Woodgas type stoves?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
I was just wondering how good they are? I'm guessing they're a water boiler, fast and furious once they get going. No simmering capability? If just a water boiler would a Kelly kettle or similar be better?

Any good ones? Seen a wild stoves one that splits into two pieces for £35 from Cotswolds Outdoors. Tempted even though cheapo eBay ones go for £11.

I've got an early version honey stove but I was never impressed by it. If you were to recommend a wood burner what would you recommend? It would never become my main stove but as an occasional use or second stove i think I might find it useful.
 

Adze

Native
Oct 9, 2009
1,874
0
Cumbria
www.adamhughes.net
I've got one of the £11 from evilbay jobbies. I've barely used it other than to give it a test fire or two, but I'm quite impressed with it compared with a slightly larger Ikea cutlery drainer hobo stove I made. If you're careful with your fire prep you can get a good 20 minute burn out of a fill. It's not the hottest burning stove I own though and is a little slower than a trangia clone to boil half a litre of water.

I fueled mine as follows to get a 20 minute burn without refueling it:

It's a top down fire, so I quartered some 2 inch birch and stacked it reasonably tightly, grain end on not lying flat, so it filled 2/3rds of the depth of the stove. On top of this I piled up some birch and pine twigs so they slightly over filled the stove, on top of the twigs some curls of birch bark which I lit with a lighter. The birch bark lights the twigs which burn quite hot with the airflow through the stove and they in turn lights the birch I split. After 20 minutes there was nothing left but a hot stove and some very white ash, so a pretty clean burn!
 

Trotsky

Full Member
I've got one, ran it off twigs/sticks and cat litter pellets. The latter gives a more prolonged burn without re-fueling while the former makes it versatile. I've found it to be very efficient, you get plenty of heat, no smoke once it's going and hardly any ash, it does throw quite a bit of heat downwards however so you'll want to be careful where you place it so as to not start a wild fire. All told they're light, small and clean burning, you can strike it up to make a quick brew or stoke it with pellets and cook a full meal on it and probably still be able to brew a coffee afterwards.
Mince is one of the Wild Woodgas stoves, a MKIIt, though I am reliably informed that the cheapo ebay ones perform just the same albeit they're a little heavier as they're made out of stainless steel.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Would an mkettle or other light kelly kettle be a better water boiler option for just water?
 

Adze

Native
Oct 9, 2009
1,874
0
Cumbria
www.adamhughes.net
It would be faster to the boil for sure, but little use even with the hobo kit or the chimney top cooking kit for much else. It won't pack down like the stove will either, although you can store things inside the Kelly if you don't mind it getting sooty or store it in a bag of some sort. My stove is smaller in size packed than just the fire base of my Kelly, let alone the whole kettle.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
I think i just need to use the honey stove more i suppose. The only real thing wrong with it is the hassle of putting it together in the cold. That's why it only got used a few times. If I'm out and about i really didn't want to spend time fiddling with cold steel. The simpler hinged stoves are probably easier to use. IIRC lixada do a honey clone that is hinged. Well the pocket version at least.
 

Barney Rubble

Settler
Sep 16, 2013
552
280
Rochester, Kent
youtube.com
Hi,
I had one of those cheapo wood gas stoves from e-bay and wasn't particularly impressed if I'm honest. You have to take care to ensure that you fuel is not too big. It worked well with dry materials when I was messing around in the back garden. But when I took it out camping and used it with dryish wood sourced from the area (often it was dead standing hazel), I found it was quite temperamental and took a while to get going. The upside down fire thing is recommended to maximise the efficiency of these stoves but, again I found this was also a bit temporamental. Whenever you added more fuel to the fire it also went through a re-gasification(?) process whereby it billowed smoke for a short while before the wood caught fire and the gasses started to flow again.

