable material, again maybe fire brick or cast iron would be great. I do have a layer of insulation between the rocket and the bricks. I would make the rocket stove ? Taller ? Longer? It's 6" diameter which may be a bit to large but I thought 4" was a bit small. If you imagine the rocket as an "L" shape you may choose to make the bottom leg longer. It would give you a longer burn chamber and better chance to consume the smoke fuel.
Lastly your pot. I used a cheap Mexican pot from Home Depot. 16" it cost about eight bucks. It seems to be holding up well and it was fairly thick. That was the largest pot that I thought was suitable at HD. Now then, if you are so inclined, planter Paradise in el cajon off chase is freaking awesome. You could get a larger, better, pot.
If you care to send me a PM and we can chat more.

[Scotpunk]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Hi Doc! I have been thinking about doing the same thing with a flower pot and stumbled on your post. It has been great fun following your trials and tribulations all the way to ultimate success. I just want to make sure I understand your current method of heating the dome. It looks like your rocket oven is firing directly up on the firebrick and there are also heat exhausts around the circumference of the cooking surface. Also, it looks like you have your dome flower pot resting on top of another cut flower pot that is insulated with vermicrete. Am I seeing this correctly? I believe your base tower is constructed of regular brick and mortar. Do you have any concerns over not using firebrick instead? Thanks and keep the pictures and stories coming.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

I almost forgot. Here's a picture of the whole stove. I still have some final render to apply. But it should give you an idea for those that care.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Well alrighty. When last we left our hero he was cooking pizza and singing the praises of his rocket stove pizza oven. Now we have an update. It seems that after a few uses the stove has become more efficient. I have been able to get the temperature well over the range of my thermometer. Have a look at the picture below. It cleared nicely and held heat quite well. I have added insulation and a chimney, which is supposed to resemble a wine bottle but I may have missed the mark on that one.
The cheap Mexican flower pot has held up very well, for what it's worth. Time will tell.
If one looks closely they can see the orange glow of the rocket emanating from below the cooking surface. Ant the Temperature gage has gone full circle. For reference the maximum reading is 750? at the bottom of the orange triangle.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

And we made focaccia.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

For what it's worth the oven is performing quite well. Last weekend we did some pies with the official dough recipe. They came out very well. We will give it another try on Sunday. The temp in the dome was 750+ and broke my oven thermometer. So I had to dig up an alternate. Pic attached.
Seems that a little foil insulation made a big difference. I have since used a 9-10:1 vermiculite Portland insulating layer and will see how it goes. Again a great small project to test supplies and gain skills.

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

That's what we call job security. At least I know you are looking.
Believe it or not I'm trying to get the photos straight I can't seem to figure my own equipment. ( note to self... Use iPad sideways) Another problem I can help others with but can't help myself. Anyway here's a picture of my new cooking surface. It's difficult to cut around shapes straight to but you guys already figured that out.

[Laurentius]

Re: Rocket pot oven

Hey Doc,

You're psyching me out! Please rotate your photos, they're driving me insane!

[PsychDoc]

Re: Rocket pot oven

And finally a picture of the mildly distorted product. I'm beginning to get the hang of cooking these things. What's better is that the bottoms didn't get scorched. At this point I think the biggest challenge is less the stove and more the cook. It may not be authentic but it sure tasted good. We also made cinnamon rolls, bananas Foster cake, and the cherries jubilee cake, the cherries Jubilee ended up burned because I just left it in there for too long.
So far this project has been a great way to learn about some of the materials used for the ovens, think I would recommend it to anybody who would want to tinker and learn about the various materials that are used. It's not very expensive and at the end of the day you can produce a pizza. I'm sure it's not as good as an authentic Pompeii but again it was a great experience. And for what it's worth I'm wonderfully humorous so I'll be making plenty jokes along the way.