In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Liberator rocket mass stove

Discussion in 'Rocket Stoves & Rocket Mass Heaters' started by Hoytman, Dec 24, 2021.

  1. Hoytman

    Hoytman

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  2. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Not the Liberator, per se, but building a refractory batch box and experimenting with that. There’s a thread somewheres.

    The high temps of a rocket stove really dictate the use of refractory, so I’m always skeptical when I see all steel models being offered. Too much deterioration/rotting due to oxidation. Even if all stainless.

    The concept of a rocket stove (the burner or burn chamber, not mudded up 55 gallon drums and such), in any configuration, is a remarkable thing!:yes:
     
  3. Hoytman

    Hoytman

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    I think the website leaves out a lot of information myself.

    They describe burning a 40lb bag of pellets in 10-12 hours...but they leave out any and all information regarding how much heat life is left in the stove and make no mention of the size of mass containing the heat....and at what outdoor temperature that 40lb bag is burned.

    As light as the weight of the stove is there can’t be much mass to it.

    It sounds vague and too good to be true.

    Let me shed a little light on that...

    My coal stove, at its highest burn in the coldest part of the year only burns 30 pounds of anthracite in a day...less than the 40 pound bag of pellets.

    Yes...I am fully aware of being cleaner with less ash, and cleaner burning, less impact on the environment, let alone wood being a sustainable resource. I get all of that and for some that is what matters most. For others, what matters most is fuel cost savings and less time tending the stove and or procuring the wood; whether that be by cutting, splitting, stacking yourself or having to buy the wood or pellets.

    I burned as few as 18lbs from a 40lb bag in 24 hours.

    The only reason I am comparing the two stoves is because they lack giving other useful information.

    If there’s little heat life from that stove then it is possible to burn more than one bag of fuel per day making it no better than other pellet stoves.

    So again, I would like to hear some actual numbers from someone with more than a year or two of use from one of these stoves. If someone is “nerdy” enough (like me) to buy one them surely they have some concrete numbers to describe what they have and are gaining by using this type of stove.

    No doubt a normal mass style rocket heater in the home will work, just like a masonry heater fireplace does. But this stove... ? I want hard evidence. Without it, I can’t see it being less cost effective or cost efficient to run than my coal stove and I would be interested in purchasing if it could.

    That’s why I would like to hear from some with real world experience and back it up with concrete numbers.

    I am entertaining a masonry heater in a remodel, so I like the concept of the stove. The advantages such as less cost to build, and less weight are obvious.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2021
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  4. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    I think we would be hard pressed to find anyone here on FHC with one of these... but I agree- it would be nice to see some empirical data.
    :handshake:
     
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  5. Hoytman

    Hoytman

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    Probably true, but being we have a sub-forum for these types of things I am hoping someone will come along with a link for more info...even post such info here.

    The major drawback to my anthracite coal stove is the amount of ash. It’s not all that bad to deal with, still more than I want to deal with. LOL!
     
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  6. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Yep. Know about that all too well... one of my responsibilities growing up was cleaning our water jacketed coal furnace in the utility room. Terrible stuff!
     
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  7. Hoytman

    Hoytman

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    I am all for burning wood too, by whatever means. Just saying...LOL.
     
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  8. Hoytman

    Hoytman

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    Especially when you consider how little ash comes from BK or WS stoves, and most certainly an even far less amount than those stoves with pellet and rocket stoves.
     
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  9. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

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    And wood ash is not "hazardous waste" either...actually useful...
     
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  10. chris

    chris

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    been following that stove for a number of years - never laid down any cash though. with the addition of the pellet hopper it puts that unit in league with the Wiseway stoves, pellet burner -no electrical power needed. In either case radiant stoves but not a mass heater unless you do that type of construction as a surround for the stove- but the same is true for any standard split wood plate stove or pellet stove ( exception being those with stone or cast iron plates for that purpose to limited degree). It has a pretty good efficiency rate sans cats or reburn tubes. as cord wood burner it is a batch heater but heck when I am at home I treat my NC30 about the same way. Yes I can stuff the 30 full and I do when at my shop all day = using the pellet hopper on the liberator or other pellet stoves or putting your cord wood stove on a low burn rate.
    I did think about it recently for heating my basement- 6" flue would run me apx $3000, course a pellet stove would be cheaper on the flue side but the stoves in general are more costly with a lot of maintenance ( liberator being more along the lines of a traditional wood stove, most of that maintenance drops out of the picture)
    just my po and $.02 worth, well a nickel with inflation:p
     
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  11. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    i need new glasses....i thought it said "lubricator" :rofl: :lol:
     
  12. chris

    chris

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    No Grease needed:salute:
     
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  13. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    Well it made it interesting for a moment...I was like "wow! a lubricator rocket stove"!!!

    I still don't know what one is,but it sounded good
     
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  14. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    And then sadness and disappointment set in.......
     
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  15. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    The linky brokey
     
  16. chris

    chris

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    link works , I see that they have a new web page now, kinda liked the old one a bit better as there was more info on that as to the stove. the news letter links is not working though.
     
  17. Old-Feller

    Old-Feller

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    I actually have this rocket stove. I Bought it thinking I would be able to burn the waste from my trees, I have a bout 70 trees in my yard. The wood produced from my trees does not lend it self too well after I tried burning it for a while. It leaves far too much ash and burns quickly. Anyway I was able to get large bundles that weigh around 1200 to 1500 pounds of Alder that is about 10 feet long and average around 2 inches square. I went and got 15 bundles which was all they had and were switching to poplar because it would reduce the waste any each bundle they charged 10.00 for. I have enough to last approx 6 to 7 years and the alder burns very nicely creates little ash and smells very good. I have used it to smoke fish also. But getting back to the stove. Mine came with the pellet hopper but I haven't used it and never planned on using it. As far as the stove goes, It makes good heat and warms up the entire house but you will be feeding it more often than what liberty says, They claim the stove will burn 45 minutes or so on 1 load. I have found you will be fiddling with it quite often adding wood to keep things going and you really cant bank it for the night so your heater will come on at night a couple hours or so after the stove burns out. And my other complaint is if you don't stay up and wait for it to burn out and place the lid that it comes with it on the firebox, Cold air blows through the stoves and ash dust makes its way around the house. Other than that, Its a decent stove, But when I run out of that wood, unless I find another source, Im going to be replacing it with a cord wood stove.
     
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  18. chris

    chris

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    Interesting, first actual use review I have seen. Thanks. Think they are apx $2500 now.
     
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  19. Old-Feller

    Old-Feller

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    I bought it on Ebay a few seasons ago. It was supposedly on sale with free pellet hopper, it was $1800.00 with $250.00 shipping and I got $100.00 Ebay Bucks at the time, Which they have canceled ebay bucks now.
     
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  20. Old-Feller

    Old-Feller

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    I was going to build my own, But the Liberator has the NIST plaque on it and has been tested as safe, SO if my house was to burn down, I wouldn't have to argue about how well my homemade stove was made, That was my reasoning to myself anyway.
     
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