Ikea hobo stove: initial tests and thoughts

[DS1150]

I'd been planning on making one of these for months and after reading a post on here last week I decided that it would be my weekend project to 'build' one and do some tests.

My other stoves are an MSR Whisperlite and plenty of homemade alcohol stoves. I like the idea of wood stoves but I'd wondered at the effectiveness of them but not enough to spend £30+ on a Bushbuddy, Honeystove etc.

At the end of this I was pleasantly surprised at how effective these are, even a quick DIY version. As a quick project I'd advise people to have a go and see what they can do. They are a good addition to a stove collection.

Here's my first (shortened) video with the stove and a Vargo ti-lite 750ml mug:
[video=youtube;eaIDTIspMC8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaIDTIspMC8[/video]

Here's my second video with the same stove and a wider MSR 1.5 litre pot to see if having a wider diameter pot would 'choke' the flames.

[video=youtube;4IVyl7LN9pA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IVyl7LN9pA[/video]
I think that the fire 'breathes' better with the narrower pot and it's also easier to keep the fire fueled as you can drop the wood in from the top as well as feeding it in via the hole.

You can boil 500ml of water on a handful of small twigs and thinly split wood in 5-8 minutes with a steady small fire underneath your pot. I thought that you'd need a lot more wood and a roaring fire. They are more efficient than I thought they would be.

Use something to protect the ground that you use it on and with some common sense and they are a great addition to your gear.

Dunk

 

[PaulSanderson]

good review Dunk...I too made myself one just yesterday after finally pulling my finger out.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73941

I too was very surprised how little fuel was requires to boil water for brews, however, it was VERY windy here yesterday and when the wind got roaring it burned up fuel so quick I almost couldnt keep up with the feeding of it as well as doing other camp chores. I need to make some kind of ind sheild like you have in your video. That being said, there generally isnt that much wind in the middle of the woods, and i echo your sentiments that they are a great addition to your gear. Can always drop a meths stove in the bottom too!

Cheers, Pablo.

 

[DS1150]

Cheers mate. I imagine on a windy day that it'd be less economical and efficient without a windshield, but as you rightly point out there's usually not much wind in the woods. I think for an open campsite, beach etc I'd be making a windbreak of some sort for them.