Absolutely love this! The design is not only beautiful but super practical. It could be a game-changer for wood cooking in rural areas, especially with its minimal smoke production. Fast cooking with the Lorena sounds like a dream come true for everyone!
Now I kinda wish we would've saved the old glass cooktop when we had to get a new one. I didn't realize there was a way to repurpose it like this! I wonder if I could get one from a place that sells cooktops, when they installed our new one they took the old with them... I really like the cob look of these of rocket stoves!
This is super cool and it's good to see innovation incorporating cooking into RMH design. This design looks great for certain outside cooking applications, but is not the best solution for anyone looking to do daily indoor baking/cooking with an RMH. IMO, it's better to keep the typical 55 gal steel barrel above the burn chamber. A modification I've come up with that I still haven't seen a better RMH cooking solution is to raise the steel barrel up above the burn chamber so that you can create a skillet/oven combo between the burn chamber below and the barrel above, so that the oven is heated from both below and above. I'm building and testing it now and its absolutely fantastic. I'll be uploading and sharing vids soon for anyone interested! Keep up the RMH innovation!
@@tedijune6759 I believe we used Morgan Superwool around the pot and as a gasket under the glass cooktop - I'm the guy with the green shirt and mask in the video.
So look forward to trying this. Parts of Latin America are all over this (the hole for a pot), it is almost a rural standard - indoors! In well- ventilated adobe kitchens with tin or tile roofs. The longstanding latin version of rocket stove has a long horizontal chamber you feed in the end, (L-design rather J) and they often have 2 holes for pots but no cooktop. Since it functions with the suction of a rocket stove there is not all that much escaping gas. They don't harvest the extra heat - it shoots straight up a chimney after passing under the cooking surfaces.
After this lorena stove was built, I believe 3-4 different items were cooked at the same time - a pot of water, a skillet with eggs, and I believe another dish but can't recall now.
I love the glass cooktop repurpose in this application, and it gives the build a lovely rustic meets modern feel! But.....one careless pot bang or other mishap and it could shatter. Outdoors not so big a deal if you have a spare piece of glass or metal to quickly cover it, but inside a glass top in an application like this would be a big no no for me.
It's certainly a possibility, we placed a layer of Superwool insulation under the edges of the glass to form a seal, and there's also a support layer of bricks in the middle that directs the exhaust in a U direction, and also supports the middle of the glass surface so there's very little span between support bricks. I believe cooktops are made of tempered glass to avoid cracks, so while it's possible for a person to break it, it would require an almost deliberate drop of a heavy object.
These high temp tops are not really made from "glass" so they don't behave that way. They certainly do not crack. They are made from fused silica or borosilicate "glass" of which there are many types. Also, not to be misled: research what "glass" and "glassy" means. There are bulk glassy metal alloys - metals with no crystal structure, which means they are amorphous. They are usually very strong because they do not have the ability to slide crystals past each other (stretch). A typical expansion coefficient for ceramic may be 7.5x10^-6 which a low expansion glass may be 5 x 10^-8. A hundred times less. At least once, find a rejected electric stove top and try to break it, gently at first and get more enthusiastic to see what it can take. Make us a video. I think you will be impressed and more confident. The main thing they do is "not expand". So, surprisingly, there is no need to worry about "expansion joints" because they don't expand. The sand/clay mix body will, but its bulk temperature doesn't get very high.
@@crispinp-p397So your saying your "glass" top would not shatter if an angry wife or husband throws a heavy cast iron pot or skillet at you from across the room and it misses you but hits the glass? Or kids horsing around in the house throwing questionable heavy objects that could hit it? Or during SHTF when it would be needed the most, some resentful or angry person getting angry and hitting it with a hammer full force? The each their own, like I said , I love the look and would use it in a non essential outdoor application, but personally I'll stick with steel for something I'd be depending on.
@@crispinp-p397So.... I just did a RUclips search on glass cooktop breaking, and what pulled up was a whole lot of vids with cracked glass cooktops, and how to repair them, etc. One vid was a guy who "accidentally" cracked his glass cooktop with many cracks all over it with his cast iron pan and another guy who broke the glass top by pushing his stock pot basket down into the water filled pot with normal use. Looks like they can and do crack.
