Liberator Rocket Heater

[putttn]

MOVED from the generic rocket heater thread to one that is product specific

I made a tin can rocket stove after watching a plethora of on-line videos. The stove does generate a serious amount of heat. Looking at a few other videos in my research, a rocket stove is imho a mini-forge. You could melt metal with this thing if you wanted to.

You can also use the stove to boil water. Watching videos, the stoves will need a gas stove burner grate [or something to that effect to allow gases & heat to escape]. If you don't, your fire will not burn correctly and/or die out. That being said, a properly built & vented stove will boil a couple of cups of water in 2 - 4 minutes. A gallon of water boils in 8-12 minutes in the same situation. Covering the pot allows for faster boil times.
Once I got mine working, and the novelty wore off, I used it as a marshmallow roaster. About 10 minutes to get hot, and it roasts marshmallows in about 5-10 seconds.

I made a video of the rocket stove in my fireplace before we installed the Buck. At this moment, i cannot figure out how to upload or post it. Anyone know how to post an old iPod video?

Mistakes I have seen in people's videos:

1) In most of the videos of the tin can stoves do not have enough height in the chimneys. You should see virtually no smoke coming from the top of the stove and without out height, the gases do not re-burn well, much less re-burn at all. Most videos show a raging fire and smoke billowing everywhere. That is not what you want at all.

2) In a lot of the videos, you see flame coming out of the top of the cans. If you see flame coming from the top of the cans, there is too much wood in the stove or the wood has not burned down enough to cook and so on.

3) Even though I "insulated the can with ash," the can still gets ridiculously hot...I used duct tape for the test because I couldn't find my aluminum tape anywhere [in a a box. It started melting after about 30 minutes & I sprayed the tape with a water bottle to slow the inevitable melting process...the water that hit the metal evaporated almost instantly. If you were to build one of these things, I would not set up the stove on top of a table directly, but I would place it on some bricks or stone of some kind.

FWIW, it is a neat "technology" and something fun to play with.

Looks like the fellas at Liberator Rocket Heaters have figured it out. I will be buying one of their stoves to replace a old Hearthstone Soap Stone that has been a nice backup stove but a creosote problem.

 

[begreen]

Looks like the fellas at Liberator Rocket Heaters have figured it out. I will be buying one of their stoves to replace a old Hearthstone Soap Stone that has been a nice backup stove but a creosote problem.

Interesting. Will you be burning wood or pellets? Is the stove UL tested and certified? Not sure about the wife appeal factor but it is an intriguing design.

 

[jetsam]

I couldn't deal with that as a primary heater, but it's really interesting. I would love to see it run through the same efficiency testing as regular wood stoves.

Their claims of much greater efficiency followed by no numbers puts me off a bit, but I hope we hear more about them anyway.

 

[putttn]

I’ll be getting the Pellet hopper. We have power outages and this is a backup to my heat pump and propane woodstove. Tired of the cost of propane and we had a 10 day power outage last year in Spokane and ran almost out of propane. We have a lot of wood available so why not?
It will reside in our daylight basement. From what I understand it is UL rated/certified and they are available on their site now. There is a WA version coming next yr to satisfy the tough WA codes.
My Hearthstone was just ok and when we did use it my wife hated the smoke it created and the chimney guy wasn’t impressed on the amount of creosote it created. We also get a large number of “no burn” days.
I think these folks are on the right track with what they’re doing and the price is very reasonable so why not help them out and the environment too. I have no affiliation but I do support these types of innovations and appreciate that they’ve put it all on the line to make it work.

 

[begreen]

Ouch, a ten day outage is bad. My main concern would be burn back up the pellet tube. How have they addressed this?

 

[bholler]

I would also talk to your insurance company because it seems to be an unlisted unit.

 

[putttn]

I would also talk to your insurance company because it seems to be an unlisted unit.

The owner addressed that topic in one of his posts after someone questioned insurance requirements. According to him he has all the necessary documentation and permits to make it insurable. I doubt that he’d be selling these online without the proper permits.

