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Most significantly, the documentary doesn’t really go into how to build the J-tube, also
known as the engine that powers the rocket oven.
But not to worry! I’ve scoured the internet for all the main questions—and the best
answers—so you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips before you get
started.
(If you’re already familiar with J-tubes for rocket mass heaters or rocket stoves, then the
documentary will easily give you enough information to build a rocket oven. But if you’ve
never built a J-tube or even heard of it, then the documentary will probably leave you
scratching your head wondering how to do it. This guide can fill in the blanks.)
Ultimately, building your own rocket oven will take some trial and error, and as always
when working with fire, care needs to be taken. Take your time and don’t rush this project.
But if you follow the steps outlined in the documentary and use this guide to help fill in
some of the gaps, you should be able to build your own rocket oven.
▪ I believe that building a rocket oven is something anyone can do, but it’s not a
simple project. I highly recommend watching the relevant parts of the documentary
several times before getting started. (The how-to portion runs from the 42-minute
mark to the end.) Take notes as you watch so that you can refer to them later.
▪ Make sure you have all the proper tools and equipment before you get started. A
list of all the tools you’ll need is available at the end of this guide.
▪ It’s a good idea to build your J-tube first. You’ll need to know the dimensions of the
“heat riser” portion of your J-tube (more on that later) in order to construct the main
part of the rocket oven.
The J-tube is what drives the rocket oven. It’s where you start the fire and add fuel (sticks)
to keep it going. While the documentary does show several examples of a J-tube, it
The feed tube is where you add the fuel for the fire. You start the fire in the burn tunnel
with simple flammable materials such as paper, and then add the sticks so they catch fire.
If you start the fire correctly, the flame will burn sideways through the burn tunnel with
the hot air and any smoke being drawn up the heat riser.
Once the fire is going you should get a nice current of air flowing down the feed tube,
through the burn tunnel, and up the heat riser. The air leaving the heat riser should be hot
and clear of smoke.
It’s a good idea to build the J-tube first and practice with it before building the full rocket
oven. You can always roast hotdogs or other foods over the J-tube to practice. And if
you’re still nervous when you get done reading this section, you can always purchase
plans that will take away any of the guesswork. Check out the Resources in Appendix 1 of
this guide for some great options.
The open interior of the J-tube should be about the same size throughout so that the air
can easily flow through.
Whichever you choose should be the internal dimensions for each of the three
components of the J-tube—the feed tube, the burn tunnel and the heat riser.
The height of the feed tube and heat riser can be built according to your needs as long as
you follow this rule:
The feed tube should be no more than 1/3 the height of the heat riser.
So if you want your heat riser to be 3 ft tall, then the max height of the feed tube is 1 ft.
But for the most efficient burn, you want to keep the feed tube as short as practical. (Too
short and the feed tube won’t hold the wood very well.)
The rocket oven will sit on top of the J-tube, so think about that when planning the
height of the heat riser. If you build the heat riser too high, your oven will be hard to use.
Another rule is to keep the burn tunnel as short as practical. The limiting factor here is the
material you are using to build your J-tube.
To summarize:
- The internal dimensions of the J-tube should be 5” x 5” or 6” x 6”.
- The feed tube should be as short as practical.
- The heat riser should be a minimum of 3 times the height of the feed tube.
- The burn tunnel should be as short as possible.
Start by determining the height you want the heat riser to be, so you can easily use the
oven. Then take this number and divide by 3 to get the maximum height of the feed tube.
You can’t use just any material to build your J-tube. The J-tube is designed to reach
temperatures hot enough to achieve as close as possible to a complete burn. That means
getting hot enough that even the smoke gets burned.
While this results in a clean burn, it does mean you need to use proper materials for
building your J-tube so that it can withstand the heat.
The two ideal materials for building the J-tube are fire bricks and Duraboard. Both
can handle the high temperatures associated with this part of the oven.
One thing to note is that you would not want to use Duraboard at the bottom of your
feed tube. While Duraboard can take the heat, it can be damaged by impact from sticks.
Using fire bricks at the base of the feed tube and Duraboard for the rest of the J-tube is a
way around this problem.
You can also build the entire J-tube out of fire bricks.
Regular bricks can be used, but they may not hold up to high heat.
In the book The Rocket Powered Oven by Tim Barker, Tim outlines how to build a J-tube
using regular bricks, a metal flue, and cob. Tim writes that these materials may not hold up
as long as other more heat-resistant materials, but he’s seen rocket ovens built this way
still going strong after several years of regular use.
You’ll also need to insulate the J-tube. Materials like regular brick or cob can be great
for this since the insulation does not need to handle the same high temperatures as the
internal structure of the J-tube.
Don’t skimp on the insulation for the J-Tube. Good insulation will greatly improve the
efficiency of your Rocket Oven.
Links to these materials are included in Appendix 3 of this guide of this guide.
A quick and dirty way of building an oven rack is to use fire bricks as a base and then just
place your tray or pan on the fire bricks.
This has an added advantage because the fire Be Aware: People make oven racks
bricks can absorb so much heat. Heating up with all kinds of different materials, but
those bricks might make it take longer to heat there can be trade-offs if you move
up the oven, but the bricks could help maintain away from the tried-and-true.
the temperature. In one instance a pizza stone cracked.
A more stable and permanent option for the This was likely because of how the
oven rack is to build your own out of metal. materials transferred the heat. It’s ok to
This will likely require some welding. You can get creative (to a point,) but be aware
see some examples of this type of rack in the that there may be unforeseen
documentary. consequences.
