American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 20 Red Brick Stove

Today marks the beginning of Lin Yu'an's twenty-fourth day in the wilderness of Lake Chirko.

After several busy days, the small but practical ground-mounted kiln has successfully fired ceramic brick molds and several kiln top sealing plates.

Lin Yu'an did not stop and immediately threw himself into the work of mass-producing ceramic brick blanks, using the ceramic mold to press out mud bricks of uniform size one after another.

Soon, more than a hundred damp, dark brown mud bricks were neatly arranged on the open ground next to the shelter.

To prevent rain, Lin Yu'an has built a simple shed using waterproof tarpaulin to ensure that the mud bricks can slowly dry in a dry environment.

The air-drying process lasted for two days.

During this period, Lin Yu'an would turn the mud bricks over from time to time to ensure that each side of them could be evenly exposed to air, so as to avoid cracks or deformation due to uneven drying.

When the color of the mud bricks gradually changes from dark brown to light brown, the official firing of the ceramic bricks can begin.

He carefully loaded the first batch of about twenty of the best-preserved mud bricks from the top of the kiln into the earthen kiln, stacking them in alternating layers according to his previous firing experience to ensure that the heat could circulate evenly.

The subsequent firing process was already familiar to Lin Yu-an.

Preheat the kiln with a small fire to slowly evaporate the residual moisture in the brick blanks. Then, the fire enters the high-temperature calcination stage, and the flames inside the kiln change from dark red to bright orange-yellow. When the temperature is just right, stop adding firewood, seal the top of the kiln and the firewood inlet with ceramic slabs and wet mud, and let the kiln cool naturally by "warming it up".

Since the kiln was small and could only fire a limited number of bricks at a time, Lin Yu'an was not in a hurry. In the past two days, he caught two more fish and shot a grouse, replenishing his food supply.

The firing process lasted three days, and twenty-two ceramic bricks from three consecutive kilns were successfully produced! The reddish-brown bricks were hard and produced a crisp sound when struck. Although they bore the rough marks of handcrafting, they completely met his expectations.

"We already have more than sixty terracotta bricks! I think we can start building the main structure of the stove now!"

Lin Yu-an carefully carried the fired terracotta bricks into the stone house shelter.

The location of the stove was carefully planned, and it was chosen to be next to the stone wall with the pre-reserved smoke vent.

This is the ideal location. When the shelter was first built, he planned to reserve a smoke vent. Placing the stove here is very close to the smoke vent, which not only facilitates the construction of the flue, but also makes the most of the corner space.

Lin Yu'an did not lay bricks directly on the muddy ground. Instead, he first used a few irregularly shaped ceramic bricks to dry-lay a solid base.

This base effectively improves ventilation and slightly raises the combustion chamber of the furnace.

Then he began to lay the terracotta bricks. Without cement, he could only use clay and collected wood ash, adding water to make a sticky slurry.

He gently tapped the top and sides of the bricks with a homemade wooden hammer to ensure that each brick was evenly in contact with the mortar and remained stable.

The interior space of the combustion chamber is designed as a cuboid approximately 40 centimeters wide, 30 centimeters deep, and 35 centimeters high.

Below the front of the combustion chamber, he reserved a fuel inlet and an air inlet, about 15 centimeters high and 20 centimeters wide.

Once the walls of the combustion chamber were built to the predetermined height, Lin Yu-an began to work on the most crucial cooking part of the stove—the stove platform and the burner opening.

Lin Yu'an measured the dimensions and decided to fire a square ceramic slab with a circular hollowed-out center, place it on top of the stove, and leave an opening that could stably hold the pot.

Another day of firing, and the furnace lid was successfully fired! It was placed stably on top of the brick furnace.

Lin Yu'an picked up the stainless steel pot and carefully placed it on the perforated stove lid. The pot was firmly embedded in the lid, and the rim of the pot fit snugly against the edge of the stove!

"Absolutely perfect! It will be so much more convenient for heating and cooking, and the thermal efficiency will be much higher!"

After the stove and burner are completed, the next step is the flue, which is crucial to the entire stove system and is also relatively complex.

Lin Yu'an said to the camera with a serious expression, "The smoke extraction system is the soul of the stove. If the smoke extraction is not smooth, the entire stone house will become a smoking room."

“Not only is it uncomfortable to live here, but over time, there is also the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is no joke! I don’t want to withdraw from the competition because of this.” He turned around and pointed to the wall area above the combustion chamber behind the stove.

"I plan to place the flue here, extending upwards close to the rear wall of the combustion chamber. This will not only effectively collect the flue gas produced by combustion, but also make the structure more stable."

Lin Yu'an took the ceramic bricks and the mixed clay and wood ash mortar again, intending to build a square flue.

Above the stone wall near the corner, there was a hole he had deliberately left. He would usually block it with a few appropriately sized stones to keep it warm and prevent small animals from getting in.

Lin Yu'an walked to the wall, moved the stones that were temporarily blocking it, and revealed the hole that ran through the inside and outside of the stone wall.

"This pre-drilled hole will come in very handy now."

He continued to build the flue upwards, gradually bringing it closer to the pre-drilled hole in the stone wall. Once the flue was level with the bottom edge of the hole, he began the most crucial connection process.

Since the holes in the stone wall and the flue do not fit perfectly, some transition and filling are needed.

He took some fired terracotta bricks, broke them into pieces with a wood-chopping axe, mixed them with pebbles and a large amount of wet clay slurry, and carefully filled the gaps between the outer wall of the flue and the edges of the holes in the stone wall.

He repeatedly applied and pressed the clay mortar until all the gaps were filled. The terracotta chimney successfully passed through the stone wall!
To further enhance the smoke extraction effect and prevent rainwater backflow and the influence of wind direction on the smoke extraction, Lin Yu'an decided to add a simple outdoor chimney on the outside of the stone wall, extending the flue upwards a short distance using ceramic bricks.

He climbed out of the shelter and came to the outside of the stone wall. To save on bricks, he used the remaining stones to build a base all the way to the chimney opening that protruded from the wall.

Then, on the stone base, they continued to build a chimney about thirty centimeters high using terracotta bricks.

At the very top of the chimney, he used two flat ceramic slabs to build a small "human"-shaped roof.

Lin Yu'an returned to the stone house and carefully inspected every connection of the chimney to ensure there were no obvious leaks. He patted the solid chimney wall, and a huge weight was lifted from his heart.

"Alright, the flue is finished! We can now test the ceramic brick stove!"

First, bring in a small bundle of dry firewood and some flammable dry grass and birch bark from outside, put them into the combustion chamber at the bottom of the stove, and then place a few more pieces of firewood on top.

"For the first time we start a fire, we'll use a small flame to check how well the smoke is being expelled from the flue."

Soon a small flame leaped up in the combustion chamber, igniting the birch bark and gradually setting the firewood above ablaze.

Lin Yu'an did not immediately turn off the firewood spout, but squatted in front of the stove, carefully observing the burning state of the flames and the direction of the smoke.

Initially, because the furnace and flue were filled with cold air, a small amount of smoke escaped from the gaps in the fuel inlet and the stove opening.

However, as the temperature inside the furnace gradually rises, the hot air begins to rise, and the draft in the flue slowly becomes apparent.

He took his camera and walked outside the stone house, looking up at the simple terracotta chimney protruding from the wall. Sure enough, wisps of bluish-white smoke were slowly rising from the top of the chimney, then being dispersed by the breeze.

"Look, the smoke is starting to rise up along the flue!"

"The smoke extraction system is working properly!"

Lin Yu'an nodded in satisfaction and returned to the stone house. By this time, the smell of smoke inside the stone house had basically dissipated, and most of the smoke had been effectively vented outdoors, but there were still some leaks in a few places.

He began patching and filling the fire with more mud, adding more firewood to the combustion chamber, and the fire blazed up! The smoke leakage was within acceptable limits; he would do another systematic mud patching tomorrow.

It was already late when Lin Yu'an ate some smoked dried fish. Although he was tired after a busy day, he felt a sense of accomplishment and anticipation as he looked at the ceramic stove in front of him.

If you live in the countryside, you can try making pottery. It's really fun. When I was a child, I used to make small bowls out of white clay by the river in my hometown, and then I would put them in the fire to bake. Unsurprisingly, they would shatter completely...

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(End of this chapter)