Volcano Stove review

Polecatsteve

Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
286
6
Scotland
Hi guys I was asked recently what the volcano stove was I had in my daykit was so figured id do a little review of it.

The stove itself is of a full aluminum construction apart from the wire handles which appear to be stainless steel.

It all slots together to about the size of a thermos

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taken apart it is very basic with very few moving parts. A mug with wire handle that folds away. A base/stove that has a wire mug holder/handle and a bottle with cork stopper.

The stove is very efficient due to its shape and material choice, it conducts heat from the stove to the mug very quickly and boils a full mug in about the same time as a trangia burner (5mins give or take?)

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On the far left is a small bundle of tiner and again a fist sized pile of twigs...

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the are all just stuffed inside and lit from the door at the base of the stove

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give it a few minutes and it will shoot a flame out about 1 foot high for a few seconds until the stove hits its optimum temperature and fuel level.

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the mug snugly fits on top and will heat up in no time.

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Very little mess is left and it burns totally to ash once done. I usually leave it burning and after my drink rinse it in the river and pop it back on the stove for 20seconds to steam out the excess water and purify it again.

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my one dislike is it can be very top heavy (particularly if you try to boil the bottle, which can be done). However I do not advise it as it requires alot more fuel and micro management.

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All in it is one of my favoured bits of kit. 90% of the time I want to boil water it is for a quick brew and this seems to be designed just for that!

If I want more for cooking I use a billy.

Its well worth investing in one of these if you are looking for a traditional looking item that will hold about 1ltr of water and allow you to boil / purify water on the go nearly anywhre there is nature fuel.

If you want you can also slip a trangia burner inside it and use it that way! it does go like a jet engine though!

9/10 for design, losing 1 for stability. I find placing it against a rock or use the stove wire hand to hook onto roots etc makes it perfect and stable though!

So there you have it. A great item to have on a fishing trip or part of your camping kit. It will stay in mine for years to come I hope.

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Stevie
 
Last edited:

FKeate

Forager
Jun 12, 2014
103
0
London
Looks lovely, and I like the idea of having a real wood flame without the mess ground scar of a full fire.
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
Re the top-heavy factor, you can stabilise the set-up quite a bit by putting the bottle into the wire when its extended to the side of the stove.

I've got a soft spot for this bit of kit, basically because it's fun and very light! (And it used to be dirt-cheap, although it seems to be much harder to get hold of now) There are a number of mods you can do to it - check out youtube. It's flimsy, easily bent and only really useful for boiling water, but I still take mine out occasionally because it makes me smile...
 

Polecatsteve

Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
286
6
Scotland
Andy I never thought of putting the bottle into the wire when it was boiling the mug. That being said I was referring more to it's instability when trying to boil the actual bottle.

None the less I'll be doing that when making a cuppa from now on.

I take mine fishing all the time because as you say it makes me smile too. Beats pouring hot water from a thermos.
 

dewi

Full Member
May 26, 2015
2,647
13
Cheshire
Does anyone manufacture/sell these things in the UK?

It is the Swiss Army stove thingy isn't it?
 

Polecatsteve

Nomad
Aug 20, 2014
286
6
Scotland
They are not produced anymore to my knowledge mate. They are called Swedish volcano stoves. As was said you used to be able to get then for about 15quid. Sadly they are like hens teeth now. Check around online. They are worth it.
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
Andy I never thought of putting the bottle into the wire when it was boiling the mug. That being said I was referring more to it's instability when trying to boil the actual bottle.

None the less I'll be doing that when making a cuppa from now on.

I take mine fishing all the time because as you say it makes me smile too. Beats pouring hot water from a thermos.

For greater stability, you can use two wire pegs with the hook going through the bottom holes.
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
They are not produced anymore to my knowledge mate. They are called Swedish volcano stoves. As was said you used to be able to get then for about 15quid. Sadly they are like hens teeth now. Check around online. They are worth it.

£15? At one time they were going for £5-6! I think the market was flooded with the Swiss Army dumping all their stocks of these, hence the prices plummeting. Now of course there's little or no military stocks remaining, so prices rise. Same thing will probably happen to the Swedish Army Trangia stoves in due course, so get them while you can!
 

dabberty

Tenderfoot
Some years ago i did some changes also to the Swiss Volcano Stove, to make it more efficient for wood burning.
The issue is that these things are not designed for wood burning originally, they used to come with a special fuel stove / bottle, and these are extreme rare to find nowadays.
I prefer wood as well, so i modded mine, so it burns more efficiently now.

Here's a video of it, the mods are in the beginning, and after it long boring burn tests.

http://dabberty.com/?p=684
 

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