Uncle Mud Liberator Rocket Heater Review Followup Extended Version Part 1
People have been asking for a followup to our Unboxing videos. How do we like the Liberator? we liked the Gen I enough that we kept it for three years and bought two of them. We love the Gen II. The upgrades are almost everything we hoped for and they are very well done. Replaceable ceramic liner, removable top for easy inspection and cleaning. It burns hotter and cleaner than the Gen I, even with my thermal mass bench slowing things down. stay tuned for part II where I test the pellet hopper as soon as I get a chance to buy some pellets.
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A link to the product at rocketmassheat...
#unclemud #rocketheater #rocketmassheater #liberatorrocketheater
Пікірлер: 90
I love this sound of metal heating and crackling.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
It is a nice sound isn't it. Thank you for watching.
I like the thermal mass steps, I never have liked the idea of them as furniture.
@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.
2 жыл бұрын
I agree. I love the idea of a rocket mass, but not the benches. If I buy a Liberator (likely due to code and insurance issues), I've been toying with running the stovepipe around a room's perimeter like a radiator.
@tracywarren7332
2 жыл бұрын
@@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad. I don't think that would be nearly as efficient for as soon as the fire goes out the stove pipe would quickly emanate it's heat and be cool to the touch. An hour or two at best. With a thermal mas ihave seen claims of 18 to 24 hours of continuous emanating heat on a single hour of burn. Perhaps a thermal wall instead of a bench.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
The wide steps/bench is an excellent place to play legos or just hang out. Liberator recommends no more than 12' of horizontal pipe. I have about 15' and that is pushing it with mass. Without mass surrounding it the horizontal pipe cools too fast and doesn't draw well. Without mass the Liberator can't keep your house warm over night without running pellets. I love mass walls. The rear wall of my 8 ton mass bench in my barn is also the wall of the back room. Very cozy.
@vinquinn
2 жыл бұрын
@@The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad. Not a great idea. A friend of mine had a setup like that in his living room with a drip type oil stove. Fumes of unburnt fuel or something built up in the pipe and then ignited. The small explosion blew everything apart. They were cleaning up the sooty mess for two weeks.
I custom built my own and I have a ash pan I can burn for up to a week and a half without ever having to clean it maybe at the gen three will incorporate it
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
awesome. I would love to see pictures
So is this good for a guy who connects directly to a flue pipe. Will the stove itself heat a 1200sq ft home? That's what I need to know. I'll put rocks near it later!
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
So when the big battery started to go on my Prius my hybrid went from 50ish mpg to about 35, which is okay but not optimal. A Rocket Heater without mass is a lot like that. A rocket heater runs hot an clean on small loads of wood and needs to be fed every 20-40 minutes unless you run the non-electric pellet feeder option. There is no damping a rocket heater down to run dirty and slow over night. Without the mass you will wake up cold. With the mass you get to keep most of the heat a traditional woodstove would have sent up the chimney. The heat is stored and slowly released over night so you wake up warm.
@scott1lori282
2 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud Thanks, I'm pretty sure I'd like to have one by next winter. I'm just wondering how well the stove alone with maybe a cast iron Dutch oven on top for mass will heat a 1200sqft ranch house. Our house holds heat well with 6in walls and double attic insulation. Other than a big cast iron Dutch oven that I guess I could fill with river rock also, Do you have any other tips? Problem is that where it would sit, I have no way of adding a mass bench. I also want to make sure the insurance comp cover.
Ordered a gen 2 . So what size stove glass would I need? I like that ! Also is the wood length important?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
4" x 5-7/8" I use this glass www.ebay.com/itm/164786057559 the product and seller are both really good. Tell them and the Liberator folks Uncle Mud sent you. I've used wood from 3/4" cube scraps to 24" tall. Just don't block more than a third of the throat of the heater as it goes from the feed tube into the burn chamber at the bottom.
@brandon11182
Жыл бұрын
Hey Uncle mud It looks like that link for the glass isn't available anymore. Do you know of another location to find it? Thanks!
Uncle Mud, are you still selling the tempered glass pieces that fit he Liberator 'window'? (i don't see it on your website?) thanks🙏
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
Sorry, my supplier went out of business
@tuffy2242
Жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud ok, bummer. where can i get this kind of glass? is there a special name for it? what is the optimum size i should ask for? (i must say, the downside of the Liberator, is one MUST be a tinkerer in order to make it work!)
have you found a place to purchase replacement ceramic liners?
Great video! Thanks for information.
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching.
