Hi folks, Anyone here into wood gasifier camp stoves or rocket stoves, for camping, emergency backup, hiking etc.? I've been reading about the Solo stoves for some time, http://www.solostove.com/ These gasifier stoves seem to have the cleanest burn and most efficient use of the wood fuel, even better than rocket stoves. I just couldn't justify spending the cash on one. Today I started looking around the local dollar stores and clearance/outlet stores for raw materials and found a set of five stacking stainless steel canisters with stainless lids for $20 at an Ollie's Bargain Outlet. This stove's outer canister measures approx 6 1/2" in diameter and 8 1/2" tall. I used sixteen 1/2 inch holes around the base of the outer canister and sixteen 7/16 inch holes at the top of the inner canister. I cut the base out of the inner canister with a Dremel with heavy duty cut off discs and used a perforated Sunbeam brand collapsible stainless steel vegetable steamer basket for the floor of the burn chamber. I cut the lid of the largest canister and press fit the next size canister into the lid. Here's the remaining three canisters. I'll use the next two largest canisters for a second, smaller stove (so I'll have one stove slightly larger than the original Solo stove and one slightly larger than the Solo Titan.) I'll use the extra lids and cut the smaller canister in half to create a pot support for each stove similar to the Solo stove design above. I found the Sunbeam collapsible vegetable steamer basket for $1.99: The stove seemed to function as well as the videos of similar sized commercially manufactured gasifier stoves, with secondary air jets of flame visible throughout the burn at the top of the fire chamber. (The first video was taken right after ignition, while my 18yo and his "friend who is a girl" were hanging out with me on the porch, playing some trivia game on their smart phones, so just turn off the volume): I ran it for over an hour using small oak blocks, reloading every 15-20 minutes to keep a good flame going with secondary air jets. Next build I'll use something else than the perforated veggie steamer as the small perforations seemed to clog with ash over the course of the hour, diminishing the intensity of the burn by slowing the primary air supply. Or maybe I'll just drill out larger holes in it. $22 isn't bad at all for two stainless steel gasifier stoves.
Just came across this. Yes, I have built similar small tin stoves. They work like a charm. Ages ago, I used to hard core back pack. Tin can gasifiers would work or buy a little stove. The interesting thing I picked up from the Decathlon is that the gasifiers were said to put out the most heat.
I looked at a lot of designs that used a small paint can from Home Depot and a Progresso soup can and they were pretty cool and burned well in videos. I decided to go with these stainless canisters to add a little longevity and size for longer burn. I plan on using them camping and around the home during the summer, not for hiking, so size and weight weren't a big consideration here. I also have a Cabelas tent stove I picked up cheap off CL years ago that has never been used. I'm seriously considering using several of these gasifier stoves inside it as a poor man's version of the EcoZoom plancha (see photo below) that I can use indoors, vented into my masonry chimney in the basement for backup cooking duty spring/summer/fall when we're not burning our Ideal Steel stove:
Pretty neat! I was look at an ultralight wood burner for a hike I planned last year. For a longer hike, even though the stove was slightly heavier the fuel was 0 weight since I hoped to get on trail. But then there is always the chance it will be wet or none to be found. In any case I never got to go on that trip. My more often hikes (high peaks of the Adirondacks) do not allow wood fires, so I use my tiny whitebox alcohol stove. Its pretty hard to beat for simplicity, small size, light weight, and reliability. If I ever consider a longer thru-hike again I'll consider getting a woodburner.
Yep, this little thing is amazing. We had it burning again tonight. Harbor Freight has a set of large stacking stainless steel stock pots with stainless lids for $24. I'm seriously considering cobbling together two big stock pots from the set into one of these stoves for a portable gasifier campfire.
Some daylight pics of the assembly. It all comes apart easily for cleaning and emptying ash. The last lid serves as a flame concentrator and a place for the pot support to rest. And burning with the pot support:
The small gasifiers are great little biochar makers. That Ecozoom camp stove is so cool. Don't think I have seen one before. Gasifiers are so powerful. It will be interesting to see what you develop in the future.
The Silverfire Survivor rocket stove has secondary air in the top rear of the firebox at the base of the chimney. It cleans up the exhaust pretty well from what I've read. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate that into a home made rocket stove made with vermiculite and Rutland cement mix for structure and insulation. I'll use a steel box and exhaust pipe for the basic shape of the firebox and chimney and I figure I'll use wax to create the air channels for the secondary air under the vermiculite/cement mix. The wax will melt after firing the rocket stove, leaving air channels behind.