Of course a part of this is down to my skillset (or lack of!). The bottom line though is that I chucked it in the bin, bought a honey stove and have absolutely loved using it. Alas, I've rarely had any trouble with the fire in the honey stove and regularly use it as my main fire when going on solo camps. It can be a little bit fiddly assembling it but in essence, once you know the technique you can get it assembled in less than a minute (plenty of videos on youtube). I also like that it packs flat and weighs considerably less than many other folding wood burners (fire box, bushbox et al).
 

riverwye

Member
Mar 4, 2016
10
0
Hereford
I think i just need to use the honey stove more i suppose. The only real thing wrong with it is the hassle of putting it together in the cold. That's why it only got used a few times. If I'm out and about i really didn't want to spend time fiddling with cold steel. The simpler hinged stoves are probably easier to use. IIRC lixada do a honey clone that is hinged. Well the pocket version at least.

I love the wood gas stove Paul and it is a joy to use once you get used to loading and top lighting.

Here is a video https://youtu.be/nX9jBWdAe3Q of mine in action :)
 

Allans865

Full Member
Nov 17, 2016
470
196
East Kilbride
Hi Paul,

I have one of the cheapo £13 versions from evilbay, and it's....not bad.

It wouldn't be my 'go to' stove when out and about...I'd rather use my hexi cooker, or for a real quick brew my MSR micro rocket (cheating a bit I know!)

Having said that, it's light, convenient (as in you have a ready supply of fuel if you're in the woods) and breaks down and fits perfectly into a 750ml MSR stowaway pot.

Easy to light as I carry a little bag of quartered up hexi blocks, so one of these in the bottom of it usually does the trick!

So yeah, all in all I would recommend spending £13 on one, it's a handy little bit of kit to have in your inventory.

Oh I almost forgot to mention...it does make a bit of a mess of the bottom of your pot, but I'm sure it depends on the type of wood being used.

A couple of photos of it in use...



939ec24a5d7cc9bb95b2db30f2e9aa27.jpg
ddb3eea2f0121e2e0c3a4f1f9ef71217.jpg


Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

TarHeelBrit

Full Member
Mar 13, 2014
687
3
62
Alone now.
I've got one of the ten quid ebay ones and it's my wifes favourite for chilly evenings on the patio. She likes it because I quote "even I can get a good fire going".

Screenshot from 2017-04-19 01:20:54.jpg

Here it's fired up using cat litter wood pellets.
 

Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
They're excellent bits of bit and can be had for about £10-12 from ebay or amazon.

The longest burn I've got from one was around 40 minutes using the wooden cat litter. This was plenty of time to boil the kettle, have a brew, fry breakfast, eat it then boil again for another brew. If using twigs etc.. then about 20 minutes is a good time. They put out a fair amount of heat depending on what you fuel them on and how well you pack it, not as fierce as a full fire i would say.

Tonyuk
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
I was just wondering how good they are? I'm guessing they're a water boiler, fast and furious once they get going. No simmering capability? If just a water boiler would a Kelly kettle or similar be better?

Any good ones? Seen a wild stoves one that splits into two pieces for £35 from Cotswolds Outdoors. Tempted even though cheapo eBay ones go for £11.

I've got an early version honey stove but I was never impressed by it. If you were to recommend a wood burner what would you recommend? It would never become my main stove but as an occasional use or second stove i think I might find it useful.

I wouldn't.

I had one (a cheap one from ebay), I tried it, but it was a complete utter sod to use. The line between starving it of fuel, and overloading it and suffocating it is wafer thin. Add any wind and you're basically on a hiding to nothing. Three of us spent an hour feeding wood into one trying to boil enough water for coffee, before giving up and using a jetboil.

It's a nice idea, but it's just too fiddly to use.

