New Hobo Stove thread

[Toddy]

There's a thread running on Kelly kettles and their ilk, and the topic of hobo stoves came up.
I knew that years ago, and I do mean years ago, when we were all a lot younger , we had an enormously long thread on the topic.
@Wayland kicked that one off in 2008
I finally posted it in something like 2014, on page 24 of a 27 page thread

The Photobucket debacle has left holes through that thread though there are still so many great posts, full of really sound ideas, there.
The link to the thread is

Thread 'Hobo Stove Gallery (Probably picture heavy)'

Sep 21, 2008

It's been a while since I first posted this up and since then I have seen some great threads with other peoples hobo stoves in them.

I couldn't help thinking that it would be great to have one thread with all these projects in one place to give people ideas for their own so i hope you'll forgive me for reposting this to start the ball rolling :


I have spent a lot of time tinkering to find the perfect stove kit over the years.

This is what I'm working with at the moment, It's pretty close to my ideal.

...

• Wayland
• Replies: 539
• Forum: Cooking

and if you've an hour to spare, it's well worth a read.

However, it is long...and in the interests of conversation, and recent discussions, I thought to start afresh. Feel happy to copy paste your original posts across if it suits

Here's mine, though I think there are better posts by far on the older thread, ones with so much detail and how to's. @warthog1981 made my stove, metal work is not my forte. Fabric I can do, but metal ? hmmm.

This post is the one I can easily access. The hobo stove has lasted surprisingly well, I used it to brew up, cook stuff like noodles or a quick stir fry and add ready cooked rice, scramble an egg for a roll, that kind of thing.

Hobo stove in it's linen bag.

Bag opened, stove complete with blow poker.

Bag emptied, strap off, blow poker, cork mat, cutting board, two bowls and padded cloth.

Billy, supports and cutlery pulled out of stove.

Support legs, third bowl, mug, greenheat sachets, tea, coffee and sugar.

Legs in slots, supports through holes, billy on top boiling water for coffee. Shows the fuel feed cut out too.

Fold down D rings on the billy sides, the bail sits around the base of the stove in the bag.

Hot coffee in a couple of minutes

By the time I drink my coffee the stove is cool enough to be cleaned out and packed away. It didn't even melt the snow on the back path


The larger bowl came from Ikea, it's a perfect fit for the drainer. The next two fit inside.
I find bowls easier than plates when eating outside. The little one is handy for putting things down into, fork, spoon, that kind of thing. Keeps them clean and off the ground. Good for prep work too. I have also used them to heat up stuff while I'm eating something else out of the billy. Like custard for cake or hot milk for chocolate.
The padded cloth not only stops any rattling, it's incredibly useful for catching hold of hot bits of metal , insulates under the bowl when in use too.

I have loads of bits and pieces that change in and out as the notion takes me, a tiny wooden spatula is awfully useful for stirring right into the corners of the billy and is usually in the kit too. That said, I've been using a really small silicon one to good effect recently.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

My most recent model - it lives up in the woods
Made from a cutlery drainer with bolts for legs

 

[Silverclaws2]

My most recent model - it lives up in the woods
Made from a cutlery drainer with bolts for legs
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Ah, the ' Ikea ' hobo stove as I do recognise that firebox to know I have bought a few for that purpose and I have found various charity shop stainless steel coffee/sugar/ tea kitchen containers for the making of the ' Greencraft ' Bush Pot

Make your own Bushpot - Greencraft

 

[Bazzworx]

The original thread was awesome and I enjoyed seeing different people's take on hobo stoves. I remember seeing Gary's on his website in about 2008 and made one myself with a 10cm zebra billy. Since then I've made loads of different ones, most have been given away or traded. My favourite has always been the 12cm zebra and the Ikea drainer which were always hard to get hold of I found. I often camp with my wife so the 12cm set up gives a bit more versatility. What goes inside depends on the trip.

 

[Kepis]

My old hobo stove, cutlery drainer and coffee tin.

Really must get round to making another one at some point

 

[Chris]

Does a purpose built twig stove count as a hobo stove, or is part of the definition of a hobo stove that it must be made be improvised from another object? I have the former but not the latter. Perhaps I should try and make an improvised one!

 

[Herman30]

I see it like this: The original hobo stove (made from no 10 tin can) is the grandfather of modern factory made twig stoves. So I would not call modern stoves hobo but instead twig stoves.
To be a hobo stove you have to make it yourself.

