What do you think?
Rate this book
Rocket Mass Heaters
THE manual on how to build an efficient masonry-type wood burning stove from inexpensive parts and practical skills gained from reading this book and experimentation. It was written by the developer of the Rocket Mass Heater, Ianto Evans, who is also co-creator of the Rocket Stove.
Rocket Mass Heaters are in a family of efficient wood-burning stoves called Rocket Stoves. What these various types of Rocket Stoves all have in common is that they burn small-diameter wood fuel in a high-temperature combustion chamber with an insulated internal chimney.
With clear, delightful illustrations and practical, accessible instructions, the Third Edition contains Case Studies (in full color) by ten stove builders who have been living with these stoves for several years, and have been teaching the craft.
Even if you don't plan to build one of these stoves, you will learn practical skills about human comfort, self-reliance, and heating with wood. The casual reader comes away with an ability to build fires-from campfires to highly specific rocket stoves-and will understand how wood burns, and which wood burning stove is best for a given situation. The passionate stover comes away with all you need to build your own Rocket Mass Heater in your home, taking charge of your family's comfort.
There is an updated Safety chapter by Art Ludwig and improved construction instruction based on builder feedback, and thanks to the viral popularity of this technology on the internet forums all over the world among passionate do-it-yourselfers, masonry stove builders, homesteaders, and Permaculture practitioners.
In this book, you'll find a basic recipe for building a Rocket Mass Heater. Why basic? Because your stove will be made to your local climate specifications, in your unique house, and with materials you source according to luck/whim/opportunity/dumpster-diving law, or if nothing else, money.
Good luck with your stove!
Rocket Mass Heaters are in a family of efficient wood-burning stoves called Rocket Stoves. What these various types of Rocket Stoves all have in common is that they burn small-diameter wood fuel in a high-temperature combustion chamber with an insulated internal chimney.
With clear, delightful illustrations and practical, accessible instructions, the Third Edition contains Case Studies (in full color) by ten stove builders who have been living with these stoves for several years, and have been teaching the craft.
Even if you don't plan to build one of these stoves, you will learn practical skills about human comfort, self-reliance, and heating with wood. The casual reader comes away with an ability to build fires-from campfires to highly specific rocket stoves-and will understand how wood burns, and which wood burning stove is best for a given situation. The passionate stover comes away with all you need to build your own Rocket Mass Heater in your home, taking charge of your family's comfort.
There is an updated Safety chapter by Art Ludwig and improved construction instruction based on builder feedback, and thanks to the viral popularity of this technology on the internet forums all over the world among passionate do-it-yourselfers, masonry stove builders, homesteaders, and Permaculture practitioners.
In this book, you'll find a basic recipe for building a Rocket Mass Heater. Why basic? Because your stove will be made to your local climate specifications, in your unique house, and with materials you source according to luck/whim/opportunity/dumpster-diving law, or if nothing else, money.
Good luck with your stove!
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
9 people are currently reading
457 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2012
Several years ago, I published this review on amazon.com:
"A couple of years ago I was intrigued by the idea of building a rocket stove after reading about them in Ianto Evans' The Hand Sculpted House. When I read the first little rocket stove book I was very impressed. This second edition with a brand new title is even better! The old edition was written in a clear and comfortable way that made a novice like me feel like I could build one competently. This edition has far more text, new applications for the technology, and has excellent color photos and many more illustrations. The details are much clearer. I'm thoroughly enjoying the rocket stove/cob bench now in my office. If you're interested in natural building, saving resources (including money) this book is a must have."
"A couple of years ago I was intrigued by the idea of building a rocket stove after reading about them in Ianto Evans' The Hand Sculpted House. When I read the first little rocket stove book I was very impressed. This second edition with a brand new title is even better! The old edition was written in a clear and comfortable way that made a novice like me feel like I could build one competently. This edition has far more text, new applications for the technology, and has excellent color photos and many more illustrations. The details are much clearer. I'm thoroughly enjoying the rocket stove/cob bench now in my office. If you're interested in natural building, saving resources (including money) this book is a must have."
March 1, 2012
Great book, easy to read and full of pictures and diagrams. It's not rocket science so if you're interested in easy to build, cheap and highly efficiently wood burning stoves for cooking or heating ... this is a great place to start.
December 17, 2017
informative and inspirational overview of rocket stoves as a launching point to a career as a pyromaniac.
September 7, 2019
Very informative, though I wish there was more information for people who want to build solely for cooking...
September 9, 2020
Great book.
March 18, 2021
Awesome book! Earthen building is fun and can be beautiful. Be careful reading this because you might end up living on a commune in Cottage Grove, OR.
April 3, 2013
Genijalno i praktično, za vikendicu, kuću ili smak svijeta (odnosno energije koju danas koristimo) :-)
February 7, 2015
Excellent manual for experimenting with possibilities. Inspiring and easy to follow instructions, well laid out diagrams and mostly precise directions allow for improvisation.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews