Any experience with cheap collapsible fire boxes/stoves?

[Baelfore]

Hi all,

Pretty much what it says on the tin.
My brother informed me that he had ordered one of these from China (not sure if it's the same site as the pic) and I'm just looking for thoughts/advice/experiences as in my younger years I made the mistake a few times of taking a chance on cheap import kit.

All advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Stephen

 

[crosslandkelly]

I have one, I like it.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I have one, I like it.

 

[Baelfore]

Thanks a mil. Do you know what the weight of like on it roughly?

 

[crosslandkelly]

This is the one I have. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lixada-Bar...4&sprefix=folding+firebox,aps,98&sr=8-17&th=1
It comes with a blue protective film on the stainless, which needs removing. I needed to fettle mine a bit to get things fitting to my satisfaction, which was easily done with a file.
What I like about this over other folding stoves, is the ease of setup, especially with cold hands. Had mine for about 4 years now, and other than a bit of warping, it's still going strong.

 

[Crac]

@crosslandkelly and other owners.


Q1. How does the stove perform with the door open and feeding long sticks?

-Is the feeding port high enough so that the hot coals are safely in the bottom, the wood feed is in the middle and flames still make it out the top.


Q2. How long to boil water in your setup?

-What I mean is door open vs door closed. Does the air draw properly, is it easy to use. How do you use it.



Mark Young did a review on these.
Mark is excellent with his critical thinking, and attention to detail. He will call out the good and the bad features. Plus share his comments on what he might change.

MarkYoungBushcraft

 

[Pattree]

Don’t sweat it, It’s cheap.
Buy it and play with it.
It takes time to learn to use any tool.
You won’t use it in exactly the same way as anyone else in any case!

If you really don’t like it then pass it on here on BcUK

 

[stonepark]

Currently cheaper on Amazon than getting it direct from China.

 

[crosslandkelly]

@crosslandkelly and other owners.


Q1. How does the stove perform with the door open and feeding long sticks?

-Is the feeding port high enough so that the hot coals are safely in the bottom, the wood feed is in the middle and flames still make it out the top.


Q2. How long to boil water in your setup?

-What I mean is door open vs door closed. Does the air draw properly, is it easy to use. How do you use it.

It doesn't really matter if the door is open or not. I leave it open for ease of use, too hot and fiddly to bother closing it.
There is plenty of depth for the coals.
I've not timed it, but it will boil enough water for a brew or a pot noodle in just a few minutes.
Very easy to use.
Basically it's just a fancy Hobo stove, don't overthink it.

 

[Baelfore]

@crosslandkelly
You'l are dead right. This was given to me this evening and appears to be similar to what you described. Looking at it I would be inclined to leave the door open for easy access and airflow.
Baed on the packaging I'd say it's from Shien or some other Chinese site.
Looks decent enough all fits together correctly and comes with a mid-brown storage pouch that isn't too far off the colour of most of my gear.

Definitely weighs a little more than my traditional( IKEA hobo and zebra, but also takes less space.

Will weigh and try out at the weekend and follow up. Cheers for all the advice.
All the best,
Stephen

 

[crosslandkelly]

@crosslandkelly
You'l are dead right. This was given to me this evening and appears to be similar to what you described. Looking at it I would be inclined to leave the door open for easy access and airflow.
Baed on the packaging I'd say it's from Shien or some other Chinese site.
Looks decent enough all fits together correctly and comes with a mid-brown storage pouch that isn't too far off the colour of most of my gear.

Definitely weighs a little more than my traditional( IKEA hobo and zebra, but also takes less space.

Will weigh and try out at the weekend and follow up. Cheers for all the advice.
All the best,
Stephen

How did you get on with the stove.

 

[Baelfore]

How did you get on with the stove.

Great!

used as you had suggested ad worked brilliantly.
using random branches/twigs collected around our estate/hedgerows, it boiled 1.5L in a SS kettle in under five minutes. your suggestion about leaving the door open was bang on. easy access for adding fuel and allowed for use of longer sticks.

I like the fact that the nature of the design is a built in heat shield. positioned with the door away from the wind there's no need to shield/shelter it.

I also really like how simply it packs up. takes a lot less space than my hobo, and the clean up is a lot easier due to the removeable base.
But at the same time I can't stick a Billy inside, so have to factor that in.

Definitely some competition for my hobo stove anyway!

will try and get a few picks up soon.

ATB
Stephen

 

[crosslandkelly]

Great!

used as you had suggested ad worked brilliantly.
using random branches/twigs collected around our estate/hedgerows, it boiled 1.5L in a SS kettle in under five minutes. your suggestion about leaving the door open was bang on. easy access for adding fuel and allowed for use of longer sticks.

I like the fact that the nature of the design is a built in heat shield. positioned with the door away from the wind there's no need to shield/shelter it.

I also really like how simply it packs up. takes a lot less space than my hobo, and the clean up is a lot easier due to the removeable base.
But at the same time I can't stick a Billy inside, so have to factor that in.

Definitely some competition for my hobo stove anyway!

will try and get a few picks up soon.

ATB
Stephen

What size is your billy? Both of my main billy's fit.

 

[Jonno70]

I bought 1 which looks similar from Amazon last week I think for £11, haven't used it yet but looks OK and went together easily enough without any fettling.

 

[Herman30]

I have had three different models and only thing I can say is "I hate `em, I really hate `em, those fiddly shits!".
For me a stove has to be large without small fiddly pieces.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I have had three different models and only thing I can say is "I hate `em, I really hate `em, those fiddly shits!".
For me a stove has to be large without small fiddly pieces.

There are no small fiddly pieces on the one I have. It takes seconds to set up, even when wearing gloves or when your fingers are freezing.

 

[Baelfore]

What size is your billy? Both of my main billy's fit.
View attachment 85183
View attachment 85184

Billie's are Zebra 10 and 12cm, both original handles. Life has meant I haven't had a chance to test anything other than a kettle, butI have a (small base) cast iron skillet that will need to be tested as well.
ATB
Stephen

 

[Baelfore]

@crosslandkelly , sorry was referring to packing with regards to the Billie's. IKEA hobo allowed for storage inside.
But to be honest I think I prefer this set up.

 

[Watch-keeper]

From my limited experience with fire boxes, I have found when it comes to the hinged folding types the wildly expensive ones folded much more reliably than the cheaper ones. My guess is the cheaper ones I tried had thinner material maybe lower quality hinge design/materials and probably deformed more after burning.
That being said, the cheaper ones were not unusable just a little less convenient and I had to get a bit more involved in the folding process but that wouldn't put me off buying one. My favorite fire box is a Hekla small that I've had forever, it's a deformed rusty mess but it's still does the job.