I really enjoy using a rocket stove to cook sometimes. It especially came in handy after a terrible storm causing tree damage wrapped the electric service from the house and we were without electricity for 7-10 days. Our stove was electric. Here I’m boiling up hard boil eggs for a meal. There weather was really hot and humid, so cooking with fire outside is very importan, even if we had had a wood fired cooking stove in the kitchen, which we did not. Of course, we had our own layers. So, no need for refrigeration for the eggs - bonus!
One can buy rocket stoves from websites, but this one is simply made from regular bricks and an iron grate from any old gas stove. It’s also portable. It’s made with about 24 dry stacked bricks. I set it on a large concrete paver to make leveling easier and reflects heat better than the cold ground.
Looking at the first picture, you can see I left a hole in the front when laying out the first course of bricks. This is the damper for flame control. Simply use a brick to open and close the damper (hole).
When laying the second course of brick, I left another hole open at the side and put a first course brick as a threshold. This is where you feed the wood into the stove. The brick serving as a threshold helps to hold the wood up. Putting the wood in at the second row of bricks allows air flow under the wood from the damper and what causes the wood to flame like a jet engine, along with the narrow chimney.
Notice the ‘wood’, this stove turns all easy to get twigs and little branches of any wood (pine too) into an efficient energy source. Its like feeding pigs your scraps and getting ham and bacon. As the sticks burn up you just shove them in more.
You could enhance this idea by using fire brick from a builder/hardware store. The brick here are old and over a little time wasn’t holding up to exposure and high heat; but, easily replaceable, either way. Also, you could expand it to two or four chimney, like a four burner stove. Feed two from one side and two from the other side. Another plus, use your conventional stove cookware. But, be prepared to clean off soot. Clean using scouring pads, ‘comet’, or baking soda.
One could build it as needed. However, I had mine near the house for use at any time. I would recommend putting it out of the wind, or making a wind break of some sort. When heavy wind blows the flames under the pot, it seems to heat less efficiently, taking longer to cook, but that’s even true of a grill. Further, if you put it under an open sided pavilion with a wind shield wall, even better. Because, you’re cooking, you’re not using a flame any bigger (not too much) bigger than the gas range in your home - just don’t put against a flammable wall or other flammable materials!
I hope people try and enjoy this clever cooking method.
Br Tom, cmj.