 

[Toddy]

Does a purpose built twig stove count as a hobo stove, or is part of the definition of a hobo stove that it must be made be improvised from another object? I have the former but not the latter. Perhaps I should try and make an improvised one!

The thread was fun because people were innovative and creative with something that didn't cost very much. It made what has proved to be a useful and long lasting bit of kit, and everybody's was a little different. It was very much in the ethos of bushcraft making a lot of very little by knowing how.

I freely confess I didn't do my own metal work; Russell, @warthog1981, did mine for me. Fabric I can sew, wood I can work, basketry I can do, but metalwork is pretty limited.....though I'd have given this a go with snips and files.

 

[grainweevil]

Is "hobo" allowed these days? Surely we mean a transiting employment seeker?

Never made such a stove, but have read The Epic Thread and did toy with the idea of making my own. All this fresh inspiration will no doubt get the creative juices going again.

 

[Pattree]

I’ll bring a totally unadapted cutlery drainer to Summer Moot. I have thought about making a stick stove/hobo but I’m all set anyway.
If someone wants it they can have it.

 

[Silverclaws2]

I see it like this: The original hobo stove (made from no 10 tin can) is the grandfather of modern factory made twig stoves. So I would not call modern stoves hobo but instead twig stoves.
To be a hobo stove you have to make it yourself.

Or if one is homeless and comes by one of these commercially made hobo stoves then it is fair to say the thing is a hobo stove through virtue of use

 

[Pattree]

Is there a difference between “hobo” as in traditional home made and “Hobo”, the name adopted by a number of commercial companies like Kelly.

 

[Silverclaws2]

Is there a difference between “hobo” as in traditional home made and “Hobo”, the name adopted by a number of commercial companies like Kelly.

Well they do say the word ' hobo ' is of uncertain origin but generally referred to itinerant labour

 

[Woody girl]

The thread was fun because people were innovative and creative with something that didn't cost very much. It made what has proved to be a useful and long lasting bit of kit, and everybody's was a little different. It was very much in the ethos of bushcraft making a lot of very little by knowing how.

I freely confess I didn't do my own metal work; Russell, @warthog1981, did mine for me. Fabric I can sew, wood I can work, basketry I can do, but metalwork is pretty limited.....though I'd have given this a go with snips and files.

I made my ikea cutlery drainer twig stove with nothing more than a round needle file, they are cheaper than a portion of chips. (The sort of file used to sharpen a chainsaw)
A dremel would have "cut" the build time to a few minutes.
Two old wire tent pegs to hold the coffee can billy, or some sort of trivet for the top, again ikea do a small square trivet that is ideal.
Then some nuts and bolts to make the legs.
Easy peasy. If I can make one, anyone can..I don't do metalwork either, though I'm attempting a few small projects here and there.
Presently looking for a simple handle solution for a fray bentos tin frying pan. ..ideas?
(Not a pan gripper..it needs to be home made from easily obtainable recyclable item, ie wire coathanger, or such like, and simple hand tools.)

 

[Pattree]

Do you have a wire handle on your domestic grill pan?
Make something similar out of 2.5mm garden wire (£2.90 for 5M)

I’m up in the hills or I’d make one as a demo.

 

[John Fenna]

Two Charity Shop metal plates to make a folding frying pan - one, with firewood sourced wood scales plus a wing nut made the handle... so two pie dishes could do the same

 

[Falstaff]

I think that is very nice John, and authentic hobo. I'm sure a man of the road would be proud to have one like this. I particularly like the clever handle extension foot so that it doesn't tip over.

 

[Falstaff]

You could use two wire coathangers to make a birdcage hanging support. Couple of dinks in each bottom wire where they cross each other, twist one of the hanging hooks round to match with the other, or bend up some new ones and you've got a demountable pack flat hanger. Bend the bottom rails inwards to fit the width of the fray bentos tin as its not very wide. If you wanted you could put a wire loop around the bottom rails where they cross to keep them in place when packing the hanger away.

 

[crosslandkelly]

A few of mine from over the years.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Does a purpose built twig stove count as a hobo stove, or is part of the definition of a hobo stove that it must be made be improvised from another object? I have the former but not the latter. Perhaps I should try and make an improvised one!

A factory built twig stove, is still a hobo stove at heart.