@@Mark-xt8jpInteresting! I only brought this up as something to consider for people planning on building one, that they will be depending on, especially during the difficult times of Tribulation many of us believe will be happening in the next year or two, and may last for a while. But I do love the look and design of this!
It is appropriate to make a rocket cooktop that is vented to the outside. A lorena has the pot sitting on the fire and exhaust gasses could leak out next to the pot.
Is it possible to buy the plans just for this stove? Where I live we don't really need to heat our homes so I don't need the whole rocket mass heater instructions. If we built one it would be for cooking applications.
Any info what kind of temps the riser in this Lorena build is reaching? If the pot is full of liquid, that would protect the steel pot and lower temps quite a bit that the bottom of the pot sees, but if it accidentally boiled dry or someone tried to use it to sautee or fry with by accident, wouldn't the super high temps of a true insulated RMH be problematic in this application with a steel pot directly above the riser? Not knocking the design, I just critical think of potential design issues, especially on my own builds!
The indoor RMHs at Paul's place have CO monitors, but unless you get smoke back into the house you don't see any CO either. I saw some CO once when I had a cold plug cause some smoke to come back out the wood feed, and the sensor right by it showed it, the same as you'd see opening a wood stove door too fast and pulling some smoke out the door. If you didn't use the insulating wool around the pot, you could expect some smoke/CO coming out there at the beginning, but once the exhaust heats up the draw is usually strong enough that it would draw a little air in around the pot, rather than blowing it out.
Absolutely love this! The design is not only beautiful but super practical. It could be a game-changer for wood cooking in rural areas, especially with its minimal smoke production. Fast cooking with the Lorena sounds like a dream come true for everyone!
I think that in time we can make it even more beautiful still.
Now I kinda wish we would've saved the old glass cooktop when we had to get a new one. I didn't realize there was a way to repurpose it like this! I wonder if I could get one from a place that sells cooktops, when they installed our new one they took the old with them... I really like the cob look of these of rocket stoves!
This is super cool and it's good to see innovation incorporating cooking into RMH design. This design looks great for certain outside cooking applications, but is not the best solution for anyone looking to do daily indoor baking/cooking with an RMH. IMO, it's better to keep the typical 55 gal steel barrel above the burn chamber. A modification I've come up with that I still haven't seen a better RMH cooking solution is to raise the steel barrel up above the burn chamber so that you can create a skillet/oven combo between the burn chamber below and the barrel above, so that the oven is heated from both below and above. I'm building and testing it now and its absolutely fantastic. I'll be uploading and sharing vids soon for anyone interested! Keep up the RMH innovation!
nateross14; ❤❤❤ your comment here. Is that kaewool insulation around Paul’s pot here?
nateross14; I subbed to you here. You are OBVIOUSLY smart.
@@tedijune6759 I believe we used Morgan Superwool around the pot and as a gasket under the glass cooktop - I'm the guy with the green shirt and mask in the video.
What a great alternative to outdoor cooking with propane. Can't wait to try to make one if these this summer!
Ooh, could you make your own project thread at Permies forums when you build one? It would be really nice to see!
So look forward to trying this. Parts of Latin America are all over this (the hole for a pot), it is almost a rural standard - indoors! In well- ventilated adobe kitchens with tin or tile roofs.
The longstanding latin version of rocket stove has a long horizontal chamber you feed in the end, (L-design rather J) and they often have 2 holes for pots but no cooktop. Since it functions with the suction of a rocket stove there is not all that much escaping gas. They don't harvest the extra heat - it shoots straight up a chimney after passing under the cooking surfaces.
I want to use this for canning outside! Will the cooktop get hot enough to cook multiple things at once?
Yes! The lorena part does tend to hog most of the heat.
After this lorena stove was built, I believe 3-4 different items were cooked at the same time - a pot of water, a skillet with eggs, and I believe another dish but can't recall now.
@@Mark-xt8jp That's wonderful! All without overheating the kitchen!
I love the glass cooktop repurpose in this application, and it gives the build a lovely rustic meets modern feel! But.....one careless pot bang or other mishap and it could shatter. Outdoors not so big a deal if you have a spare piece of glass or metal to quickly cover it, but inside a glass top in an application like this would be a big no no for me.
