There has been some comments on Ryan Jordan using a wood (hobo) stove on his winter SUL trip, this thread is open to any comments, suggestions for use, or plans for making wood stoves.

this is a stove I made today, any suggestions?

I havent tested it yet, I know you use a fluid fuel to light it, do you put this on top of the wood or under?

I made it from a can of kettle corn.


I attempted a votecized stove, how did I do?




I made the inner shelf from the lid of the can


a very simple potstand



I connected the shelf with 4 screws

Edited by ryanf on 11/19/2005 17:26:37 MST.

I have never made a wood stove, so I dont know if this will work, will the raised floor I used work?( I dident have any hard wear mesh)

how do you light it? put fluid on top or bottom of the wood, or esbit under floor?

Edited by ryanf on 11/19/2005 20:05:01 MST.

Ryan,

Nice photos. I never used liquid fuel to start my wood stoves. If you build your tinder right in the bottom, starting with very fine material or spare toilet paper, you can start one without fuel.

As an aside, I once stumbled upon a stock of coal, left over from forgotten logging days. I started the fire with tinder and then added the coal. It was amazing how hot the coal became; turned the #10 can to a glowing red!

My only comment on your design is the grate on the inside bottom. You might find performance suffers as coals clog the holes. The hot exhaust will be exiting out the top, drawing oxygen through the bottom holes. However, once the holes become clogged, fresh oxygen will be blocked or restricted. A wire mesh, or more holes might work better. I am interested in the outcome.

That looks like an aluminum can. Nice find if it is.

Jay
MYOG

Ryan, Your stove looks good. Put some alcohol in your wood stove and see what the flame pattern looks like. Not much alcohol and please do it outside.

I have added more holes to mine and I think it burns better.

I just modified my stove so the floor is removeable. this way I can use the tinder idea. (before it was permanently conected to the can)

Edited by ryanf on 11/19/2005 20:53:58 MST.

Ryan,
Very nice first shot at a wood stove. I think you'll find it will perform admirably.

As far as the light from the top or bottom, it's really a preference call. Though I will suggest you read the entries about wood-gas stoves at www.imrisk.com if you want to do the top-light batch-load process.

I'd suggest starting playing with your stove by lighting from the bottom (this is the traditional hobo stove way). Pay with it, see if it works.

Basically, the pros and cons of the two methods:
Wood-Gas: Burns Cleaner, Harder to Light / build, batch operation (pack it with fuel and light it off)
Hobo-Stove: Easier to light / build, burns sootier (most of the time), 'normal' operation (feed twigs as it burns)

Making the raised floor removable is good. The idea behind the tinder, though, I've found the best way is to put the tinder under the floor and stil use the floor to hold the fuel (aka twigs) above the tinder while it burns.

You probably will find that you need a little more ventilation through your floor. You may not, but I'm betting you will want a few more hole (btw, what you did with reusing a piece of metal / tin and punching a bunch of holes in it, I've done before. It works fine for both type of operation. I just think you're going to need a few more holes)

However, having said all that... Do you have a concrete porch or a driveway where you live? If so, get outside get a few handfuls of twigs and light that bad boy off! The best way to tweak these wood designs is to play with a few real fast.

thanks alot, I will test it as soon as possible.

I will punch a few extra holes first of course.

Edited by ryanf on 11/20/2005 08:53:41 MST.

Since you obviously have a digicam, pics are a must... ;)

Again Ryan, how old are you? Geez louise your going to be the next ultralight genius and will be heading some lightweight backpacking company some day. Great stove. Keep it up!!!!!

> That looks like an aluminum can. Nice find if it is.

Aluminium melts at 550 C, and that is well below 'red heat'.
Bet the can does a melt-down when it gets really going!

Sorry, but this is going to be interesting!

I think it is actually a steel can so I think I will be fine. But the paint on the outside may burn off.

Thanks Ken :-)

Edited by ryanf on 11/21/2005 13:08:50 MST.

what is the best way,

tinder is one option.

starter fluid is another, but do you put it on top of the wood or under it?

and what do you use, alcohol, lamp oil, or other?

I am right now all out of HEET but have some lamp oil.

Experiment with different ways to start a fire and in different weather conditions. This will give you a good base of knowledge to pull from when on a hike.

Most of the question you ask can be better answered by trying yourself. Same reasons as above.

Consider using the new BPL titanium foil instead of a can. If you make the Ti cylinder slightly smaller than the diameter of the cook pot you may not need a pot support or windscreen.

repost - sorry

Edited by procab on 11/21/2005 09:52:04 MST.

Hi Ryan
Thank you for your prolific input.Does your camera have a Macro setting ?
If not try to take some of your pictures outside in open shade.
Most of all keep having fun.
Franco

ditto Bill's comment about trying lots of ways to light it.

Lighting a fire can be an essential outdoor skill, see which way works best with your stove and make sure you can run a backup with other options.

repost - sorry

Edited by procab on 11/21/2005 09:50:29 MST.

The picture shows a "Trails End" popcorn can, the same as the Boy Scouts sell. If yours is steel it must be very old, as all of them in recent years have been heavy gauge aluminum.

It is a great idea though.

it is a pop corn can sold by boy scouts.

I guess it may be a heavier gauge aluminum, It just seemed to be steel because it is a little more sturdy then some other metal cans.

my dad thought is was steel. But Mike has corrected us, thanks.

Edited by ryanf on 11/21/2005 13:09:57 MST.