Tim Barker’s book The Rocket Powered Oven Fire bricks are generally a safe bet.
provides instructions for how to build a metal
oven rack without the need for welding.
The frame can easily be made to look attractive and add to the overall look and feel of the
space you want to create.
Just make sure that the feed tube of the J-tube is not covered, or at least that it can be
opened, since air needs to flow through the feed tube and then out the riser into the
oven and out the exhaust.
But if you want to stick to the basics, Tim Barker’s The Rocket Powered Oven again comes
in handy with an overview of a very simple support frame for a rocket oven.
You need to keep a steady supply of fuel (i.e. wood) available to keep the fire going. The
amount of fuel you put in the J-tube’s feed tube at one time determines how hot the
rocket oven gets.
Just like when you’re building a normal fire, in the beginning it’s helpful to use lots of
small pieces of wood to heat up the rocket oven to a high temperature quickly. Then you
should switch over to using larger pieces of wood (in smaller numbers) to maintain the
temperature of the oven.
You’ll need to experiment a bit to get a feel for it, and you’ll need to watch your rocket
oven more closely than a traditional oven.
I recommend checking out this YouTube video which gives more information on cooking
pizzas and other foods in the rocket oven.
If you haven’t already, be sure to watch the Rocket Oven sister documentary, Rocket
Oven Materials, Tools, and Safety.
It goes without saying that when you’re working with fire, safety is not an area you’ll want
to skimp on. But this will also run through some of the materials and tools you’ll want to
have on hand before you begin.
As you begin your project, I hope you’ll find the appendices of this guide useful.
Appendix 1 provides a list of other resources you may want to look into. You’ll find links
to everything from official J-tube plans, ideas on creative stylizing, and an excellent forum
to ask any questions that may come up along the way.
I know how it is when you get started with a project and suddenly a whole series of new
questions comes to mind.
Rather than re-watching the whole documentary or spending time hunting for the spot
that covers the topic you’re wondering about, you can reference the timelines to know
exactly which part of the program you need to view to get the information you want.
Or, you may find the answers you need right there and not need to check back with the
documentary at all.
Appendix 3 has all the goods on the sister documentary or “Microdoc,” Rocket Oven
Materials, Tools and Safety. You’ll find a link to view it, a timeline of topics, and a list of all
the materials and tools covered (with lots of product links.)
I hope this guide saves you time—and headaches—as you begin this exciting project.
Good luck!
Many of these resources are free. If you’re accessing these links from the pdf, some of
these links may be affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to
you. Your purchase through the link helps me create free content.
“Rocket Oven - is it Right for You? Here’s What You Need to Know” By Wild Homesteading
The Rocket Oven Forum on permies.com—A great place to ask any questions that you
might come up while building your rocket oven.
Walker Stoves Superhot J Rocket Stove Core Cut Plan: A fairly inexpensive pdf plan for a
J-tube made from Duraboard and a small amount of fire bricks. An easy option to build
your own J-tube.
Rocket Oven Plans on permies.com: Fairly inexpensive companion plans for the
documentary. Not required to build a rocket oven but can be helpful.
ATC Video on permies.com: Video recordings from the Appropriate Technologies Course
(ATC) where the rocket oven was developed.
Rather than wasting time hunting around for the right spot, here is a timeline that tells
you where to go depending on what information you’re looking for.
0:00:58 – 0:01:53 – Benefits of Rocket Oven / Summary of the Documentary with Paul
Wheaton
0:02:29 – 0:40:19 – Highlights of earlier versions and analysis of how they worked
- Modification of the griddle by adding a stand to hold regular pots like a stove top.
- Ending with pizza cooked on the griddle!
0:42:01 – 0:42:38 – Features Tyler Morrison talking about the 2018 version of rocket
oven and his learning process
- 0:42:39 – 0:49:14 – How to pick a barrel, and getting ready to remove the lid
o The barrel should:
▪ Be in good shape.
▪ Have been used to store oil (mineral, motor, etc.) previously.
▪ Have been a one-time use barrel if possible.
▪ Have a lid that is not just clamped on.
▪ Ideally have no rust on the inside.
▪ Warning: Be careful to avoid any volatile fumes which can be
explosive. Safety and materials video discusses this.
o Note: Keep track of the lid.
- 0:49:15 – 52:15 – Grinding the lid to remove it
o Angle grinder with grinding disk.
o Grind until you see a line between the two pieces of metal (the barrel wall
and lid).
o Metal edges will be very sharp.
o Save scrap metal for later steps!
- 0:52:16 – 1:04:45 – Outer barrel cutting and tabbing
o Tabs are 2” long each, or 4” long in total.
o Cut off ends of the barrel using angle grinder with cutting disk.
Below is a link to the second documentary, as well as a timeline of topics (in case you
need to look back and re-watch part of it) and lists of materials and tools from the film
that you can keep on hand while you work.
You will need to be logged into permies.com to access the film. You should have set up
an account when you purchased the rocket oven documentary.
Check your email for the information if you’ve forgotten your username and password.
Appendix 3b: List of Materials and Tools for Building Your Oven
Here is a list of parts, materials and tools taken from the Rocket Oven Materials, Tools, and
Safety Documentary to make your building process easier.
Some of these links may be affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no
extra cost to you. Your purchase through the link helps me create free content.