DIY Rocket Stove Kit – PYRIKX

Rocket stoves are extremely versatile tools for backyard cooking, emergency situations, and even portability. And you can find various DIY rocket stove kits, or even simple DIY rocket stove plans, offered from many vendors online. But there there are usually one of two challenges with most designs:

• There are quite a few designs that are 3D modeled, from designers who lack the equipment to actually manufacture them. This also means by definition they don’t have the resources to build and test many variants to ensure peak performance.
• Conversely, there are small manufacturers who may be extremely talented builders, but have no ability to do complex modeling to test for design efficiency or to prepare for or pull off mass manufacturing.

In either case designs are not rigorously engineered, modeled and tested for combustion flow, heat transfer and structural loads. But we’ve got a better alternative – introducing PYRIKX!

Two Sizes to Choose From

The PYRIKX Rocket Stove comes in 4″ and 6″ variants. Each kit is almost identical, with the larger model simply being a scaled up version.

According to modeling and theoretical analysis, the 4″ tubing based version is capable of outputting over 10,000 BTUs with moderate fuel input. It can do more if you’re really feeding it maximum input, but the theoretical limit for any 4″ based tube is around 30,000 BTUs.

• The 4″ upright tube serves as the chimney and is 18″ tall.
• It features pointed corners so a pot or pan could be placed directly on top.
• For greater stability, a set of removable grates are slotted to sit on top. They create a larger flat surface when installed one way, or a stepped wok surface when inverted.
• The fuel feeder tube is angled at 60 degree s for optimal gravity feed, and features a hinged cover to close off the air intake, and as protection from the elements.
• The lower air tube has a damper that can be adjusted to modulate the combustion chamber.
• An integrated ash drawer slides in from the rear just below the combustion chamber, allowing for easy cleanout.

The 6″ tubing variant increases the theoretical maximum heat output to over 60,000 BTUs, but at the expense of burning more fuel. Think of it this way, if you burn a stick of wood, it will release a certain amount of heat. All sticks of the same size and type will have the same amount of energy release. So you’ll need to burn twice as much to generate double the heat. The trick is to make sure that your burn chamber can sustain the volume of air and fuel required to put out the amount of heat you need.

• The 6″ upright tube serves as the chimney and is 22″ tall (25″ including base).
• It features pointed corners so a pot or pan could be placed directly on top.
• For greater stability, a set of removable grates are slotted to sit on top. They create a larger flat surface when installed one way, or a stepped wok surface when inverted.
• The fuel feeder tube is angled at 60 degree s for optimal gravity feed, and features a hinged cover to close off the air intake, and as protection from the elements.
• The lower air tube has a damper that can be adjusted to modulate the combustion chamber.
• An integrated ash drawer slides in from the rear just below the combustion chamber, allowing for easy cleanout.

If the goal is to be able to cook on a skillet, or boil a small pot of water, you can easily accomplish that with the smaller stove, and save a lot of fuel in the process. But if you want to have a large boiling pot, you’ll need the extra BTUs to bring it to boil in a reasonable period of time.

The WeldProjects Difference

With our design – draft angles, throat diameters, and riser lengths have been parametrically optimized for maximum draft and minimal smoke. We offer detailed CAD drawings, BOMs, and assembly instructions. And every kit we deliver conforms to defined tolerances. The repeatability of our lasers exceed .0078in, ensuring every kit is identical to one another – super important when you need to make a batch!

We have a complete discussion on the forums detailing the extensive modeling and optimization conducted on our design. And another detailing the features and build process, so you can ask questions, make suggestions and get help directly from the design team and the community. Furthermore, as projects are built and feedback shared with the design team, we’ll constantly refine and evolve the kits. So you’ll always be receiving the latest and greatest release as we all learn and improve together!

The Kit

As previously mentioned, we have a discussion thread on the forums about the build process for the PYRIKX rocket stove. The kit contains about a dozen parts, and everything goes together very easily.

You can follow our build booklet, which is attached on the Design Files tab below, and check out the 3D model if you’d like to give it a spin and interact with it.

As always, feel free to ask questions and give feedback on the forums!