What is a rocket mass heater?

A rocket mass heater (also termed rocket stove mass heater) is a space heating system developed from the rocket stove, a type of efficient wood-burning stove, and the masonry heater. Its fundamental characteristics are an insulated combustion chamber where fuel (generally wood) is burned with high efficiency at extremely high temperatures, and a large thermal mass in contact with the exhaust gases which absorbs most of the generated heat before the gases are released to the atmosphere. According to various reports a rocket mass heater can reduce fuel consumption by 80 - 90% compared to "conventional" stoves.

NASA Stirling Cycle Engine: "The Stirling Engine: A Wave of the Future" ?

 It all looked so promising.
Why didn't it go anywhere?
It seems the common complaint is pressure in the cylinders and gaskets. That seems like a minor problem. One other problem I see is they used hydrogen as light gas for the pistons, in this experiment, which is very flammable while helium would be better substitute.




[Editor: This would actually be a great engine for cold climate countries like Russia, Canada and Scandinavia. Because it works on a heat differential. This means the easier it is to dump the heat the better it works. That is why, in the NASA video (above), they did most of the tests with this engine in the worst conditions of the deep southern states, which are hot and humid. They are not what would be thought of as a good environment for such an engine.]


 "This video describes the Stirling engine, an external combustion engine which creates heat energy to power the motor, and can use many types of fuel. It can be used for both stationary and propulsion purposes and has advantages of better fuel economy and cleaner exhaust than internal combustion engines. The engine is shown being road tested at Langley Air Force Base."

details of the report:
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19880002196.pdf

Public domain film from NASA, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization.

Homemade air conditioner DIY - Awesome Air Cooler! - EASY Instructions - can be solar powered!

LFTR--The Thorium Dream

Here is another film about LFTR technology. Here is a broad overview.



For more about the technical aspects see older post here

Earthships

It isn't exactly a “Christian” idea as in its driving force. I don't agree with the some of their political views of over population or Global Warming...etc But there are really good things happening from these ideas of “Earthships”. I think it would behoove Catholic Church missionaries and religious communities to see these things and see the benefits for self-sufficient housing. Could you imagine a monastery that needs no food and no utility bills or even Catholic communities? It is possible and this visionary has set a foundation that could be built on. Yeah his structures are not beautiful but Catholic artists developed souring cathedrals from the basis of pagan architecture developed by the Romans and other cultures. I think some really beautiful structures could be developed.

Introduction overview

Hydraulic Hybrids video

Experiment with new solar tech

If you have some extra cash and you want to experiment with solar, I'd suggest you try this. In the long run it will be cheaper than conventional solar.

These  Tesla Solar Tracker III's are specifically designed for offline solar power systems. They are fully integrated solar charge controllers.

Most charge controller and solar panel systems cannot even start charging the battery banks until there is direct bright sunlight on the solar panels.

It is common for these Tesla Solar Tracker III's to start charging as soon as the sun comes up until the sun sets. Marginal light is the minimum requirement - so you can have battery charging all day long even under cloudy skies!

This does not have to do with the solar panel, it has to do with the interaction between what the solar panel sees in relation to what the charge controller does with it.

No other solar charge controller in the industry can compete with this game-changing technology built by John Bedini, the world's indisputable master of battery charging technology.

Many solar system have to have their battery banks changed every 5-7 years because the conventional charge controllers do such an incredibly poor job at even getting the battery voltages up to where they like to be.

Therefore, there is normally sulfation layer upon sulfation layer, which never quite gets removed with conventional charge controllers.

The Tesla Solar Tracker III will deeply rejuvenate the battery bank when charging fully removing the sulfation layers and getting the batteries to a higher voltage, which keeps them in good shape.

What does this mean?

It means you will not have to change your battery banks as often, if ever, and this makes your ROI for your solar system simply make sense.

check it out here http://www.teslachargers.com/solartrackeriii.html

Our Friend the Atom

While we are not so positive about the hope of atomic energy today, this film shows some good science to help explain how the atom was discovered and works.

As I have posted here in another post (click here) LFTR technology using Thorium instead of Uranium could be one step closer to a better alternative to current more dangerous forms of nuclear power, such as the (LWR) Light Water Reactor. LFTR is much safer than than LWR technology and will use 80%-90% of the energy found in Thorium with very little waste. While LWRs use only .05%- .07% with a lot of waste. (That is not a typo LWR use less than 1% of the energy of Uranium!)

Really smart --String Bike

Stringbike's roots lie in a postgraduate challenge at Budapest Technical University in the early 1990s, to think outside the box and overcome some design issues relating to chain-driven bicycles.

The Stringdrive alternating drive system benefits from 19 different "gear" transmission ratios – the outer position gives maximum and the inner gives minimum ratios – which are selected by moving the rope wheels up and down the notch positions on the swinging arm.

I think it will have advantages in the leverage you can get on the pedals.

80+ MPG Car

Write your congressman that the car industry is sitting on car efficiency that can get 80+mpg!
Full Series Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicle (HHV) in a Passenger Car Test Chassis
In the 1990s, the Partnership for New Generation of Vehicles was established to help U.S. automakers design a family-sized sedan that could achieve 80 mpg. A team of engineers working at EPA’s National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, succeeded in meeting this goal by using a revolutionary type of hydraulic hybrid. The chassis shown at right represents a large car platform, like a Taurus or Impala.

This HHV:




Achieved 80+ mpg on combined EPA city/highway driving cycles



Achieved 0-60 miles per hour in 8 seconds



Used a small 1.9 liter diesel engine



Showed no need for expensive lightweight materials to improve fuel economy



EPA estimated that in high volume the hydraulic components would only add $700 to the base cost of the vehicle and would pay for itself very quickly

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/technology/research/demonstration-vehicles.htm

The truth is this technology is from the 1970's
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/1977-11-01/Can-This-Transmission-Really-Double-Your-Cars-Mileage.aspx

 Followed by an independent proof of concept a in 1978

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/1978-03-01/This-Car-Travels-75-Miles-on-a-Single-Gallon-of-Gasoline.aspx

The truth is the patten of Vincent Carman has expired so now the tech can come out. Anyway I will be happy if it gets into production. Just sad it took so long.

President Obama is pushing the auto industry to accept a new fuel economy rating of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025,Back in July of 2011, President Obama, a few days after giving a speech on new MPG standards for the US, was asked if he felt the future 50 MPG goal was too high a mark. He responded by saying that he, “knew for a fact,” that there are cars available today that get 80 miles per gallon.

Now you know he was telling the truth.

sola heating system. Not pretty but it works

It ain't pretty but it does save cost in heating Especially if you in a really cold climate

Alternative Energy--LFTRs

I used to be opposed to Nuclear energy but this new LFTR technology has changed my mind. Energy is as much of a key to our society as economy in a sense you could say we are on the crude oil standard. Third World countries can only really seek development and health by cheap clean energy. LFTRs can't be used for nuclear weapons.

Just watch the first 5 minutes, which will help you to understand the importance of this technology. The rest of the video is for a deeper understanding of nukes in general. Lets get informed.