Chinese Army Stove

[rocketman]

Guys just picked this up from a Chinese Army surplus store.

Starting from the left is a cooking pot . Below that is a lid with a plastic handle. Then there is an item which looks like a steamer! (I’ll get back to this) Below that is a small dish about 2-3cm tall with holes around the rim. Then there is the stove….you can see the holes around the middle and the base also has perforations of varying sizes (bigger towards the outside) There is door through which you can see the holes in the base. On the door is a little hook/hinge on which the cup (below the stove) can be suspended. This then moves in and out with the door.

Has anyone ever seen this before? As I’m having some issues working out how it fits together.

Starting from the bottom. I think it can be used as a wood stove and the cup is for a small meths burner. If it’ not a wood stove can be easily modded.

Cooking! When I first saw it I figured that the billy sat on top of the stove and the steamer would sit on top of that and then the lid on the steamer. This would sort of work but the billy sits right in the stove, possibly okay with meths defiantly not for wood. The steamer also slides almost to the bottom of the billy, fine for steaming not for cooking and steaming together. The little dish will fit ontop of anything stove, billy or steamer. I thought it is either a dish for eating off or a very mini hotplate for frying.

If I want the billy to be raised to the top of the stove I have to put the steamer in the stove first, the base of which fits exactly where the holes in the side of the stove are. The billy the slides about 3cm into the ‘steamer’. What is the ‘steamer’, and what is the dish for? Could the steamer be some sort of woodgas stove? It does have some small holes around the rim?

Any ideas?

 

[bikething]

I know!! - it's one of those chinese puzzles out of a christmas cracker.. :yelrotflm

seriously though, it might be worth asking over on BritishBlades - there are a few members over in that part of the world who may have more of an idea

 

[stevesteve]

Hi Rocketman,

Where did you find a Chinese Army Surplu store? Are you out there or is it online

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Hi Rocketman,

Where did you find a Chinese Army Surplu store? Are you out there or is it online

Cheers,
Steve

Come on How much / could you get me one?
Were from and how heavy is it.

 

[Toddy]

It is an interesting looking set of bits, isn't it?

Chinese army surplus......what else did they have ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[bikething]

It is an interesting looking set of bits, isn't it?

Chinese army surplus......what else did they have ?

cheers,
Toddy

combat chopsticks ??? :swordfigh

 

[rocketman]

Thanks for the tips. Comming home tomorow morning so no time for buying any more and wont be back in Beijing for at least a year Sorry. I can give the address if you know someone comming over for the olympics. Cost was £4.60, and even at that they probably 'had' me. Don't know how good it is yet but looked exactly like what I've been trying to make myself. Worth a fiver! As for the weight its all ss, about the same as a DSLR camera (D50) with a short lens on it.

I go to Shanghai a bit so if I can find a surplus store there I will let you know. Not getting my hopes up though!

 

[oops56]

O K i think i got it the flat dish gos on top of stove just like in pic.Then the pot at left on the dish then the strainer in pot add water then your pasta put on cover. it does no look like it can us wood no holes at top alcohol burner or sterno [ i think ] or just send to me i make it work i pay shipping

 

[Jared]

The military R&D institute of the PLA is based in Bejing, so guessing the chances of finding others elsewhere are slim.

 

[rocketman]

oops56,

If the flat dish goes on top of the stove and then the pot on top of the 'hot plate' it does feel very efficient. However I think the you may be onto something with the strainer. Put the strainer in the pot then rice and water. Once cooked you just pull the strainer out and you still have a pot of boiling water to cook whatever else in???

OR

The strainer goes in the stove, this certainly feels right, the small meths 'tray' is filled with meths and the strainer keeps the flames managable . However the strainer would then get blackened and needs to be stored/carried in the billy/pot?

Grrrrrhhhhh!

 

[born2roam]

Will ask a mate who works for the Dutch embassy in Bejing what it is, if he could get me on (or more) etc...

When he knows more I'll report back... if not... well... worth a shot anyway...

Grtz Johan

 

[Mirius]

I'd say billy goes in then strainer (with rice I imagine) then flat dish on top with whatever you are cooking to go in the rice. Holes in the flat dish are to let the steam from underneath escape without blowing the flat dish clear out of the billy! Wayland does something similar with his flat dish in his billy, but with holes in the bottom to make a steamer - that in this case would allow whatever juices you had in the top dish to drip into the rice below.

 

[rocketman]

Born2roam,

Tell your mate its on the north west corner of Dongsanhuan Lu and Chaoyang Beilu. About 30meters west on Chaoyang Beilu, it intialy might be mistaken for a shoe/boot store!!

Perhaps he could ask how to use it if he speaks the lingo? Or if he can mime...I didn't think it would really need this much effort!!

