Frontier Stove ( Pic heavy)

[CBJ]

Thanks guys glad the review was of help to you all,

Rik I have one of those demi-john brushes and have been given the insides of the flu sections a good brush every 4 or 5 times I have used it but I would be interested in how others do it.

It would be great to hear anybodys opinion who have used it in a tent.

atb

Craig

 

[rik_uk3]

We clean ours out every third day, my flue is thicker than the frontier stove but you still get a build up, knock up a bunch of twigs and push through the sections.

I burnt some green wood one trip and the build up was really really thick on day three.

 

[maya]

Thanks for great review and fantastic photo's.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

i am so getting one of these for chrimbo and sadly my mum doesnt know it yet but hey ho she cant complain cos its what i want

 

[CBJ]

Np maya and welcome to the forum. There is an introduction thread for folks who have just joined pop in and say hi


lol Drew ,

offer to cook her a meal on it that ll tip the balance in your favour

atb

Craig

 

[fredster]

My friend has just bought one of these - Having seen them online I figured for the money they would be the usual Chinese crappy quality. Not so though. Well put together with many ingenious features. Best thing for me is the weight and packed size. Must be at least half the weight of my gas cylinder stove, and packs small.

One other positive feature is their length front to back. I have a self made gas bottle stove for my bell tent and due to it using the cylinder in an upright position you have to cut wood into smaller lengths to fit it in. The frontier stove is deeper and so obviously that means less chopping of wood lengths to be done.

 

[rjaeger]

Looks like a serious bit of kit, and when the bacon and beans run you can always cook the dog! i freakin hate dogs!

 

[luckylee]

the mrs has just ordered one of these for me birthday, to go into me workshop, can't wait, i just need to look into gettin g one of those, well the only way i can describe it is chinese hat style metal lids that go ontoip of the flu, to stop the rain coming in, i have sent a pm seoras as to how he made his flu and one of those things on top.
if anybody could point me in the right direction, where to get one of these or some help with how best to make one, i would really apreciate it.
take care.
lee.

 

[treadlightly]

Lee, the suppliers don't seem to do rain hats as an accessory although it might be worth contacting them just in case they can help or at least point you in the right direction.

http://www.campingsolutions.co.uk/stoves/frontier-stove/

 

[luckylee]

Lee, the suppliers don't seem to do rain hats as an accessory although it might be worth contacting them just in case they can help or at least point you in the right direction.

http://www.campingsolutions.co.uk/stoves/frontier-stove/

thanks mate. thats what i'm going to do tomoro, as she has only just bought it for me.
so thats what they are called lol.

 

[markphelan]

so thats what they are called lol.

Some also refer to them as "witches hats" or "rain caps" but they all do the same thing.

 

[russj1975]

I have a tipi from Greenoutdoors.co.uk, with wich i've been using a gas bottle wood burner and stainless steel pipe chimney. I've been using this with great effect as a heater, however it was not really possible to cook on the stove as the hotplate was too small. I was looking at the eldfell stove and happened to spot the frontier on the same site. Did a bit of reading about it and decided to purchase one. I'm extremely happy with it. I have only tested it in the back yard so far but i've had two kettles boiling on it, one over the removable cover and another at the back next to the chimney. What i have found the few times i've had it running, is that the hotplate at the rear is the hottest part of the stove and the flames don't really lick the base of anything placed over the removable plate - the flames get swept to the back of the combustion chamber to the chimney. I have still had a kettle boiling over the hole though despite this observation.

I've also noticed that the flames die down almost to nothing with the the door on the open catch. To get good heat for cooking i've had to have the door open and the damper fully open too.

Before the stove can be used in my tipi I had to come up with a heat shield. On my previous stove I used some galvanised mesh rolled into a tube utilising some tin lids with the centres cut out to act as spacers to centralise it over the chimney and hung to the correct length using some chain. This time I wanted something a little less Heath Robinson and easier to transport. I had looked at perforated steel pipe, but in the end I spotted some "jumbo" bird feeders in B&Q. I bought two and removed the plastic as it was the tubes i was interested in. These mesh tubes are 80mm in diameter and fit nicely around the 60mm chimney sections. I used some picture hooks as you can just make out in the photos, to centralise the heat shield. I punched the open end of the hook closed to prevent it from falling off. It seems to work well and the pressure the hooks place on the chimney hold the heat shield in place. With the stove up and running with a roaring fire going, I was able to hold the heat shield. It was hot of course, but if i was able to hold it, then i'm fairy sure it will not cause any canvas ignition.