 

[begreen]

I wish him well though he is selling a stove in WA state where the requirement is for the stove to be EPA phase II certified.
Wood stoves, fireplaces, and other solid fuel burning devices sold in Washington must be certified to meet both EPA and Washington state emission standards. Sounds like he is working on this, but he will need a lot of sales or a good backer. Certification testing is expensive.

 

[bholler]

The owner addressed that topic in one of his posts after someone questioned insurance requirements. According to him he has all the necessary documentation and permits to make it insurable. I doubt that he’d be selling these online without the proper permits.

Many insurance companies require ul listings no matter what. Check with your insurance company. And yes there are less that honest people out there that will sell you something with no regard for wether you can insure it. This guy may be on the up and up I really don't know. Check out what he is telling you before you pay.

 

[putttn]

Ouch, a ten day outage is bad. My main concern would be burn back up the pellet tube. How have they addressed this?

All the videos I’ve seen and all the comments from folks who have these have not indicated this being a issue. I did research the Wiseway and there was one person who had this problem but not with the Liberator.

 

[putttn]

Many insurance companies require ul listings no matter what. Check with your insurance company. And yes there are less that honest people out there that will sell you something with no regard for wether you can insure it. This guy may be on the up and up I really don't know. Check out what he is telling you before you pay.

It is UL listed. I’ll see if I can find the post concerning the insurance question he answered.

 

[bholler]

It is UL listed. I’ll see if I can find the post concerning the insurance question he answered.

Ok I didn't see a ul seal on their site anywhere. It seems very odd that they would pay to get it listed and then not put the seal on their site or in their manuals.

 

[putttn]

Below is our official listing certificate as having been tested to meet and exceed the safety standards in UL-1482 and listed by a NRTL as such!

It is UL listed. I’ll see if I can find the post concerning the insurance question he answered.

This is on the Liberator website and he addresses the UL listing as well as meeting Canadian listings. I do know that credit card companies and PayPal vet the companies they allow payment through much more thoroughly than in the past.

 

[bholler]

It is UL listed. I’ll see if I can find the post concerning the insurance question he answered.

It really does look interesting and I hope they make it. But be careful.

 

[putttn]

It really does look interesting and I hope they make it. But be careful.

The only thing I have to add is that UL is a private company that tests and lists to their own standards, However ISO and a myriad of other testing labs do the same thing. We had our stove tested by Guardian Fire Testing Labs Inc. another Private company thats certified by ISO to conduct virtually any fire related testing.
(broken link removed)

Our stove is tested to the standards outlines in UL-1482 and the Canadian standard ULC-S627-00 and we have both met and exceeded the standards outlined within those documents.

All building and insurance company's require is that it be listed by a NRTL, Nationally Recognized Testing Lab, as having met safety standards that meet or exceed the CPSC standards. UL-1482 and ULC-S627-00 are both way beyond what the CPSC requires and as such there is no local code enforces or insurance companys you will have a problem with.

This is from a conversation the owner had concerning insurance requirements and testing requirements.

 

[bholler]

The only thing I have to add is that UL is a private company that tests and lists to their own standards, However ISO and a myriad of other testing labs do the same thing. We had our stove tested by Guardian Fire Testing Labs Inc. another Private company thats certified by ISO to conduct virtually any fire related testing.
(broken link removed)

Our stove is tested to the standards outlines in UL-1482 and the Canadian standard ULC-S627-00 and we have both met and exceeded the standards outlined within those documents.

All building and insurance company's require is that it be listed by a NRTL, Nationally Recognized Testing Lab, as having met safety standards that meet or exceed the CPSC standards. UL-1482 and ULC-S627-00 are both way beyond what the CPSC requires and as such there is no local code enforces or insurance companys you will have a problem with.

This is from a conversation the owner had concerning insurance requirements and testing requirements.

