BioLite Stove with USB port
- Thread starter Captaincrash
- Start date
I apologize for not having a video review yet but I am definitely more suited to living off the grid in the woods somewhere! I am in the process of putting together a video but for now I can tell you, I couldnt be more please with my purchase of the Biolite!
So in case you need to know sooner, here are the results of the boil test.
I got the stove going with no trouble using very small dry willow twigs and some birch bark
I let it burn down to almost a bed of coals and filled it with bits of dry birch and cherry from the wood pile....these were processed to a size of approx 1/8" thick by 1/2" wide
Once these burnt down a bit I put in wood from same birch and cherry logs but this time much bigger at 1/2" thick by 3/4" wide
I poured 1 Liter of water from the tap (Cool to the touch) into an anodized aluminum pot with lid
Placed it on the stove and started the timer
After 4-4 1/2 minutes I restocked the combustion chamber with wood and place the pot back on
At 5 minutes and 45 seconds I had a strong rolling boil!
After the fire was out, I left the stove fan running until it shut itself off and was surprised to see that out of two fistfuls of hardwood going through it I had only about two teaspoons of ash remaining!
I have yet to try charging my phone or powering a usb light but I will say, the green charge light comes on within a minute or so and remains on well after the fire is out.
To sum it up, fast boil, super efficient and very little smoke (only at startup) makes this my favorite stove now.......no more fuel bottles for me......Very very happy!
So in case you need to know sooner, here are the results of the boil test.
I got the stove going with no trouble using very small dry willow twigs and some birch bark
I let it burn down to almost a bed of coals and filled it with bits of dry birch and cherry from the wood pile....these were processed to a size of approx 1/8" thick by 1/2" wide
Once these burnt down a bit I put in wood from same birch and cherry logs but this time much bigger at 1/2" thick by 3/4" wide
I poured 1 Liter of water from the tap (Cool to the touch) into an anodized aluminum pot with lid
Placed it on the stove and started the timer
After 4-4 1/2 minutes I restocked the combustion chamber with wood and place the pot back on
At 5 minutes and 45 seconds I had a strong rolling boil!
After the fire was out, I left the stove fan running until it shut itself off and was surprised to see that out of two fistfuls of hardwood going through it I had only about two teaspoons of ash remaining!
I have yet to try charging my phone or powering a usb light but I will say, the green charge light comes on within a minute or so and remains on well after the fire is out.
To sum it up, fast boil, super efficient and very little smoke (only at startup) makes this my favorite stove now.......no more fuel bottles for me......Very very happy!
I'm a bit underwhelmed with my Biolite. Firstly, it is quite heavy - certainly heavier than any other wood (gas) stove and heavier than most other kinds of stoves too. Sure, you save on not having to carry fuel, but this advantage only accrues on longer trips. It is also quite large - bigger than a 1 litre Nalgene w/b - and won't fit into any sensibly proportioned pot. This is an issue because, although it is well made, I don't think it would stand being dropped or crushed. It is efficient and, although it's mildly annoying that you have to take the pot off the stove to add fuel, it does seem to mean that the stove is less affected by wind than other wood (gas) stoves. I can't comment on the recharging function because it won't charge an iPhone 3G! All in all, and assuming it will charge some other device - I think it is a bit of a niche product for longer backpacking trips, when you can carry all the fuel and batteries you need. Otherwise, there are lighter, smaller and cheaper stoves.
I'm sure you'll be able to sell it on easily given the waiting list at the mo.
I'm going to be seriously unhappy if this turns out to be the case, the whole point of the bloody thing is that it will charge any 5v usb device.
Folks may find this interesting
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93200&p=1123179#post1123179
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93200&p=1123179#post1123179
Ok I "may" have been slightly emotive with my last post, however I have now received my Biolite stove, with a COD of £37.40 
and I've had a little play with it tonight, here's my initial results, thoughts;
I use an unusual medium to test my wood gas stoves, (home made and bought), cat litter wood pellets, they are consistent so all my results are the same-ish
I filled the stove with pellets to under the higher set of secondary air holes, (thats unusual btw I've never seen a pyro, wood gas stove with two sets of secondary air holes), I used a couple of cotton wool pads laced with denatured alcohol hand cleaner and some small twigs as a starter, let it burn for a minute or so then started it up on the low setting, allowed that to run for a further minute, then set a Primus Eta pot on top with 0.5L of tap water, it just fit, then set the fan to high. Almost to the second, 3 minutes later had a rolling boil.