I think I will do the cake stand grill mod as that look very useful, all thats left now is to use it in anger - can't wait!

Both kettles fit neatly into the recess when the hotplate cover is removed.

As you can see the heat shield is in two sections so packs down neatly for transportation.

So an effective heat shield for just over a tenner. Job done!

 

[luckylee]

mine has arrived, and i'm over the moon with it, have tryed it out, the only thing that puzzled me was when i was burning some wood i had lying around i had what looked like black tar coming out the bottom of the pipe, where the first pipe goes into the wood burner its self, if any body could enlighten me on why this is happening that would be great, is it the type of wood that i was burning causing this to happen?.
i just kept wiping it of as it come out, and some fell on the floor, and then dried, and it was like bitumen that they use on the roads, and should this be happening

 

[Ogri the trog]

I have a tipi from Greenoutdoors.co.uk, with wich i've been using a gas bottle wood burner and stainless steel pipe chimney.
Snip snip
..... These mesh tubes are 80mm in diameter and fit nicely around the 60mm chimney sections.

Russ,
I don't want to be alarmist about your chimney, but a 10mm annulus sounds very small as a heat gap around your chimney. My Bisontelt Laavu has a 3 inch chimney pipe with a 6 inch diameter heat shield. 10mm seems to be very small for the cooling airflow!

mine has arrived, and i'm over the moon with it, have tryed it out, the only thing that puzzled me was when i was burning some wood i had lying around i had what looked like black tar coming out the bottom of the pipe, where the first pipe goes into the wood burner its self, if any body could enlighten me on why this is happening that would be great, is it the type of wood that i was burning causing this to happen?.
i just kept wiping it of as it come out, and some fell on the floor, and then dried, and it was like bitumen that they use on the roads, and should this be happening

Lee,
Bitumen or creosote is quite normal, it boils out of the wood and condenses on the inside of the flue as soon as it becomes cool enough to do so - especially when the stove is not fully up to temperature. Just keep an eye on the inside of the chimney to ensure that it is not getting blocked by solidified lumps - but it should burn off as it gets hotter.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[rik_uk3]

The chimney/flue is a bit short for some shelters but there is a seller on ebay who makes sections from stainless steel to order, about £29 a metre cut to your requirements and ranging from 2.5" to 6"
MIJ EXHAUST
Good comms off the fella (no connection).

 

[russj1975]

My Bisontelt Laavu has a 3 inch chimney pipe with a 6 inch diameter heat shield. 10mm seems to be very small for the cooling airflow!

I would admit to it not being ideal, but i've simply not been able to find any suitable pre-formed perforated tubing of anything larger than 80mm, and ideally it needs to be in two sections. I may just take the old heatshield and modify it to fit when i take the tent out. I would have liked an inch gap. I guess i could get one made especially by a metal fabricator though this would probably cost more than the stove did!

Would you know anywhere that might be able to supply something that would be more suitable?

 

[kiltedpict]

Would the silicone flashing available from the same company not suit?

KP

 

[russj1975]

Would the silicone flashing available from the same company not suit?

KP

with the chimney exiting the tipi through the hood that's not really an option. If i was putting it through the tent wall i would probably go with that, but i need to create something akin to the heat shield arrangement seen on the eldfell range of stoves. Just need to chance upon the right materials!

 

[Corso]

I've so promised the misses I'd have a clearout before getting one of these for my shed

 

[mousey]

Nice review CBJ I really like the look of this stove although a little heavy for my liking, but at least it looks well made.

A question to any one who has one of these: is the only way to control the amount of air going in to shut the door? so you can have A) door wide open = lot of air, B) door on 'latch' and slightly ajar = a little air, c) or closed = no air?

I have been thinking about a flat pack wood burning fire box and need to come up with a less fiddly way of regulating air in, it never occured to me to use the door as the sole control for air in.