Folding cooker

[Martyn]

Hmmm, I'm thinking for cold weather it might be a good tepee stove.

 

[sargey]

Its been said before and I will stress it again, the wood must be dry. I had to feed it on that wood you can get from tesco's. All the wood on my shoot would not keep a flame but would when the cooker was fed a mixed diet.

then you definately need to make a stick stove, hobo style. it's amazing the rubbish they'll burn.

cheers, and.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

:idea: i just had a thought :-?

could you not get the same effect by useing a folding hexi cooker, set at 45 degrees?
as if you were cooking on a small pot rather than a mess tin?
sort of like this:

" /-\ "

i know its smaller but surely you would get the same effect! :?:

 

[Hoodoo]

The problem with that is that you would be feeding the fire constantly with tiny twigs. Blink or get distracted, and your fire will be gone. You need to be able to contain a certain amount of volume to keep the fire burning and I don't think the hex burner is big enough.

 

[sargey]

ye olde brit mil spec hexy stove is substantially bigger than an esbit stove, but i don't think it's work due to the open sides and the lack of chimney effect. the dog food stick stoves and similar hobo stoves have a much bigger height to width ratio, providing greater draft, and greater efficiency on biomass principles.

cheers, and.

 

[Hoodoo]

That makes sense sargey. I've not had much luck with the smaller coffee tins (yes, I said tins :-D ) but the largers ones are great. An advantage of this little stove is that it folds up and packs away nicely.

 

[gurushaun]

Tip...I use a 4" piece of copper brake pipe on the end of a 1m piece of clear plastic tube poked in the corner to help with the draft by blowing. Works for me with iffy fuel. I also find that crumbled duraflame log works well (sawdust in a wax base).

Cheers

Shaun

 

[Hoodoo]

That sounds like a great idea! I'm definitely going to give that a try. Beats getting smoke in the eyes any day.

When I tried mine out in the snow, I took along a big handfull of lighter pine which helped to get things going again when I wasn't paying attention and the fuel got low.

 

[bigjackbrass]

Tip...I use a 4" piece of copper brake pipe on the end of a 1m piece of clear plastic tube poked in the corner to help with the draft by blowing. Works for me with iffy fuel.

An excellent updating of a bit of kit with quite a pedigree. In his book "Camp and Trail" (1907 The Outing Publishing Company) Stewart Edward White refers to the following:

"I have had presented me by Mr. Robert Logan of New York, so simple, transportable and efficient a device for kindling fires that I have included it in my regular outfit. It consists of a piece of small rubber tube two feet or so in length, into one end of which is forced a brass cylinder three or four inches long. The extremity of this cylinder is then beaten out so that its opening is flattened. Logan calls this instrument an 'Inspirator.'"

It certainly beats my old plate-waving method of fanning a flame.

My own experiences with the folding stove, bought two or three years ago from Cabela's, are similar to others mentioned. It helps to get the flame started outside of the unit to avoid smouldering, and good ventilation is a must.

 

[Jaymondo]

Best hobo stove I've used is a converted cutlery drainer from Ikea. Good old Ikea! Cost 3 or 4 quid and is stainless steel. Because they are full of
holes you get a good through draft. Its about the same dimensions as the smallest Billy can on the Woodlore website. Two tips to make it even more effective ; cut a small 'door' on the side to feed twigs in because you don't want to be disturbing your billy once on the go and secondly raise it off the ground to get an under draft. Main alive is this set up great. It weighs very little and although does'nt fold up you can use it as a container for easily damaged food, like cheese or vegetables, or foraged goods. Very eco friendly and quiet. You can also use it to contain a small fire if camping in a fire sensitive area.

Regards

Jay

 

[bigjackbrass]

Hmm... a good friend of mine has one of those Ikea drainers. I might just pop over to see how he is, in a friendly, neighbourly sort of way...