There is some great stuff there for next to nothing. Compass for a pound, looked like the £20 jobs in Millets (personally wouldn't trust anything that might kill you from china)! Lots of camping shovels, loads of wool blankets, torches, bino's. etc... Could probably get hold of a roll of gortex from a market somewhere!!!

 

[rocketman]

Thanks chaps,

I'll be offline until end of feb.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Will ask a mate who works for the Dutch embassy in Bejing what it is, if he could get me on (or more) etc...

When he knows more I'll report back... if not... well... worth a shot anyway...

Grtz Johan

PM as and when

 

[born2roam]

Tell your mate its on the north west corner of Dongsanhuan Lu and Chaoyang Beilu. About 30meters west on Chaoyang Beilu, it intialy might be mistaken for a shoe/boot store!!

Perhaps he could ask how to use it if he speaks the lingo? Or if he can mime...I didn't think it would really need this much effort!!

There is some great stuff there for next to nothing. Compass for a pound, looked like the £20 jobs in Millets (personally wouldn't trust anything that might kill you from china)! Lots of camping shovels, loads of wool blankets, torches, bino's. etc... Could probably get hold of a roll of gortex from a market somewhere!!!

Will tell him the "address" and yes he speaks the lingo (a bit, and otherwise his chinese girlfriend will help...)

He had some gore-tex (note the NO TM sign here) clothes. The zipper on his jacket failed him after moderate use... night temp when in Mongolia was about -35 C... brrrr

We've experimented with some cheap fishing nets (only in emergencies....), and more.

So far he is off line btw ;-)

Grtz Johan

 

[born2roam]

Hi list,

well below follows the text of my Beijing situated friend. It is on it's way to Holland by.... slowboat ;-)

He already reported to me in English for he knows where the question originated from. He will go for one as well. If more of you want them maybe we can sort things out.

Official new price was 95 yuan (9 euro, 6 quid?), since the one he got was damaged he got it for 65 (6 euro, 4 quid?).

Appearantly he can even have them made in aluminium when ordering more than a 1000, guess we won't reach that with a group buy ;-)

Might turn up here as something of a pass around (have to look into forum rules) when I have played enough with it...

Any other suggestions are, as always, welcome.

Grtz Johan

Army shop has moved 30 meters to the west, and is now 60 meters from the crossing. (on the other side of the street you can see the new CCTV tower (designed by an architect of R. Koolhaas)

-A one story building with a bright shop with quite a few shoes (in Chinese sizes), some coats (incl. the green army trench coat and rain poncho). some foldable knives/fork/spoons things (no foldable chopsticks)

-Cooker is made of stainless steel. The outer shell (on the picture at right top side) consists of a lower part (where the fire will be burning) and the casing for the pots. These two parts are point-welded at 8 places. So you should not stand on top of it..

-Cooker is made for people who like rice and steamed buns

-Cooker is a one person solution

-Cooker is packed in an army cloth bag with zipper and hand hold

-Cooker is produced at a facililty that doesn't implement high quality standards (shop had 3 on stock, 2 were broken)

-Cooker stands stable

-Height 21,5 cm (without plastic lid 20)
-Diameter 13 cm
-Cooker weight 913 g
-Bag weight 76 g
-Total weight 989 g

-Small "dish" (see picture at the middle/front) can be left home (unless you want to steam a bit of meat/vegetable, above the rice)

-reduction 75 g

-Fuel cup (weight) can be left home, if you want to burn wood
-reduction 41 g
-Handhold can/should be removed
-reduction (estimated) 50 g

-Make a 5 cm (diameter) hole in the middle of the bottom, to reduce weight, to make the flames come closer to the pot and to be able to set the cooker in a fire (estimated) 23 g

Total reduction 189 g

Total weight after reduction = 800 g

Personal opinion

-I like to steam buns when in the bush, as this can hardly wrong (I have a black baked bread trauma). Buns (blended with dried meat, peanuts etc), coffee/tea, and thick soups are the only things I make when hiking. So the cookers outputs fits my requirements

-Cooker is made for fuel paste or match-sized pieces of wood.

-But can also be used above a bigger fire (hang it on the triangular lids at both sides of the pot (one can be seen at the picture)

-This appliance should have been made out of Aluminium. (This must have been a cost decision from the PLA) Iron; 7.9 kg/l...Aluminium 2.7 kg/l. Aluminium solution will be around 275 gram.

 

[spamel]

Still want one to play with! I'm really intrigued with the charcoal idea now. I seem to recall that Eric said something about making artists charcoal by cutting willow and charring it in an old coffee tin over the fire. A bit thicker and you'll have perfect charcoal for a little stove. Gonna have to try it!

 

[Still Waters]

I wouldent mind getting my hands on one of these to play with.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Still want one to play with!

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