How long of a burn do you get on just wood? Will it go over night or do you have to get up and add more. I have no thermomass....yet.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
I have to feed it every half hour or so during the day unless I am burning pellets and the thermal mass bench keeps the house warm over night. Build a thermal mass, you will really like it. Pellets I have been able to run between 8 and 28 hours per bag depending on how much I close things down. Not much heat coming out if I slow the burn down to get 28 hours out of a bag.
UncleMud I,m thinking about one of these for my home shop. But can you answer a couple things, for I have know where to see one where I live. What dia is the burn chamber?And what dia is the exhaust flue. I tryed calling them but failed getting anyone to answer.
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
Hello Jim. The flue is 6" diameter. The burn chamber is 4.5". The heat production is about 25k BTU per hour, more or less depending on how strong the draft is from your chimney and the heat density of your fuel. If your shop is well insulated this is a great option. If you order from rocketheater.com please use code UNCLEMUD23 Otherwise I strongly recommend building something bigger like this kzread.infoUSxEs6RJdC0
Description a bit vague. How is it connected to mass heater? Where does waste go? What about monoxide poison? Seems you want to say its great without deatils.
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
Hello. Thank you for watching. this is a followup to another video that answers those questions. To save you time the Liberator is the Rocket Heater. The cob bench next to it is the mass battery. The exhaust goes outside through the metal chimney embedded in the cob mass, so no CO poisoning.
That's awesome, I may just have to buy one of these. The glass is a good idea.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
I fhad my first fire of the season in mine today.
@harrybobb6764
2 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud can you do a video on this stove burning bituminous coal to see how effective it be
@pionex2003
Жыл бұрын
Check out Building Bearded he use a taller piece of glass. Makes it lots easier to remove. Fired my Gen 2 this morning on pellets. Stove temperature went to 600+. Only filled the tube. 2.5 pounds of hardwood softwood mix. Lasted 65 minutes ! Did have a little smoke up the feed tube.
How often to you need to stoke the feed? (Best case/worst case)
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
every half hour or so during the day and the thermal mass bench keeps the house warm over night.
Where do you recommend I purchase a glass window for my soon to arrive Liberator rocket heater? Thanks for the vids :)
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome. www.ebay.com/itm/164786057559?ViewItem=&item=164786057559
@mikeebobb4406
3 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud Appreciate the link... Just ordered it :)
@brandon11182
Жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud It looks like that link doesn't work anymore. Is there an updated listing or something? Thank you!
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
@@brandon11182 my supplier closed. I am looking for another one that isn't insanely expensive.
Could it burn plywood or would the glue that makes up plywood cause issues?
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
Get it hot first and it will burn the glue quite well.
What kind of winters to get and how long will it last fully loaded
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
We get temperatures as low as -20 F but usually between 0 and 30 F. One of the boxes of wood I show in the video will heat the house for a full day down to about 20 degrees. If it goews below zero we will use two boxes a day. The heater needs to be fed every half hour or so for 8 to 12 hours a day. The thermal mass bench captures a lot of the heat that would have gone up the chimney and slowly releases it keeping the house warm over night without feeding. Thank you for watching.
Sand batteries are all the rage in heat storage today. Why not a battery instead of a mass bench?
@UncleMud
Жыл бұрын
a mass battery is a great idea. Cob tends to store heat better than sand because it fills all those little air spaces between the sand grains with clay, but sand works. A mass bench is a mass battery you can sit on that warms your butt. Thank you for watching.
Good morning wondering if you might have any inside info on production of the Liberator at Sky’s shop ?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
My understanding is they are catching up with previous orders and I have heard from clients that units are shipping? Was there anything specific?
@tuffy2242
Жыл бұрын
Yes! Are they still producing? No responses from them -
@pionex2003
Жыл бұрын
Yes there instagram adds state 3 weeks for delivery.
Out in central TX, we have a lot of invasive non-native cedar trees (actually they're junipers). Not if you have that problem where you're at but if so, have you tried burning it?
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
It burns pretty hot. Come see the rocket heaters at the Mother Earth News Fair in Belton TX October 9-10. Uncle Mud and Family are running the Building and Energy Stage. Bring juniper and we will burn some.
@bonsukan
2 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud Sorry for the late reply. Did the Mother Earth News Fair in Belton get pushed back to February 19-20 of next year? I went to the website and I didn't see anything this weekend.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
@@bonsukan correct. Hope yo see you in February.
@hafsalinda
Жыл бұрын
Ha ha ha burning fence posts.
I assume when burning the pellets you open the valve fully and it holds 50lbs how long would it last on that 50lbs?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
If I have the draft fully open a 50lb bag lasts 8 to 12 hours depending on how cold it is outside (colder outside = more draft which is good because colder outside also = need more heat). At about half draft (the lowest I like to go) a bag of pellets will last 20-28 hours, but it burns so slowly it doesn't put out much heat.
@michaelstepp8883
2 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud I just seen these stoves today so trying to learn I kinda like it though how do you control the draft? Do you have to block off the inlet holes up top?
HUGE price jump, wow
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, things are getting a lot more costly to build in terms of materials and labor.
Has anyone tried using one of these to heat a hot water tank?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Yes. I put a 20 gallon tank on top to act as a pre-heater for my on-demand electric water heater. You have to be careful to design the tank so it can't get above about 160 degrees (f) or it could explode from steam pressure. Even with a pressure relief valve. Keep things simple.
What's going on with Liberator Rocket heater website. Did Covid get the best of them was going to order one?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
The website has been revamped. rocketmassheater.com/ gets you to the new web site. It should be open again for preorders in early November to start shipping in February. They are devoting most of their time right now to bringing the new factory in Missouri online. Tell them Uncle Mud sent you.
Thermal mass is it hard to build them the flure
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Please rephrase. I don't understand.
What does the exit arrangement look like
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
The exhaust pipe runs horizontally for about 15 feet through the middle of a bench made out of heavy non-flammable stuff (like cob) to catch the excess heat before it leaves the house. That heat storage keeps the house warm over night. After the horizontal run the chimney goes up and out like any other chimney.
@tuffy2242
Жыл бұрын
How many turns can the exhaust pipe take before the draw is lost? Average 1 story height brick chimney exit.
Can you burn wood chips
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
I haven't tried. I have seen it done. It gets finicky and you have to babysit it.
The chimney how long . one story high?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Mine is one story. A higher insulated chimney works better.
@tuffy2242
Жыл бұрын
Insulated chimney with what exactly? Newbie here
How wide is feed tube?
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
about 4.5"
What is the price?
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
about $1900 USD with shipping in the US. rocketheater.com tell them Uncle Mud sent you.
@UncleMud
3 жыл бұрын
The price of the Lberator RMH-2 will be $2300 after August 2021. Right now preorder price is $1987. Fulfillment on preorders expected in December 2021 Tell them Uncle Mud sent you.
Not burning like a real rocket stove
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
No soot, no creosote, no smoke, nice wooshy sound. Good enough for me. There are rockets that burn hotter but designing for mass production and code approval and UL safety listing requires some compromises. This heater does a pretty good job balancing those concerns. Right now this is the only legal mass produced rocket heater in the US. I am trying to change that. I hope you are trying too.
Any real users out there? Flue straight UP. I'm not MASS heating anything! Real heater or scam?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Flue straight up wastes a lot of heat sending it up the chimney. A typical wood stove burns dirty enough you have to send a bunch of heat up the chimney to get the smoke and creosote out of the building before it condenses on the walls of your chimney and starts a fire that kills you in your sleep. This rocket heater was installed without a mass bench and it definitely helps heat the house on the cheap (hardwood flooring scraps for a rocket heater are $30 per cord here vs $300 per cord for white oak firewood for a typical woodstove, and the rocket produces at least twice as much heat from the same amount of firewood) but we will be installing a mass bench this fall to improve performance. kzread.info/dash/bejne/hGt6rtKPXbLKdpc.html
Looks out of place. Can you not find a better place to put it?
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Better than along the perimeter of my living room where it keeps th house warm without being in the way? I don't think so. You may be able to find a better place in your house for one though. That would be cool to see.
@latitudeash
2 жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud got a simple Standered wood stove. Keeps the house warm. Do rocket stoves use less fuel? How much did you pay for it? My one did not cost a lot and at the time was too code. The codes have changed now so I think the same stove is more effective
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
My rocket keeps my house warm for less than $100 per year. Less than 3 cords of scrap hardwood flooring that costs me $30 per cord instead of the $300 per cord that cordwood costs around here. When I still had a typical woodstove the cordwood cost me over $1200 per year, which was better than the more than $3000 per year the propane furnace cost me. This rocket heater costs around $2700 delivered including a pellet feeder. It is to code and UL and EPA approved. A link to the product at rocketmassheater.com/recommends/unclemud/
please try and eliminate all the "ahs" from audio. Very hard to listen to your review.
@UncleMud
2 жыл бұрын
Thank-you Steven. I do have a bit of a speech impediment that way. Thank you for your patience.
@brokenvessel4171
Жыл бұрын
@@UncleMud It may help if you stop your sentences, then start a new one. Don't be afraid to have a short pause between sentences. It's part of the speaking/breathing process. You have a lot of good knowledge to share. Take your time. Thanks for making the vids.