Again talk to your insurance company and a couple others before paying. Yes ul is a private company but there are allot of private insurance companies out there that only trust stuff with a ul seal. I know guardian has been around pretty long and I don't doubt they are perfectly competent. And that the stove passed the tests. But there is no ul seal and for some insurance companies that will be a problem.

 

[putttn]

Not a problem with Safeco. Already spoke with my agent.

 

[bholler]

Not a problem with Safeco. Already spoke with my agent.

Ok good why didn't you say that to start with.

 

[putttn]

I wish him well though he is selling a stove in WA state where the requirement is for the stove to be EPA phase II certified.
Wood stoves, fireplaces, and other solid fuel burning devices sold in Washington must be certified to meet both EPA and Washington state emission standards. Sounds like he is working on this, but he will need a lot of sales or a good backer. Certification testing is expensive.

He expects to have it completed by spring of 2018.

 

[putttn]

Ok good why didn't you say that to start with.

I just spoke with him as this thread was continuing.

 

[begreen]

Keep us posted. It's an interesting concept. I'm looking forward to hearing how it works out for you. Thanks for sharing and patiently putting up with the dozen questions. We want you to be safe while checking the stove out.

 

[putttn]

Will do. I won’t be able to get the one certified in WA until next year but I’m interested in this type of stove.
I think it’s going to be a good replacement for my old Hearthstone Soap Stone.

 

[jetsam]

...it says in large print in the FAQ that you get your choice between A) 30-90 minute burn times and B) pellets.

Even if you're willing to use pellets to get 12-14 hour burns, recognize that this is not a pellet stove. The pellets are gravity-fed; the only air setting is wide open. The owner's manual specifically tells you not to devise ways to control the intake air.

Do you want to heat your house with a wood stove that burns for 30-90 minutes? How about a pellet stove that only has a "HIGH" setting? Them's the options.

That said, I'm sure it's a capable heater if someone is always in the room with it, but it lacks the amenities of a basic wood stove or a basic pellet stove.

Could be a good stove for an area that's only heated when it's occupied, like a shop. Nice way to get rid of your brush and branchwood.

 

[bholler]

...it says in large print in the FAQ that you get your choice between A) 30-90 minute burn times and B) pellets.

Even if you're willing to use pellets to get 12-14 hour burns, recognize that this is not a pellet stove. The pellets are gravity-fed; the only air setting is wide open. The owner's manual specifically tells you not to devise ways to control the intake air.

Do you want to heat your house with a wood stove that burns for 30-90 minutes? How about a pellet stove that only has a "HIGH" setting? Them's the options.

That said, I'm sure it's a capable heater if someone is always in the room with it, but it lacks the amenities of a basic wood stove or a basic pellet stove.

Could be a good stove for an area that's only heated when it's occupied, like a shop. Nice way to get rid of your brush and branchwood.

It also is not tested as a pellet stove. Only tested for use with wood.

 

[putttn]

...it says in large print in the FAQ that you get your choice between A) 30-90 minute burn times and B) pellets.

Even if you're willing to use pellets to get 12-14 hour burns, recognize that this is not a pellet stove. The pellets are gravity-fed; the only air setting is wide open. The owner's manual specifically tells you not to devise ways to control the intake air.

Do you want to heat your house with a wood stove that burns for 30-90 minutes? How about a pellet stove that only has a "HIGH" setting? Them's the options.

That said, I'm sure it's a capable heater if someone is always in the room with it, but it lacks the amenities of a basic wood stove or a basic pellet stove.

Could be a good stove for an area that's only heated when it's occupied, like a shop. Nice way to get rid of your brush and branchwood.

I also had a very nice pellet stove in our daylight basement. Somehow we got a mouse nest in it during the spring/summer that stunk the house up so much when we used it that next winter. Needless to say it was gone that next spring. Our needs aren’t for primary heating but more for backup/supplement. I don’t see the need to be in the room with it on a constant basis though. We will probably only burn the stove a few hours each day as a supplement and perhaps 8 or 9 during a absolute backup. I do have a propane woodstove as the primary backup on our main floor. The cost of the stove is very reasonable for what it will do for us.