Small eco-style camping stoves

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Small eco-style camping stoves
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wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 14 11:43 pm Post subject: Small eco-style camping stoves

I'm looking for a small camp stove, and wondered about a 'green' version. A little googling reveals little (admittedly rather pricey) stoves that run on 'twigs' and may produce electrickery as a sort of by-product. Has anyone any experience of them? I want to boil a kettle and cook small meals for one and a bit people (pasta, omlettes, burgers, sausage sarnies etc) in an eco, off grid, sustainable sort of way.

Other than the cost and that they seem a little slower than butane stoves, are they a silly idea? Is the electric just a gimmick? (Don't really need it, but could certainly use it if we had it) are there lots of brands, and which is a good one? Are they as unstable as they look? Is there a more UK-centric (or cheaper) version does anyone know?

This https://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/new-portable-grill/grill-features/ is what I was thinking of - they looked like a neat idea, so I wondered if they were as useful as they looked.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15438
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 1:05 am Post subject:
Get a primus and run it on biodiesel.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46359
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 6:29 am Post subject:

tin can hobo stove,there are plans on line including the "rocket"stove types

they can range from tea brewing to space heater size and will run on almost owt that burns.
birch twigs or dry dock stalks are ace for tea brews but anything split small and dryish will work,so will fat/oils and anything that will wick,sand and petrol works but tis a bit dangeroos cos of the vapour

for super a lightweight carry stove bean tins and a pocketful of charcoal is rather nice even if there is no fuel around

use steel cans as aluminium ones melt

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 7:01 am Post subject:

I wouldn't buy one for 'eco' reasons but because it does what I want it to. Will you get the use out of it to justify the price and cost of manufacture?

The reviews I've seen seem quite good. Main concern seems to be bulky compared to other 'twig' stoves.

If it was me and I must have something to charge my gadgets then I'd look for a cheaper stove and get one of those small pebble type battery backups.

I'd also check I can use such a stove if I plan to go somewhere. This skeptical review also highlights a few points: https://andrewskurka.com/2012/biolite-campstove-review/

Edit to add, and rather than use twigs, that may be in a short supply on a camp site, plenty of people seem to run these sort of stoves successfully on wood pellets (even wood pellet cat litter).

Last edited by Treacodactyl on Mon Apr 21, 14 10:01 am; edited 1 time in total

LynneA

Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 4893
Location: London N21

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 7:01 am Post subject:
Make a keyhole stove using bricks? Did it once at the allotment, but ground too soggy to keep it going for long.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46359
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 7:40 am Post subject:
ps a phone/gps will stay charged for ages if switched off between daily text/location checks and a spare phone battery is a tenner on most market stalls etc and very light to carry if you are going off grid for months i recon a mini steam engine and dynamo soe style is reliable kit.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16101

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 8:23 am Post subject:
A storm kettle is very basic, not too bulky, and will work off twigs etc. but mainly for boiling water. A small portable barbecue if you are staying in one place is ideal as you can use wood or charcoal. You may be able to buy some sort of clip on thing for the top of a storm kettle that would enable you to put pots on it.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46359
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 8:32 am Post subject:
my storm kettle has a clip on top but it is a bit unstable with a pan on. tis better to boil water then use the base section as a fire holder with the spare fuel from up the pipe(if you put a couple of thicker twigs in at the start they are enough to cook with

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35082
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 8:40 am Post subject:
I'd stick with a trangia.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46359
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 9:06 am Post subject:

some folk like trangia type stoves ,personally i have had issues with them but they are good below minus 15 c and long term off grid you have carbs, brewing kit and a still to make "eco"fuel.

ps i have had and seen worse issues with petrol stoves .

good charcoal can be made for carry fuel anywhere with wood(driftwood and sand is quite easy for instance)and twigs,stalks litter etc are fairly easy to grab when you see them

a really light stove is a snakehole fire ,dig a narrow hole ,arrange a "pipe" to feed air into the bottom ,light tinder,put fuel over tinder.tis a rocket stove with nowt to carry .

40 yrs ago i thought primus was ace but they are heavy ,hard to use and only really suitable for scott type heroic failures when crossing the andes by frog.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46359
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 9:14 am Post subject:
the type in the google image search has a big inlet hole but my type has a vertical hole for the fire smaller than the pan and an air inlet a 1/4 of the diameter of the fire hole

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15438
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 9:51 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

40 yrs ago i thought primus was ace but they are heavy ,hard to use and only really suitable for scott type heroic failures when crossing the andes by frog.

They are ace... but I'll admit they're not the lightest of cookers.

baldybloke

Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 1388
Location: Wiltshire

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 12:02 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

I'd stick with a trangia.

Trangia's are brilliant and have been using mine for years. Also use rocket and woodgas stoves.
Check out www.wildstoves.co.uk

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 12:18 pm Post subject:

The 'skeptical review' that Treacodactyl refs is by someone who's never used one, which seems a bit pony.

It looks like a neat idea, if you don't need to carry it. We have a rocket stove in the van and it gets *really* hot in a short amount of time, on scrappy wood. I would imagine that it's heavy to carry around, as well.

I guess it all depends on how you're going to use it. If you are car-camping, the weight won't matter.

Edit: PS, I *loathe* trangias, and haven't touched one since the Camping Weekend Of Flooding twenty years ago.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 14 1:22 pm Post subject:

I'm not going off grid for months, or needing to carry all my kit - I'm going camping in a Smart Car! I have a perfectly good caravan with all mod cons, but I can't tow it at present. I have most of the kit I need (I have done real camping before!) I mostly won't be going alone and we usually take turns to cook main meals communally. But I will need something to boil a kettle on without having to light a whole fire and wait an hour or two at 6am when Jenna turfs me out of bed! And for occasional lunches, breakfasts or meals when we are first to arrive or the others are doing something unsuitable for three year olds (the other kids are all a lot older)

So as I will need to buy something, I wondered about a 'twig stove' I have a child who collects twigs (and pine cones and feathers and flowers and stones) wherever I go. There will be charcoal if I really can't get twigs. I'm not bothered about the charging especially, but it seems handy to have if it's any good. I haven't the time or the resources to make stuff and I can't get biodiesel. When I'm buying something anyway, I always look for a sustainable option and if it works even reasonably well we will use it for small meals or brews in future, as we often camp off grid and always use fossil fuels as a last resort. I just wondered if anyone actually used them. I thought about a storm kettle, but I really want to have the flexibility to cook on it. I do like to be off grid, and gas seems always cheating (it was what I was thinking of when I started looking, but I'm open to options) I'll never use a gas stove again after this summer, but we would use this instead of a kettle if it were reasonably efficient. Just wondered if anyone had tried them, or anything similar and had any experience to share?

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