J
 

Whittler Kev

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 8, 2009
4,314
12
64
March, UK
bushcraftinfo.blogspot.com
I made a wick stove that runs on isopropyl alcohol. Loads easier and boils quick. Have to get the right amount of alcohol in it though as it evaporates anything that's left.
Lucky I suppose I can light a proper fire where I go and then use the monopod cooker I made
 

KenThis

Full Member
Jun 14, 2016
825
121
Cardiff
I've got a few of these.
My favourite is the wild woodgas mk2 but I've also got 3 different chinese clones.
I'll admit they have a bit of a learning curve and they produce a lot of heat quickly more conducive to boiling than frying sometimes, but I wouldn't be without mine.

By far the best use is as has been suggested wooden kitty litter pellets, easy 30-40 min burn and after the initial ignition period really consistent. This is what I do car camping or sometimes on day hikes.
Although I bought myself a pair of pruning clippers to quickly/easily process twigs and sticks for it and find it very therapeutic. I'll often use it in the evenings on the patio as it's so easy and fun.

Things I've found that may help.
Use driest materials possible, if the wood used is dry it almost doesn't smoke at all.
Use a windshield, although really this is true of most small stoves.
Process the twigs you want to use, I don't use anything thicker than a pencil and keep the bits 1-2 cms long, I put the thicker stuff at the bottom and then the smaller stuff at the top. I've also filled it with carving/whittling bits and shavings (you need to put bigger stuff at the bottom).
Packing it with fuel, you don't want it packed too tight but equally you don't want it too loose. there is a happy medium that should be gone for.
Topping it with fuel, I find with twigs I can get a good 20 min burn which is enough for me usually, if I need more burn time, I often wait for it to half burn and then add a handful of fuel at a time. Again after the initial burning in (smoky and sooty) I then put my pot back on. Don't be tempted to add too big pieces even when going well, it works better with smaller pieces that gassify almost straight away.
Make sure you light it from the top it works so much better than trying to light it as a normal stove. If you have trouble lighting it, it may be packed too tight.
They do produce a lot of heat underneath and when I can I usually stand mine on a very old steel plate, but I've also put it on a small raft of wood and it's worked well.

For completeness I agree they are not going to be for everyone. If you need really long burn times or to be able to quickly change heat output or want something that is very quick to use, you might be better with something else. They are not the smallest, or most easiest packed, they are probs more suited for boiling than frying (though I often fry on mine). They are though fun, you don't have to carry fuel, I like the fact they leave very little unburnt fuel, and I find mine quite easy to use now.

Horses for courses. Hope this helps.
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
By far the best use is as has been suggested wooden kitty litter pellets, easy 30-40 min burn and after the initial ignition period really consistent. This is what I do car camping or sometimes on day hikes.
Although I bought myself a pair of pruning clippers to quickly/easily process twigs and sticks for it and find it very therapeutic. I'll often use it in the evenings on the patio as it's so easy and fun.

If you have to carry a sack of wood pellets with you, then you're kinda defeating the idea of carrying a biomass stove. Surely you'd be better off carrying a meths or gas stove?

J
 

KenThis

Full Member
Jun 14, 2016
825
121
Cardiff
If you have to carry a sack of wood pellets with you, then you're kinda defeating the idea of carrying a biomass stove. Surely you'd be better off carrying a meths or gas stove?

J

I had thought I'd made it clear but just for completeness.
Car camping I'll take a large bag of kitty litter, it doesn't take much to load it, a sack of kitty litter would last you months.
On day hikes (or more accurately for me a bimble on a good friends land) I'll take enough to fill it for one good burn as it saves me a load of time and because the pellets are defintely dry, so less soot on my pot/cup.
In my back garden, on the patio, I sometimes use pellets or process sticks depending on what I have.
I bought the pruning clippers mainly because if I were to use it on public land I wouldn't necessarily want to use/take a fixed blade and it's a very convenient and efficient way of quickly making sticks/twigs pellet shaped.

I don't like gas stoves - they're not for me - I like playing with my fire, I can't stand meths the smell gives me a headache and I find myself being able to taste it after a while.

Oh, and don't call me Shirley. :)
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE