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rocket mass heaters

Liberator (or something) for an RV?

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posted 6 months ago

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I am at the beginning of my search for an alternate way to heat our home with RMH.

Can the Liberator be used for an RV that is mostly stationary? Will it provide sufficient heat by itself? Our "RV" is a toy hauler, about 30' long. We are in the Ozarks.

My desire is to have a sufficient source of heat that 1) can move with the camper OR be easily dismantled and reinstalled and 2) be able to use it in anything we may move to, whether a camper, a mobile home, a house, etc.

Assuming the Liberator is an option for my purposes, what other solutions might be possible?

Anne Miller

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posted 6 months ago

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Welcome to the forum.

I feel that if the RV has room to install the Liberator safely then that would work. And it would work in anything you move to.

Pay close attention to stove pipe installation and height, closeness to the wall and what kind of base the Liberator is placed on.

As to your last question about other solutions could be a regular wood stove, a propane space heater, electric space heater like Mr Heater, etc.

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Kay Sawyer

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posted 6 months ago

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Thank you, Anne, for answering my first question. I am taking it that you believe the Liberator would provide sufficient heat without the need for extra mass?

I should have been more specific for the second question. I edited my post. We currently do have a Mr Buddy for heat, but I'm looking for something that doesn't rely on purchased fuels.

Anne Miller

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Kay Sawyer wrote:I should have been more specific for the second question. I edited my post. We currently do have a Mr Buddy for heat, but I'm looking for something that doesn't rely on purchased fuels.

I am confused about the purchase fuels. Do you have a source for cutting your own wood? If so that is great.

I have forty acres of cedar/live oak forest. I am not sure dear hubby want to cut down the forest ...

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Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Matt McSpadden

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posted 6 months ago

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Hi Kay,
I think a liberator would certainly throw off heat and keep you warm. A couple things to remember is that without the mass... you have a very efficient wood stove. And a pretty big one too for an RV. In short, I think it would work, but I wonder if it might be overkill for the situation.

I have heard quite a few people in RV's and converted school buses speak well of the cubic mini wood stove. I don't have much experience, but the articles I read said it did great for them, and was a much smaller footprint than other wood stoves.

https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/collections/stoves

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Benjamin Dinkel

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posted 6 months ago

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Maybe check out the cottage rocket, an Uncle Mud design. It’s transportable and has some mass integrated. He built the first one for a school bus he lived in if I remember correctly.

And I second what Matt said. Without the mass you might be sweating while running the stove then freezing 30 mins after the fire goes out. An RV has almost no mass.

A good starting point to all RMH research: https://permies.com/w/rmh-resources and here https://www.permies.com/t/41635/Top-Questions-Rocket-Mass-Heaters
A good starting point for permies.com questions: https://permies.com/w/how-permies-works

Mart Hale

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posted 6 months ago

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Dirtpatchheaven channel has multi videos on this rocket stove and how it worked for them. I recommend watching their experience to see pros / cons of options.

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Anne Miller

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Here are some threads where our members have shared their wood stoves in tiny houses or boats. I thought these pictures would help:

https://permies.com/t/34304/Wood-Stove-Clearences-Tiny-Home

https://permies.com/t/53706/Northern-Climate-Tiny-Home-Wheels#439818

https://permies.com/t/96244/tiny-house#791067

https://permies.com/t/56475/Floating-tiny-home

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Kay Sawyer

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posted 6 months ago

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So the Liberator might be oversized for an RV. I consider that a plus, actually. Mass can be added. That means it can be uses in a bigger house. That's a big factor for me since we will probably be moving to something else. I don't want it sized just right for an RV but not work for something bigger.

I hear you, that I might be burning up one minute and freezing the next. I figure that mass can be added even in an RV, when considering that it will mostly be stationary and that floors can be reinforced.

So far, this sounds like it might work.

I am not really interested in a regular stove. Efficiency is priority number one. That's why I'm asking this in the RHM forums.

But I will look into the other RHM stoves suggested here. Do you recommend them because they are sized for a smaller area? Is that the primary reason? Or donyou consider them to be just another possibility?

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