I switched the fan back to low, cooled the pot down and filled it with 1L of tap water, set it back on, and reset the fan to high, 4 minutes 30 secs later I had a rolling boil, dumped about 10mm, set the fan to low and the boil continued, after a couple of seconds I removed the pot.
Next I wanted to try the recharge facility, btw I hadn't recharged the stove with more fuel as yet. I plugged in my iphone 4s and used an app called battery magic to check charge times. I switched the fan to high, and it averaged about 7 secs per 0.1% of recharge, not brilliant, but in an emergency useful.
However I did find that once the wood had burned down sufficiently, ie a few coals the stove stopped charging, it looks like, from first impressions that the battery by itself cannot sustain a charge, it requires the boost of the seebeck, fan, woodburning effect to do that. I'll need to sort out a Fluke (voltage meter) to check that.
From one load of pellets, (maybe half to 3/4 a cup) the stove run on high for approx 45 mins. Not bad at all.
Quite happy with mine, more testing to do on the charging aspect, but as a wood gas stove, it works well.
and I've had a little play with it tonight, here's my initial results, thoughts;I use an unusual medium to test my wood gas stoves, (home made and bought), cat litter wood pellets, they are consistent so all my results are the same-ish
I filled the stove with pellets to under the higher set of secondary air holes, (thats unusual btw I've never seen a pyro, wood gas stove with two sets of secondary air holes), I used a couple of cotton wool pads laced with denatured alcohol hand cleaner and some small twigs as a starter, let it burn for a minute or so then started it up on the low setting, allowed that to run for a further minute, then set a Primus Eta pot on top with 0.5L of tap water, it just fit, then set the fan to high. Almost to the second, 3 minutes later had a rolling boil.
I switched the fan back to low, cooled the pot down and filled it with 1L of tap water, set it back on, and reset the fan to high, 4 minutes 30 secs later I had a rolling boil, dumped about 10mm, set the fan to low and the boil continued, after a couple of seconds I removed the pot.
Next I wanted to try the recharge facility, btw I hadn't recharged the stove with more fuel as yet. I plugged in my iphone 4s and used an app called battery magic to check charge times. I switched the fan to high, and it averaged about 7 secs per 0.1% of recharge, not brilliant, but in an emergency useful.
However I did find that once the wood had burned down sufficiently, ie a few coals the stove stopped charging, it looks like, from first impressions that the battery by itself cannot sustain a charge, it requires the boost of the seebeck, fan, woodburning effect to do that. I'll need to sort out a Fluke (voltage meter) to check that.
From one load of pellets, (maybe half to 3/4 a cup) the stove run on high for approx 45 mins. Not bad at all.
Quite happy with mine, more testing to do on the charging aspect, but as a wood gas stove, it works well.
I've just got back from the big trade show in Germany where I did a long interview with the designer Alex which will be released on The Outdoors Station in a few days. I was very impressed with the unit and would like one for my collection, however there are a few points I would make about it.
Firstly before you use it you are advised the charge the internal battery via USB. That way the charging system via the heat just 'tops it up' and may solve some of the output issues here?
I agree about the top grill and the frustration of having to remove the pot to top the fire up. However I was chatting with him for some 30 mins and never once did he need to add fuel. He was using pellets for the demo.
It was a super efficient and clean burn, so I see many applications in areas of disaster etc.
He is already working on a folding BBQ grill affair to sit on top of the unit and appears to work well. Photos will be on the podcast page.
I have to agree it is heavy and bit cumbersome, but it does split into two parts and store together.
all in all it was the star of the show for me.a true mix of design,functionality and tech. But a bit heavy for long distant trails on foot.
Firstly before you use it you are advised the charge the internal battery via USB. That way the charging system via the heat just 'tops it up' and may solve some of the output issues here?
I agree about the top grill and the frustration of having to remove the pot to top the fire up. However I was chatting with him for some 30 mins and never once did he need to add fuel. He was using pellets for the demo.
It was a super efficient and clean burn, so I see many applications in areas of disaster etc.
He is already working on a folding BBQ grill affair to sit on top of the unit and appears to work well. Photos will be on the podcast page.
I have to agree it is heavy and bit cumbersome, but it does split into two parts and store together.
all in all it was the star of the show for me.a true mix of design,functionality and tech. But a bit heavy for long distant trails on foot.
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