It's certainly a possibility, we placed a layer of Superwool insulation under the edges of the glass to form a seal, and there's also a support layer of bricks in the middle that directs the exhaust in a U direction, and also supports the middle of the glass surface so there's very little span between support bricks. I believe cooktops are made of tempered glass to avoid cracks, so while it's possible for a person to break it, it would require an almost deliberate drop of a heavy object.
These high temp tops are not really made from "glass" so they don't behave that way. They certainly do not crack. They are made from fused silica or borosilicate "glass" of which there are many types. Also, not to be misled: research what "glass" and "glassy" means. There are bulk glassy metal alloys - metals with no crystal structure, which means they are amorphous. They are usually very strong because they do not have the ability to slide crystals past each other (stretch). A typical expansion coefficient for ceramic may be 7.5x10^-6 which a low expansion glass may be 5 x 10^-8. A hundred times less.
At least once, find a rejected electric stove top and try to break it, gently at first and get more enthusiastic to see what it can take. Make us a video. I think you will be impressed and more confident. The main thing they do is "not expand". So, surprisingly, there is no need to worry about "expansion joints" because they don't expand. The sand/clay mix body will, but its bulk temperature doesn't get very high.
@@crispinp-p397So your saying your "glass" top would not shatter if an angry wife or husband throws a heavy cast iron pot or skillet at you from across the room and it misses you but hits the glass? Or kids horsing around in the house throwing questionable heavy objects that could hit it? Or during SHTF when it would be needed the most, some resentful or angry person getting angry and hitting it with a hammer full force? The each their own, like I said , I love the look and would use it in a non essential outdoor application, but personally I'll stick with steel for something I'd be depending on.
@@crispinp-p397So.... I just did a RUclips search on glass cooktop breaking, and what pulled up was a whole lot of vids with cracked glass cooktops, and how to repair them, etc. One vid was a guy who "accidentally" cracked his glass cooktop with many cracks all over it with his cast iron pan and another guy who broke the glass top by pushing his stock pot basket down into the water filled pot with normal use. Looks like they can and do crack.
@@Mark-xt8jpInteresting! I only brought this up as something to consider for people planning on building one, that they will be depending on, especially during the difficult times of Tribulation many of us believe will be happening in the next year or two, and may last for a while. But I do love the look and design of this!
Is it not appropriate to use a lorena indoors? I've been following Matt Walker on your lead and am quite interested in his builds.
It is appropriate to make a rocket cooktop that is vented to the outside. A lorena has the pot sitting on the fire and exhaust gasses could leak out next to the pot.
Wow, this is so clever!
perfect for summer cooking, plus all that dry, windfall branches laying around for fuel
I want one of these.
Is it possible to buy the plans just for this stove? Where I live we don't really need to heat our homes so I don't need the whole rocket mass heater instructions. If we built one it would be for cooking applications.
The movie and the plans are at freeheat.info ... here are the plans alone permies.com/t/193727/Plans-Rocket-Cooktop-Lorena-Option
This is great for Mexico where women tend to make big pot things over fire, tamales (might actually be too hot for tamales??) pozole, mole, etc.
Any info what kind of temps the riser in this Lorena build is reaching? If the pot is full of liquid, that would protect the steel pot and lower temps quite a bit that the bottom of the pot sees, but if it accidentally boiled dry or someone tried to use it to sautee or fry with by accident, wouldn't the super high temps of a true insulated RMH be problematic in this application with a steel pot directly above the riser? Not knocking the design, I just critical think of potential design issues, especially on my own builds!
To boil it dry you would have to sit there right next to the pot and keep feeding wood.
Co and co2 monitors, now particulates monitors as well. I guess progress doesn't occur unless new things to worry about aren't found, but still.
The indoor RMHs at Paul's place have CO monitors, but unless you get smoke back into the house you don't see any CO either. I saw some CO once when I had a cold plug cause some smoke to come back out the wood feed, and the sensor right by it showed it, the same as you'd see opening a wood stove door too fast and pulling some smoke out the door. If you didn't use the insulating wool around the pot, you could expect some smoke/CO coming out there at the beginning, but once the exhaust heats up the draw is usually strong enough that it would draw a little air in around the pot, rather than blowing it out.
@@Mark-xt8jp often wondered if a tesla valve would help with the cold plug issue.